Document text
-'77-'4*NYMOW-"1811.1"rr
7lood
lingelore
Tarrant Co., Dist. !P7
AllEW
Robt. Lee (ex) rullerio,701 was born
in Rock -4611, 72ex.,,'His parents moved to
the Morris Renoh 00., which
was owned by N.Ye finanelewe Whthad_fore.
olosed on the lorrie Renoh and sold -the'
stock without restooking, snd Tex's grand-
parents were nesters on_the place. After
lerving Tex with his grandparents, his
parents went on Vast, where they dliappeared
as many of the old settlers did. In lom,
his grandparents -moved to Llano oo., on
Snring_Creek,-where they owned a few head
of cattle and squatted on the land.- 'Then
Tex wee 80, he was employed on a trail
drive to Fort Cobb, Okla. From there, he
drifted It. to N. Dakota, *here he entered
another business. After years of drifting.
he went to 7t. Worth, Texts, and now resides
near the Rub :viirniture ftetory. "is story:
"Yes sub, I reckon as howl know a littleabout wet nursin'
critters Fin' rll, but My recollection has nigh on to got away from
me. 1911 try to give you 6 picture of the Old 'eet as it_waa When
1 was's punk kid. lie thing aboat it is, thrt if I could recall it
all, you -'d be able to write s book that would outshine any I ever
reed when it comes to aotion because I've been in the thick of it
without ever wanting to be there. It just natherly happened all
around me.
'14 first reool'_ection is when I was a_kid,-living with my.
grendparents on the Old Morris Ranch in Gilleave county. 9Twernt
no critters their, because the people thst had it, had got the place
on a foreclosure from the-Yr.orris's, sold what beef thPr was, and
never run eny mo' while we 91 was livip' thnr. y grandpa used
to sit around and tell me about my folks, and he said that I was
born in 7ockwell, 7exas, on ieptember the 12th, 1607. Ile said
that as soon as my mother and me were,able-to travel, that my dad
came to the orris Ranch, where my -grandpa was a nester, livinl
Phival Woody Rage ,W
Nangelore
Terrr.nt Jo., 121st. 47 rc
neaha watah hole whar he coul-d alt matah fo' his'uses Ornndps
said that my folks never stayed but a week, then lit out for some
place in the. ,;est, and as soon as they apld git set right well,
they wrs to send for me. -ell, thPt was the last anybody ever
seed or heard of them.
4Grandpa's place thPr on the Morris place, was a email
stook farm because he run a few head of critters and ffrmat on a
small scale. On acclunt of nObogy pesterinethem, the nesters
had a miaty.g6od time that, and about 10 or 12 -families Goma the -k
to work a place. :hey ell had hca-eas., and a few heed ot dritters,
so got a mighty chancel to learn to ride a hoes pr4tty soon.
i4..eckon as how I dould ride ns god -s the next one, when 1 wnsnit
but about six"yeahs old, when I was eight, 1 was-ridin' herd on
all the crit"..ers nroand that.
-Grandpa Made up his mind to move way from tawr when
was about 14, because they was so many nesters a-oomin' in that
they wasn't n lend to range on. reckon it was:in the Spring
of '81, -when we got to 3pring rick, in Llano county.
-Then grandpa decided to throw up thPr, we all went to
work, an' made a. olearint to put a log house,- then built a two
roIm outfit with a small lean-to ttt was used as the kitchen.
that wee .shore n good place to light beoause thsr was so Muoh
game and all around thar.- bey. wee so any Tild turkeys that
when knock camel*, you couldn't see the na•oun4 for a lona ways.
.rendpa used to stand in the door at times, nnd shoot deer for
our neat. :he first yeah on that place, we found about q0 -Q0
Unbranded o'itters just grezing around, didnr.t b'l rig to nobody.
14111, to make a 1 ,ng story short it didn't take us but a Wort
-Phipps, .woody
langelre
-'arrant C:o., Dist. 47
Page *3
•`C
time to slap the 'riple T -brand on them,critters. They wasn't no
big r,nch closet to us, so we Yi96 safe. In fact, that was the way
all the ranchers carried on in them days. ny unbranded mhverick
runnin' around, would gefit'self branded as soon as a cow poke
fl;nd it. lhe T was a T burnt on the,ehoulderll rib, and
hip.
"fe wasn't on Spring erio4 but e, short ti !;a !til several
other squatters showed up and throwed themselves up a place.
Aiey all had a few critters they brought with them, and, we all
went together on f roundup.
-Jince 1 worked the critters, my grandda-d allowed me a
head or so for myself every year, and/I got me a herd together
that way. ;7y brand was the 'Triangle Every unbranded
maverick I found after that, Iislaved.my own brand on him..
kept that up 'til I was about 30 years oldt_when I had right
500 head in my own iron. Of course, I spent my modey pretty
in them days, as a yaungun will, and -7 didn't get ehead like
would have if T'd have used my noggin and saved.'
."Ptitt was a mighty .wild country between '81 and '85.
.Every 10 days or two weeks, tomebody was Shot down. line I can't
reoall the date, on call the turn on a gun tight. that was
typical of the Old ::est. I had just rode into town to go on 0
at
fast
bender at Ilano. As I Rot down off hy nag, Rnd-flipped the reigns
over the hitching post, I noticed a man standing just outside the
door of the saloon. -Ile seemed to_be a-sfaring.nt'a wagant_and
just as I lcylked at the'vegon, another fellow stepped in just sid'h
a way th-A we could see the back of his neck and his head. The
man.by me hol,ered out, 9-1'11 breAC Your Paola'
Phipps, :oody
14.ingelore
Tark.ant .7,o. Dist. 17
Page 14
"7ext thing I knew, the man the, hollered'had,litted a
7inchester rifle that he'd had half hid behind him, and fired at
the other. liesiE,:mblehind the wagon fell like he'd been pole-azed.
'ieeson he fell like that was because the shot struck h1 in back of
the neck, and had the same effect ap if 4e'd be a pole.
;:bout that time, a shot from some other direction struck the man
that fired, and he fell dead'. As he was.falling„ a cow puncher
itepped out of the saloon, and I sas, Guess I'd better'be
a-gittin* away _from heahs.
He said, Yeas, business is gonna be pickin* up around
heeh mighty soon.* I hurriedly walked tpeards the door of the
saloon, and Pa I.wpa ssing in, a bullet struck the poor facing..
Tharewas.a crowd in the saloon, and all of them seemed to be
a -paying no attention to the fuss outside. The drift most of
the talk -wee on oettle prices -and trail.drires. I stayed inside
and done as the rest of them. Mile we was, in thar, I reckon
they was 125 shots pasted outside. lhen it was all over,. -me ell
_crome out, and ,a felllw helped my pick up one of the men -that was
down, and toted bin into the blacksmith :Shop, Shen told the Doc.
"If you'll look up your history, yo'1111 find out right
when that happened. It was- the Goq,.gins -nd 3r-rter fight. t
couple of outfits on the' Little Llano 1-?11,7er that had fell out with
each other. You know, they'd,all 'fight in them days. rids
fought luit'like men. ,e;' couple of nine year old kids was sent
out by their echbol Leather ioAmot a bucket of water on c hot day
in *62, and they fell to squabbling over who was to tote the
bucket. ,reuult was, thatithey got into a fight. 11141 next _day,
one of the kids brought a knife, end the other hal-e rifle.
4
-Phipps, 701dy
Rengolore
?errant 7ist. 17
Page
3mith and esson rifle. 'he kid with the knife made a dive at the
other, and the other shot hi- in the, hip with the rifle.
-Another thing about those days was that the 'Star Totersi
had more respect for a man. They newer give you the lip you oan
expect any minute from these jelly been* we Call officers in this
day 'end time. The .lonstables and Sheriffs had to be reel men in
those days. becaque they had to bring in men Who -were rea men
them sfAves. Sometimes the sheriff and his deputies would have an
Argument. they never believed in n lot of lip. ''hey just
stepped out on the side walk and settled it right then.
"After the crash brake me in '96, r took to booming over
the ociuntry. I worked cattle sometimes, and whatever else I
found to to where I was. I don't recall ny of the places I went
to, or worked for -I didn't work so awful much anywhere.
"One of the thina T did after I left Tileno, was td- go to
A.1drose, 14orth ikota. rhet was a rough, frontier town, that
dealt with rime hands and so on. I itit there:in the winter time
when it was so —o cold. The day I got in, some (sow hands had
brought ilisome nesters that had froze u, in their cabin. ley'd
burnt their wood, then burnt ,their furniture. The cow punchers
found thertfroze stiff, end still in bet. oll, they just brought
these nesters, in just as is. lxisy was still stiff as a board
when they got to A.1drose, so they toll( the stiffs to the sall.n.
The saloon keener sent a Ler sweep to the proper authorities, and
had the co* punchers lern the sti-fs up'eFainst the U. Do you
the* stiffs 1eaned that way for two days, and the gamblers
sat around* making bets on When they'd. cave. They never did cave
'til the r ght people got there to handle it.
Phipps,
Maagelore
Tarrant %..7o., Dist. 7
RA.-fet PIA),
e.. r
Page 1
rnc
Robt. Lee (Tex.) Fuller, 701 residinE at Hub Furniture
Co. plant at Ft. errths born at Rockwell, Tex. Was left
with his grandparamtaishe mated on the Morris aanoh in (41l.1.
eeie 2o. while a younc infant. In. 1681 they moved to Llano
Co. on •.:412rirk.: Creek with a few oiAtle and squattc:d. IA 20 Tex
worivd on r trail drive to Ft. Cobb, Min. trot, ho vent
to 77. D. ad after years of drifting he cumc ',AD Ft. '17th.
I retehon L little aLout uet nursin° critters all' all but
reeolletim h7..s nigh on to Tot away from ze. I11 try to't;Ive you
a ;Iewrc :oast as it, WE6 when I wee a punk kid. 1 lrat
remercr li.vin :iji 71y grandprens on the uld ,orris Hanel" in Gillesm
&trr no critters thar boeuse the eoI th b,d it had
ot t:e placc on foreclosure frora the orris' Elnd cL tt Atf thar
s nevcx rLati while we were thar.
used ,u sit mround
nn...; imk.r o1ks inCi he orid thr.t I w e beLm
on .ept. 12, 1867. ,a6 Boon as other ant. me WCPC ilL ,e trtml
ct-Id Cr e to e orris lianch where gramAps wt.s a nestcr ncr 1tah
hole. i".onapc saL. ly fOlks never stayed Lut week arld lit out 1'or
soe pine in the -cat end as 00011 as they could it set ri. it eU they
u s -to send ,or c. The tiv last anyho4y ever seen or herr- of thud.
pl:Jce thar was wail stock. toee he vian r, few
c..(1 of eritterr farmio on small sctle. riCtlia O._ 1.Catrio
them the neeters hai 111071V good tiLe atud. ubou_ 10 or
vzLiAllen CCW;C
el critter,:
3eL:kon es tow
six e_Th.z. wLs ciLht I was rid140 lerd an ell
err.4and thar.
r to ork a place* They all hild bosi.ek fs
'ot nrii, ty ;,00d chance to lenrn z.o A.Jv pret%, soon.
couiLi ridf, rood as thc ncAt one uhe;, usbn't
Phipps. W4011041
RangelOre
Tarrant ***41, Dist. 74
"Grandpa made
*bout 14 because they sea
no, 1i to range C(. 1 ritta
to pring creek in Llano CO. When
all went to work en' mode. a Oaarli
Um room outfit with* small Isaato
2
form thar wbefl w
in that they wasa't
Spring of *81 when we
decided to throw up ,thar.we
Up a lag house and built
was used as a kitchen. That
was shore a good place to light bacapae•thar was so much gams arouad
ther. They was so cagy wild turkey* that when a flock came byryou aoald*
n't see the grund fot4 a loag ways. Grandpa used to stand in the door
at times and shoot &tar for w, east. he first yeah on that place Lie
found about 80 or 1JO umbranded critters put grazing around that didet
beloav to noLody. It didn't take us long to slap the Tripplfe T brook
them crittars. They wasn't no big reneh clog, to ua so ye was saffe. is.
feet that we the way all the rancher* carried on in tea days. aay
unbranded meverici. mania' Would git Waelf branded as soon as a cow
1.oka found it. The Triple T wae,a T burnt on tLe shoulder, rib, and P.
4 wasn't an Spring Creek Lang till amoral other squat:Lars shoe"'
ed up and throwed t emaelves up a place. May all hk,a fet, critter*
they brought with them and we all went together on a roundui. Since I
worke,;' the critters granddad allowed as a head or so for /self ewer,
year and I got me 1% herd together that wayl brand was the Triangle
4W Every unbranded maverick I found after that I slapped WY awn bread
on him. I kept that up *til I. was about 80 when I had right at 600
head in 4 awn irom I spent coy money pritlqy fast in them days as a
youngun will and I d'% get Ahead liks I 'mould have if I'd used my
nogxin an saved.,
"That was a m
L: weeks **catalog ws shut down. Uhile I clin't
sao_ell the turn on a a typical of the old
wenn '81 and '86. Zvery 20
11 the date
Phipps, 400dy
Rangelore
Tarrant Co., Dist, 7.
I had jeist rode into town to gs on
at Llano. Al I get (Iowa'
°My nag and fliped the reins ever the bitching peet I noticed a man
sUnding juat outside the door of the lialoon. MO seemed to be staring
at a:wafon and Suet as 2 :looked at the wagon another fellow stepped in
just sich a way that we could see the beck of his neck and his head.'
The man 14 me hollered out' break your ma.' Next thing I knew
he had lifted a 4inchester rifle that he'd bad half hid behind him and
fired at the other. The men behind the wagon fell like he'd been polo.!:
axed, the shot struck him in back of the neat. About that tine a'shot
from some other direction struck the man that Axed an he fill dead.
As be was falling a cow punabor slapped oat of the saloon ana I saysi
'Guess I'd better be gittins ewer from bomb.'
"MM said, 'Yah business is gonna be pickin° up around heah flighty
soon.' I hurriedlywallted towards the door of the saloon and as was
passine in a bullet struck the door facing. Thar was a crowd in the
aellamand all of thum seewd to paying no attention to the fuse outside..
The talk was on cattle iricei and trail drives. I staytd inside and done
as the rest of them. Agile we was in thar there was over :a hundret shots
outside. Awn it was over we came out and a fellow helped me pick up
one the men that was down and tote hi* to the blacksmith shop than
told the Doc.
"It was the Caggine and Carter fight, a co-ple of outfits on the
Little Llano diver that fell out with ouch other. They'd all fit„ht them
days. tide fought just like mous a couple of nine year old kids was sent
Att by their school tiac.ber to get a bucket of water on a hot day ii. 18:4
and they fell to squabbline. over who wee to tote the buckets they got
into a fight. The next day, one of the kids brouu;ht a knife and thf. other
had a rifles a Smith and v4ses:n rifle. The kid with the knife<i'mde a
dive at the other and the other shot him in the hip with the r*fle.
uppe, woody
atingelore
Wren% Co, Dist. 7'
"Another thing about those dayelaes;that the *Stir Totem' bed
more respect for a zAkin. Ihey serelti' SOr" Yoe taw lip you can expect any
mi#ute fa these jelly :beans we ea4; officers in this day* The -Clefasto.
et4es and Sheriffs had to be'real Sien in those days, because they had
to bring in real,Mon. SomstImee the I'llsOff and his deputie would have
am,ersoeut. They never believed in e,A0t of 4114 they just stepped, out..
site and settled it right thigh
"ape of the things I did after I *t pliagm's to g* to Wildrose,
N40). ea a trail drive Ft. Cobboitli(liMaltitiiir who was a government
'beef contractor for 'several /name reeervationsi That was a rough, front,
len town that dealt with range hands. I lit there in the winter time when
it was s000 cold. The day I get in semetow hands had brow:At in some
neeters that had froze up in their cabin. 'the .0d found them froze stiff,
and still in bed. Well, they just bleught these nesters in Just as is.
Thsy was still stiff as a board whoa they got to eildrose so they took
tLe *Urfa to the salben. The keeper sent a bar sweep to tie proper
authorities and had the cowpuncher's., leam-the stiffs up against the wall,
whore they stayed two days and the gumblere made bets on when timed
cave. They never did cave ftil the ijgbt people got there to handle it.
"After the crash broke no in,096 I toek to towing over the ;pantry.
wOrked cattle sometimes and whatever else I found to (14 where I WAS.
I don't roceil.anw of the places -I went to or worked for I didn't work
so awful muCh anywhere.