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Phipps, :oody
:q1ngelore
Terrf,nt Co., Uist. *P7
7om Boone, 48, was born on his father's
ranch in 0oryell oo., Tex. Then not work-
ing on the ranch, his father's occupation
w's training wild horovs to obey men and
carry a saddle. His father's love of good
horses and his desire that his sons should
his ability as a horse trainer led him to
teach them the horse training art. Ybile
To and his brothers become good horsemen,
they were never able to duplicate their
father's feats. Arm attended school at
eight, and worked as a cowboy hen not at
school. At 10, Tom was allowed to go on
trail drives to Iaco, Tex. At 21, his
father established a partnership ranch with
him. :his partnership was never dissolved
until 1936, when Tom quit to come to Ft:
forth, where he established a grocery store
in Castleberry, a suburb of rt. Worth.
:Tie story:
i'age 11
Thy, yes, I was born on the range. In fee t, I like to
of never got off of it. was born on my dad's ranch iu Coryell
county, Texas, on April 6, 1889. ell, it was really dad's and
my grand -dad's together, as grand -dad registered the brand in
'1.1am county the first time it was ever registered. lien
was out up into several other counties, only to later be out up
more, which allowed '3oryell county to com into being. -That's
ell history and T gusts every school kid knows about it. 'he'
reson 1 mentions it in the first °lace was to explain where the
brand was first registered, and why it wasn't registered in
Coryell. -ou see, all ranches had dir'erent brands. That Is,all
the ranches in eras, and eachdhrand had to be registered at the
capitol and in it's county.
rheir brand was the Double Horseshoe.Connected. You
made it like this:,‹ They run from ,ireboo to 1,500 head in
this iron. That made the big difference was in dad being such r
Phipps, oody
Rangelore
-mrrant C., 1st. :17
?age .12
-0
good hand at buying and selling off stook. They didn't have such
a big grazing pasture, but dad would do like I remember he done
once. 7e bought up all the corn he needed to feed 1,000 extra
stars at 201 a bushel, thd2h bought up the rest at Mi. 'he
reason he bought the rest was beosuse he figured on a little
speculation. It seemed like he had corn stored in every barn
in the country.. :he next thing he done, wr's to bu, about 1,000
three year old steers, then fed 'em off during the winter. lie
next 3pring, he had b4v4' a -plenty to drive to 'Ylaoo.
Seems like I'm telling more about dad than 1 am myself,
but I have to to tell mine because 'revere together so much.
-Mile Dad wasn't on the ranch, he worked for Billy Young, who
owned the Upside down 22 Ranch.' The upsici-! down 22 was his
iron and made like this: I reckon Billy Young run around
30,900 sheep., 1,000 heed of cattle, and 1,200 horses on his
place. ry dad worked the horses, and that's really where he got
his start in the ranching business. He come to -evis and settled
near the roung Ranch in '86. Tle got his first job, that, was the
only job he ever had with nnpther ranch besides his own, with
Ybung as a horse buster. he first wages he drew were the some
Ps the last.
lAr. Young kept a lot of horses, and dad busted them
for hi". is wages were one out of three horses that he busted.
Pe'd take these horses to his place after he'd busteo them, then
when he hmd a chmnce to sell, had sell 1.1k buy cattle. -rend-dad
helped some by throwing in a little clash now and then. That was
where the partnership come in. qrand-dad himself lived in the
Navasota River Bottoms until he got too old to follow his trade,
Phipps, Toady
D.nngelore
''errant o., Dist.
Page 43
PC
which happened along about the time he got to I sing money at it,
he come up to live on the ranch. He had a real trade, and was
his own boo:. Re freighted between the Navasota River Bottoms and
the Rio Grande River Valley. My dad still has his tally book,
where he put down each its, he carried, the price, the name of his
customer, and where he was looatec. In going over the tally book,
I've seen articles in there you wouldn't believe. For instance,
he hauled kerosene when it was still new. You couldn't buy it
then unless you bought it in five gtllon tins. Grand -dad bought
it for .25' a ollon, hauled it to the Rio Irrnde, and sold it for
44:4 a gallon. Re. started hauling with oxen, but changed to horses
during his last yenra at it.
Now, back to dad. Re was about the best horse buster
in the country at the time. Young wouldn't hire anybody else
but dad to do his horse busting, because dad was so good. nother
thing, dad loved horses. Mr. Foote, who bought the old Robin
Panch next to ours, bought the brand, land, end cattle, all*
with the buildings and all. You know, that's the way they usud
to do. en a fellow taught a ranch, he bought everything. t'r.
?oote came to thnt country a young men, without a cent to his
name. He worked for this rarlahor and that, not as a top band
cow puncher, but a handy wan*, and saved all the money he could.
As he got a little money together, he'd sent it book home and
is folked buy up some anion Soldier lnnd scrip from the ex..
soldiers in their neighborhood, and Mr. ?oote'd settle sous sore
land. Ife never did gets very big ranch together, but he made a
lot of money in fine cattle.
For instance he bought the first registered white flee
Phipps, ;oody
ttengelore
Tarrant Co., Dist. I7
Page ./4
bull, ever to come to thnt prrt of the country, and maybe 7exas.
re run n lot of sheep, too. I don't know just now how mnny head
.he did run, but it was siznble. 14pter on, he married 7illy Young's
sten.daughter. 1he inherited a little money, and run her own stook
right in with ?oote's., I don't recall her fron, but she had two—
300 head, of time cattle, while he had four,50C head 11n the RP
Connected'iron, Yumake it like this:fH
f_nother interesting thing about 7oote thet only a few
other people _know, is that he tithes every cent- he ever made to a
separate bank account. 7e's a member of the Ti*esbyterian Church,
but he only.gives his money to special things. For instance, he
helps keep a Mexican mission going down on the border, gives to
severel orphan homes, and other good things. 7e's the kind of a
'zlan thnt gives .5.00 to a special offering while in church, then
comf:s around the next day and writes a check for c larger amount.
T've heerd 7oote say severel times that dad had lost
n nuber of 5,000.00 cattle deals just by stoeping, off on the
road to look at scr7.e fine horses. I believe every word of it, too,
because he really loved horses. '.fter he broke 'en, he'd pet 'em
'til nobody else could do much with then. "long about the time I
was eight years old, he gave me a horse that he'd busted himself.
r nerned him
Jud as the finest cow horse I.ever owned, and as .but
as good cutting horse as any in the country. The renson dad gave
him to no was beoalse 'd shown that I liked to work with the
cattle, and he was a great believer in having a good horse to work
with cattle, of course, I couldp t work the herd like the top
hands of that day could, but I did a lot" of work when I wasn't
Phipps, oody
Rengelere
rrant Co., tlist. 17
page 35
Cepiee; to chool. nce the school wasn't but a. mile and a half.
'nay, 7 -E)s able to zet horee early and work on the rench. 7hile
;ThriteJ to dothat kind of work all the tiee, it never entered
ray nind not to go to school because I knew that dad wanted us kids
to go. In fact, I was 21 before I knewetht I could fail to do
eneteina dad, eented Me to do.
"1 don't reocll just how long I kept Jud, but he was
sacreficee to the 3panish emerican traces, as was every ether
horse. :he Covernment bought every hers° it could, and paid the
highest prices., I remember right now how that the prices on
horses, jueped from 7'5C.00 to 1_00.00 as soen's all the available
horses were bo.ught,up. 'light away, dad hired two extra horse
busters, and bought every wild horse he couldn't catch in the
hills, 'til he had then ar boueht up ':!hile he Tiis buying, he
and the other nen were working as long en they had daylight,
bestine horses end delivering them. lometimes, the inspector
eoull ceme to our house, other tines he was at other ranches end
we'd take out herd over to him. Then they had a horse that wasn't
fully broke ,and nicht pitch a little, they'd have ne ride,him
'til the iriSpetlr seen hie because they ieured that the inspector
would tike any horse a nine yetr old kid could ride. hat eas
':here dad slipped up on him a liLele beoeuse I could ride eoad
then.
!ehile the horse busting wns goine on, dad depended on
us boys to take care of the cattle, except wen he got a contract
from the ;500. beef contractors. Men he'd have us stage a roundup,
and he'd pick the sale critters out. Met was the only time he'd
get away from the horse work, was when we made a drily. to Weioo.
Phipps, oody
'noelore
'errant 7
page
guess I was pretty close to 10 when I made my first trail drive
to eco. ;:hile I might forget the exact date, I'll never forget
the i'rat day ,because that vva when 1 sew lay firs,t street cart
end the first time my horse had ever sean one.
Dad and 1 had parked the herd in a pasture outside
to‘Al,while he went in to meet his oontractor. :fter awhile, I
deuidea to go in for just a short while, and. look things over.
4. wasn't so far froi-a the business distriets-and was riding my
horse across the car tracks neer a curve, when a oar came thunder-
ing around thnt car. nell, m horse went to pitching just as hart
as he opuld, an while trying to bring him under control, that oar
kept a-co7Ung. 7ou know, I didn't know they oould make them things
stop like they could, and there ,it was, coming at me as hard as it
looked like it. uould 7A.ght when -1 was about ready to wit
the horse, the motorman put an the brakes and stopped a few feet
:way. The horse then broke ;r1ci run. here were a bunch of men
on thu oar, and as we went away, I could hear them laughing. T
got the horse stopped about a half a mile from where the herci was
prked, so I went on aver and waited for dad.
y next trail drive turned out to be an exciting one for
me. :)tld Arrked the herd in the same pleee, then went on in. 'his
happened ,3iaturday evening, and we were doing to have to ley over
'til Onday. About an hour after dad went in, here come three girls
on a little old mule. rhey uwie on out to the herd, then oo-e over
to me. ';:hat a fit them girls gave me. They hugged me, kissed me,
and just gave ma a devil of a time. 'til I,got to where I oould hit
their mule with my hat. 7hey'chased him, caurlit then rode off
toward towns lrughing es hard as they could.
r
Phipps, oi)dy
.nangelore
"nrrent 00., fist. i7
Page 47
Pr.
"Then dad.oame back from town, I never told him what had
opened. Ite told me to cote on and go with him because he'd rade
erran,:ements for oil* roona in town. Rij,ht on the outskirts, we
tlrned into n plmue. re put uar horses up in the stable, then
started toward the hou:e. Do you know, one of them dUrn girls was
there end the other tlio, -who were out of sight, had made plans to
a. end the ni.L:ht there. ell, 7 hung back,FAld dad told me -b.: one
on. llen he sn me keep. a-henging back, be asked me what the
trohIis. :,hen I told him, he gave me three half dollars, and
•told 71e to offer them money for kisses. .1)11, I done tha.t as soon's
.7ot e.chance, and do you know, it worked like a charm. I believe
tc.!.116 hnted me ,fter that, because I offered them money. oy,
I'd hl,ite to offer one money now. ine'd sure be hard to get rid of,
elul t shel Vut thnt was t.e way the women were or old.
Along about the time the railroads got to g)ing good, and
t'r,e 71arket here in ort :orth got to oin. good, we took mother
herd to 0. ihe way dad got his contracts, the contractors'd
ne.nd hi n a letter, telling him how .4lny heed ,they wante, end Ft
wtat ?rice. er, if n man got into .noo at a tine when the market
S
utted with beef, he didn't geL auch a good price.
-ad never
had Iluch -rouble thst because he wouldn't make 8 drive unless
ITAred fe p•x.Ild cet rid or his stuff re,sonable anyway. This
thou7h, the merkev .:1„utted.
nn the wf.y down, a man met the herd with one of the
rinest 0Q712 we'd .ever seen then, and wented to sell it because he
needed the money. 7)f.A boujlt it r,_•t a good ptices.figuring on
se 7iw., it es son's he. re,ched co. ell, the contractor told
dad that he had all the beer he wanted, but he'd bUy ell the beef
711ipps, eoody
;aneelore
earrent Co., eist.
Pegs A
tle7t cam up to the contre:.ct. :te drove the nerd up and into one
pen, and as we'd out out a critter and drive it up to the gate,
he' ther lave it into the pen where Le'd keep the beef, or,
he'd weve it outside the gate he we'd drive them back home.
ell, T ceuld tell by the wey ded was actingi thet he didn't -like
the ley things WO7C eetng, but we went reload. he elan -cut end out,
and he really turned do -a:, scree fiae catle. o :out heve had all
intended to %Ile rthen we ce-e.:e to the caw ded bought, beeause he
.1.11-ne,! her dom.
forT'
says, aiat'ro you turning the,t one down
-he contractor anseered, eh, just on general principles.'
efter the lest cow had been cut out, dad gave us boys the.
order to take the cattle out of that pen and put them with he rest
of the herd. 3e didn't hesitate but jumped right to the work. ate
contractor says, 4eat're yiu doing Chet for?'
Ded says, h, just on tIneral principles.' Irrom that
tiee o, ee never soled an, beef we dide't- send right into ';ort
or somer-where else.
--erth to the etock Yerdee
I'd like to have yeu meet my dad. He sure ins one more
trric buster in his day, and he can still ride today. Of course,
he
ceeldn't ride the oetlaws he once did,. but you oeuldn'-ttell
hie that. 7e used to say that anything he had to hold onto to
ride, he couldn't ride a -tell. ee could sure ride 'em slick.
liews'about the trick riding, we didn't have it down to
such a fine heir es they do today in the rodeos. I believe we had
worse horse alright, but the rodeo hands of today really have the
-trick riding down right. Tf the old. tie' cow- hands knew what they
do today, they'd have rode ce better because they were just
'foody
!anrelore
"errant co., Mot. 7
Peg° 0
totter cow hands. Alen their hats blew off, they'd make a turn,
ride back and get it off the ground without ever stolping, and be
on their way. -2odny, nhen h rodeo.hand does that, he does it in
such a way thct it 13 ks like he was the king:pin rider of all
Another thin. Ales° modern saddles. Iou can pat a
fortune in the: :3 now, but wnen I was a kiu, they didn't have thet down
,00d eihor. y first &Wale, dad made rile earn it working for
it. i picked cotton for 538 or his neighbors, and last about the
tie when i Wa4supposed to have mode enough ,:oney to pay for thet
se!ale, he wes in aoo on buainese. lie bought the ssuale, end had
it sent out to me. It. was delivered on the evening I got my •)8.00,
-Inich was just the price of the saddle, wad 1 paid for it. I
th:rught that sa dle ViThS the prettiest in the world.
:he other drives i went on, were to places like the
•eit.t
drive we mde to :iorgan. 4rhert tine on that trip with stomps.
e .vere taking 35 head of four pier old steers to organ, and
;.hen we cot to old man ;'erk's stock farm, we perked them in a big
pasture which wee about three .iles from his house, and had a big
0
round hill right in the iddle of it. went in, ate, sat eround
end tn11:ed, then went to bed. 1,ng in the early morning hours,
etout three, a roar 'woke me up. Alen I got up, dad was already
dreesing. .7e said it was down in that pasture, and we hurA.ed
on out to the stable, saddled our horses, and rode out.
S' -re enough, they were stampeding, and we met the herd
;$.1,10t right to turn 'em around that hill. '2e11, sirs you never
bed a handier thing in your life than that hill wen that time..
:'hey just milled around the hill 'til they got tired end stopped.
rhines, !oedy
can-elore
eerrent o., 7)int.
"age /10
'70
The weather had been awful dry ab)ut thia tie*, and that
redo the herd sittiee to stert with. hen, after any stomp, the
hcr '11 neLl,rally .)e seit_ien so we were 34 our toe* for aeother
sten,-,e. lhen we got about two iilea fro. the :easque, the herd
scented the water and broke for it. 'hey ran thvt two Niles as
rd s they uoeld run, then inateed of writine and going down the
Lre13, they juepec un eight foet beak. LJI ueurse, a lot of them
we.c hurt, and I thine we lost about 20 of them.
'fter we eot that snarl straiehteaed out, ei got started
.„eein the next mo,ning. few -iles out from ;organ, we had to cross
e train track, and when we had about 10 per cent of the herd over,
here uoele a passeeeer Lraia. :he herd steepeued toward '!organ, end
,er-en they got to the,city lielLs, dilided up into small bunches in
order to go down the steeets. hat broke the stomp when they got
separated. :e rounded the herd up again on the other side of town,
!eel .,:te neon, who'd ordered Lhe steers, took it over.
761, been over a day and a night without food by
the tiele ev sot back to Meridian. edit) thnt was a part of a cow
9'3C/3 job, we wore still hunerycas wolves,. ro stopped in a
boardine house, one or those ea as ion- as yeu want to, y3.4 know,
tele started into ceetine. long after we'd eeen eating a While,
the welter passed the eake. eld 3LA erigesby remodd back and said,
,y ,uu, ian 7a wont ue reecy for cake :or an hour yet', and we
really weren't. :e sure didn't du myth ne, but biee,k even when we
paiu hie 'double for the meal.
eld 3ae was a pretty good rider, but about the hest areund
besides dad was a nearby rencher by the name of ,Ta'laue. TTe run
around b-600 head in the RO iron. You make the breed like this: