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TEXAS
RANCHES & RANCHINGNEW
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Sample Topics: Branding,
Rawhide, XIT Ranch, Charles Goodnight, Smoking go along with cowboy life, Barbed
wire telephones, Screen door was faithful fixture, Bugs provided hours of entertainment,
Quilting was hub of family, social life... more
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Texas
Ranches, Ranchers, Ranching, Cowboys, Cattle & Cattle Drives: |
| | Windmills
by Clay Coppedge
"This may be a bitter pill for some Texans to swallow,
but the windmill was not invented in Texas. Neither was the Colt revolver. Ditto
barbed wire..." |
XIT
Ranch - Gone but not Forgotten 2-16-13The
Old Cowboy by David Knape 8-22-12Where
Cowboys Come From by Fred
O. Simon 8-22-12The
Big Boom of 1882
by Clay Coppedge 3-8-12
The cycles of boom
and bust, whether in the cattle industry or world economics, are always accompanied
by people who said they saw it coming all along and who, after the inevitable
crash are busy explaining why it happened and who is to blame. It’s that way now,
and it was that way in 1882 when the beef market boomed as it had never boomed
before...Gunny
sacks save the day
by Delbert Trew 2-21-12
For a long period of time in
the old days, almost everything ordered from suppliers and hauled on freight wagons
either came packed in a wooden crate, a wooden nail keg, a wooden barrel or a
gunny sack. Once the items reached the frontier, the crate, keg, barrel or sack
became a commodity just like the items packed inside.Cowmen
use stock pen logic by Delbert Trew 11-22-11
Most
old cowmen and cowboys have worked in hundreds of corrals during their lifetimes.
Some pens were built with new welded pipe, galvanized panels and were painted.
Others were... The
Pitchfork Kid by
Mike Cox 11-17-11
A
cowboy’s cowboy, the Kid sat a horse well and had the reputation of being the
best roper in the Panhandle.
Top
dollar paid for Texas cattle in 1870s by Murray Montgomery 11-9-11
A
newspaper becomes an eyewitness to history as it documents the story of those
cattle drives and markets in 1874.Red
River Station 7-26-11Animals
adjust to barbed wire by Delbert Trew 7-5-11
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.Lizzie
Crosson had true grit
by Mike Cox 6-30-11
Ranching
in West Texas
The
Wonderful Boy by Mike Cox 6-9-11
His
father a respected Uvalde County rancher, the quiet, good-looking Guy O. Fenley
seemed like a typical teenager except for one thing – he could see underground
water. Old
Trail Drivers by Mike Cox 2-24-11
No matter the old
cowpoke’s backstory, in his dotage he could round up words on paper just about
as well as he once rode down and roped strays.Old
West boots, vests have well-ridden history by Delbert Trew
2-2-11
Among the myriad of changes occurring in the Old West let us
examine the common boot.Bose
Ikard by Clay Coppedge 2-1-11
One
reason the relatively brief cattle drive era, which lasted from the end of the
Civil War to the early 1880s, had such an impact on history was because the cattle
drives allowed men to rise above the circumstances of their upbringing and education
to make a little money and earn a measure of respect. As good an example of that
as anybody is Bose Ikard, who was born into slavery and became rancher Charley
Goodnight’s most trusted and respected cowhand.... Longhorn:
Texas' first industry by Delbert Trew 1-17-11
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. Legends and myths, plus the exaggerations of many publications
are omitted boiling fact down to common sense explanations... Brands
Have Rich History by Delbert Trew 1-11-11
Currently,
there are 32,609 registered brands in Colorado... Retaining a registered brand
in Colorado is not cheap, costing $225 for a five-year period... Fire,
bricks and early chimneys by Delbert Trew
Few
of the tools needed by man equaled that of fire. He needed it to cook, heat, make
light and to use for making other tools, like in blacksmithing...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...
'The
times, they are a'changing' by Delbert Trew
As
we modernized our farming equipment and methods after the Great Depression and
Dust Bowl ended, it seems we were making big changes almost every week. The same
holds true today... Digging
post holes by hand was hard work by Delbert Trew
Among
the hundreds of jobs associated with farming and ranching, digging postholes by
hand is by far my least favorite... Of interest is the fact the Devil's Rope Museum
in McLean has approximately 60 patented post hole diggers on display all showing
different designs and mechanisms to make the job easier...Branding
is an old tradition by Delbert Trew
Of all things "truly western," probably
the brand, applied with a hot iron to the hide, is one of the most authentic.
I will not argue with those who say it is barbaric, painful or cruel...Alice
- McGill Brothers BuildingXIT
General Office
Texas Historic Landmark
Two
men part of Texas lore - but for different reasons by Delbert Trew
Known
as "the Jinglebob King of the Pecos," John Chisum cast a long shadow in the early
history of cattle ranching... Almost as well known but standing alone at the opposite
end of the spectrum was Edward Z.C. Judson, alias Ned Buntline... 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...Photos
serve as reminder of boundaries' importance by Delbert Trew
In
our modern times when eminent domain and development arrogance often dominate
the evening news, we received the story and photos of John Prather, a rancher
who lived in Otero County, N.M. Prather garnered national attention in the 1950s
by taking a heroic stand against the U.S. government's attempt to condemn his
ranch in order to add it to the nearby McGregor Missile Range, a part of Fort
Bliss...
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. Bovina
- AKA Bull Town
Early
in the 20th century, this was one of largest cattle shipping points in the United
States. Barnhart
by Mike Cox
Dust, bawling cattle, hell-raising cowboys and trains a half-mile
long – that was Barnhart in the 1920s and ‘30s... 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... Spanish
Cattle by Mike Cox
"All those longhorns that
revitalized Texas’ post-Civil War economy had to come from somewhere. And where
the breed came from was the interior of Mexico. Via trail drive."Range
Wisdom by Mike Cox
Cattle roundup in the free range days, and the dispute
over branded steers.Before
miracle materials, rawhide ruled by Delbert TrewIt
was burdensome training the beasts by Delbert Trew
For every mule, horse,
oxen, steer or jackass used as a work animal down through history - and there
were probably millions - someone had to train or break the animal to work...Silver
- A Pioneer ranching center in Coke CountyWainwright's
Buck by Mike Cox
Anyone who knows anything about the history of World War
Two has heard of Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright. Far less known, however, is the
story of the last skirmish in which he was ranking officer, a brief engagement
that occurred on a West Texas ranch in the late 1940s... For
your vocabulary pleasure - Words can have odd origins by Delbert Trew
Historians
continually write of nesters, settlers, settlements and free-range cattlemen.
Exactly what were the origins of these terms? Well
water, in the past, was work - Settlers dug with crude equipment by Delbert
Trew 12-01-09
The most significant problem facing the
first Panhandle settlers was lack of water for their families and livestock...
On
your mark, go ... Big day was all important by Delbert Trew
11-10-09
Few events were as important to my mother as when the neighbors
came over to help with branding or shipping of our cattle... Hughes'
Stock Book by Mike Cox 10-8-09
Labeled “Horse Record
– Hughes Bros.” the book contains hand written records of horses sold and traded
by two brothers who owned a 76-acre spread in the vicinity of Liberty Hill on
the Travis-Williamson County line. Trip
to the Old West as child vivid as ever by Delbert Trew
10-6-09
Among my
cherished memories as a 12-year-old boy is a trip taken with my father, his cattle
partner and his grandson, another boy my age, to New Mexico to receive cattle
purchased... Coyote
Lake - Watering spot for cattle 10-3-09Captain
J. D. Reed - The Story of a Cowboy by Linda Kirkpatrick
9-2-09
James Duff
Reed, the Cattle King of the WestTexas'
First Cattle King by Archie P. McDonald, PhD
James Taylor White, East
Texas' first cattle baron. Taylor's JTW brand became widely known, as was his
reputation for innovation in ranching practices.
Early
Cattlemen saved Texas from financial ruin by Murray Montgomery
7-10-09
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 7-5-09
From the late 1860s
into the 1870s, Texas was, in effect, divided into two armed camps. The battlers
were south Texas cattlemen who needed to drive their cattle north to the railheads
in Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri—and north Texas cattlemen, joined by cattle
raisers in the Indian Nations, Kansas, and Nebraska, who stood ready, with rifles
if necessary, to stop the drives.Don't
count out us old folks by Delbert Trew 5-12-09
The
years of 1951 and 1952 went down in ranching history as the worst screw worm infestation
ever... Black
Cowboys by Murray Montgomery
The black cowboy has been part of the ranching
industry in Texas for a long time. They were born into slavery in the beginning
but after the Civil War they continued to work on the ranches as free men... Barbed
wire called 'Devil's Rope' for a reason by Delbert Trew
Most Panhandle
historians agree that Brinkerhoff ribbon was the most famous barbed wire in Panhandle
history as the XIT Ranch used some 6,000 miles of the invention to fence their
vast grasslands...
Scales revolutionized
ranching by Delbert Trew
I once asked my father what he thought was the
greatest innovation or improvement made to the ranching industry during his time.
I was thinking in terms of four-wheeled vehicles, stock trailers, livestock auctions
and long-distance livestock hauling. His answer came as a surprise...Horse
Troughs by Mike Cox
Water troughs, better known in Texas as horse troughs,
were intended for the hydration of livestock. But Texas ranchers and their families
found far more use for these open containers of water than merely affording Old
Dobbin a place to drink...Stetson
led way for modern cowboy hats by Delbert Trew
In about 1860 the "perfect
headpiece" was invented by John B. Stetson. He was the son of a Philadelphia hat-making
family and suffered from tuberculosis, an occupational disease of hat-makers.
Forced to travel west for his health he was on a Pike's Peak camping expedition
when the need for a hat arose. Technology
replacing old ranching ways by Delbert Trew
Many changes have occurred
in the ranching business over the years. Some are good, a few are sad and occasionally
one is somewhat ironic or funny. No
journey too far for determined cattlemen by Delbert Trew
From the stockman
of biblical times to the modern day rancher, he has always been out in front of
civilization looking for fresh graze for his livestock. His trials were many,
often more than his share as he challenged the vast prairies, unpredictable weather,
one disease after another and the continually changing financial world...
Horse-to-tractor
switch laborious by Delbert Trew
The big switch from equine horsepower
to gasoline power was about over when I became old enough to remember... Dust
Bowl was deadly by Delbert Trew
Until 1930, most agriculture workers,
and especially the cattlemen, had retained their independence from government
help and interference. However, the Crash of 1929 ushered in the beginnings of
the Great Depression. By 1931 severe drought set in all across the Great Plains
from Canada to Texas with annual rainfall averages cut in half from normal. By
1933, areas in the Southern Plains began to experience dust storms that eventually
grew into the Dust Bowl...It's
a wonder the Panhandle was ever settled by Delbert Trew
From 1850 to 1900,
new settlers flocking to the Panhandle and West Texas prairies faced almost insurmountable
odds in establishing a legal homestead. Most had few resources at hand or the
time to waste as they searched and settled... Hog
Drives of Frio Canyon Texas - Part I:
“Git Along Little Piggy” Late 1890’s
- Early 1900’s by Linda-Kirkpatrick
The Frio Canyon suffered hard times
in the late 1800’s... The folks, who built up the early ranches in the Leakey
area, did what they could to just get by... Like the cattle drives of old but
just not as classy or as romantic or as written about were the hog drives of the
Frio Canyon. Old-time
improvisation in branding and jailing by Delbert Trew
Early
ranchers formed well-organized groups by Delbert Trew
Since the beginning
of livestock domestication of sheep and goats in 6,000 B.C., problems of ownership
of livestock and regulation for grazing the public domain have occurred. As numbers
of livestock increased, pastoral customs, grazing regulation and preservation
of ownership problems grew in proportion... Bull
Durham tobacco the 'cheapest luxury' by Delbert Trew
...The tobacco became
famous after 1860 when the trademark was registered, as almost every posed photo
of a man showed the small round paper tags hanging from a vest or shirt pocket.
This product took center stage in the West just like Arbuckle Coffee and Stetson
hats... Cow
Patties by Mike Cox
...On the High Plains, where trees were scarcer than
sinners at a revival, finding fire fuel took more effort. While folks traveling
in a wagon might haul an emergency supply of split wood, travelers, scouts, and
cowboys soon realized that a ready source of fuel surrounded them – buffalo chips...
B.
F. (Frank) Payne, Texas Ranger by Linda-Kirkpatrick
...Annually they would
round up the herds and brand the calves according to the brand of their mother.
Thus each rancher was able to keep up with the herd size and the cattle belonged
to him even though the cow herds ran free. This process worked well until the
Civil War. Many of the young men who had hired out to work these cows were called
to fight... Conditioning
a saddle into tiptop quality by Delbert Trew
venture a guess that only
one in 10 readers will be familiar with the term "Neatsfoot Oil." This oil has
been a mainstay in saddle and harness maintenance for centuries. No old-time,
self-respecting rancher, farmer or cowboy would be caught without a can sitting
in his saddle or harness storage...
Sarge
Cummings Master of the Long Loop Linda-Kirkpatrick
Robert H. “Sarge” Cummings
was known as a master of the long loop, a cowboy term for rustler. This old coot
was loved by all, except for maybe the Texas Rangers. Children were ecstatic whenever
he came to visit a spell. Some would crawl under his chair just to spin the rowels
on his spurs as he spun tales of the wild west... Trail
drivers brought in income, coined phrases by Delbert Trew
Texans owe a
round of applause to the old-time trail drivers who in a period of years drove
more than 5 million head of livestock to the northern markets. This income helped
the state of Texas recover from the effects of the Civil War. The following terms
were coined during the Trail Drive Era and many are still with us today... Hungry
cowboys foil pickle plan by Delbert Trew
In the early days when a cowboy
"sold his saddle" it meant he was down and out, finished, disgraced or maybe doing
time in jail. In short, he was no longer a cowboy..."Vaquero"
- Cowboy statue by Luis Jimenez in Houston
Chisholm
Trail: Fording the Brazos at Kimball Bend Bosque County Texas by Angela BlairStampede
Mesa by C. F. Eckhardt
"Not many people know about Stampede Mesa
these days, but from the early 1880s until Texas cattlemen quit driving beef north,
those two words would make a cold-footed rat run up and down a cowboy's spine.
Stampede Mesa was-and may still be-one of the most thoroughly haunted places in
Texas."Withers
by Mike Cox ("Texas Tales")
Back in Texas' trail-driving days, a
cow pony could cause a man an awful lot of worry - especially a horse with idiosyncrasies...
|
The
Devilin' of Old John by C. F. Eckhardt
Old John was about the oldest man
I knew who was still working as a cowboy, and I don't know how old he was when
he died... Cowboy
Life on a Small Spread by C. F. Eckhardt
Cowboyin' ain't all it's cracked
up to be. It's not all horsebackin' and branding and Saturday night at the dance
hall. Herewith a view of some of the cowboy chores Roy and Gene never did in the
Saturday matinee... The
Chisholm Trail Rides Again by Clay Coppedge
Anyone wanting to follow the
Old Chisholm Trail through Bell County would find part of the quest relatively
easy, at least as easy as driving on IH-35...Deere
was a man farmers could really dig by Delbert Trew
" In 1838, a village
blacksmith named John Deere created a plow from a worn saw blade. Amazingly, the
new design blade sheared the soil cleanly and the moldboard laid the new soil
aside in long, neat ribbons..."Cowboys:
Stand-up comedians for the Lord by Delbert Trew
"Few occupations
experience everyday hazards quite like that of the cowboy..."Cowboy
Tree by Mike Cox
"...In a way, it’s natural enough that Pleasanton
would have such a tree, unnatural as the combination of the words “cowboy” and
“tree” seems to be. The Atascosa County community south of San Antonio has long
claimed to be the birthplace of the cowboy..." |
| Shortly
after World War II, the threat of invasion from Mexico was far different from
the perceived threat today. Then the menace was disease. Mexican cattle infected
with the dreaded hoof and mouth disease could easily wander (or be herded by smugglers)
across the shallow, drought-stricken Rio Grande. .... more |
Whiskey
Funeral by Mike Cox
"...A cowboy who worked on ranches along the
Concho River in the top part of McCulloch County, Whiskey was known to take a
drink or two or three. He won his nickname when he got so desperate for a drink
that he traded his horse and saddle for a gallon of whiskey..."
"Ten
Things you should know about "Shanghai" Pierce by Brewster Hudspeth
"So You Want to be a Cattle Baron?" Life
On The Trail by Murray Montgomery
The cowboy legacy is very much alive
in Texas and it has been that way for a long time.
Bluffton
by Mike Cox
Some cowboys' overindulgence at one of those establishments led
to ...
Wild Times in Old McDade by Murray Montgomery
Again the outlaws retaliated...
Two cowboys were killed and the ranch house was burned...
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...The
Lonesome Plains: Death and Revival on an American Frontier
Cowboys rode
miles to attend dances or just to see a woman from a distance...The
Spanish America War Chronicles by John Troesser
Texas provided men and
a place to train "The Rough Riders", the group composed of cowboys, adventurers
and polo playing aristocrats from New York.
Donley
County by Lou Ann Herda
A saloon and dance hall were going to be erected
by some outsiders at one point. This didn't set well with several local cowboys,
who offered to scalp them if they didn't leave. It took legendary cattle driver
.....Metador,
Texas - The saga of the Matador RanchWaco,
Texas
Waco became a spur on the Chisholm Trail and cattlemen and their
cowboys often stopped in Waco for ...Fargo,
Texas - This is where an estimated six million Longhorn cattle crossed on
their way to the railheads in Dodge City, Kansas.
Bandera,
Texas - Cowboy Capital of Texas Tioga,
Texas - Gene Autry's hometown?Torn
Between Two Cowboys in Moulton, Texas
Being Tossed on the Horns of a Dilemma
can be as Painful as being Drawn and QuarteredThe
Cowboy Silhouette by John Troesser
You've seen him if you've driven through
the country. He's a booted and hatted cowboy, leaning up against a building or
fence post with no visible means of support other than his fence post.Watering
Trough in Sudan | |
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