Another
little-known story took place as trail herds of longhorns
were driven from the south to the Kansas railheads. When a herd began its trek,
flocks of cowbirds or blackbirds attached themselves to the livestock.
The
reason? Flies, mosquitoes, gnats, ticks and skin warbles covered the backs and
hides of the longhorns making up the favorite daily menu of the crafty bird. It
was an easy life just riding along on a steer's back, flying occasionally while
eating whatever was at hand. The steer didn't care, maybe switching his tail once
in a while.
It was proved the southern birds rode and flew the entire
trip to Kansas. How? One gentle bird flew too close to a cowboy who flicked his
leather quirt at the bird. The tail feathers flew, leaving the bird bobtailed
and easy to identify. Sure enough, at the end of the drive, the bobtailed bird
was still with the herd.
Frank
Groves, a well-known cowboy from Stinnett
who passed away in 1944, saw many things in his lifetime. He actually saw the
first things that happened in the Panhandle
when settlers began arriving on the Plains. One
of his stories hit close to home for me, as I live only a few miles from Lake
McClellan in Gray County, south of Pampa.
It seems a cowboy named Homer Mills lived in a rock dugout just above where the
lake is now located. Once, when Frank visited Homer, the old man told of a big
animal coming into his dugout each night, eating up his leftovers and fresh meat.
Being pitch dark, he couldn't see the animal, but since it didn't bother him in
his bunk, he was afraid of confrontation. When he made sure his door was latched,
the animal tore the latch off.
Later, a man from New Clarendon cutting
firewood near Homer's dugout shot and killed a Mexican cougar measuring more than
8 feet in length from nose to tip of tail. It was probably a good thing Homer
never saw the intruder in the lamplight. No telling what might have happened.
© Delbert Trew
"It's All
Trew" December
22, 2009 Column
E-mail: trewblue@centramedia.net.
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