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2anaelore 77
2arraat 7
Afl
Dr. 3. Tlattan, 7i, was born on his
tether's stock ranch at Greenville, 'T.'ex.
Dr. rlattan learned to ride a horse at an
early age and was doing rcieular cowboy
work at IC years of eae. His father
moved the family to braokaaridae with
200 head of cattle and 50 horses in 1877,
and established a ranch on Cedar Zreek.
father sold out in 1880 to move his
family to "Tort orth where his children
could receive an education. Dr. 'Patten
learned medicine and was a country doctor
for many years. 7e later operated drug
stores in A)rt ::orth, then retired to the
!sonic I!ome for the Aged in 1034, which
is locateJi about 12 7A. E. of ;:t. :Torth,
"2exas. is story:_
,3age 41
"Well, I uess I can tell you a little about the range life
because 1 was torn with cattle, rode a hose when I was so young that
i_uaa't repaIl when I learnai, was a puncher ,before I was 10 years
old, then on top of that, I was one of the old time saddle bags
doctors.
"First, I was born in 11unt county, near Greenville, "'eats,
on November the 1st, 1q32. dad and grenddad run cattle on the
outskirts of 3reenville when I was born. I don't recollect my
granddad's brand but I know that dad branded a figure 71 on the left
hip of his critters. 'eason I know thnt was beoause I 1,oked at
them so much when T was just a kid. Thy, 1 had to do regular cow-
nAnohing' work before I was ever taught any reading and writing stall.
".":y dad had been a lonfederate soldier and it seemed like the
Unionists had the upper hand ane was trying to run things like they
'anted it so times got pretty squally before dad didei to move out
of it all. :e sold everything in 1.77 but 200 =Miter cows and 50
native hoses. !ie loads what he wants us to take with us in an old
box wagon oart, hitches his teem of oxen to it, loads mother and sic'
tiody
Phipps, oody Pago '2
?angelore
'arrant o., ist. 7
into a hack Dulled by a couple of ponies, then we lights out for the
°St*
"anS -ant as I thrilled? lryy, I'd heard about thc nest
#1-////c/J
all of my life. I'd heard about big ranches, rustlers, Indiana, and
what not the swle as kids hear nowadays. It sure wasn't no trouble
to rouse no out in the mornings and get the herd started to drifting.
was always ready. If it was necessary, I'd stand the night watch
and drive all the next day too. I !anted to „Jait there. I was in for
a disappointment, though, because it was a day of small ranches and
the old timers had gunned the varmints out of the country. -111r, the
wild game wasn't even so plentiful at that time.
"Of course, there was lots of excitement and something going
an every day. I forgot to date our trip out there, we started on
June the 14, 18'77, and arrived on Cedar Crick, seven miles Fast of
Breckenridge, in Shackelford county, Texas, on July the let., J-ust
one month on the road.
"The first thing we did after getting onto dad's land was to
thiow up a little old log cabin and a canvas wall for another room.
YAid rebranded all of his cattle, 'putting the running M on every hod.
Tow, the running is made without any sharp corners. :rust make en
that's Il curves and straight lines and you've got it.
"Now, the work -was a little different in those days from the
way it is today. For instance, all we waddles knew was just to work,
work, work, while the modern puncher has e chuck wagorl follow him
around with all the domfortS that a ranch can afford. -1141/0, high
powered chuck, his high powered bed roll, and everything. If we
waddies wanted to take anything with us, it could be no more than a
Phipps, coody
'Thngelore
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Page -1
litle chuok in e saddle bag a slicker and a bed roll back of the
cantle, and maybe a rifle in a saddle scabbard.
"A always had a 3pring roundup to brand the calves and a
2all roundup to out out the sale cattle. Alen we had a roundup
all the neighboring ranchers pitched in with 4s and we all went down
3outh into Eastland county, where our cattle usually drifted. There
were always around 50-60 cow punchers in a toundup and we had a lot
of fun together while going down. It was different coming back though,
because we scattered out fan -wise, and combed the country clean. A
didn't leave any cattle behind us either. -2hey didn't have to belong
to us to get into our roundups. -A all did it, though.
"A fellow by the name of .T2 (Jack) Pobinson, was always trail
boss on the roundups. 7e'd ram rod the sprerd and make all the rules
and divisions until the roundup was over. ,..Te was one more powerful
good rider and he had a real cutting hot2s. -!ei Tun the OX brand over
on the other side of Breckenrigge from us. I don't recall anybody
saying how many head he run but I guess it was about the seine as the
rest of us.
-There were three fellows that ranched together but had
different brands. One was Bill llittson, and he was sup7osed to run
about 1,000 head with the HIT brand. ?hen, there was his brother thA
was ruored to run a few hundred, I don't recall how many, with a
lazy A brand. You make it b7 laying the A down and making it point
toward the shoulder. Pe burnt it on the critter's left hip. :nd
John 7111sep,.his Imother-in-law, who run the !IL brand. Now, I don't
recall just how many head he did run but I wouldn't be stall surprised
if the. 1,000 that Bill W83 rumored to run wasn't the total nunber of
Amody
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their cattle. I recall one more ranch run by old Jim and Ike ?ridge.
They run about 600 cattle with the JJo brand. You make it by naking
two J's, then burn a smell o right over the two J's.
"Thesesroundups showed a fellow's mettle. If he had ything
to him, he could make a good hand. The real asset to a cowpuncher
though, is his hoes. If he can ride good, and he's got a good cutting
boss, a cowpuncher is setting on top of the world because he don't
have a thing to worry about, much. I had two hosses thnt I alweys
used. 0ne of them was a big hose, the other a little one. I named
the big one, 'Big Dexter', and the little one, 'Little 71exter'.
They was both real bosses that would make any cow hand a top hand.
:he little one was the test hoes
night riding hose. 7e was safe,
near es much es a man and I used
beoause I oould use hi for a
sure, and sensible. 9e knew might
to think he knew my brand. sure
hated to pert with that hose when we moved away from there but dad
sold him so I couldn't help it.
"One of the bed things that happened to us while we was there
was a drouth. It came in the year of '76, and I'd see cattle going
down the dry crick bed, licking the mud for a little moisture. The
way we got water was to run some of them across the -crick and keep
somebody standing in one spot. Thrt way, the cattle would stomp the
other part down and foree the water up in the ipot they didn't stomp.
Then we'd take a shovel and dig down a ways in the loose spot and
w9tar ,would well up. tfter about six or seven head had drank, you'd
have to dig again because they'd have the place filled up -gain.
7ou couldn't null that anywhere except where you held a sandy bed or
in quick sand.
Phipps, Aitody
Rangelore
2arrant Co., Dist:
Page
'I sal there wasn't no rustling but there was a little done
by whet we called the *Nesters'. -2hey'd made a little settlemelt
down in Festlend county and would take a beef whenever they wanted a
little meet. They'd also milk our cows too but when we came through
on a roundup, we rounded everything up so they couldn't hurt us 'til
the cattle had time to drIft beak after we got through with them.
Of course, we watched the cattle F,11 the time in order to be ready in
case some rustlers did spread a lonj
"40 broke up in 1,190, and dad sold out in order to bring all
us kids back here to A)rt :orth and send us to school. You see, at
that time, the rail road ended here at Fort 7orth. The only engines
moving ,eist of Tort 7orth was the construction.trains and I don't
believe they was going Any farther than eatherford. It seemed like
Fort orth was where the est ended, or where the civilized world
started. It seemed like Fort '4orth was home to all the ranchers sest
of -Fort 7orth so when dad decided to settle down in some place where
us kids could go to school, he comes to Fort dorth.
I considered that the most foolish thing ever done.
Just completely throw up a good living and a coming business to educate
a bunch of kids. ifter we got here, t decided I wanted to be a doctor.
I studied enough to get me a little business, then started out in
:9irson County in 199p. I turned out to be a saddle bags doctor. You
know, carry all your stuff on a hoss and go fro one ranch or farm
to another. I was just es regular as the old circuit riding persons
e xcept when some contagious disease broke out.
"I got to thinking maybe the grass grew a little greener out
in the panhandle so I lit out for Charming and Hartley counties. I
Phipps, ,:oody
Ilngelore
arrant Co., A.st. :7
'age '6
r".
mde me route out there the same as I did before but it was too far
between customers so 1 (same back to Par er county for awhile, then
ca e into ?ort j)rth and went into the drug store business.
"I've run drug stores Pll over Port :;orth since I came back.
The two biF,eat ones were oncAllen ::venue and another one on cast.
front 3treet.
.1 finally got too old to do much pill rolling so I retired
and come out here to the.71asonic Home.: This is a mighty fire place
for an old man to spend his last days.
"Now, about being married, I've been married three times.
I don't have Ffly use for an old bachelor tiv,t's gone through life
without helping_teke care of somebody. ?here heopenet to be 10 or
12 old bachel)ra together here the other day end I says, 'A non that
never married or raised a family and took care of kids got no business
being took care of in his old age. He oughta be done like we used to
do an old stag, just drag him off into the. head ,of n old holler
and let him dry up'. Then I walked off and left them gaping. You
know, when I'm not feeling my age so bed, I'm lots of fun. T'm all.
the time into some devilment like that.