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Phipps, 7oo
ngelore
-arrant Go Dist. f7
Sam. J. Rogers, 67, was born -in Ill. His
father moved the family to :tick Cd.i Tex.,
in 1075. His father, who had beim a horse
trainer in Ill., tetught Sam to ride at an
early age. His father bought a stock- farm
in Jack Co., in 1879._ This gave Sam an
opportunity to learn to work cattle, and
lee= to be a eosiihoy. He was -empl,)yed as
-1:a cowboy by Henry Reynolds, when Sam was
14. He was again employed on the Knox Bros.
jack Co. ranch from 1906 until 1912, -then
went to their Baylor Co, ranch. After two
Yrs., he went beak to Jack Co. and aseisted
ITensoz to roundup a herd of cattle.
;-After they completed the work, Sam was
elected sheriff at Jack Co., and served
from 1914 -to -1922. He lost the race in
1922, and was employed as a detective Pt
1, the Cattle Raisers Ass. to serve in Seymour,
•'rex., from 1922 to 1926, at which time he
retired from all aotivity„ and now resides
17at £903 N.W. 26th St. Ft. Tirth, Tex.
171.8 story:
Yee sin i I rode the range when men were men and women
weren't governors. 2hat sounds old, I know, but men had to be
men in them days because their transportation was onheasetl
them ornery irasoals'd pitch every morning like they'd never been
and
rode before. Most of them around Jack Co. were then ornery old
Mustangs mixed in with Spanish houses. You see, the rancheraid
go out and 011 the Mustang studs, and turn a Spanish hoss out
to sire the herd. That away, they got a pretty good hose.
Whale I don't recall much about it, I spent my first
five years in Ill., before my dad brought us to Terms. I don't
recall the place where I was born, but the date was May 22, 1870.
After my 'dad brought us to .?exas, he settled in Jack Co., where
he vent to werk for the different ranchers around rnd about there
in Jack Co. 4.1hat he done was to bust up*their wild one elm*,
and train t1m to out an,: peg. Dad must have bef n a wizard' at
the game be is. he come to Texas a busted men, and he was able to
Phipps, woody
Bangalore
Terrant Co., Dist. 0
establish him a stook farm there in Jack Co. in 1879. Of course,
he wasn't so lousy with stock, but he did have a tel over 40 heed
of stockers, at that. And, I cil'olate he had around 80 head of
'hossei, all that he busted himself. Busted and caught by his llne-
some. The others had to haVe somebody go with him, but when dad
wanted bosses, he went by hisself, and brought back ns many‘s he
could handle.
-I recall now hov disgusted he used to get with me when
he was teaching me to ride a hose before he got his own spread,
the *1TR*, which Was his iron. He'd Out me up on a hoes, and I'd
fell off. 7e'd put me up there* and tell me he was going to whip
me if I didn't go to holding on. Instead, I'd just fall off like
a sack of flour. So* he just ups and ties my feet to the stirrups
and that away, I lenrnt to ride a boss.
Reason he wanted me to learn so bad Yrs, because then
he'd be able to do so much more work, end 194 be able to tend to
a few chJres that he was having to do bisself then. I recall
that the heighth of my ambition was to be the ho:5sman my dad was,
because he wns looked up to by the other cow pokes and ranchers be
cause he could -Just about top off the wbrst brono ever you seen.
;Aid, he never started busting a boss he didn't stay right with 'til.
th-t rascal was meek as a kitten. Te could make them do anything,
but sometimes them ornery rascals would realize Viet other men
couldn't ride as well's the man that broke Them in, and do you
know what they'd -do?, why, they'd pitch like they'd never been
busted. eowl ?itch like a soa;f-eguni That's where ranchers
get their word hoes sense.' 'he$ claim a toss_usually has more
sense then the feller that's in the sarAle.
Phipps„ Ioody
Bangalore
_farrant o., Dist. 4?
Page )3
IPC
Dad's job 11/4$ to teach a hoes to first take a,saddle,
than a man in the saddle* Of course, the hose being used to
running wild and free, would try its best to pitch *hat ever
was on its back, off. Ihen it found it couldn't pitch the saddle
off; the dad got into the saddle. There'd be time when he'd get,
nitched off and the hoes d get sway* You see, he didn't use a
corral like they do nowadays. He just got on them out in a prairie
and rode them. He did use a ;corral there he was just using the
saddle., though. ,e only had one corral, and every day, ,he'd have
some wild boss in there a -trying to pitch e saddle off. There
were very few that ever pitched him off after he got into the
saddle, and I reckon that was the reason he done i out in the
open. Might have been that he didn'i want them rascals to rub
him up against the corral fence like they do when you have a corral'
and then he might have done that to help his rep' er)ng.as a hoes
buster. I don't know.
I do. recall though, thrt be either got ::3.00 for a once
rode hoes, or t5.00 for a second rode hoes, or 2.00 a year for
every year the hoes worked after dad broke him and put him out as
_ready to work* That we when the ranohers themselves furnished the
wild bosses* Dad has had ranchers pay him on a hose for 10 and 12
years after he busted It. They'd finally get too old to work, but
the rancher'd keep it on as a pet for aottbody, but he'd have !.o
pay dad as long's that hose lived* That was the contract, and a
miszhty good one too. I have known hosees to live as longs 18 Yrs
but T don't know whether or not dad collect off any like that.
In fact, nobody ever knowed much about his business. He alwnys
said that a working lip wasn't n working men, and he'd druther work.
Phipps, Noody
Rangelore
Tnrrant Co., Dist. 17
page -74
Pt
Nlw, this hoes busting's a mighty hard way to make a
living, and many's the man that couldn't bust over four in a row
before they'd quit for half a year, anyway. You'll see why when
you picture a bucking hose and yourself in the saddle. A. Ion had
to be about as good a rbder as there was in the country before he
could bust the wild ones to start with. Then after he got good
enoughto bust them, be had to deal with a different boss every
time he got into the saddle. They all pitch a little different,
Although, there's four main ways of pitching that take in every
hoes's way of bucking. There's a fence row, and so on, thnt the
hoses do. i!ut, even after you get it broke up that nway, them
ornery soAailns will sdmetimes change their way of pitching.
Not so many of them will change, but enough of them will to arke
it interesting=
Now, dad was hard to have the nose bleed. iny hoes
buster that aint so hard to have the nose bleed will have it
every time he gets in the saddle, end hard too. Then, there's
=nother point. in riding them wild ones, nnd bronos too, you
can't weer chaps because they'll slip and you'll he bucked off.
You have to just wear nants so's you can help hold on with your
knees, gripping with all your might. If you happen to have your
mouth open when the hose 00M10 down stiff legged, you'll just about
bust your jaw bone when your -jaws pop together. I once saw a brono
buster bite his tongue so bad he couldn't talk for weeks. Its just
like somebody going to your chin with his fist. Another thing, if
your nOt est just right, and have your insides all braced for a jar
when your hoes comes down stiff legged; you're liable to have your
guts popped right out your stomach. Its thnt bed; aid that's the
Phipps, .?c,ody
Rangelors
-2arry.nt o., )ist. 17
,age 15
FC
raison why amen thnt knowed ell the angles like my dad did, and
could trke it like he did, didn't have the least werries about
ever getting job. There were quite a few men as good as my dad
who didn't bust any hossea because there's the aeoident angle.
that's put so many good, men on the shelf for life because there
was one hoes come along that got the best of him. Yepi Busting
wild hosses-WaSn't the job every man looked for in the old days.
Nowadays, they still have to bust bosses but they don't have the
peppery ones they used to have. These flosses of today have been
inbred with other races stil they've -1.1 got pretty gentle and
easy to handle.
I acid thrt dad had some hasses of his own. yell, be
had them for sale, and did sell lots of them. There wee an
Englishman that come out to the ranch from some other spread,
which ono T. don't recall, but he asked dad for a hose, and when
dad asked him if he had any certain kind of n hoes in mind, he
says, I've heard that hosses about 14 foot high are about the
best, an I want one about that big.'
You talk about the hoo relying.- There was plenty of it
went on after thrt when dad's friends found mut about it. that
the man should have asked for, WPO a boss about 14 hands high.
There's lots* difference between a hand and r foot.
I've been talking about dad, now I'll jaw about myself
for a spell. I reckon I was pretty much of a pest when I wis
a kid, because I wanted to ride everything I could get on. -I'd
ride theyearlings 'til I rode them down, then get another. That
away, T got to Where I could ride pretty fair.
I know I could do a man's work when I was about 12, because
Phipps, 7oody
Rangelore
'Tarrant Co:, Diet.
Page 416
irC
I went on the round ups with the rest of than. The way it was
pulled iff, all the cattleMen'd go together and roundup every
heed on the range, then out out each man's cattle to de with as
he wanted. Since ded had so few: I reckon he'd got about 300 head
at this time, he pis paid a salary by a couple of the ranchers
to represent them, and I hm0.eled dad's stuff myself. Bill Green
and the Knox Ranch paid dad's salary.
We'd be on them roundups far a couple of months at a
time in the Spring when there wee plenty of witties,. then pther
times we'd only be out c month. whatever the time, I" was there
and helped a lot. The ranchers in JPak were awful lucky about
their roundups, because they had so few stampedes. You know,
you're likely to have a stomp any time yOu have any kind of a
herd rounded up: nything'11 cause et stomp, and I honestly
believe they run sometimes for no retson 'tall.
I never wee in but one real,stampeder and It vas While
•working on the KnOxspread. Before I went to work there, though,
Worked -a couple of yeers for Henry Reynolds. He had 'a small
ranch there in Jack, sortr like- my dad's. I don't rectal just how_
many head he run, but I reckon'twee around 500 in the HR Connected
iron. Yod make it like this:
he money Reynolds paid me Iloked like ell the money in
the world to me. Roy2 How I did strut around in the clothes that
little old 415.00 a month got me. I wPsn't out anything for my
grub or flop, you see', because I eiNher flooped In the bunkhouse
while in at headquarters or T flA)Ted on the ground when away.
grub was furnished, just like all the rest of the ranches-.
Their wages was 01w, ye ao much, then everybody paid ahuek too.
Phipps Woody
_Rangelore
Tarrant Co., Dist. 47
?age 17
PC
After I worked for Henry Reynolds awhile, I went to
work for Bill Green. He run around 8,000 bend in his Lazy H
iron. Its easy to make. Like this::E see?
The work there was just like on the Reynolds s:read,
only that there was more cattle, and more men to handle them.
I don't recollect just how long I did work for Green Ital. I got
a job with Geo. Adkisson. We made one Spring roundup, then he
pr000sitioned me to go to his King Co. spread for a roundup.
-411, I wanted to go, so we went.
WO rounded up a little over 1,000 head of three yenr old
3teers, then he said, 0e're-taking these to Mexico.'
I didn't know what to think about that, bat was always
anxious to do something different, so I said, Let's got' We
started out, and had quite n bit of trouble keeping the herd rounded
up 'til we got about 50 milEs away from the home rred where they'd
been used to living. About 10 days fter we got away from the home
_spread, I got to thinking about Mexico being s) different from what
I was used to, and whet oould haven to a boy a stranger alley from
.home, so I folded up and.went-beck to Jack. I was 10 days on the
trc-il, NV you can't say I didn't go lip the trail, can youl
Then I got back, I helped H.J. Henson to roundup a herd
of cattle, then went to work for the Knox 5ros. Ranch in
I hired out to J.". Moore, who was the wagon boss and foreman, too.
,Te said my job depended on what I was able to do, and I got me a
berth as a regular cow puncher. They hired 14 regular men, then
le to 20 men extra during roundup season.
0 The reason it takes so many extras during roundup is
because oattle'11 drift away from the homespreed. They'll go
Phipts, body Pa80 :48
R'ngel)re
:rrrant Co., Dist. #7
several hundred miles away, and stay in the brush lots of times
'til it la)ks like they're hiding from you. Actually, I've found
Knox cattle !As much as 300 miles. South of headquarters. Now, that
all•takes a lot of men, and that's the rePson all the rani:sharer
pitch in and hire extras, then send every man jack they can get
a.hold of, out to the roundup. !en women work then. They'd
usually do the cooking for the chuck wagon who they were along.
A few of them could ride right well, but I don4t recolleot any of
them as being any grert shakes at it, right now.
Along about in 1912, the Knox Bros. decided to 'get rid
of their spread in Baylor Co., and sent me up there to take charge
and fit the stock up for sale. CU, I took the job on, and got
the stock all fattened up for sale by 1914. They then sold out
and I come back to JrIck to run torsheriff. I ran, and was elected.
I was sheriff of Jack Co. from 1914 'tn. 1922, when the
Ku Klux finally got me. You see, I fought them all the way from
taw, and they tried to get me every year. Amy failed to make
the grade 'til 192, and then I Went to work as a detective ftlir
the Texas Cattle Raiser's Ass.
They assigned me to Seymour, Texas, because there was
some high harOad and fancy free rustling going on there, and the
eymo
repularS ur man couldn't uncover it,. 7e either ooldn'i uncover
it, or 1143 hands were tied. I don't know, but you can put it down
thnt three months after I got there and got into the field, there
wasn't anything it a little petty larceny rustling going on.
And, that's a thing you'll never put a stop to. Not only
not !flat e atop to, but its getting worse every year. You see its
easier to lift cattle now thPn it wns before. now, you can drive a
truck right out to herd in .11 pasture, llad a counbe on thou