Document text
Phipps, ;oody
R5ngelore
2errant Co., Agit.
Joe nol'erland, 74,,,Asee born on the Cobb
Plantation, near Bonham_ Tex. tile father
was sent te the Rusk PeniktentiarY in.1868
for murder, and his mother move" the family'
to GaineVille, Tex., where she washed clothes
for a living. Joe ass able_to borrow -horses
while luta a smell child, and since he was so
interested in beeomince rider', various cow
,boys instrdoted him until_he became proficient
\-in the art. When 12 yearn -old, he was employed
as a -regular cowboy by rot. 'Isehington,, who
owned end operated a ?Muth in the Territory.
Joe was employed on one trail drive before -he
vs employed by ”OC-lish, who awned and operated
a ranch -near the Sugarl)ef-ts., in the -TNerr.
After 7cClieh sold out, I. went to ?ort '-7orth,
Texas, and entered the carpenter trade. Ihen
his age _foroe,, hin to retire, he moved to his
present residence it 1101 re llth.St. gin story:
'Now,tBe cattle business has changed a whole lot s1nc I was
in it but I can give
you a pretty_cieah pichur 'bout de time when
was what day call, Ridin' de 1 Jigs'. .1-.;e first thing an whpr
was bo'n. I was bo'n on de Old Cobb Plentation, just outside of
lionhe, ?coxes. y panpy an' mammy vas owned by !7arster Cobb, an'
1 was bo'n a slave in de yeah of 163.
"Now, I don't recall-8mq 'bout de old 7,1antatiln 'clause
.y en' me moves 'way f'om dere aftah'my peppy shot a mon'hnt
got lent to deApmair exits, to' five yeahs. Unmy took
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us to lainsville, ilexes, where she made our livinf at washin'
clothes fo' de white .fo'ks in town. I wns de delivery boy.
picks up de clothes, den delivers darn aftah-deys washed.
"While runnin' arund over town, I peen lotsa cow punchers
rAin' around, I always wanted to ride a hoes an' -I'd set 'Om to
give me a ride. Dey always thought it was funny to' me to sat 'em,
ant lots of 'em did give me rides on days hosses, an' some of 'em
teached me how to fide by myself. Now, you talt_nbout de cook of
rtlopsoody
-Rank;elore
'Tarrant 7,) niat.-17
de walkt Dat's just what I thought I was, 'cordin to what my
mnmay says, 'bout it. She says dat I was swelled up lak a pigeon
'to' sev'al days a'tah bummint a ride, or gittin' to ride one by
my lonesome.
By de time I web 12 yea old, T was :5 good rider en'
hrA rode sevla buok1W bronco: 'Long 'bout dis time, Pill
::ashington cloe.to a-loOkini to' hands to run'his
place which was 'bout 3 mile North of Maar' Verietta; Oklehomag am
now. '-fwarnt do many riders in town, Pn' somebody tole him dat
could ride so he 1) ked me up. Upshot of'it was, that he
'hired me to' 15 a month an' chuck. Pet .1.5.00 a runth am de
first money I ever made, an, ftwas de bit:.rost 'cause didn't
know how to apedd it, an' it went further*
"Pmyway, went to de pleoce wic three tudder riders he
hire_ in lainsville while he went to ichita to look to' some mo'
riders. Be cullud fellows he hired was, ,!ershall /!urd ant Frank
Denmark. Dey was two real riders, ropers,' an' crack pistol
shots* I don't know whar day lamed to shoot so well, but you
can well b'lieve dey coAd. Seem lak 'twas eccidental when dey
hit somethin' 'cause dey don't take no elow.aim, but dey never
Missed. Dat's what occJI s. De misses.
"When we gits to.de place, demo am -16.18 riders dere dat
rides reg•lar to' Bill. Hie real name am, :7sE, :fashington, but
ever'body calls him B1/1. !!4, run over 12,000 heed wiA de 'Gross
0' brand. !Ike de cross befo, de Os .to make de brand. De place
am in what was called, 7ickens county t, but aint no 7-Aokens
county there now. trwarnt no Marlette either., 'Tees just cow
critters, grass hills, mesquite, en' mo' cow -critters. Ilokens
Phip,Ts, .loody
Trangelore
Tarrant
t i7
Page "13
IrC
county was in de Indian ferritorY. but 'wernt in Oklahoma 'cause
dey changed it ill up. ruder thing 'bout de Territory an, dat
a white man can't awn anything in his own name. An Indinn have
to own it, so Bill marries him an Indien squaw to git him de right
-up there.
"Twee some shore good.riders=an' ropers dot wo'ked to'
Br.1 7:4om 7111, never seen him th'owed, Jim liankins, Jeff
oteeert* Ike Zohnson, Yhevit Steel, all good riders an' ropers an'
all quick on de drew wid do pistol. Never saw one of dent draw his
six shooter an' fire dat he Mi8m418. good. Cose now, some am
better dnn tudders 'cause dey shoots longer distances.
"Take Bill lashington, Dick cOlish, an' !rthUr Tames,
why]; dey stand* orr ant practices shootin' by de hour. Arthur
could take a broom straw an, shoot it-nt 30 paces when lotse people
,couldn'e even see it dat for. De trick he pulls on dat straw
shootin' an to turn around, an' shoot w'en he faces it. Do it
,rel fast, an' seer lak he don't even take aim. T make de guess
dat rthur ames was de best shot in det country. Tie wo ked to'
thrre yeahs while Isee on do place, den left to rem rod
Andy Addington, dat had a place around Sugarloaf mountains, in
de Territory. I was told dat 'twns 'bout 12 ODD heed in de herd
but I don't recell de brand. De'sugarloaf name come f'om de
mountains an so smolth an' round, dat dey looks lek so much sugar
piled up an' sirlooted oft._
"Bill ',,!eshington en' task Adintiton had a ranch in e---
r-.7est part or de errttorY, an' Bill 'Oldes to take some ye/Intel
out there to bring some beef beck. ne,picks 30-40 of them, en'
lights out. I finds out w'en we all glts there, dat !tees a
Phapps, Toady
Tiengelore
:arrant co., Dist.
Page 14
Lig reach wid 40.50,000 he'd on it wid de 'IMP brand to' 'Leek
Addington Fn' All. 'Stead of bringiat back some ZAB beef,
dey buys 2,000 head f'ok Cap labor, who run de Three I Ranch.
brfind am,made wid three I's lak-die, III.
"Seel lak de rem rods (lint in no big hur;lt to git back,
so we ell had some con'ests aftah Jim Casebolt„ a ni7ger cow coke
on de III got one of de Cross 0 boys to ride a,hoss he thought wag
gentled, an' turned out to be reg'lar,dynemite. Dot hose pitched
lek de devil himself but never th'owed de Cross -0 hand., Jim was
one of de 11;est cow bends in the -Test. He could ride, rope, an'
shoot. 'Te lived on ”Ad Oriok, crick'det ruh through de TIT.
"I -don't 'zactly recall all dat happened in do contest,
but Cap Iohor had plenty snaky flosses, an' some wild -ones dWi had
never lied anuLhing bat e.rope on it. Ever/body hvd ell de ridin/
he wanted, an' dep some. Most neeh ever'body rode a wild one
-k
while, we all was there.
'Mien it come time to start dr drive back to de Crass 0,
we ell got the herd started, den settled down to de reg'lar job
of tril drivin'. You know, as long's your in 15-20 miles of d
place whib de (v-itters nm raised, 'twas herd job to keep 'am
goin' rway. ;'en you gits over data 'twee eFsy job of herdin'.
-:011i, not too easy but easier. Second bight out f'-om de in,
it come up a lightning., thunder, an, rein storm. I seen de light.
fling bouncing around Off the long horn's horns. e was el",_
mighty skittish around thertibut we had to keep riding around
de oritters, en' isingin, to ke-p 'em lulled down. Dey was =easy,
though, en' mighty restless.
"Well, it fin'lly happened 'long about 11 0:Clock. De
Phipps, ,00dy
Ilngelors
l'rrent Co., Dist. 77
critters wont on e stompade. Only_ons thing todo Inc.stomp.
Dat's to git it stopped es so,m ts you can 'cause 'twas danger
of kirin' t lett? -beef an, losin' de,boas some money. -6 all.
rid an rid. It seemed lak we rid 100 miles befot de critters
got run down an' started blawlin'. 'Pen dey started .det,- I knew
'tw-ls all over but T. know whar anybody fl.se was.
72herb.T was, wid around 1,000..,Oritterc, wet hongry, an,
dic4't !,now *liar „-nything kes but North. T didn't dp anythinc
but stay wid de herd 'til some tudder hends,showed* ney Showed
about two hours efteh sun -up, an cone e-bringin' nbout 700 more
critters w.i.d de. 73esson day oome toYerds de herd, cloy said, was
'cause dey could reed da•sis'n ant see _whin wry de herd hid gone,
ent-knowin° det de reetsof de gang would show-wid de herd, dey,
just come on. Pretty soon, de whole eng showed'. Dey treiled
do herd, an' Jir Cesebolt wes.wid dem. He sold tint we was on
Turkey Crick, Det's in de -erritory known aó rA,ed man's land,
An acount of de fork in d ed River en' de courts/couldn't
'uide an whetet Oklwiome or :exes owned i
"'.4ftah 'bot a two weeks rolndup, de rest or de herd was
gathered up an' put back on !.ud Crick. -Den., we started back:
to de Cros'O. On.de way, we all. ceught sev'al 1,nte13pe.- Den/
let nobody tell you tint e noes can ketch one. 'oeuse'he
You see, an ;'.ntelope is fester dame. hous but he's Crazy to run
in -e circle, an' ?ley wont cross a creek, 'cities lekinl.to stay.
'ins de hi" ,places., N'en dey starts-da cirele-l!usine s, you put
men in relays. -One chase fwhile, den Snother chsse et de critter
passes :b.-. Drit wayl_de critters sits run dow, ant you can rope
hi Dey-sho makes good eatiti, too. (e was thteerweeks on 40'
hips, goody
liangelore
:arrent 0o., Dist.
Page 16
nftah we got good away t'om de III.
-flurin' de time I -was wo'kin, to'. Bill, cClis had-'oided
to sell out his interest in de 0noss 0. Aftah he sold out, he
went to de .brbuckle mountains, whar he established a renah of his
own wid 14,000 head of '07.40' tattle. '0X0' we's his brand. De
niece whar he mnde his teedquarters.wee called de, '317weter'Store't
an aocount of de store thene dat a fellow name 3ywater, run.
In September of '83, I quit de Cross 0-011' pined de.
'-0' While up there, a fell,' name of Drievers wee de ram rod,
-an, u fellow name of 3t ve Dickson was de best all arund hand I
ever sew. I made only auldd fellow on de place en' was there'
'cause :.%..01ish knew 'I cold hold my place re e nigger Anl- wernt so
witty as some of de niggers.'
'Dia DicksJa felLm0 had sev'al trained tosses .dat could
out critters outer a herd lak nobody's business. Dey seemed to
'joy de cut:in' out, an'_once de critter was made known to dem,.
dat is, once dey sew de loop snakin' out-aftah a certain critter,
dey stpyed on it's tail de rope had de critter good, den
dey'd.set down de critter reached de end of de lasso, den
fell.
"I didn't stay on de OM) very long. Just.f'om '83 'til
hile I waS there, I- met some iJnited sttes
'1'was 80 many whiskey peddlers en' so/bn in-dat part of de -err-
itorY dat de mershalls kept busy. De biggest lmsball was
--ashawn. He traveldd wid 10-12 men, an, had 'cartered -wagons tá
tote (2 beddin an' victuals.
-One of de Deputy Mershalls wes.a tough n1er name of
ps, 'oody Page -717
elore-
nt Co., Dist. FC
tir zoo `:eedi. Trie was an ex-ale.ve nigger dot larned• to shoot aftah
fr edon so well, dat de States to4kAi on s deputy. I yrs
ino de ',water store one day *ten a fella* went ridint„off in a
huifry befot I knowed dat Brazos was anywhir _around. Pre7os hollered
alt1 D., man kept riding so Brazos knelt, took in, ant shot
de reie,na in two. Dc man still kept ridint so•Brazos up ant shot
in de back._ can't figger out de tzact distance but, 'twas
smi hty goud.\shoOt ni. 1 think dat 1Tazos was under Ledbetter,
anê.ther Marshall.
ii"tah I put in my time on de 010, 7 took out an' come
he
dcl trouble.
"To spend:de time, I• sometima s set around I thinkin"bout
dc ays w'en -de cow pokes plejed shell dirty tricks on each tudders
)nelor de special tricks dat would- come up evert onee in awhile
wEs 'Oen one of. -d,.; bogs brought in a wild tosi dat had never bcia.
rid Usu'lly Spanish hosAke Wid- 1 4ag metes .8n, tails. De boyed
tel eovaeone elite dat de' hoss was done broke in. rudder ranny'd.
mou t, d, n .11sVe a herd time keepiO4 his -seat.. .J rwkr;it alwayls dat
de ictim didn't know though. Sometimei, fellow would know but
h o 'ort '.7orth •;iher could make a
lot mos money wid half
ley lak he yrs igomus, but would go ahef.d an' gives de boys
--rudder thing 1- rawals dat uset-A• to trouble me some was
we de Conches used to tale toll. Dey'd.eome to de rr.ra rod
beef eyer" nine days or so. tell a rider-
to ick out a Serub Da t way, he Id keep the Ifincles f tom
sto4pedin'.de _whole herd, ant git rid .of de scrubs too. Zectk
us to'say, tiietter give 'em one dan have tem stoepede de whole