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?h4pps woody
Rnngelore
Tarrant Co., Dist. #7
John Mines Zr., 72, born Dec. 10,
1865, on his father's farm, located 9 Mi.
S. of Marlin, Falls Co., Tex. Following
his parent's demise in 1881, Moines dis-
posed of his property, formed a partner.
ship with T.D. Reed, took 300 Geldings
to San Angelo Tex., where they establish
ed e ranch. l'hey dissolved partnership
in 1914 to allow Maines'to establish a
ranch in Coleman Co., Tex. Bankrupt in
1918, Mines went to Fort Worth, Texas,
where he established himself as a cattle
dealer on the Stook Yards. no married
T'aroy V. Waxy in 1884. They reared five
children. One of them now demised, the
remnining four residing in Fort Worth,
and Moines residing on the Jackson Place
S.W. of Kennedale, Tex. His story:
"So you want to know about the cattle business, do you?
'Veil, you've core to about the crustiest old man on the Yards.
I've lived through the worst times, and the best times the Range
has seen. First, I was born December 10th, 1885, tnd ilt:1 72
ye: rs old now. I /me jerked up by the heir on my head, and
raised on my father's farm, whioh was about nine miles from
in Falls County, Texas. My father wee wealthy when
folks could be wealthy ari4 well thought of at the same time.
hed n big farm, I guess about 750 sores, about 500 head of
hosses, nnd about 200 heed of cows. 'I don't remember how much
wee pastured, but a big part of the land we in oultiwtion:
"I was put to work on the place soon's T was big enough
to work. No certain work, just all the chores I could get
around to between five in the morning and seven or eiFht -t
ni -ht. Oh, it wasn't a Dionic but it frye me a good start and
made n man out of me. You'll find very few men old as I rm,
that can get aroung like I can. Once in nwhile, I get out nnd
buy up two or three oar loads of cattle to sell here on the
Phipps, Woody
Bangalore
Tarrant Co., Dist.
page #2
PC
Yrrds. Sometimee, I buy for others but I'm Amays doing some-
thing and I have a reputation for knowing cattle but I got it
by a lot of hard work.
"You see, my father "lied in mem when /Ira! a 16 year old
kid. T was the only kid, so I sot ,everything. T.D. Reed, the
Administrator for my father's estate, had worked for my father
for 30 years. He settled all the bills., and handled everything
I wanted to sell out and go to the West, no n11 kids did then,
nnd now. "e rrgued and argued but I kept on wanting to go, so
we sold out, lock, stook, and barrel. I only kept 300 heed of
Geldings.
"I bet you don't know What Geldings are. Geldings are
the finest of bosses after they have been castrated. I still
don't know why, but they are. !Tell, I went in partners with
T.D. Reed, and we went -7est to Angelo. Some folks say, San
Angelo'but anyway, that's where we went. -.7(3 settled about 14
ranee west of town, and made a ranch. Reed actually ran the
niece because he was an older heed in the business, rind then
too, he could still lick me. I just strung •long and worked
like a straw boss.
"I'll never forget those days I spent in the saddle,
riding the Range and 'tending the cattle. Let me tell you that
those drys wouldn't suit a lot of jellies I see every day now.
'flay's the niht I slept sound as a rook out on the open plain,
miles from.a house, using my saddle as a pillow and layin' on
my saddle blrnket with my, slicker covering me, and it a -pouring
down rnin.
Phipps, woody
/tangelo?.
Tarrant Co., Dist. #7
Page 73
leC
"There's one time never forget as long' I live
because I nearly cashed my chocks in. The surrounding ranchers
had combined with T.D. Reed end me to hold a roundup in the
Fell, and I was taking my spell at watching at about two in
the morning. We were holding the herd we had rounded up, and
intended to work the stock the next morning. When I say, 'Torlf
I mean to separate and brand the different brands represented
in the herd.
"You see, there were no fences then. You just leased so
much land the same as the other ranchers around. Your cattle
drifted together, and the roundup was necessary to divide the
cattle belonging to the different ranchers. A rancher never
dared to be absent at a roundup because some of the others
might put their own brand on your cattle, then you would be
minus. The brand T.D. Reed and me used was a heart on the left
hip for the cattle, and a T triangle on... the left hip for the
hose...
"Well, this night I was telling about, there was an
electric storm going on, and a blinding flash struck on the
other side of the herd from me. rhis soared the cattle, and
they turned and ran away from the flesh. "Aoll, away from the
flesh put ma right out in front. In any stampede, the cattle
run right over any thing in their may that aint too big. Any-
thing too big, they go around, but a cowboy on a hoes eint too
big, so he has to ride hard and try to get out of their way.
I was riding ,s good oowpony, and s good oowpony is surefooted
in the day time. He is surerfooted than say other kind of
Phipps, iJoody
Rengelore
T.rrant co., last. /P7
Page #4
FO
hoes, but at night, he oen't see Filly better than a steer.
Then too, there are lois of prairie dog and gopher holes in
the prairie to stumble over. :t night, these holes oan't
be seen, so a ride in front of a stampeding herd aint much
like a tea party on a lawns especially at night.
-len I struck out. I was riding for all I wee worth,
whinPing my hoes every step of the way with my stetson. It
seemed like -to me, that we had rode about 20 miles before
heard several of them bowl. !!ani alit, Was I ?,lad to hear
that. You see, when they begin to bawl, they ere ready to
round rnd mill. I stPrted the leaders to rodnding, and pretty
soon, they were all milling and quieted down. I didn't have
to watch them anymore because they were too tired to run any-
more, so I rested myself and the hoes. hen daylight came, I
discovered we hadn't come but two miles, nnd the other cowmen
soon oame up. They followed the trril, so werwere found pretty
quick. lie or,ttle were driven back, vmd branded the next
morning. There was just one.thing about this whole stampede I
hated. I whipped my hose the first time he had ever been
whipped. good cowpony should never be whinped.
-"7e hod trouble with rustlers pretty odten but we didn't
nind because half the stook we had was rustled from other
cattlemen. This rustling business we pretty t3u0. fellow
had to be on the guards .day and night. A man's gun wee more
I-41ortnnt than his pants, and a good hwAs wPs next. man with
r good Tun, e good sadAe end n good cowhoss was sitting on
top or the world in those days because with these things, he
P.hipps, Ioody
Rangelore
Tarrant Co., Dist.
Rage #5
Fc
oo:ld get anything Oise he was big enough, and man enough to
take.
"Now, I'm not going to tell you the particulars about my
part in Ulf, rustling, and I don't really mean to brag, but you
can believe me when I Bey I've threw many a wet rope. I knew
lots of rustlers in those days. If they treated me end nee('
alright, we would help them when they needed us, but when they
went wrong, or put us to too much trouble we always tried to
make it too hot for them to stay in the country. Reed and T
onoe paid a certain gang 0.500.00, or .500.00 apiece to kill
three men who were trying to run us out of business.
"I any mr.ny a Run fight Pnd wfle in several myself. I
wc,s'never scratched by anybody, but if I ever killed a man, I
wouldn't tell it. I'll just say that I loved a gun scrap, and
would trade that life today for the one we live now. I carried
the usual two oolts 45's, end a Winohester Carbine with me
everywhere I went. You just couldn't tell whet might happen,
nor when, so it was mighty good insurqnoe toj!![heeled all the
time. Now, I've told about .this part of the life to show you
another reason why the jellies of today wouldn't like the Old
test.
-need r.1(1 I worked together for 20 years. During this
time, I met !ftircy V. Kazy in tngelo and married her in 1884.
I won't tell about our meeting end marrying because it is about
the only real decent thing ever happened to me. Marcy is a
real 'estern gal, and she has gone through lots with me. I
quit need and rustling on account of her in 1914, Pnd went to
'hipps4 moody
Rangelore
?arrant Co., Dist. 47
page :4(5
Coleman County, where I established a ranch of 3,000 acres
along the Colorado River. This was the very beet opportunity
I ever had to really amount to something in the cattle
business, but I went bankrupt in 1918. I wouldn't hese gone
bankrupt but the bank I was doing business with in Coleman
went bankrupt, and since I owed them 7500.00, and had no,
money to back it up, I come out at the little end. I had
around 1500 heed of cattle in 1916, but reverses put me back
to 500. head of white face Herefords in 1018. In other words,
I owed the amounA my ()tittle could bring, so the bank foreclosed
bnd broke even on me. There were some others they didn't do so
well by. Old Butch Gallagher owed them 63,0002 and still or:es
it, I guess.
well, .fter I we bankrupt, Marcy and me looked around,
and thought a lot. ?here we were, broke, had four children,
and one dead, so we up and moved to Fort 7torth. It was e lucky
move for me because I could go into the cattle Comlission
business here without any capital. I just got a bonding
company put up my bond, and went to dealing on the stook Yards.
I made emmgh money to put my kids through school, and now
they're all married, got kids of their own. T won't live
with them while I'm still able to make r living, but if I ever
do have to, I've raised them to love their old man and they
will welcome us to their homes. That's a lot to be thankful
for.