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    NEW
  • The Common Sparrow by David Knape 5-10-13
  • Aransas Abattoir by Mike Cox 5-1-13
  • Mud Daubers by David Knape 4-19-13
  • Firefly Nights by David Knape 2-13-13
  • When Camels Came to Texas by Murray Montgomery 2-7-13
  • Coastal Birds of Texas by Ken Rudine 1-7-13
  • Catching Weeds by David Knape 1-3-13
  • Wichita Falls Falls for Flim Flam Brit by Mike Cox 1-2-13
  • The Tail Of The Dog by David Knape 12-23-12
  • Railroad in the Red, and Brazilian Bats by Mike Cox 11-29-12
  • The Box of Four Kittens by Bill Cherry 11-12-12
  • The Night the Ghost Hounds Came by C. F. Eckhardt 10-8-12
  • Cows by David Knape 9-20-12
  • A Snakebitten Legacy by Clay Coppedge 9-17-12
  • Jumble by Bob Bowman 9-9-12
  • A boy, A dog by David Knape 9-9-12
  • Oh Possum by David Knape 8-6-12
  • "Ten-Gallon Hats / Pint-Sized Brains" Otis P. Driftwood recalls Nacogdoches by Mike Cox 7-4-12
  • Small Perfection by Dianne West Short 7-9-12
  • Buffalo, bull fight a dud by Delbert Trew 6-13-12
  • Hunting (and Fishing) for the Truth by Mike Cox 5-24-12
  • Dog Drinks Water - Saves Town by Mike Cox 4-19-12
  • The Heron's Nest by Ken Rudine 4-17-12
  • Blackie the Bear by Mike Cox 3-28-12
  • The Story of Franny Kay’s Bout with Lew’s Piano by Bill Cherry 2-19-12
  • Animals in Texas

    What's not to like about animals? They don't borrow money - they don't ask for a ride to the airport and they'll never ask you to help them move.

    On the flip side: they don't help out with chores, they run around naked all the time and they couldn't care less about world peace - as long as their immediate territory is under control - preferably theirs.

    Animals bring out the best in humans - even Texans. So we're including this feature where we can read stories of how animals improve our lives, lower our blood pressure and attempt to pay us back (in their own simple and mysterious ways) for those midnight runs for pet food. - Editor
    Donkey and sheep
    General

  • Are There Cows in Texas?
    Photos by John Stankewitz
  • Cows / Cattle / Longhorns / Oxen
    • The Texas Longhorn: Shaped By Nature by Clay Coppedge
    • Aransas Abattoir by Mike Cox 5-1-13
      Rockport used to be a coastal cow town, a place where hooves and horns drove the local economy, not fishing and tourism...
    • Cows by David Knape 9-20-12
    • Blackie the Bear by Mike Cox
      Nickels were hard to come by in the tough economic times of the early 1890s, but the cowboys patronizing Jim Scarborough’s saloon in Claude never minded standing Blackie a drink when they could afford to.
    • Longhorn: Texas' first industry by Delbert Trew
      The book "The Long Trail" by Gardner Sowle, published in 1976 by McGraw-Hill, tells the real story of early cowboys, longhorns and the first industry developed in Texas. This was the chore of capturing, branding, taming, raising and driving longhorns to market...
    • Animals adjust to barbed wire by Delbert Trew
      Because of the nature of the subject, a significant chapter of Old West history - bloody livestock injuries - is often ignored or forgotten. However, it did happen, and here is the story.
    • Selling the Calves by Robert G. Cowser
      In the late 1940s cattle auctions were common in the towns of Northeast Texas. Each town picked a different day of the week so as not to compete with nearby towns...
    • Midwife to Livestock, Heavy Labor Defined by Nolan Maxie
      You can bet calving time is always in the spring and many births will happen in the worst thunderstorm you have ever seen. Midwife to a cow in heavy labor is one of the biggest things you’ll ever do for your herd...
    • Cow feed, from slab to sack by Delbert Trew
      Like all progress, the evolution of ranch livestock feeding has changed greatly, and for the better.
    • Winter scene paves way to ranch memories by Delbert Trew
    • Coyote Lake - Watering spot for cattle
    • Early Cattlemen saved Texas from financial ruin by Murray Montgomery
      After the Civil War, Texas and the rest of the South were in a bad economic situation. The war had drained the resources of the defeated states and when the soldiers returned home, they found it extremely hard to make a living. But Texas had an untapped resource roaming wild on the open range – longhorn cattle provided an industry that grew to become the largest in the state.
    • Texas Fever by C. F. Eckhardt
      South Texas cattle didn’t die of the disease. They didn’t even show signs of it. Within weeks after south Texas herds passed northern herds sickened, began to pass red urine, and then—in 95 cases out of 100—died. It was called Redwater Fever from the red urine, or simply Texas Fever. Nobody knew what caused it...
    • “Hippies” Include Cows by N. Ray Maxie
      The Bovine...is a cow called “Hippie”. This is usually a domestic animal often times someone’s own private milk cow. She has been “hipped”. (Yes, a hipped cow.) Hipped by a slowly closing pasture gate or maybe a stall gate. It most often shows only on one side of the cow, the hipbone on the affected side...
    • Old Pecos by Mike Cox
      She didn’t have a particularly feminine sounding name, but the old heifer they called Pecos sure came branded with a good story.
    • The Legend Of Bone Hill by Bob Bowman
      Bone Hill, a landmark standing about four miles northeast of Center, reportedly got its name from a herd of cattle who died atop the mill, leaving their bones to whiten in the East Texas sun. But, as with all legends, there’s more to the story...
    • Longhorn Branded Murder 1889 by Murray Montgomery
      To the cowboys who rode the range in West Texas during the [1890s] there was one longhorn steer that was always an object of dread... His appearance among their herds brought a chill of terror to the superstitious...
    • Bull in the Brush by Mike Cox
      If you’re tired and ready to hit the beach at South Padre, the 120-mile drive from Corpus Christi can seem like it’s going to take forever. But imagine walking that distance. And in a time before convenience stores, Dairy Queens or any other places to get water or something to eat. That is what it was like in the late winter of 1846 when Gen. Zachary Taylor started his Army on its march from Corpus Christi to Point Isabel (now Port Isabel) and the nearby Rio Grande...
    • Suddenly Silly by Mike Cox
      Fuss over a Cow at Snow Hill...
    • ‘Mysterious Cattle Deaths’ Not So Mysterious by C. F. Eckhardt
      In the news over the past several years there has been a rash of ‘mysterious’ deaths of livestock, most notably cattle. Apparently the animals have been sucked dry of blood, as a general rule the genitals have been cut out, apparently surgically, the eyes are usually gone, often the tongue is gone, and the rectum has been removed. These have been blamed on everything from UFOs to Satanic cults. Apparently, they are the result of neither.
    • Disappearing Cows by Mike Cox
      "...But at night, especially when the moon bathed the landscape in a light far cooler than day, the energy level rose. Not only did the animals move, many believed that unrested souls flitted about. Strange things were said to happen..."
    • Kaiser Cows - Bovine Saboteurs of WWI by Mike Cox
    • "Don't Shoot the Bull" by N. Ray Maxie
      This is a post WWII story when I was about eight or nine years old and written here to the best of my memory...
    • The "Killer" Cows by George Lester
    • "A Field Guide to Cows" by John Pukie. A book review
      Fifty-two breeds are featured with their identifying characteristics, vital statistics and even cow demographics. Humor is abundant...
    • A Cow Tale by Tonya Roberts
      Me and an old boy went down to Brady several years ago, to a cow sale. When we walked in, we were offered a mixed drink, free. Well, we ain't never been to an auction before where they served alcohol and thought that was a good idea....
    • Belle the Cow AKA Doris of LaGrange
      Belle, sometime spokescow for Bluebell Creameries ...
    • Life on the Trail by Murray Montgomery
      The cowboy legacy is very much alive in Texas ...
    • Oxen 'Spares' needed pairs by Delbert Trew
      Many historical journals kept by travelers using wagon trains pulled by oxen describe the herds of extra oxen driven along for "spares."
    • Old-timers' tales - true or not by Delbert Trew
      Story of a sucking calf weighing about 300 pounds...
    • A Conversation With The Family... (of Longhorns)
    • Longhorns in Ganado
    • Oxen in Blessing
    • Texas Angus - Cartoon by Roger T. Moore
    • Longhorn - Cartoon by Roger T. Moore 5-30-12
    Related Topic: Ranches & Ranching >

    Horses

    • Wichita Falls Falls for Flim Flam Brit by Mike Cox 1-2-13
      Before the wild oil boom that came with the discovery of a rich field, Wichita Falls was just a cattle town of around 5,000 folks...
    • Old Whip by C. F. Eckhardt 12-1-11
      "Then came April, 1836. Santa Anna and his army showed up on Vince’s doorstep. The family promptly fled, leaving their stock behind—including Old Whip. Santa Anna immediately appropriated the stallion for his own use..."
    • Max Hirsch, Healer and Winner Clay Coppedge
      Max Hirsch, and Assault, the only Triple Crown winner from Texas.
    • Buffalo horses and outlaw cattle by Delbert Trew
      When old-time ranchers and cowboys gather, they talk for hours recalling every horse they rode and telling the reasons for his worth...
    • Camp Elizabeth
      The camp was described as a rock corral for horses, officers quarters and tents for the enlisted men. A farrier had space to work and between the camp and the river, the land was used to break horses and / or teach horsemanship...
    • Buck's Horse by Mike Cox
      Frontiersmen James Buckner “Buck” Barry and his horse...
    • Horse hobbles were a vital tool by Delbert Trew
      Of all the cowboy gear used down through history, horse hobbles are among the most important. These restraints around the front legs of your mount allowed him to graze in a limited fashion yet kept him from traveling very far or very fast...
    • The Horse Marines by Clay Coppedge
      Considering how much Texas history has occurred on horseback it isn’t surprising to learn that one of the Republic’s greatest naval victories was achieved by 20 or so armed and mounted rangers known to history as the Texas Horse Marines...
    • Horses enabled Comanches to rule Texas by Delbert Trew
      Comanche culture was built around the use of horses for all reasons. Many stories and theories have been written about how the Indians acquired horses.
    • The Murder Maverick by C. F. Eckhardt
      If you’ve ridden many miles on the sunset side of the Colorado and listened to people talk in bars and cafes, you’ve heard a good many tales. Once you get west of the Pecos, there’s one in particular you’ll hear. You’ll hear the tale of a phantom steer called ‘the Murder Maverick.’...
    • The Seabiscuit Stamp: How It Came To Be by Maggie Van Ostrand
      On May 11th, a 44-cent rate-change stamp featuring the great thoroughbred racehorse, Seabiscuit, will be issued by the U.S. Postal Service. This stamp is significant for one huge reason: We the people did it! It took us eight long years...
    • Hair-raising stories from pioneer days by Delbert Trew
      If you had lived before, during and immediately after the Civil War and had been seriously wounded, your life might have depended on the hair from a horse's tail. How could this be? Well listen up to some "hair" stories.
    • Yalgo, the legendary horse by Clay Coppedge
      "Even when involved with outlawry and banditry, the horse is always blameless… In that blameless way of horses, Yalgo is linked to King Fisher's first foray into a life of crime."
    • Last Cavalry Horse by Mike Cox
      "That cold winter morning, Dec.14, 1932, was a sad one for old-time horse soldiers and civilians alike at Fort D.A. Russell in Marfa -- they both realized they were witnessing the end of an era."
    • Bold CSA Vet Thomas Evans Riddle, & Man o’ War by Mike Cox
      "Thomas Evans Riddle bet on a dead racehorse. He lost.
      The horse was Man o’ War..."
    • Racing Parson by Mike Cox
      How a preacher held a horse race and build a church
    • Find Two Willies and a Max In Hall of Fame, At Tracks by Bill Bradfield
      Texas ranches and stables have been closely linked with the sport of horse racing for generations. Just consider the string of great racehorses developed by the King Ranch alone... For another kind of horseracing royalty, however, turn to two men nicknamed Willie, and another man better known as Max at the tracks.
    • Two Braids by Mike Cox
      More Texans owned horses than automobiles in 1910, but when the middle-aged man rode into Eagle Pass that summer, people noticed.
    • That Old Steer by Archie P. McDonald, PhD
    • Meant for Each Other by Maggie Van Ostrand
      Certain living things are meant for each other, whether it be a caballo and a canine, or a lady and a lake.
    • Primadonna's Birthday
      Miniature horses and Monastery of Saint Claire
    • First Horses by Delbert Trew
    • The Million Dollar Nag by Nolan Maxie 5-1-11
      The Ark-La-Tex has many things of great worth. This story of a valuable horse caught my eye several years back...
    • Ottie the Horse 10-7-12
    • Assault, Texas' only Triple Crown Winner Cartoon by Roger T. Moore
    • Mustang Sculpture - Texas Memorial Museum, Austin (photo only)
    • Horse in Courtney (photo only)
    • Horses in Eckert (photo only)
    • Horse in Monaville (photo only)
    • Thalia (photo only)
    • Woman with horse, 1919 (photo only)
    • Horse by the schoolhouse in Sharp (photo only) 5-14-13

    Buffalo
    • Separating buffalo fact from fiction by Delbert Trew
      This period, from 1868 to about 1878, is filled with historical events including fights against the Plains Indians, the demise of buffalo herds and, lesser known, the demise of a wolf species, the Great Plains lobo...
    • Buffalo, bull fight a dud by Delbert Trew 6-13-12
      A contest held in 1907 between a Mexican fighting bull and a buffalo bull at a bullfighting arena in Juarez, Mexico.
    • Bone Haulers Clay Coppedge 10-3-11
      When bones were worth a lot of money on the open market, people made a lot of money selling bones on the open market. The bone business thrived from the 1870s, in the wake of the great buffalo slaughter, until the mid-1930s...
    • Buffalo horses and outlaw cattle by Delbert Trew
      When old-time ranchers and cowboys gather, they talk for hours recalling every horse they rode and telling the reasons for his worth...
    • White Buffalo by Mike Cox
      The rifle roared, a .50 caliber hunk of lead smacked into the side of the buffalo and the huge animal tumbled to the ground. That happened all across the plains of Texas during the 1870s, but this was no ordinary bison – it was all white, one of only seven known to have been killed on the North American continent...
    • Mary Ann Goodnight and the Texas State Bison Herd by Linda Kirkpatrick
      Their story began many, many years ago and when you know it your heart will fill with the same pride that you get at you watch Old Glory waving in the breeze.
    • Buffalo slaughter had benefits by Delbert Trew
      Animals' remains provided needed items for early settlers
    • Buffalo Man by Mike Cox
      Hollywood has seldom – if ever – portrayed buffalo hunters as civilized, erudite men. Screenwriters and producers of Westerns usually have their buffalo hunters play the role as coarse, scruffy men ready to drink or kill anything. But as the story of one time buffalo hunter John Cloud Jacobs demonstrates, reality is not always that simple. ...
    • Last Buffalo by Mike Cox
      In the 1500s, when Spanish explorers first came to the Southwest, buffalo ranged over almost all of Texas. In 1850, the shaggy beasts still could be found in roughly half the state. Twenty years later, their range had decreased to the high plains even though hundreds of thousands of them still thundered across the landscape. Only a decade after that, in 1880, the buffalo remaining in Texas could fit into a very small circle on the map in the Panhandle.... more
    • Rawhides: Business in Wild and Woolly Tee Pee City by Mike Cox 4-14-11
      A buffalo wasn’t the only critter that could get skinned on the High Plains if he wasn’t careful.
    • Buffalo Herds by Delbert Trew
    • Cartoon by Roger T. Moore

    Coyotes & Foxes
    • Fox in the Pickup Bed by C. F. Eckhardt
      When the Burnham brothers of Marble Falls first created the varmint call, back in the '50s, the devices were nowhere near as sophisticated as they are today...
    • Coyotes’ Story by Stephen Osmon
      Coyotes’ Story of the Great Spirit, from "TUMBLEWEEDS' TALES: Ghost Towns and Town Ghosts"

    Camels
    • History's Most Successful Failure - US Army's Camel Corps by C. F. Eckhardt
    • Camels by Mike Cox
      Funny how someone can get saddled with something another person ought to get the credit – or blame – for. Take Jefferson Davis...
    • When Camels Came to Texas by Murray Montgomery 2-7-13
      Some Texans may not be know that once upon a time the Lone Star State was home to not only longhorns and buffalo, but another ornery and smelly beast — the North African camel.

    Zip the dog
  • The Short Yet Semi-Happy Life of Zip the Dog by Mel Brown
    Ever since seeing an old movie long ago titled “The Biscuit Eater” I have been enamored of coon dogs. Something about their especially soulful faces and incredible voices has always touched me deeply...
  • Dogs & Wolves
    • The Tail Of The Dog by David Knape 12-23-12
    • The Night the Ghost Hounds Came by C. F. Eckhardt 10-8-12
      "When I got outside the hounds had the house surrounded. I could hear them baying in chase all around me. I could see nothing. There was no movement in the grass, no shadows among the trees. The brilliant moon showed a tranquil landscape—but all around me were the sounds of hounds in chase..."
    • A boy, A dog by David Knape 9-9-12
    • Small Perfection by Dianne West Short 7-9-12
      A large, old black dog showed up on my sister Joanne’s doorstep, thirsty and hot...
    • Dog Drinks Water - Saves Town by Mike Cox 4-19-12
      Just about everyone has heard the expression “sick as a dog,” and most people have occasionally felt that way, but folks in the town of Hubbard once credited their economic heyday to a sick pooch.
    • The Pithy Tale of Owney, the Post Office Pup by Maggie Van Ostrand 8-20-11
      Owney was a muttly terrier who rose from the ranks of the homeless to celebrity status with his image on the newly issued U.S. Forever postage stamp. His life was that of a courageous 19th-Century pioneer pup, fighting the odds, if not the Indians...
    • East Texas Traditions by Bob Bowman 3-27-11
      One of the hottest controveries that ever erupted in East Texas occurred in the sixties when several cities decided that dogs ought to be stopped from running loose on the streets...
    • What a difference a week makes by Peary Perry
      Last week I wrote a column about Buddy, my pound pooch who was in the hospital and not expected to live...
    • Go Gently Into The Long Night by Peary Perry
      When I walked into the dog pound in San Antonio ten years ago and saw that little gray dog that looked just like Tramp in the movie ... “Lady and the Tramp” I should have kept on going...
    • A whale of a tale? No - try wolves by Delbert Trew
      The annihilation of the buffalo brought about many sad consequences..., another species of the prairie, the Lobo wolf, was also annihilated...
    • On Dogs by Peary Perry
      By the time you get to be my age, you would think I would know better than to do the following: ... buy someone a dog...
    • "Dog days of summer"
    • Jim Reeves and Cheyenne by Bob Bowman
    • Cejas and the Great Escape by Maggie Van Ostrand
      His story is much like anybody else's, filled with both sad and joyous times, and a lot of luck — he didn't get out of Tijuana by himself. He had the help of many, including angels, perhaps Santo Toribio Romo Gonz·lez, Mexico's ghostly benefactor of "illegal aliens," and a quick-witted grandmother.
    • With A Pit Bull On My Knee by Clay Coppedge
      My first dog was named Cisco in honor of a popular television hero of the day, the Cisco Kid. The Cisco Kid and his trusty sidekick Pancho rode the frontier fighting evil and injustice. In his own way, Cisco did the same thing...
    • Unsung heros at the Battle of Adobe Walls by Delbert Trew
    • Roby's Voting Dog Cartoon by Roger T. Moore
    • Hot Rabbit Sets the Woods on Fire by N. Ray Maxie
      Ark-La-Tex area sportsmen often enjoy hunting wild brush rabbits. Some even make a specialty of it. Often folk are so ‘into it’ they get themselves a couple of Beagle hounds...
    • Have Ashes, Will Travel by Maggie Van Ostrand
      Markus, my beloved canine companion who had been with me for over 14 adventure filled years, had passed away...
    • Bull Dogs and Strays by N. Ray Maxie
      I recall one warm summer afternoon very near the end of WW-II; my family and I were visiting with the Stewert family...
    • Coalie and the Speeding School Teacher by N. Ray Maxie
      My Dad always kept pets for us and for a few short years, I had a big black dog named "Coalie"...
    • Encountering an East Texas Mad Dog by N. Ray Maxie
      "Get in the house, quick", dad shouted loudly as he drove up in the yard and jumped out of his old 1939 Chevrolet pickup...
    • True to Breed by Elizabeth Bussey Sowdal
      "On Wednesdays when I am driving home from work I like to listen to a program on the radio (KROU) called "Calling All Pets." It is hosted by Trisha McConnell who is a zoologist and animal behavior specialist. People call her from all over the country for advice on training their animals."
    • "Shadow's In the Moonlight" by N. Ray Maxie
      "Living in a city with strictly enforced animal control laws is really hard on some of our "best friends", our pets...
    • My Night at Bessy and Bud's House by N. Ray Maxie
      An East Texas Tale of Puppies and Mosquitoes
    • Sadie’s Christmas Angel by Kathleene S. Baker
      Sadie of Corpus Christi, sometimes it takes a dog to bring out the best in humans.
    • Jesus by Mike Cox
      When old “Hay-sus” died that winter afternoon, just about everyone in Eagle Pass mourned.
    • Greenies by Peary Perry
      My source is late; he’s never been late before. ... I can’t leave without the package. My dog will never forgive me if I come home empty handed....
    • Ninotchka by Maggie Van Ostrand
      She was a blue-eyed creature of enormous beauty, so beautiful that she was named after a Greta Garbo film heroine. You'd be proud to take her anywhere, as she was always perfectly attired. She was a magnificent Siberian Husky.
    • Dogs figure in life's fondest memories by Delbert Trew
    • Meant for Each Other by Maggie Van Ostrand
      Certain living things are meant for each other, whether it be a caballo and a canine, or a lady and a lake.
    • Tuffy the East Texas Chow by John Troesser
      The "Junk Yard Dog" as Teddy-Bear
    • Dogs in Church by Murray Montgomery
      Vintage Wit from Gonzales County
    • Rusty, The Panhandle Chihuahua
    • Sugar, The Friendliest Dog on the Red River
    • "Please Don't Kill Brownie." Excerpted from The Kountze News
      Like they say in East Texas, this might just make your eyes sour up a little.
    • Roby's Voting Dog "Moore Texas Cartoon"
    Smithville's Dexter
  • Smithville's Dexter - From Underdog to Best of (Picture) Show by Ted R. Krueger 3-12-11
    "Adena Lewis called asking us to bring our dogs to a casting call for the movie "The Tree of Life" that was soon to be filmed in Smithville. The director, Terrence Malick, wanted the "hero dog" (to be called "Shep" in the movie) to be an untrained dog..."

  • kittens
  • The Box of Four Kittens by Bill Cherry 11-12-12
    “If you become a teacher, by your pupils you will be taught.”
  • Cats, Panthers and Lions
    Two cities
  • Tails of Two Cities by Brewster Hudspeth
    or The Great Columbus, Colorado County / Canada Cat Compromises

  • Mules
    • In Praise of the Unappreciated Mule by Clay Coppedge
      Let’s talk about mules. Horses are quick to grab Texas history’s glamour and glory, leaving little attention for their homelier, obstinate cousin. Can you imagine the Lone Ranger charging to the rescue on a mule? While acknowledging the mule’s notable lack of charisma, old-timers are quick to point out that the horse/ donkey half-breed is a forgotten hero...
    • The truth behind 20-Mule Teams by Delbert Trew
      Many men have claimed they were the first to create and drive the famous 20-Mule Teams hauling Borax from Death Valley. It was 1882 before the truth was known and proved. Here is the story of that origin...
    • There's more to Borax than one might think by Delbert Trew
      One of my favorite history tidbits is the story of borax and the 20-mule teams used to pull the huge wagons through Death Valley...
    • Americans moved West on the backs of mules by Delbert Trew
      Although there were many treasures in early America such as gold and silver, for a period of years from 1823 to 1850, another treasure generated huge profits for those involved. The treasure? Mules! Hard-headed, stubborn, unpredictable, ornery and ugly, the critters were sorely needed to pull the plows and wagons of the settlers and carry supplies to the miners and armies...
    • "Ten-Gallon Hats / Pint-Sized Brains" by Mike Cox 7-4-12
      A runaway mule in Nacogdoches helped change American entertainment history.
    • Mule by Delbert Trew
    • Dixie from Burke by N. Ray Maxie
      Are you looking to buy a mule? Angelina County Texas is the place to go. There seems to be a good population of mules there and historically, often found at reasonable prices, too...
    • Mules (From Book Snippets by Mike Cox)
    • "I Ain't Lying Officer" by N. Ray Maxie
      A long time friend of mine and once a mainline East Texas Baptist preacher, now retired to the picturesque Texas Hill Country, recently told me this little story...
    • Is Your Mule for Sale? by N. Ray Maxie
    • "Mules" by N. Ray Maxie
      Snaking Logs in East Texas
    • A Gonzales County Rite of Passage by Dawson Minear
      Taming the mules
    • Piddlin' Acres by N. Ray Maxie
    • First Mules by Delbert Trew
    Donkeys

    Armadillo
    Armadillo
  • Armadillos by C. F. Eckhardt
    This is gonna come as a surprise to a lot of folks, but armadillos are not native to Texas. In fact, the very first armadillo ever identified in the Lone Star State apparently crossed the Rio Grande near Brownsville in 1859...

  • Bear, Boars and Pigs
    • Blackie the Bear by Mike Cox 3-28-12
      Nickels were hard to come by in the tough economic times of the early 1890s, but the cowboys patronizing Jim Scarborough’s saloon in Claude never minded standing Blackie a drink when they could afford to...
    • As sure as fences break, we'll still need barbed wire by Delbert Trew 12-21-11
      Almost as destructive as prairie fires are the damages perpetrated by wild hogs...
    • Pig War by Clay Coppedge 1-1-11
      As a Republic, Texas was hard to get along with. The Mexican government already knew this, of course, but the French would find it out soon enough when they sent Alphonse Dubois de Saligny to Austin in 1840 to help determine if France should recognize the young upstart Republic. He wasn’t a Count but he called himself one so we will too. Ironically, in light of his general snootiness, Saligny – or rather The Count – is known to history as a prime participant in what came to be called the Pig War.
    • Black Bears Return to East Texas by Dana Goolsby
    • Hog Drives of Frio Canyon Texas by Linda-Kirkpatrick
    • Hog Stories by Mike Cox
      Say “hog” in Texas today and most people think you’re talking about wild pigs. But feral hogs are descended from domestic swine. And thereby hang several tales...
    • Hog Killing Time by Mike Cox
      "You don’t have to delve too deeply into almost any written recollection of a Texan who lived in the days before refrigeration became the norm to find accounts of hog-killing."
    • Grin and Bear It by Milton Babb
      "There's nothing worse than a drunken bear in a department store..."
    • The Big Thicket Bear Hunters Club of Kountze by W. T. Block Jr.
      "The old bear hunters of Hardin County had two things in common - they hunted bears until their youth gave way to old age, and they became windy raconteurs, talking each other to death about the big bear that got away... And now the Big Thicket bear hunters are as extinct as the Big Thicket bears they once hunted."
    • Razorback Hogs by Bob Bowman
    • Boys will be boys - and also troublemakers by Delbert Trew
      A gentle sow
    • Beaumont, the Wild Boar of Doan's Crossing
    • Ralph, the Swimming Pig
    • Bear Attack in Sabine County
    • Dickens Texas, unofficial wild boar capital of Texas

    Elephants
    • Jumble by Bob Bowman 9-9-12
      The forgotten towns of East Texas got their names from a varrity of ways--from people, places, events...even geological landmarks. But Jumbo, in Panola County, is the only town to be named for an elephant.
    • The Day the Elephant died in Flatonia
      Told to the Editor by Flatonia Historian George Koudelka
      "Sometime way back when the 20th Century was spanking new, a circus stopped in Flatonia..."
    • Elephant by Mike Cox
      A wild cowboy tale.
    • Elephant by Mike Cox
      "Someday, perhaps, a work crew laying cable or pipe will unearth a large set of bones near a busy Wichita Falls intersection..."
    • Elephant Stampede by Murray Montgomery
      In Gonzales, Texas
    • "Little Butch" Comes to Gonzales by Murray Montgomery
      The adventures of “Butch,” the smallest elephant ever seen in the United States

    Goats, Lambs and Sheep
    • Sheep often taken for granted by Delbert Trew
      A man who once owned a lot of sheep and goats for many years said he still had not figured out why the Good Lord created such exasperating creatures...
    • George Kendall by Clay Coppedge
      The man for whom Kendall County is named is credited with being America’s first war correspondent and the father of the sheep business in Texas....
    • Oil Field Humor by Fred B. McKinley
      Who says that oil, wool—and sheep manure don’t mix?
    • Running of the Sheep by Audrey A. Herbrich
      On the last Saturday in September, San Angeloans showcase their idea of “fun” by releasing a herd of sheep in the downtown streets.
    • My Mean Old Grandfather by Louise George
      "I could hear them talking about shearing the sheep and then dipping them before they shipped them...."
    • Amos, the Goat Protector from Dripping Springs
    • The Weimar Goatherd by Norman Conquest
      Goats, charming as they are, weren't given a huge cranial capacity. They don't know that blood weed is inedible. To their ample palettes and unample brains; they're eating snow peas or Belgian endive.
    • The Grandfalls Goat Parade
      Kids raising Kids. In this case we encourage it.
    • Goats in Myra Photo Only

    Coastal Birds
  • Coastal Birds of Texas by Ken Rudine 1-7-13
  • Coastal Birds of Texas -II by Ken Rudine
  • Coastal Birds of Texas -III by Ken Rudine 1-30-11
  • III
    Herons
  • The Heron's Nest by Ken Rudine 4-17-12
    The shuttle of birds back and forth overhead was immediately recognized as herons mating and building nests. We realized this was an ideal location to photograph this event.
  • Green Parrots by Ken Rudine 3-5-12
  • owl
  • Barred Owl by Bonnie Wroblewski
    Standing 16-25 inches tall and with wingspans of up to 4ft, these large, ear-tuft-less raptors are commonly known as the eight hooter or rain, hoot, striped, or wood owl...
  • Crane
  • Sandhill Crane by Bonnie Wroblewski
    Honored as symbols of marital fidelity and conjugal bliss throughout Southeast Asia,... gruids have a celebrated reputation for monogamy in folklore as well as in scientific investigations.
  • Birds

    Tip 9
  • World Turtle Day - Top ten ways Texans can help our turtles and tortoises: Tip 1 by Bonnie Wroblewsk
    A list of the top ten ways you can help our chelonian neighbors survive and thrive across the Lone Star state, one tip a day for the next ten days.
    Tip 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 6-20-11
  • Turtle
  • Ornate Box Turtle by Bonnie Wroblewski 5-12-11
    Determinedly plodding across grazed pastures, open woodlands, prairies, and sandy-soiled lowlands across Texas, ornate box turtles are so named for the distinctive yellowish lines radiating across the dark brownish to black background of their carapaces...
  • Fish and Turtles
    • Catching Weeds by David Knape 1-3-13
    • Hunting (and Fishing) for the Truth by Mike Cox 5-24-12
      Folks who like to fish and hunt aren’t always out on the water or at their deer lease. Sometimes they’re just sitting around camp telling jokes about hunting or fishing.
    • Steamship Concho 12-14-11
      A fish tale
    • Legalizing noodling by Bob Bowman 7-5-11
      Noodling, it seems, is catching catfish with your hands. And until this year, noodling was illegal in Texas.
    • The Chilled Catfish of Concho County by Mike Cox 3-24-11
      As Cline watched in horror, a watery cliff crashed into a wagon, sending it and its occupants tumbling downstream. That was shocking, but what Cline saw next was simply bizarre. No matter the tragedy that has just unfolded, men soon began gathering along the river and pulling big fish from the water...
    • Fishing in Port Aransas by Mike Cox 3-10-11
      Hard to believe, but Texans haven’t always fished just for fun. Along the coast, from the time of the fierce Karankawas until the latter days of the 19th century, fishing was about eating, not a recreational pursuit.
    • Yankee Sawfish by Mike Cox
      Now extremely rare, sawfish are curious marine creatures that use their unusual bladed snout to find food and then make it bite sized. But even stranger is how one Texas sawfish indirectly aided the Union Army during the Civil War.
    • Fishing Hogg by Mike Cox
      Back in the spring of 1891, only three months after being sworn in as Texas’ 20th governor, as soon as he could take a break from his executive duties Gov. James S. Hogg boarded the International and Great Northern train in Austin and headed for his native East Texas...
    • The do's, don'ts and wonders of having pet turtles by Delbert Trew 1-19-10
      My recent article about turtles brought numerous responses from avid turtle owners. I could not believe how many ladies had backyards full of turtles...
    • Fishing Soldier by Mike Cox
      When a wagon full of soldiers rolled out of old Fort Belknap early one spring morning in 1867 flanked by horseback troopers, while doubtless armed, they were not starting out on a scout for Indians...
    • Turtle hunt leaves us shellshocked by Delbert Trew 10-21-09
      The great turtle hunt.
      Among this year's experiences to date is a story about our developing a new fishing lake and the turtles contained therein, plus a couple of turtle stories...
    • Little One-Hearted Stock Tank by Clay Coppedge 8-12-08
      This is a glimpse of what 20th Century American literature might look like if Ernest Hemingway had grown up on the south plains of Texas instead of the Michigan woods.
    • The Unholy Catfish by Clay Coppedge 7-10-08
      During an otherwise somnolent Sunday sermon put forth many years ago when I was but a wee lad, the preacher jolted me and at least a few others from our respective reveries with this pronouncement: “The catfish is an unclean animal.” ...
    • Fly Fishing Is Not Always Pretty by Clay Coppedge 6-23-08
    • The 700-pound shark in Galveston Bay From Mike Cox's "Texas Tales"

    Snakes

    Toads
    • Red-spotted Toad by Bonnie Wroblewski, Dove Key Ranch Wildlife Rehabilitation 5-1-10
      At 1 1/2-3 inches long, these toads are named for the reddish spots that dart over their olive green to tan, squat bodies...
    Horned Toads
    • Ol' Rip, The Entombed Horned Toad of Eastland County
      The story of Ol' Rip, the horned toad entombed in the Eastland County Courthouse for 31 years.
    • Horned Toads by Mike Cox 6-23-11
      The friendly feud Everett Townsend had with Alpine Avalanche editor Nig Bennett over an unusual self-defence ability attributed to horny toads. Townsend maintained that these critters spat blood out of their eyes when cornered. Bennett asserted that they did not.
    • Horny Toad Hypnosis by Clay Coppedge
      "Regardless of what you call them - horned lizard, horny toad or horned frog - you probably don't see many of them these days. Once an almost ubiquitous part of the Texas landscape and psyche...:
    Lizards
    • Six-lined Racerunner by Bonnie Wroblewski
      These 6 – 10 1/2 inch long lizards advertise their age and sex through subtle coloration schemes...

    Dinosaurs

    Deer

  • Demise of Reptilian 'Big Tooth' drew crowds by W. T. Block
    Eastland, Texas may have had Ol' Rip, but Southeast Texas had 'Big Tooth.'
  • Alligators
    • Gator by Mike Cox
      By the time Robert L. Phillips settled in Hays County, a person would be hard-pressed to find an alligator anywhere in the area. Not that Phillips would have wanted one. After all, an alligator had nearly turned him into a murderer...
    • Alligators by Peary Perry
      "...I do know enough to stay out of the way of alligators, which is a lesson some folks might have missed. In case you might have forgotten here is the definition of an alligator:..."
    • Phantom Alligators by Clay Coppedge
      "It's easy to forget how thick with wildlife the prairie around here was when the first settlers arrived. Deer, wild turkeys, wolves, bear, buffalo, antelope, wild horses, ducks, geese and wild hogs were plentiful. So were alligators."
    • Dances with Alligators by George Lester

  • Early Morning Observations at Joe Pool Lake
    A (Micro) Photo Essay by John Stankewitz
  • Insects
    • Mud Daubers by David Knape 4-19-13
    • Firefly Nights by David Knape 2-13-13
    • Grasshoppers' attacks on region no sci-fi tale by Delbert Trew 5-10-11
      The one disaster that took all and left nothing behind was the grasshopper plague.
    • Tick trouble takes 30 years to terminate by Delbert Trew
      Texas Tick Fever, aka Spanish Fever, Texas Fever and Poisonous Halitosis was first noticed in 1814 in South Carolina. Little attention was paid to the disease until Texas trail drivers began driving herds of Longhorns from south Texas to Kansas railheads for marketing...
    • The Boll Weevil by Archie P. McDonald
      Tex Ritter sang this lament decades ago:
      “Oh, the boll weevil is a little black bug, come from Mexico they say, come all the way to Texas, just looking for a place to stay, just looking for a home, just looking for a home.” And the weevil, actually a beetle, found it, much to the chagrin of East Texas cotton growers.
    • Bugs provided hours of entertainment by Delbert Trew
    • Bug Huntin' by Elizabeth Bussey Sowdal
    • Mosquito Hawk (Photo only)
    • Centipede (Photo only)
    • Boll Weevil "Moore Texas Cartoon"
    • Mosquito Festival"Moore Texas Cartoon"

    Bats

    Skunks

    Gophers
    Porcupines
    • Porcupines a source of thorny problems by Delbert Trew
      Here in the supposedly treeless plains where most trees are planted and watered by hand in order to have shade or fruit, the many-needled porcupine is causing damage. The porcupine - Erethizon Dorsatum in Latin - is fast becoming a continual pest...
    Possums
    Prairie Dogs
    Squirrels

    Rabbits

    Raccoons
    • Uncle Lee's Got the 'coon and Gone On. Gone On! by N. Ray Maxie
      "A pack or family of 'coons could come in the field nightly and destroy a field of corn in two or three nights. And that is exactly what would happen if it were left unattended too long and not watched closely until harvest time..."

    Reindeer
    • The Reindeer of Texas by Clay Coppedge
      Not a lot of people remember this but there was a time when reindeer roamed wild in Texas and spread cheer and wonder all over the state, and several states beyond as well. Okay, so the reindeer weren’t wild. But they were here...
    • The Port Arthur/Lapland Connection by Christy Nilluka Broussard 4-15-11
      "Great Grandpa MIK Nilluka did not just herd reindeer; he made two incredible journeys with the reindeer."
    • The Truth About Rudolph by Maggie Van Ostrand

    Mythical Creatures
    • Chupacabra by Mike Cox
      Does a zoologically unknown, blood-sucking creature prowl the South Texas mesquite?

    Pictures of Texas Animals
    1941 Calf Show in front of Madison County courthouse,  Madisonville Texas
    1941 Calf Show in front of the Madison County courthouse
    Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/
    Cameo Appearances
  • Goats in Myra
  • Cow in Wildflowers in Grassyville
  • Bull and Cow in ghost town Oso
  • Cows & Longhorn in Farmersville
  • Dog in Cuero
  • Penitas
  • Mare & Offspring in Dacus
  • Rattlesnake in Sweetwater
  • White Tail Deer
  • Deer in Center Point
  • Geese in Center Point
  • Armadillo hole
  • Cows Grazing
  • Green Parrots
  • Brahma Cows
  • Calf in Pollock
  • Bull in High Hill
  • Dog in Kinney
  • Horse in Waelder
  • Mule Deer in Flomot
  • Sheep and sheep dog near Flomot
  • Common egret in Flomot
  • Sandhill cranes in South Plains
  • Migrating Geese
  • The Kyle Creamery Cat
  • Bandit of Burkburnett
  • Longhorns in Camp Springs
  • Residents of Hilda
  • Miniature mule in Marquez
  • Cows in Monkstown
  • Mules in Jeddo
  • Riding in McDade
  • Citizens of Morris Ranch
  • Pastoral Scene near Wheelock
  • Cattle in Collegeport
  • A Resident in Cross
  • A Roadrunner in Pecos
  • Schwertner - A Feline Residence
  • A Snake over the doorway
  • Possums in Bandera, old post card
  • Hog Waddle, Cabbage Day, San Benito, Texas
  • Wasp nest in La Grange
  • Pelicans in Rockport
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