Document text
444-.11
Phipps, loody
Rangelore
"arrant Co., Dist. "7
Crewford, 88, was born on his father's
?snob in San Saba Co., Tex. Fa vas taught
to ride horses at an early age, and was
employed as a cowboy on the TOT Ranch in
San Saba Co., when he was 10. Re later
became so proficient in riding wild horses
that he was employed on several ranches as
a horse trainer. Then later, he entered
contests and rodeos, later promoting three
rodeos of his own. With his savings, he
purchased the /T Ranch in San Saba Co.. in
1913. nuring the Fall roundup on his range
in 1543, he broke his ri,7ht leg, and has
been unable to ride singes. He sold his
ranch in 135, and now resides in the city
of San Saba. His story:
Page n
Ride!? Why, when I was a young man, I could ride anything
that wore hair that you could drag, haul, or ihipi I started riding
hosses when I was so young my dad'd have to tie the stirrups up to
where my feet could reach them, then tie my feet to the stirrups snd
send m e to the post offioe after the mail. Yep. "Toted the mail
before I can recollect doing any thing else.
Thy, I've always been around bosses and stock. Starting
when I was born on my dad's ranch, the Ralf Moon T,' in San Saba
Co. Along about the time I was born, on Nov. 20, 1117P, dad ran
a little over 2,000 head in his iron, which was made like this:''.
''Te later on ran a lit le over 3,000 head, but no more then that.
:hat wan as big as tie ever got, and I don't know what he started
with. I do know, however, thft he built .the first house where the
city of San Saba now stands.
In a way, I was aorta handioa-ped around the ranch when
it coma to learning cow critters and hosses, because everybody was
too busy making e living, and I was too your", to mess with. 2 had
two brothers that started ranchos while I was still in my teens.
Bill Crawford, 89 now and living in Roswell, N.M., started, the MH
?tippet oody
Hengelo
Tarrant to. Dist. 47
Page la
PC
Connect I reckon he run around 500 head in his iron. You make
it like pie: i4 Jack Crawford run arc:clad 500 head in his Cross
A,Cross made like this:W.. There was an old man by the name of
John Gralres that took an interest in me, and he learnt me What I
knowed etout cow twitters. His ranch, the TOT,* had from four to
04Aon
Several years before I was 10, I started g)ing over to
his ppr d, and hi'd tench me 'Every time he done a thing, he'd
explain o me why he d,ne it. Result was, that by the tlme I was
10, r wi4 a pretty' fair cowboy, (rid he begun to paying me 501 a day
for day when we had work a -plenty to do. During roundups, branding,
and so 42. ors and on, I worked for him 'til was 20, but I worked
other p
oes in the mean time.
One of the places I worked, was the Blum Ranch in Hill Co.
Old man Plum had three brands before he decided to keep the last one.
'le firsthed the LSH,' which was the prettiest brand ever I seen,
then he pid the BLUM brand, then the last one and the one they
I
still rub, is the Cross BL,' made like this:
Leon Blum wee the first man in that part of the country
to fence[am size pasture. re fenced 4,000 sores, and it was every
bit out own in a week's time. You know, they didn't went no.
fences,
no nave
ad was ready to fight for open country. Blum didn't pay
mind to them, but went right ahead, and fenced it right beck.
T:hey neler cut that one down, neither.
4
I reckon I was lv when I went to work there. Hired out to
Heber Gy, the foreman and wagon bossy as a hoes buster. -Now there's
a man t t's drunk more whiskey, than. ary three men in Ft. Worth.
He was 4ver drunk, but was away* drinking, and you never could vetch
nhipps, 7oody PEW f3
Bangalore
7Arrent Co., fist. '7 FC
him when he couldn't outshoot, ride, or rope you. ;Tit was a wizard
for right at it. 70 had cowsense a -plenty with it. 7hat's the
reason he stayed foremen of that ranch so 1)ng when there were
other yolng men to hire. He made old man Blum plenty of money.
The Blum ranch had a good sited wild boss herd, running
from three to 500 head., I worked full time from the time I was
17 'til I wes\19, busting,and training bosses. I don't recall
6
any speciall boss right now, but there were a number of them that
turned out to be real good stock, and could work a herd like nobody's
business.
Hoes herds are just like a herd of any other kind of stook.
You'll always find a few meaner than the rest. The Blum bosses ran
wild, and when we wanted a few head to bust, we'd ride out and pen
what we wanted. Some of V am wouldn't pen, so we'd work a shenanigan
on them. Instead of driving them, we'd drive the good ones to where
they were, and they'd mix in with the good ones. :hen we'd drive
the whole b nch to the pen, and pen them all.
Did you ever see anybody ride a bucking hoes? .7011, you
know when they ride them in the rodeos, they just ride them for a
set time of a few minutes. hen we busted them on the Blum, we
didn't use a pen, but bustea them right out on the open prairie,
and when we got throwed, we lost the hoes because he took right back
to where he'd been used to running wild. :he result was that you
stuck to your hose like a leech to save more trouble, and you'd
have to ride for 30 minutes at a time, some of the time. The reason
it wasn't every time was because 30 minutes is a hell of a lot of
pitching, and tikes an awful lot of energy. You oould count on
those that were worst to break, being the best hosses when they
Phipps, ploody
Rangelore
Tarrant Co., Dist. 7
Page #4
FC
finally did get down to business. You hardly ever see a rodeo brow:
buster with the nose bleed, beha.se he don't stay with it lisig
enough. .You hardly ever saw one of without the nose bleed when we
left a brows in them days. Another thing, if a feller was a greener
and didn't know how to brace himself while on a wild one, he could
very easily have his guts busted out when a hoes 00MA down stiff
legged. '7hat's the reason ttvA few men were proffessional hoes
busters as I was, because it was so dangerous, and you had to be
alsmot born with the knack of handling them ornery critters.
While I was on the Blum, I made two trips to Kansas City
with a whole train load of cow critters. There's 30 to a oar, and
in those days. there were 15 cars to the tretn. Tt tolk a little
over a week ten, to get to Knauss City, because we'd stop every
other day and graze the stock. Then the little old engines they
had then, wouldn't hardly pull your hat off your head, said when
making any kind of n grade, it always looked to me is7i if we'd
ave.to get out and push like they done in stage coach days.
There's one thIng that happened while I was on the Blum,
and was happening before I went there, that always puzzled me. I
reckon that it took about four years, all told. The MOb they used
to have in San Saba Co. Nearly every body's rea about it in the
news papers, but they never got thP full details, and I reek,n
no paper'll ever be able to put it all -)ut. It just takes somebody
that lived through it, like I done, and there's many a thing I'd
never tell because I wouldn't live to enjoy the fruits of such
telling. Now, that you might understand just what I mean, I'm
going to explain how it all started. There were a bunch of nesters
and smell cattlemen that didn't have very good grass for their
Phipps, soody
Rangelore
Tarrant Co., Dist. 17
Page q5
FC
cattle, and oouldn't get any more land because the other ranchers
had already took it up. The only way these fellers oould figure
out to get more land, was to scare these other ranchers plum out of
the country, then take up their land for a song, and sing the song
themselves.
Now, that sounds pretty good; but when they went to
work to do the soaring, they killed a man. Then, first thing you
know, they killed another. There you have so many in a hunoh, your
secret's bound to out, so the ranchers found out about the scheme
in short order. After they found out the scheme, they oduldn't
get anything on the outlaw gang, Galled The mob,' so they started
in to fighting fire with fire.
For a number of yenrs tere, when the right gang, you
might call them the vigillanoe oomittee, becaus that's the way
they'worked, just like a vigillanoe camittee of old times, when the
vigillanoe oomittee got the goods on man they saspicioned of being
one of the mob, it put masks on, and hung the Mobman. -There was
one big difference between the vigillance oomittee which puzzled
folks not in on it, and thnt was ihy they'd not put their masks on
'til they were in the vicinity of the man they were after. The
Mobmen wore their masks all the time they were together. Some of
them didn't know their own members. 1 know that becsase I was told
so after it was all over and the rangers had to stay four yerrs to
get it over with, it nes that tough to bust up..
Things were prett- tough when old Captain Bill McDonald
brought in the toughest rangers on the force. There was another
captain that ompe with him. Captain John L. Sullivan.. Either of
them were equal to an army of ordinary men and I don't believe
Phipps,.400dy, Page 16
Bangelore
Tarrant do.; Dist.. #9 Fe
they had a nerve in their body because they certainly wouldn't have
been afraid of the devil himself had he shown up in the Mob. Some
-or the men that came with them were ,Edgar 7. Niel, bob McClure,
old man Bill T'cDonald's nephew Billy AoCauley, Jack Harvell, a
feller name of Maddox, old Blue Bell, nobody ever knowed his reel
name but everybody called him Blue Bell, and he'd'druther fight than
set. Then, -there was Dudd Barker. Budd was about the younfTest,
and him and me hit it right off together.
I recall one night at a dance when I sat down ,,43 rest awhile,
end he uome over and set dawn by me. Pe run hip hand up my back and
7*Itit my six shooter. 7e mos, Is Vhat a pretty good gun?'
Nothing far me to say there at admit I had a gun, and I
said, Its a dandy.' He never said another ward about it, but
just left me alone. fou know, when the rangers acme in there 'to
bust that fighting up, they had a law passed where men weren't
supposed to wear guns any more.
After the rangers left an Saba co., Fort stockton elected
him sheri f, and he kept it for 20 years. Just to show you what
kind of a ran he was, tell you what he done Ohne sheriff there.
A rancher there that hired all Spike, come into town one day and
reported that his Spiks had run him off and told him not to ODMO
beck. Dudd detailed a ()couple of deouties to ;to out and straighten
it out. They went out, but came right back in and said that the
Sniks wouldn't let them on the plea*. Budd scys, 1 I'll tend to
this myself, then.'
Tie goes out and kills seven of them, then come beck and
hunted his deputies up. Re said when he found them, Any man of
mine that can't take aare'of his job, can't work for me. You're
Phipps, '.00dy
Rangelore
Tarrant co., Dist. 47
page #17
Mg. 4
fired' rhile he was sheriff there, he made several trips into Si
Saba, and one day when we were talking together in a cafe, there
were some young men acting tough. Just before this, a young man
had 'been shot down right on the atreet* by one of the fellers that
had been running Ath this gang. Dudd says, I just wish I was.
sheriff here for one month. I'd straighten them fellers out so
quick it'd make their hard heads swim.'
There was a feller in there, that I never did know at
time whether he was a member of the Mob, the /igillance comittee,
or the rangers. I do know thet,be was sudden death to anybody that
bucked him. :is name was Jim Miller there, although I have found
out hisreal name since then, and have talked to him. Of course, I
never did filind out anything about his San Saba Co: business. I just
had to guess on that. He was supposed to have killed 25 AID altogether
during the trouble.
I personally saw him down one man. t stranger there, that
I'd never seen before.. This stranger walked up to Jim, end they
bbth talked fast for a bit. They were just across the street from
me and I never did hear a word they Bald, but I did see them start
to walking out to the middle of the street. my heart jumped into
my mouth when they done that, because I figured what was coming
next. They put their backs together when they reaohd the middle,
and walked 15 paces forward from each other. Then they turned reel
fast and shot. The stranger's pistol didn't shoot at Tim's, because
shot had already reached him and Miaowed him off balance.
And, to ,this day, nobody's ever found out where that feller come
from. Jim reported that he never saw the man before, either.
The State of California sent for him to come out and work
Phipps, :foody,
Rangel:aye
Tarrant 06.,_ Dist. 46
Page 78
on the Clare 3mith case. "aid his expenses to and from San Saba,
too. I later found out his his real neme was Pill ?ossett, end he
had been a sheriff up north somewhere before he came down to San
SPba.
7!y dad and him were talking cattle one day, and Pillftold
him about an experience he had while the Clare smith case was being
tried. "Te said he wes a -standing by the dilr leading to the court
room, and there was a big crowd pushing and shoving around to find
seats. Fe saiu, all of suddc,n, he felt a hand go into his pocket
after his bill fold. !le said thet the bi'l fold was so big, that it
was hard to work out. The their let his hand be still for a little,
then worked it again. After he'd worked it about three times, Pill
said he whispered to the thief and said, You better go get a live
one. This one's dead.' 7e said that pick pocket like to have tore
the front of the buildin7 down, trying to get out of there. If
you want to get in touch with sill, is son, Lew rossett, works in
the post °Mee at Tulsa Okla.
Oh yes. I recall another about Bill. I was in tho barber
shop in San Saba one day, when he come in and took the other chair.
There was a bunch of young fellers in the front end, talking about
how tough they were, and makin e quite a to do about it 4l. Old Bill
finally got neck full of it, and he bellered out, Shut upl T
could whip a pen full like you, and mind the gate while doing it.'
rhey left.
Some of those old timers in San Saba were pretty tough
themselves. You take old 'leo. Grey. He's about 97 now, and run
his G9 9 spread for years and years. While he never had much more
Phipps, oody
Rengelore
Tarrant Dist. 47
Page
FCB,
than six -70C head at u time, he took care of them right well. He
lost some hoes oncet, to some rustlers. ,A c ouple of weeks later,
a friend of his come out of the Territory an( told him his bosses
were up there. "Ild leorge went right up there, and after some
kind of a battle, he brought his hoises.back. Fvery herd, too.
Nobody ever knowed just how he done it, and ell he'd say eas,'I
knowed he didn't get off Scott -free, because
got them, didn't I?'
he had a couple of scabs on his face, and he limped considerable for
a spell.
That business of handling bosses, and taking care of them,
1
was one of the moat important thins eround any spread. 11d Cal
Fontgomery run around 300 head of stockers in his,' !ion? 4 iron, and
a little over 200 heed of hosses. His two boys kept them busted up
for sale.
Handling hoes was dangerous, too. A. feller -that learnt
to handle wild ones on Cal's spread, lorg Bagley's son, inter on got
killed. In !!cOullough 0o., while riding one. He was out riding, and
the ho ss throwed bin. l'ht wouldn't have been so bad, but his foot
caTight in the stirrup, and the critter kicke0 him to death.
All kinds of things can haTlen while you're riding.
broke this leg while riding the range in la3, end it'll never get
bc,ct so's I'll be a whole man again. And, T was just riding the
range, whereas I've rode in rodeos, and caught them wild out on
the prairie. The Sen Saba cattlemen treeted the wild bosses just
like they did cattle before fences came. They'd all get together,
ride out to the places the bosses stayed, round them up, cut them
out, brand them, then turn 1)\ose whet they didn't want.
em Among the cattlemen thrt took part in th roundups were
Phipne, 'Yoody
Rangelore
Tnrrant Co., Dist. 1?
Page AO
IC
those that I've alreody named, and Dave Harris, Who ran about 200
stockers on his F Bar spread. You make his iron like this: E
Steve Terry, the first sheriff ever I reoell being sheriff of San
Saba Co., ran the SW spread. Then, after Steve was sheriff for
,12 years, Bill Doren took his olapee nill rnn the TL spread.
Hugh Miller was sheriff or 20 yenrs after 7)oran, and he run the
'T3onneoted, *.mede like this: Sim Dofflemier, now that's
the way you spell his name but you can go into S,J1 Sebe Co., and
rirke up any conglomeration of letters, and they'll send rni to old
Jim: He was cattle inspector there in'S,sn Seim Co., for years and
years, and ran the 1 DAP spread. His son, Clarence, now runs
the main bank in the city of SA: Snba.
I mentioned rodeo awhile ago. yell, I not only contested
in them, but ran three of them myself. IIromoted them, ran them, and
contested in them. Pulled off *one of thnm fit san Saba, and two of
them at floldthweite. The Ooldtheaite rodeo grounds were two farms.
t. bunch of us got in there, and cleared the whole place, then gal
entered the contests.
One of the first moneys T. got, was in goat roping. 7ou
talk to somebody that knows about govt roping, and he'll say that
my 17 minutes for first money was some roningi Other rodeos I
won first money for this and that, was -tometa, sterr, and nen Saba.
Oh, I tell you. limn T was nettling it, T could ride or
rope, anything. "Mem old Spanish and Musts:1g /melees were mean to
ride too. I've had them run backwards, and :pitch in every way
iIaginable with me, but I rode them.
It was right after I bought the NT spread in San sabe,
the yenr of 1U3, that I broke my leg in the ?:f.,11 round up.
Phions, 10-Aly
Pangelore
7arrant Co., Dist. :!*7
Page 411
FC
stayed right with the work, though, doing what could with my
busted lee *til ri35, *hen.' sold the spre&d. It never was such
a big one, but IA was a good little ranch. I reckon I run around
20C heed on it average.
-no77 live in the city of San „Saba, like some old hoes
that's.sot too old to work, an is pastured out to die Aen and
if he makes his mind up to kick the bucket. I like to make these
rodeos though, and live the old lift over again; I like Lo see
the stock, too. If you could see the difference in them old mos'y
horned 1 ifg horn steers we had to fool with, and compare them with
the fine stook you can ses here at the stock show, you'd feel like
I do. Therees some of them here, that a piece off the neck would
mnke 4 pretty good steak.