Black-Eyed Peas on New Year's Day

Did you Know? Some believe that the practice of eating black-eyed peas for good luck in the upcoming year dates back to the Civil War. During Sherman's famous march through Georgia, it is widely believed that the General ignored the fields of black-eyed peas while destroying other crops as the pea was a major food staple of plantation slaves. As a result, the black-eyed pea also became a major food source for those left in the wake of the Northern troops.

Black-eyed peas were farmed in China and India in pre-historic times and often eaten by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Records show that the peas were transported from West Africa to the West Indies by slaves as early as 1674. The USDA reports that the peas, (which are acutally legumes) are high in potassium, iron, and fiber. A half cup serving is the same as one ounce of lean meat.

Another explanation of the tradition says that black-eyed peas were all southern slaves had to celebrate with on the first day of January, 1863...the day the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. From that time on,the  peas were always eaten on January 1. Today, black-eyed peas are traditionally served with collard, mustard or turnip greens, pork, and cornbread. And don't forget...each pea represents one day of good luck in the new year, so one must eat 365 peas on New Year's Day to ensure prosperity for the entire year!

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Did You Know? ~The Rio Grande

Did you Know? The Rio Grande forms at the base of Canby Mountain, just east of the Continental Divide in Colorado? The river has been known by many names throughout its discovery. The Spanish names are Rio Bravo (wild or bold river) or Rio Bravo del Norte. (wild river of the north) The Keres Pueblo People's name for the Rio Grande was mets'ichi chena or Big River, while the Tiwa Pueblo People's called it paslápaane which also meant Big River. The Navajo People knew it as Tó Baʼáadi (Female River because of its southerly flow - South is female in Navajo cosmology) Other names include: Río de Nuestra Señora from the Hernando de Alvarado expedition, the Río de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción and the Río Guadalquivir by the Agustín Rodríguez expedition, and Río Turbio (turbulent river) by merchant, Antonio de Espejo. Juan de Oñate is generally regarded as the first to call it the Rio Grande, when he reached its banks near the future site of El Paso in 1598. To call the river the Rio grande River is redundant as the word Rio means river in Spanish!  (Photo -The Rio Grande near Eagle Pass)

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011.

The Great Western

Did you Know? The Great Western was a nickname given to El Paso Prairie Nymph, (Prostitute) Sarah Bowman. Sarah, who was born Sarah Knight, also used the last names of Bourjette, Bourget, Bourdette, Davis, Bowman, Bowman-Phillips, Borginnis, and Foyle. She came to be known as the Great Western for her height. (Sarah stood six feet two inches tall) The nickname is thought to be a reference to a contemporary steamship of the day also noted for its size. RIP Ford wrote of Sarah, "she has the reputation of being something of the roughest fighter on the Rio Grande and was approached in a polite, if not humble, manner." During the Mexican War it is reported that Sarah offered to wade the Colorado and whip the enemy by herself if Gen. Worth would simply lend her a stout pair of tongs. Sarah is best known for opening a hotel in Saltillo, (The American House) , that she converted to a hospital. During the battle of Buena Vista, Sarah not only rescued wounded soldiers from the battlefield. but also carried them back to her hotel / hospital!

 

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Did You Know 3?

 Did you Know? The original county seat of Hardeman County, Texas was Margaret. However in the mid-1880's, the Fort Worth and Denver Railway surveyed the area, and discovered that the town of Margaret was across the Pease River and away from where they wanted their rail lines to run. The rail road officials subsequently laid out the town of Quanah, named after Comache Chief, Quanah Parker. A special election was called, but before the vote, it was established that one could become a resident residency simply by having their laundry done in any Hardeman County town for six weeks. Amazingly, the railroad crews all became voting citizens just in time to vote Quanah as the new county seat! [Photo - Chief Quanah Parker visits Quanah on July 4, 1896. The Fort Worth and Denver Railway station is at the left.]

 

Did you Know? HideTown was a bufflo hunter's trading post in present day Wheeler County, Texas. The town was originally named for the fact that residents used buffalo hides to construct their dwellings. Later, the town camed to be called, Sweetwater. In 1876, Sweetwater was home to the infamous Sweetwater Shoot-out in which Bat Masterson shot and killed Sgt. Melvin King after King had killed local prairie nymph, Mollie Brennan. After the town applied for a Post Office in 1879, it learned the name Sweetwater was already being used in Nolan County, Texas. Legend holds that the town fathers dispatched a rider to nearby Fort Elliot (located at the time in the Eastern Panhandle of Texas) to find out an Indian word that meant Sweet Water. A Cheyenne scout supposedly offered up Mobeetie as the translation. Some insisted at the time that the Cheyenne had the last laugh on the "Buffalo Hunters" and their town as Mobeetie actually meant Buffalo Dung!

 

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Did You Know 2?

  

 Did you Know? Even though our current Governor portrays it otherwise, the governor for the State of Texas has very little power within the halls of government. The real power resides in the office of Lt. Governor. The reasons go back to reconstruction and the reconstruction governors who held office after the war. The most notable was Edmund Jackson Davis. Davis, a radical Republican during Reconstruction, was controversial to say the least for the times. Davis held a commitment to the civil rights of black people. As such, Davis was naturally despised by racists. Davis was defeated by the Democrat Richard Coke in his bid for reelection. Davis contested the results and refused to leave office. As a result, Governor-elect Coke was forced to enter the Capitol by a ladder propped up against a second floor window. Davis called on President Grant for help but Grant refused to send troops to Texas. Davis left the capital in January 1874. On his way out, he locked the door to the governor's office and took the key with him. Coke entered his office with the help of an axe. In 1875 Texans held a constitutional convention to replace the Constitution of 1869. In 1876 Texans adopted the state's present constitution which was designed to prevent any possibility of having the changes forced on them by reconstruction, such as the power wielded by reconstruction governors, ever happen again. The Governor's duties, expanded during the Davis term were limited and dispersed among a number of independently elected offices who did not have to share the same political affliation as the governor. Republican's would not hold the Governor's office until almost a century later when Bill Clements was elected in 1978! Photo - Edmund Jackson Davis. 

Did you Know? In 1620, María de Jesús de Agreda, a Franciscan nun, also known as the Lady in Blue (The nuns' habit was brown with an outer cloak of coarse blue) would often lapse into a trance state in which she believed she was transported to far away lands where she taught the Gospel to wild pagan-like people. In July 1629, a group of Jumano Indians from West Texas appeared at the Franciscan Co...nvent of Isleta. (Near present day Albuquerque) The Jumanos had a basic understanding of Christianity, and were seeking more religious teaching. When asked how they learned about the religion, they responded that, "The Woman in Blue had taught them." Photo - María de Jesús de Agreda, The Lady in Blue.

Did you know? Balmorhea, Texas got its name as a result of a disagreement by the town's four developers. The men, Mr. BALcome, Mr. MORrow, and the RHEA were on a train when the argument broke out. A quick thinking conductor suggested using the amalgam. The town is best known for sharing its name with the Balmorhea State Park, home to the San Solomon Springs even though the springs are located 4 miles south of Balmorhea in Toyahvale. The springs, a little known Texas treasure, flow between 22 and 29 million gallons of water each day. The park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1936 and 1941.

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Did You Know?

Did you know? James Britton "Brit" Bailey, a Kentucky legislator, arrived in Texas in 1821 after being investigated for forgery. Brit entered Stephen F. Austin's Brazoria Colony as a member of the Old 300. He later fought at the Battle of Jones Creek in 1824 and the Battle of Velasco in 1833. However, Brit never gained the respectability he so coveted in Texas. He died in 1832, an alcoholic reclus...e by some accounts. His last request was that he be buried standing up, his gun on his shoulder and a jug of whiskey at his feet. It was reported that Brit said of this strange request - "Bury me standing up, facing west, so no one can look down on me even in death." After his death, residents reported seeing a ball of light near his grave site. many believe the eerie light, known as Bailey's Light, was Brit's ghost in search of more whiskey!

 

 

Did you know? John Lang Sinclair of Boerne, Texas composed: The Eyes of Texas in 1903. Sinclair, a student at the University of Texas wrote the song on a piece of scrap laundry paper at the request of his roommate, then band director, Lewis Johnson. Johnson needed a lively tune for a minstrel show to benefit the University track team. Sung to the tune of, I've Been Working on the Railroad, Sinclai...r's title lyrics were taken from UT President, Dr. William Lamdin Prather. Prather constantly warned students around campus that, "The Eyes of Texas are Upon You." The UT Student's Association copyrighted the song in 1936 as the official school song. Today many still mistake the song for the official state song!

 

 

Did you know? Sophia Porter, who participated in the Runaway Scrape, claims to have arrived at San Jacinto after the battle and nursed Sam Houston's badly wounded ankle. She married Holland Coffee in 1839. The newlyweds traveled north to the Red River and Coffee's Station. They established Glen Eden Plantation and the town of Preston. During the Civil War, she earned the nickname, the Confederate ...Paul Revere, for her ride across the Red River to warn Col. James G. Bourland, that Northern troops were at her plantation and searching for him. Legend says that Sophia plied the Northern troops with wine to keep them inebriated while she rode to warn Bourland. Today, Glen Eden sits at the bottom of Lake Texoma!

 

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Texas Tales

The term Filibuster was originally used by the English to describe Sea Pirates. Later the French changed the word to Filibustier to describe a Land Pirate or one who acquired land illegally from a country. The Spanish used the term to describe illegal immigrants from the U.S. who tried to steal Texas from the Spanish crown. 15 Years after the Mexican Revolution, Santa Anna used Fillibuster to describe the Texas Revolutionaries - as Land Pirates could legally be put to death by El Presidente.

In the 1880's, a Van Horn rancher, A.S. Goynes suggested the town slogan of: "Van Horn is so Healthy, We had to Shoot a Man to Start a Cemetery." The slogan was placed on a sign and prominently featured inside the Clark Hotel. A short time after that, Goynes was shot and killed by his brother-in-law in a feud over a watering hole, thus becoming the first man buried in the Van Horn cemetery!

Sam Houston was the only American who held the title, General in two armies, The Tennessee Militia and The Texian Army. He was also a governor of two states, Tennessee and Texas. And Sam was also the only American to be a President, Senator, and Congressman of another country-The Republic of Texas!

Conrad Hilton came to Texas in 1919 intent on buying a bank in one of the booming oil towns of Breckenridge or Cisco. Turned down in Breckenridge, Hilton cut a deal in Cisco only to see the bank owner renege on their agreement. Tired from his dealings, Hilton tried to rent a room at the only hotel in Cisco but was told, "We're full up." The hotel owner, H.L. Mobley did confide that the rooms were rented three times a day and to come back in 8 hours. Hilton later purchased the hotel, and thus began the Hilton Hotel chain!     (Photo - Mobley Hotel. Conrad Hilton's First Hotel.)

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Southwest Collection at Texas Tech University

I was honored recently to have my "story" included in the Oral History Section of the Southwest Collection at Texas Tech University. Following is a transcript of one of my talks included in the collection. The article is my promotion of reading and teachers.

Education and Reading.


Our earliest ancestors used the spoken word, and much later, the written word as a means of sharing thoughts, fe...elings, and ideas with one another, a communion of language celebrated by denizens of any locale.

The spoken or written word also serves an evolutionary benefit…words evoke images. When the brain changes a word into a visual representation…good, healthy, things happen. The electrical impulse that sparks from the transmutation of word to picture is equivalent to running several feet at full speed. This brain exercise is specific to the short-term memory centers in the brain. Short-term memory is the function affected by diseases such as Alzheimer's and dementia.

Recent studies show that exercising our short-term memory centers with actions such as reading, working crossword puzzles, or performing other problem-solving activities energizes our brain. In addition, as with any exercise, the muscle or organ exercised becomes larger and stronger. In the brain, the synaptic highway, the roadway for incoming and outgoing information, can change from a two-lane country road into a sixteen-lane freeway over time simply by transforming words into a pictures. Exercising the brain provides our kids with the ability to process incoming and outgoing information quickly and effortlessly.

Sounds simple, but the nation's school systems have become the latest victims of government intervention. For unfathomable reasons, politicians historically believe that the welfare of its citizenry is too valuable to be left in the citizen's own hands, that only in the far-away centers of government can local decisions be made intelligently. As a result, the local community no longer controls its own schools and the manner of education in which its children will be taught leaving each ISD with the “test.” The "test" not only measures students, but teachers and schools as well. Monies and jobs are on the line with the “test.” It is little wonder that school administrators quickly figured out, that the best way to meet the state standard was to abandon the process of education and “teach the test.”

Students were (and are) learning only what the State would have them learn. This is a very scary concept. Children continue to be drilled to the answers on the test and not allowed to step outside the State’s learning dictate. We have, with the 'test" effectively created “parrots” that can mimic and regurgitate the State’s test. Simple activities such as daydreaming and play, both vital in the development of imagination, have been put aside. And remember, imagination is the fertile ground for invention…

To add to the child's burden, the system even dictates what books children should read. To ensure that the students read these books, only "those" books on "the" list award grade points.

As a result, reading has become drudgery. And far-away government remains ignorant to a basic tenet of learning, that is, children cannot be forced to learn. Oh, they will perform as commanded during their school time, but once they exit the system and achieve free choice, the majority will abandon reading as their only association with the concept is through pressure. Plato said it best with his quote: compulsory learning never sticks in the mind.

Pre-test educators realized that not all children walked or talked at the same age and not all students learn the same things at the same age. The education system of that age promoted reading and writing, two basics for all future educational development. Today, once again, we promote reading by “lists” of what the child should read. When in reality, reading, the basis of all learning, should be about enjoyment. Students should be encouraged to read about things they like. Once a student finds enjoyment in reading, they will read more. The more a child reads, the more intelligent they will become.

I understand the need for required reading, but the curriculum should also provide one hour per school day for fun reading as well. Reading is and will always be – about fun. What "you" the reader likes to read, what makes "you" the reader think, what inspires "you" the reader to pursue more information, in short...reading should always be pleasantly entertaining.

Think of the terminology that adults use to prepare for a reading experience. Phrases like, I'm going to curl up with a good book, I'm going to slip into some comfy clothes and read, I'm going to sit beside a nice fire and read. All the terms associate reading with comfort. Why is it then that we do not allow our kids as students that same level of comfort?

Reading time should encourage our kids to "get comfy." If that means reading from their backs on the floor, or sitting in a bean-bag chair, or relaxing on a couch, then so be it. The end value of reading for fun is the student naturally "learns" or "becomes smarter." Reading teaches a child how to write and a child, who can read and write…well, is more apt to enjoy success in subjects such as math and science.

Reading what the child prefers promotes a healthy brain and allows the child to associate reading as a fun activity and not as a task. And it matters not what the reader decides to read, whether it be a graphic novel or a celebrity expose. For the scientific community understands that all readers eventually move up the reading ladder. When a child lifts weights during a physical education class, if the muscle group being exercised finds the weight load too easy, it will tell the lifter to add more weight. The brain does very much the same thing when it finds the reading material too simple; telling the child it is time "add more reading weight," which results in incremental reading advancement.

One of the great accomplishments of reading for fun is the sense of fulfillment in "learning," gathering one's own information and the joy that goes along with finding that information. Our schools should always be places where students learn because they want to, not because they have too.

To do so ensures that our children will become not only lifelong readers, but lifelong learners as well.
Education and Reading  Copyright 2010  Mike Kearby

Historical Novels Review of Texas Tales Illustrated ~ The Revolution

Here's what Eileen Charbonneau had to say about Texas Tales Illustrated ~ The Revolution in the August Edition of Historical Novels Review:

TEXAS TALES ILLUSTRATED: “The Revolution”
Mike Kearby, illustrated by Mack White, TCU Press, 2011, $6.95, pb, 32pp, 9780875654393

Two-thirds graphic novel and one-third background material, “The Revolution” tells the story of events between October 1835 and December 1836 in the struggle to form the Republic of Texas. The battle at the Alamo is told through the viewpoint of eight-year-old Enrique Esparza, taking refuge, and fifteen-year-old William King, who fights alongside its defenders. Warfare rages on as young Dilue Rose molds bullets for her uncle. Francisca Alavez, the wife of a Mexican officer, saves a young man from a massacre. Sam Houston overcomes setbacks to defeat the Mexican army, and the Treaties of Velasco conclude the account.

The storytelling in both word and image is vivid, stark, and compelling. It neither romanticizes nor glosses over this violent road of Texas history. But there’s so much incident in this single illustrated volume, it may lead to a crammed-in reading experience. The supplemental section includes a timeline, battlefield map, account of the Texas Independence Convention and content of the Treaties of Velasco. The narratives here seem to be written for an older audience. (Ages 8 to 12)

Dorchester Publishing Releases The Taken in Trade Paper

With the release of my novel, The Taken, read what RoundUp Magazine had to say about the novel:

The Taken. Dorchester. 277 pps., ISBN 978-1428511675.

Mike Kearby presents his readers with an Indian captivity story that immediately feels familiar, yet fresh. On an ill-fated trip to retrieve an errant mule, James Kensing takes his five-year-old brother,... William Barrett Kensing, with him, much to their mother’s concern. William Barrett is taken by a Kwahadi raiding party. A search for the boy turns up nothing, and time passes. On her deathbed, James’ mother makes him promise to find the boy, no matter what. There is no way he can tell her no, as he feels wholly responsible for the loss of the boy. With the stage set, Kearby uses a large pallet, spanning time and characters—historical (Quanah Parker) and fictional—as the two boys work their way back together; one a tracker bent on redemption, and the other learning how to be something other than he truly is. This is a quick-paced novel, and offers a depth of emotion not often found in pure genre novels. The author extended his reach, and was, for the most part successful, offering a satisfying and compelling read that is a welcome addition to the shelf of Indian captivity stories.—Larry D. Sweazy

Texas Tales Illustrated Reviewed

The Star - The magazine of the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum recently reviewed Texas Tales Illustrated ~ The Revolution in its summer issue. Read the interview below...

A Hundred Miles to Water Honored

July 1, 2011 – A Hundred Miles to Water has been honored as a recipient of the 2011 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Best Adult Fiction.


The Will Rogers Medallion Award is presented each year to those books that represent an Outstanding Achievement in the publishing of Western Literature. They are books that exemplify outstanding excellence in content and design with an enduring quality that preserves and celebrates the history and spirit of the West and the memory of Will Rogers.

A big Texas Thank You to the selection committee as well as all of my fans and readers!

Colonial Horses in the New World - Part 1

After 1492, on subsequent voyages to the new world, the Spanish carried cattle, pigs, and horses on their ships. The horses would play an instrumental role in the Spanish plans for the Americas as the Spanish, fresh off their conquest of the Jews and Moors of Southern Spain, viewed this new world as non-Christian kingdoms, filled with savages that required conquering before assimilation into Spanish culture, specifically Catholicism. The group of Spaniard adventurers effecting the annexing of land and people would be the Conquistadores, and the conquistadores required horses that could traverse mountains, cross deserts, and survive the tropical jungles of the Americas. The horse would inspire awe and fear into the native peoples as prior to the Spanish landings, there were no horses in the new world (the Americas had probably been without the horse since the last ice age) The horses the Spanish brought to the new world were from North Africa: (the Barb) and the Iberian Peninsula: (the Andalusian, the Sorria, and the now extinct Jennet.). These horses, while serving the conquistadores splendidly, would later be bred carefully across lines to produce an animal that would become legendary and forever known as the Spanish or Indian pony.

The original presidio at Santa Fe, New Mexico was built to protect the Mission de San Miguel. One of the functions of the mission was the breeding and raising of Spanish horses. True to the Spanish system of the period, the Spanish offered native people of the area, the Pueblo, protection from their traditional enemy, the Apache. The Pueblo requirement was that they become Mission Indians (slaves). In the mid-17th century, a severe drought in the Santa Fe area helped the Pueblos to agree. Though barred from riding or owning horses, the Pueblos quickly learned how to breed and care for equine. And in 1680, with the drought over and tired of their Spanish taskmasters, the Pueblo revolted and in the process killed or drove all of the Spanish from the area. The Spanish that survived, departed quickly, and in the process left behind over 200 horses. The agricultural Peublos had no real use for horses, but their warlike enemy, the Apache saw some value in the animal. In the pre-horse days of the Americas, women and dogs moved the band or tribe. And when the Apache first obtained the horse in any numbers, they saw in the animal, a beast that could move many possessions by travois. Some accounts say the Apache actaully referred to the horse as the "Big Dog." The Apache, who were also toying with growing corn and become a fixed agri-society, never bothered early on to learn how to breed the animal or to hunt or fight from the animal's back like Plains Indians later would. Instead, they used the horse more as a conveyance. For several decades, the Apache would ride their horses to an enemy camp, dismount, fight, and then ride the animal back home.

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Trailing Cattle - A Short History Part 9

A Dodge City legend recalls the following: An intoxicated Texas cowboy boards a Santa Fe train in 1878. When the conductor calls for tickets, the cowboy answers with, "Ain't got none." The conductor then asks, "Well, where are you headed?" To which the cowboy replies, "Hell." The conductor straightens his coat and says, "All right, give me 4 bits and get off at Dodge City." Perhaps one of the most famous incidents in the town's cattle heyday involved the killing of singer Dora Hand. (who performed under the name of Fannie Keenan) Hand was staying the back room of a two-room set-up used by Dodge City Mayor Dog Kelly. Kelly was away at Fort Dodge at the time and his would-be assassin, a Texas cowboy by the name of James Kenedy (son of the powerful Texas cattleman Capt. Miflin Kenedy) was ignorant of that fact. On October 4, 1878, The younger Kenedy, who had a brawl weeks earlier with Kelly, fired four shots into the mayor's room missing

another performer, Fannie Garrettson by inches but penetrating the plaster wall and killing Hand. A posse was immediately assembled and possibly - no greater posse was ever put together. The group included Bat Masterson, Charlie Bassett, Wyatt Earp, William Duffey, and Bill Tilghman. Kenedy was caught outside of Meade, Kansas, and wounded in the shoulder during the capture. He was later acquited on insufficient evidence. Rumors persisted from that time forward that Miflin Kenedy had paid off officials for his son's release. It should also be noted that Miflin Kenedy sold thousands of Longhorns in Dodge City during this time and his "money" was much appreciated by the Dodge City businesses.

In the winter of 1877, in Frio County, Texas a rancher by the name of Kerr discovered one of his mama cows dead in a mud hole. Beside the dead cow was a black and white bull calf. Kerr hauled the calf home to his wife who promptly took to the orphan and raised him by the name- Sancho (pet in Spanish). Before long, the wife was feeding Sancho tamale shucks, and later whole tamales. Sancho seemed to like both the meat and the chile pepper seasoning of Mrs. Kerr's steam-boiled rolls. In 1880, Sancho, now a steer, was sold with some of Kerr's other steers to the Shiner brothers who were contracted to deliver 2500 Longhorns to Wyoming. The Shiner's branded him with a 7 Z and pointed him north. During the first night out, Sancho seemed to determined to go back home. Some said later, for one of Mrs. Kerr's tamales, but whatever the reason, the night crew had to push him back into the herd over a dozen times. Days later, Sancho made his break and heading south, was discovered by the second Shiner herd trailing to Wyoming. One of the point cowboys roped him and turned him north again. As usual, Sancho took a position in the drag and constantly looked south. In September, upon reaching Wyoming, Sancho was branded with C R for his new herd home. The next spring, John Rigby, who was working with Joe Shiner near Kerr's ranch, recalled looking across a pear flat and seeing a paint steer with 7 Z and C R branded on him. The men rode to the Kerr's where Mr. Kerr admitted that Sancho had arrived home about six weeks earlier. Mrs. Kerr had been feeding her pet, tamales ever since. Joe Shiner conceded that, "If Sancho loved his home enough to walk 2000 miles from Wyoming to get to it, he wasn't going to drive him back." Sancho is said to have lived on the Kerr Ranch until he died of natural causes.

The Big Die-Up - By the time the winter of 1885 - 1886 arrived, the cattle industry, especially the trailing of cattle north was about to undergo severe change due to four gradually occuring events - (1) the expanded use of barb-wire, (2) the expansion of the railroads as a means of hauling cattle, (3) the re-populating of northern cattle herds which eventually lowered cattle prices as supply slowly exceeded demand, and (4) the overstocking of herds resulting in overgrazing of open prairies. The winter of 85-86 merely provided the final push toward the inevitable change. The blizzards that winter,The Big Die-Up - By the time the winter of 1885 - 1886 arrived, the cattle industry, especially the trailing of cattle north was about to undergo severe change due to four gradually occuring events - (1) the expanded use of barb-wire, (2) the expansion of the railroads as a means of hauling cattle, (3) the re-populating of northern cattle herds which eventually lowered cattle prices as supply slowly exceeded demand, and (4) the overstocking of herds resulting in overgrazing of open prairies. The winter of 85-86 merely provided the final push toward the inevitable change. The blizzards that winter, began in November and continued through February. Temperatures across the plains ranged from -36 below zero to -70. Hundreds of thousands of head of cattle died during this time for unlike many winters before, cattle could not move to shelter and water due to barb-wire cross fences. Many herds were found stacked against barb-wire barriers, frozen in place, often still standing up. And not only cattle suffered, as many ranchers and ranch hands lost their lives trying to rescue stranded cattle. The final tally would not be known until the spring thaws. By most accounts as much as 5% of the Western U.S. cattle herds perished during the time. The direct results of the above events were - (1) the growing and storing of hay, (2) the fencing of smaller pastures for cattle rotation so as to avoid the depletion of native grasses, (3) the construction of shelters and windbreaks for livestock, and (4) the practice of winter feeding.

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Trailing Cattle - A Short History Part 8

The year 1876 was a pivotal one for the country and Texas trailers. In 1876, Custer came to his end on the Little Big Horn, Alexander Graham Bell introduced the telephone, barbed wire was beginning to gain notice and trailers were pushing more and more cattle into the expanding West. Both San Antonio and Fort Worth saw their fortunes increase as Cow Towns. In San Antonio, the city council outlawed loose cattle from the streets in 1876 although hogs were still free to roam. Fort Worth had plenty of saloons, dance establishments, sporting women, and mercantile supplies. But a new trail was being marked to the west of Fort Worth that caused the town alarm. The new trail, through Fort Griffin, (On the Brazos River west of present day Graham, and northeast of Albany - below the fort was a town called the Flats. The Flats soon became known as the wildest town in Texas.) From Fort Griffin the trail led to the Red River where the cattle crossed at Doan's Crossing and then on to Dodge City, Kansas. Coupled with the Kansas legislature's new cattle quarantine area that now included Wichita, Dodge City seemed posed to emerge as a major cattle shipping point for the Santa Fe RR. Richard King, of King Ranch fame, was credited with trailing 30,000 cattle in 12 different herds north in 1876. King's herds were sold in Kansas and Nebraska.

Kansans never held much regard for Texas trailers and events in the latter part of 1876 only seemed to justify their feelings. In September, outside of Big Springs, Nebraska, six men from cowboy outfits robbed the Union Pacific. The haul? $60,000 in gold and a few hundred in cash. The bandits included Sam Bass. It seems the cowboys, after getting paid for pushing Longhorns up the trail, had drifted north to Deadwood, (Black Hills) where they promptly lost all of their cattle money. And robbery must have seemed as the only viable means for Sam and the bunch to gain their proceeds back. Over at the Flats below Fort Griffin, a lawman, John Larn, was also making quite a name for himself. Larn, who operated as sheriff for Shackleford County moonlighted as a cattle thief. Watt Matthews, Larn's nephew, said of the man: "He was a charmer with many atrributes of a gentleman, but he was also an outlaw, cow thief, and a killer." Larn is said to be responsible for the killing of 12 men by age 30. Larn's running mate in the county was John Selman. (Selman is the man who later killed John Wesley Hardin in El Paso.) Bass met his end in Round Rock, Texas in 1878. He was shot by Richard Ware of the Texas Rangers. John Larn's demise also occurred in 1878. Larn was shot in his jail cell by vigilantes.

Most trailers rode a Spanish cow pony, which was a descendant of the horses brought over by the Spaniards, and the short distance running horse that was developed in colonial America. From Malcom MacKay's Cow Range and Hunting Trail: "Of the many cow ponies that we rode, a few seemed to have had real personalitites, and their traits have stayed in my memory. They were Captain, Baldy, Crockett, Coyote, Prince, Fox, Ginger, Texas, and Five Dollars. ...Fox was a heavy-boned, thickset sorrel and his name suited him well, for he was sure foxy. One morning I put a new saddle on him that had attached to it a beautiful pair of white Angora saddle pockets. Fox did not seem to notice the new rig until I got up on the flat behind our barn and hit into alope, then the Angora flaps began to flap. Fox took one look, and lost his head, and started, high, wide and handsome, straight for a cut bank, twenty feet down to creek bottom. I stuck him for three or four jumps, and then I saw he really was going over the bank, and I would sure be killed if I went along, so I threw my left leg over his head and tried to land on my feet, but didn't quite get the right slant to it, and lit on my right hip, which laid me up about ten days. Fox went on over, turned a somersault or two, and lit in the creek with a grunt..." In MacKay's writing, I love the description, high, wide and handsome. The phrase is original Americana and is best defined as: a person feeling carefree and acting on top of the world. The first printed reference appears in The Bucks County Gazette, Bristol, Pennsylvania, November 1881.

Margaret Heffernan Borland is thought by many historians to be the only woman to have led a cattle drive. Margaret was born in Ireland in 1824 and with her parents, John and Julia Heffernan, arrived in Texas in 1829. The Heffernans settled in Coastal Bend area of Texas - where the Texas Ranching Industry had its roots. Margaret was married three times. Her first husband was killed after an argument. The second husband, Milton Hardy, died of cholera. She then married Alexander Borland, who was considered the wealthiest rancher of the area. Borland died of yellow fever in 1867. After his death, Margaret assumed control of the cattle operation and took on the role of selling and purchasing cattle. By 1873, she had amassed a herd of 10,000 head. In the spring of 1873, she took on the task of driving 2500 Longhorn to Wichita, Kansas. Accompanying her on the drive were her remaining 3 children, her granddaughter, and a few trailers. She reached Wichita with the herd, but succumbed to illness on July before seeing the cattle sold. Her illness was described as "trail fever" by some and "congestation of the brain" by others. (Edgar Allen Poe's fatal illness was also described as "congestation of the brain." The term seems to have covered everything from rabies to malaria. Photo- Margaret Heffernan Borland

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Trailing Cattle - A Short History Part 7

The first town marshall in Abilene was Thomas James Smith. Smith proved his grit early on the job by disarming two bold cowboy / outlaws with his bare fists, first, a ruffian known as Big Hank, and a day later, Wyoming Frank. However, 5 months into the job Smith was killed by a local farmer Andrew McConnell and a neighbor, Moses Miles. After Smith was buried, now town mayor, Joseph McCoy determined that Abilene needed a "name" lawman to keep the peace in the cow town. In April of 1871, the town council hired James B. (Wild Bill) Hickok. Hickok a pistoleer of some renown, was hired at $150.00 a month plus 1/4 of any fines collected. Almost immediately, Hickok made enemies in part to his exerted control around town and partly due to his charm with the ladies. One such desperado was John Wesley Hardin. Two others were Ben Thompson and Phil Coe. The latter tried to push Hardin into a fight with Wild Bill. Hardin ignored the plodding and instead told Coe, "If Wild Bill needs killing, why don't you do it yourself?" Some historians believe that the Hickok, Coe dust-up was the result of competition over a woman. Others relate that the matter was due to the fact that Coe was mouthy drunk. Regardless, the trouble between the two inevitably came to a head on October 5, 1871. Before returning to Texas at season's end, Coe and several of his group decided to have "a little" fun before their departure. The group moved up and down the Abilene thoroughfare, forcing "victims" into the Alamo to buy drinks. Near dark, a shot was discharged in the street. Hickok, who spent a good deal of his time in the Alamo, rushed outside and demanded to know who had fired a weapon. Coe obliged that it was him. Standing within 10 feet of one another, both men suddenly fired. Coe's shots missed their mark, whereas Hickok's struck Coe in the stomach. In the fading light, another man rushed to the scene, flashing a pistol. Hickok didn't hesitate and shot the man dead. Later, he discovered that the dead man was his friend, Mike Williams. Coe died 3 days later, and in December Hickok was dismissed from his job.

In February 1872, Abilene Mayor, Theodore Henry circulated a notice in Abilene and Texas that read: "We, the undersigned members of Dickinson County, Kansas, most respectfully request all who have contemplated driving Texas cattle to Abilene the coming season to seek some other point for shipment, as the inhabitants of Dickinson County will no longer submit to the evils of the trade." And Texans being who they are, responded by trailing their cattle to Wichita and Ellsworth. Less than 3 months later, Abilene, after enjoying cattle money for 4 1/2 years suddenly took on the look of a ghost town. Wichita enjoyed the enviable position of being the first market Texas drovers reached upon entering Kansas. Joseph McCoy left Abilene in the spring and visited Wichita where he observed the building of a spur line of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe RR. McCoy, ever the astute businessman, realized that with a shipping yard, Wichita would soon compete with any Kansas cow town. By April, Wichita employed McCoy to travel north and persuade cattle buyers to come to Wichita. By June, with the spur line completed, 18 carloads of Longhorns left Wichita for Chicago and by early fall, over 20 herds grazed within shouting distance of town.

E.C. Abbott - Abbott, better known as Teddy Blue, recalled his trailing experiences to Helena Huntington Smith in 1938. At the time Abbott was 78 years in age. His book - We Pointed Them North is filled with many colorful insights to the trailing business. One of his recollections was that Sam Bass worked as his father's wagon boss be...fore he came an outlaw. Another recounted how the "poorest" hands were relegated to riding drag on a herd. Abbott wrote of those cowboys: "They would go to the water barrel at the end of the day and rinse their mouths and cough and spit and bring up that black stuff out of their throats. But you couldn't get it up out of your lungs." On watering a herd, Abbott said, "You bring them up and spread them out along the bank, with the lead cattle headed downstream. The leads get there first, and of course they drink clear water, and as the drags keep coming they get clear water, too, because they are upstream." Another interesting recollection of Abbott's involved borrowing .50 from Calamity Jane at the Belly-Ups train station on the Miles-Deadwood stage line. (It was named Belly-Ups to honor all the buffalo hunters who went belly-up in the winter of 1883.) Abbott was broke and borrowed the money to buy a meal. He promised to pay her back one day whereas Jane replied, "I don't give a damn if you ever pay me." Abbott relates that he saw her again in 1907 standing on a street corner. Abbott approached and asked, "Don't you know me?" and promptly repaid the .50. He recalls that Jane replied, "I told you, Blue that I don't give a damn if you never paid me." "And," Abbott remembers, "after that we both went into a local saloon and drank it up.

In May of 1872, Ellsworth, Kansas was determined to become the "new" Abilene for Texas trailers. William Cox, liverstock agent for the Kansas Pacific RR, had cut out a new trail which shortened the trailer's drive by about 20 miles. The new trail, although still considered to be a part of the Chisholm Trail, was known by most as the Cox Trail. Ellsworth boasted of a bank for merchants and stock dealers, 3 hotels, and 13  saloons, and of course there were many "Prairie Nymphs" or what many called "Ladies of easy virtue." That summer, the Topeka Newspaper wrote of Ellsworth - "The authorities consider that as long as mankind is depraved and Texas cattle herders exist, there will be a demand and necessity for prostitutes." By August, Ellsworth, known as "the wickedest city in Kansas, accomplished its goal of replacing Abilene as the cattle capital. It was estimated that Ellsworth held a 177,000 head of Longhorns compared to 56,000 for Wichita. Wayne Gard writes in the Chisholm Trail that the biggest sale that year went to L.B. Harris of San Antonio, who was paid $210,000. for 7,000 steers. Even though fewer cattle were trailed to Kansas in 1872, the prices were higher, and Texas drovers were excited about 1873's prospects. Little could they know that world economic events would unravel in such an extreme fashion that 1873 was going to be anything but a prosperous year for Texas cattle drivers.

 From the end of the Civil War until 1873, the railroad industry was the second largest employer in the United States. The industry enjoyed infusions of cash from speculators who soon realized that investments were putting too much money into projects that showed little return. (Think dot.com bust) In addition, in 1871, the German government had decided to cease minting silver thaler coins. The effect was felt in the U.S. where much of the world's silver was then mined. As a result of Germany's decision, the U.S. passed the Coinage Act of 1873. The act made Gold the standard currency in the country. The new law immediately reduced the U.S. money supply, which caused an increase in interest rates, which hurt anyone carrying large loans. (Farmers, Ranchers, and Industry) By September of 1873, the U.S. economy hit the "wall." The result was due to several years of economic misfortune, the Panic of 1869, the Chicago Fire (1871), equine influenza (1872) and finally the U.S. decision to no longer convert silver into coins. The first domino to fall was Jay Cooke & Co., a bank heavily invested in the RR's, was unable to market two million dollars in RR bonds. President Grant's response was to contract the money supply. And once again interest rates soared. The Jay Cooke failure was followed by a chain reaction of bank closures, factory lay-offs, closing of the Stock Exchange for 10 days, and 89 RR's going bankrupt. To Texas drovers, the effect was chilling. Thousands of cattle were killed just for hide and tallow, and many trailers who arrived in Kansas in the fall were lucky to break even. 

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Trailing Cattle - A Short History Part 6

By 1870 almost every Texas cowman had developed a bad case of Kansas fever. The contagion spread unabated due to the fact that a Longhorn steer caught and branded in the South Texas scrub for as little as $4.00 a head would bring $31.00 in the St Louis market and $55.00 in New York. Soon the trails to the Kansas shipping yards were clogged with herds. Many of the herds actually mixed or joined together at river crossings or during a stompede. To combat thievery among the herds, Texas established the Office of Hide and Cattle Inspection. Inspectors were established in any county where cattle might pass. The job usually went to local sheriffs. By the end of 1870, the expanding service of the Atchison, Topeka, Santa Fe RR, the South Pacific RR, which later became the Atlantic and Pacific, Leavenworth RR, the Lawrence, and Galveston RR, and the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas RR resulted in a price bidding war that only increased the profits in the cowman's pocket. Yet despite the prosperity for the cowmen and the Abilene businesses, a cooling to Texas cattle and Texas cowboys was gaining steam by the ever-growing Abilene population. And if the citizen farmers had their way, Ellsworth, Kansas, 64 miles to the West, could have all of the Texans and their vices, and of course all of their cattle as well.  

In the spring of 1871 Harriet (Standerfer) Cluck, wife of George W. Cluck became the first woman to ride up the Chisolm Trail. The Clucks ranched in Williamson County, Texas near the town of Running Brushy (present day Cedar Park, Texas). In March, George had put together a herd of 1000 Longhorns for an April drive. Harriet, who had three small children and was expecting a fourth, decided she would not stay at home while her husband was gone and shockingly announced: "She was heading north with the herd." Along the way, the herd was roused by a group of rustlers demanding a large cut of steers. Harriet, who had helped load guns during the encounter was said to have told some of the younger trailers, "If any one of you boys doesn't want to fight, come back here and drive the hack and give me your gun!" When the herd reached Abilene, Harriet who had turned 25 on the trail, gave birth to Euell Standerfer Cluck. In 1874, the first Post Office was established in Running Brushy, where Harriet became postmaster at the pay of 3-4 dollars a month.(Her salary was dependent upon the number of stamps cancelled)
By most accounts, Black cowboys were active on the trails from 1867-1885. Some historians figure that 25% of working cowboys were Black. Ben Kinchlow, who at 19, rode with Capt. Leander McNelly's Special Force, trailed cattle north for the Sol West Ranch. Neptune Holmes, who worked for Shanghai Pierce, was often called the guardian of Shanghai's "sea-lions". It was said that when a Pierce herd would reach Kansas, Shanghai would announced, "Here are my sea-lions, straight out of the Gulf of Mexico." One of the best-known Black cowboys was Bose Ikard, Charles Goodnight's trusted trail-boss. Goodnight remembered his friend later in life by saying, "...he was the most skilled and trustworthy man I had." Perhaps, the most dangerous Black cowboy trailing cattle was Jim Kelly. Kelly, who worked for the Olive Ranch in Williamson County, Texas was known as the ebony gun and was a loyal gun hand to boss, Print Olive. In 1876, Kelly followed Print to Custer County, Nebraska where Print became the first president of the Custer County Livestock Assn. Jim Kelly became the organization's "gunslinger." Print also used Kelly to negotiate with homesteaders who would charge fees for having cattle cross their land. "Teddy Blue" Abbott, who chronicled his trailing adventures in the book, We Pointed Them North, said of Kelly, "That big black boy with his gun would sure tell them punkin rollers (farmers) where to head in at."

 By October 1871, Abilene would boast of 11 saloons. Like ports at the end of a long ocean journey, the bars provided low-brow entertainment for road weary cowboys who had watched the hind-end of a 1200 pound steer for the better part of a 1000 miles. Abilene's gin mills included the Alamo, the Bull's Head, the Elkhorn, the Pearl, the Old Fruit, Jim Flynn's, Tom Downey's, the Applejack, the Lone Star, the Longhorn, and the Trail. The most popular and most luxuriant was the Alamo. (Wild Bill Hickok killed Phil Coe outside of the Alamo Saloon in 1871) The saloon featured a 40 foot front with three double glass doors. The bar itself ran almost the length of the building and featured polished rails and fixtures. The walls showcased large paintings of nudes reminescent of Renaissance paintings. And the Alamo even had a small orchestra which played morning, afternoon, and night. But for all of their attractiveness, the saloons, like modern day Las Vegas, had only one intention - that was to separate a cowboy from his cash. And even though trailers knew this, still they came, as some have put it: riding straight into an ambush. The Texas cowboys even had a song to celebrate this indisputable fact. "You strap on your chaps, your spurs, and your gun - You're going into town to have a little fun. You play with a gambler who's got a marked pack; Then you walk back to camp with your saddle on your back."

 

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Trailing Cattle - A Short History Part 5

Charles Goodnight said of the Texas Longhorn - "As trail cattle, their equal has never been known. Their hoofs are superior to those of any other cattle. In stampedes, they hold together better, are easier circled in a run, and rarely split off when you commence to turn the front. No animal of the cow kind will shift and take care of itself under all conditions as will the Longhorns. They can farther without water and endure more suffering than others." Goodnight is credited as the inventor of the chuck wagon and the calf wagon or 'blattin' cart.' He was also well-known on the trail for his famous lead steer, Old Blue. Lead steers were invaluable animals on the trail, not only keeping the herd moving at a 10-12 mile pace per day, but also for tasks such as starting a herd swimming or entering pens at the sale yards. Old Blue led Goodnight herds to market for 8 years. Stories tell that the old steer refused to associate with the herd at night, often bedding with the horses and even coming into camp to beg for food. After his death, Goodnight mounted Old Blue's horns at his ranch. Today they are on display at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas.

The Texas Chuck Wagon or "Wagon" was always an open-air affair. As one cowboy said, "Putting a cover on is too much trouble for getting things in and out." In the wagon bed, the cook loaded kegs of molasses, and boxes of bacon, sugar. Built into the back-end was a chuck box or pantry. The chuck box sloped outward and the lower end hinged, so it could be lowered to act as a work or eating table. This table was held by rope or chains or sometimes a stick prop beneath it. Inside, out of the elements, utensils, flour, sourdough, salt, tomatoes, beans, dried fruit, onions, and potatoes were stored. Usually the chuck box also contain one drawer that held medicinal products such as liniment, quinine, and a laxative. Sitting below the chuck box was a smaller box that held the skillets and the Dutch ovens. On one side of the wagon, a water barrel would be mounted. On the other side, a tool box was mounted. The tool box contained branding irons, horseshoeing equipment, and possibly an axe and shovel. All chuck wagons had a leather hammock stretched underneath the bed where spare wood was carried. This hammock was also called the cooney, from the Spanish word cuna. (cradle) Cowboys also called it the "possum belly." During many a stormy night on the trail, a smart cowboy could nestle into the cooney and stay dry and warm during the night. Chuck wagons were normally pulled by oxen, mules or horses.

Hot coffee was the staple for cowboys trailing Longhorns to Kansas and Arbuckle's was the brand of choice. Self-respecting cowboys drank it black without sugar or evaporated milk. The coffee was called six-shooter coffee as it was said to be able to float a cowboy's pistol. The rest of breakfast included bacon, sourdough biscuits,and dried fruit. Lunch was called dinner in that time and was always a light meal consisting usually of coffee and beef. (There was always plenty of beef on the drive) Most times, the cowboys of a particular herd would kill another drive's stray for steaks so as not to kill one of their own steers. If that option was not present, they would kill an animal from their herd that either was a problem to drive or had poor markings. For several days after the killing of a steer, the camp would endure daily portions of "son-of-a-gun" stew. The stew consisted of everything that needed to be eaten quickly before spoiling. This would include tongue, heart, liver, etc... Once the stew was portioned out, the cowboys would enjoy steak cooked in a Dutch oven. The rest of a steak meal would consist of onion, potatoes, and dried beans known by trailers as "Pecos strawberries."


Trailing cattle was never the daring, thrill-seeking adventure portrayed in the Dime Novels of the time. In fact, it was downright dangerous on a daily basis. In the Chisolm Trail by Wayne Gard, the author tells of a herd that found a grave on the North Canadian that simply read: Killed by Indians. Besides the dangers of hostile Indians, there were rattlesnakes, prairie dog burrows, cholera, and deadly spring thunderstorms. Many a cowboy used his saddle for protection during a hailstorm which in severe cases had the potential to kill horses and cattle. In addition to hail, there were also the hazards associated with lightning, flooded river crossings, and tornado-like wind. And even upon reaching Kansas, there was always trouble with the locals. Bill Poage, a vetern of the trail commented in 1874 that - "There was scarcely a day went by that we didn't have a row with some settler." And Kansas farmers used Kansas law to their advantage. One enterprising ploy was to plow a furrow around a claim, by Kansas law this was considered a fence and any herds crossing the furrow were trespassing and the claimant could collect damages from the trespassing Texas herd.

The one danger that all trailers feared to a man was the stampede or "stompede" as most cowboys called it. A stompede could be caused by something as small as a flock of quail or as large as a bolt of lightning thrown down from the heavens. But whatever the cause, the panicked Longhorns might run a few miles or a hundred. Smart trailers immediately turned the stampede into a circle, allowing the cattle to "mill." Milling cattle soon exhausted themselves and often quieted, but once a herd stampeded, they had to be watched closely the rest of the day or night. Milling was not without its drawbacks. A milling herd could work off more pounds in a half-hour mill as running a couple miles. One of the worst recorded stampedes occured on the South Bosque River, Texas where trailers could not mill a panicked herd. The herd rushed headlong over a wide gully where 2,700 steers ended up dying in the rush.

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Trailing Cattle - A Short History Part 4

By 1867, six states had laws enacted or strenghtened laws prohibiting the movement of Texas and Indian cattle across their borders. Missouri's law was the harshest, as it gave inspectors the right to condemn and destroy any inspected cattle thought to be carrying Texas fever. Kansas law now expanded its ban on trailing from March to December, but carried one loophole...the southwestern boundry of the state, west of McPherson, was still open to drovers. The law also carried an important provision that would allow exploitation by a forward-thinking cowman: if a drover would post a $10,000. guarantee against damages to local farmers and towns, his herd could be moved north to the now expanding Union Pacific Railroad ship points. Once loaded on the rail, the cattle had to be moved outside of the state. Suddenly, the Texas cowmen had hope again. The question was - could anyone open up a new buying market in the geographic loophole so that cattle could be trailed north in 1867?

 As 1867 progressed, Southern drovers still found themselves buffeted in Southeastern, Kansas and Southwestern Missouri by armed mobs acting under the guise of a fear of Texas fever. The border instability caused Northern buyers to avoid carrying cash to purchase stock worsening the woes of the cowmen as a new gambit emerged from an unscrupulous ...segment of society. Con men were now offering worthless paper, (drafts) to unwary Texas drovers. As more and more cowmen were stung by this ploy, the continuance of the trailing industry seemed bleak until a young Illinois businessman, Joseph G. McCoy, formulated a plan by which Northern buyers and Texas drovers could meet undisturbed by outside influences to buy and sell cattle. McCoy's vision for a meeting location included a shipping yard, hotels, offices, and stock pens that could hold as many as 3000 Texas cattle. McCoy soon found his dream location in Abilene, Kansas. Abilene at the time consisted of 11 log cabins and two small businesses - but held two crucial ingredients that would aid in McCoy's success: ample prairie and good water. There was a problem however - Abilene lay 60 miles inside the Kansas legislature's ban boundry. McCoy proceeded nonetheless, sensing that Abilene's sparse population might hold little interest in enforcing the law, especially when they would be afforded the opportunity to sell goods and services at outrageous prices to the drovers from Texas. McCoy purchased 250 acres in Abilene on June 18th. By September 24th, the hotel and shipping yard were completed. And before the end of 1867, 35,000 cattle were trailed to Abilene.

 In the spring of 1868, the outlook for Texas cowmen had improved considerably. The new trail to Abilene, although not free of dangers, was most decidedly free of angry locals. The trail also offered drovers a more direct route as its path cut due North of its Red River crossing. (The Abilene trail was 150 miles West of the old Shawnee... Trail) In its infancy, the route to Abilene was called the Kansas Trail, the Abilene Trail, McCoy's Trail, the Great Cattle Trail, the Great Texas Cattle Trail, or the Wichita Trail. Around 1870, a letter in a Kansas newspaper stated: ...Osage Indians out on their spring hunt, had camped on the Chisolm Trail. Jesse Chisolm was a trader and guide who had operated at the mouth of The Little River in Arkansas and later on the North Fork of the Canadian River and on the Arkansas River. In 1865, Chisolm had trailed a herd of cattle over the Kansas prairies. Soon others began traveling what some called Chisolm's Trail. Chisolm died in March of 1868 never realizing that his name would achieve a place in American history. His route soon became part of the larger trail that was used to trail Texas cattle to Kansas markets.

Once the Chisolm Trail became the "trail" to Abilene - Fort Worth, Texas suddenly became the outfitting point for trailers. There a cowman could buy spare saddles, guns, rope, and food staples. At Fort Worth, a trail boss would cross his herd on the West Fork of the Trinity River, on to the village of Decatur, and then to Denton Creek... before arriving at the Northern boundry of the state. Most trailers crossed into to Indian Territory at Red River Station. Swimming the herds across the Red River was one of the most dangerous legs of the journey. The river could be flooded in the spring and featured whirlpools and quicksand. Once inside Indian Territory the herd might spend the first night on one of the branches of Beaver Creek. From there, the trail crossed the Washita River, Walnut Creek, the Red Fork of the Arkansas River, Turkey Creek, Skeleton Creek, the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River, Polecat Creek, and finally to the Kansas border. If all went well, the herd could cross Indian Territory in a month.

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Trailing Cattle - A Short History Part 3

In 1858, amidst the historic Lincoln - Douglas debates, Oliver Loving, from Palo Pinto County, Texas and a neighbor, John Durkee, drove their herds to Illinois and sold the stock at a considerable profit. However other Texas drovers would not fare so well that year. A new outbreak of Texas fever left thousand of local cattle dead in Missouri and once again the Missouri farmers took it upon themselves to turn back Texas cattle using force when needed. The Missouri situation caused many Texas drovers to take a new route skirting the eastern edge of Kansas to reach Kansas City or other points north. But the Kansas reprieve was short-lived as thousands of Kansas cattle soon became stricken with Texas fever. In 1859, the Kansas Territorial Legislature passed a protective act that prohibited cattle from Texas, Arkansas, and Indian stock from entering specific counties from June to November. Some Texas drovers treated the law with contempt thus forcing Kansas farmers to organize rifle companies to deal with the Texans and their cattle.

 By August of 1861, Pres. Lincoln forbade any trade with the South. Coupled with the number of Texans fighting for the Confederacy, (almost all outside of Texas), the state of the cattle business fell into a steep decline. Neglected herds now roamed over large portions of the state and calves would go unbranded for the ensuing war years. And for the trailing that did go on during the war, the majority of herds were driven to the East Coast to feed Confederate soldiers. A few notable Texas cowmen who supplied cattle for the south were John S. Chisum, Oliver Loving, and Jesse L. Driskill. But for a the majority of trailers , the war exacted a heavy toll as the profitable northern markets were now unavailable. But at war's end, a few forward-thinking men would see a fortune on the horizon. Those unbranded calves, now called mavericks, were seen to be a source of profit to the cowman who caught and branded them.

J. Frank Dobie always said the word had only two syllables and that a genuine Texan pronounced it: mav-rick. One legend has it that the word originated by the fact that Samuel Maverick would not brand or earmark any of his herd. His neighbors, however took to branding not only their cattle but his as well. This did not prevent Samuel from claiming any slick eared animal belonged to his herd. Over time, when observing a slick-ear, folks would say, "There goes one of Mr. Maverick's animals. Later, when observing any unbranded animal anywhere, the saying became: "There goes a Mav-rick." Another legend holds that the word comes from the name of a drover who lost his herd in a snowstorm. The cattle became so scattered that regrouping the animals became impossible. The off-spring of the scattered herd became known as Maverick's cattle.

 

By 1866, the push to trail cattle north resumed in Texas. Estimates from the time suggest as many as 300,000 head were trailed for northern markets that spring. But two cowmen decided they would follow a westward direction out of the state. The two, Oliver Loving and Charles Goodnight, combined their herds along the upper reaches of the Brazos River with the intent on moving them to the Rockies. However, there was one problem...Comanche lands blocked a direct route to Colorado. The two solved the problem by following the old Butterfield Stage Line through Buffalo Gap and then down to present day San Angelo.
From there they headed for Horsehead Crossing and the Pecos River. The cowmen then drove for Fort Sumner, NM. Of the 1000 steers they started with, 300 were lost by the time they reached Fort Sumner, but the NM market was willing to pay .08 a pound on foot. After selling all of their steers, 700 cows and calves remained. Loving trailed these north to Denver, while Goodnight rode back to Texas to gather another herd. In 1867, Loving followed the route and was attacked by Indians. The wounds he received eventually resulted in his death at Fort Sumner in September of that year.

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Trailing Cattle - A Short History Part 2

Texas' oldest and least known cattle trail was the Opelousas Trail. Some called this trail the Beef Trail and there is some confusion as to its route. Most historians credit the confusion to the fact that the trail was more than likely a network of trails crisscrossing East Texas. Historian W.T. Block wrote that ...the trail ran parallel to the Old San Antonio Road (Present day Interstate 10) following New Orleans, Opelousas, Beaumont, and on to San Antonio. During its peak, the Chisolm Trail would see 400,000 cattle driven to Kansas rail heads each year. The Opelousas Trail, on the other hand, never saw more than 75,000 animals per year, but lasted 90 years longer than the Chisolm. James Taylor White, who settled on Turtle Bayou near Anahuac in 1818, trailed cattle to New Orleans beginning in the 1820s. One of the Louisiana buyers purchasing White's cattle was Captain Arsene LeBleu de Comarsac, who had been one of Jean Lafitte's pirates in 1820. During White's peak years, he was trailing 2,500 cattle on the Opelousas Trail annually, for which he was paid $12 in gold per head. White died in 1851 leaving $150,000 in his bank at New Orleans. A tidy sum for the time.

The first recorded Northern drive out of Texas is credited to Edward Piper in 1846. Piper drove 1000 head to Ohio where he lost money at market, but Northward drives continued in size and scope during 1849 & 1850. The trail used by drovers during this time was an established route used by Native-Americans and traders.... Settlers called it, the Texas Road. Later, men who trailed cattle on this route referred to it as the Shawnee Trail. (Named for the Shawnee Hills) The Shawnee Trail would, in time, be referred to as the Cattle Trail, the Kansas Trail, or simply, The Trail. The Texas Road crossed into Oklahoma in present day Grayson County, Texas, where the herds swam the Red River at Rock Bluff Crossing. 

One branch of the Shawnee Trail ran through downtown Dallas, Texas and was known as the Preston Road. After pushing through Dallas, the trail crossed the Red, Canadian, Arkansas, and Grand Rivers before arriving just below the Southeastern corner of Kansas. There the trail split to the Northeast and Kansas City or East and St. Louis. In 1854, the first Longhorns arrived in St. Louis where the buyers viewed the cattle with some indignation, paying only $15-20 per head. A St. Louis newspaper reported that buffalo were more civilized than the Texas cattle.


By 1853, amid outbreaks of Texas fever in Missouri, the ranchers and farmers in the Western part of the state turned back a herd of Longhorns, steadfastly barring their entry. Texas fever, also known as Spanish fever or Mexican fever in Texas was spread by ticks, but in 1853, this was not understood by the gener...al public. The fact that the Texas cattle seemed immune to the disease and Midwestern cattle fell ill caused many states along the trails to enact quarantine laws restricting passage of Texas cattle to the winter months or routing cattle away from settled areas. Modern research has shown that the Longhorns were born with a partial immunity to the disease. This resistance lasted a few months after birth giving the animal just enough immunity to fight the pathogen during a widespread infection. From that point, the Longhorn could live in reasonable good health while still carrying the disease. In 1893, Theobald Smith & Fred Kilborne isolated the pathogen of Texas fever, a microscopic protozoan they named Pyrosoma bigeminium.

Mike Kearby's Texas Copyright 2011

Trailing Cattle - A Short History Part 1

In 1521, 28 years after Christopher Columbus landed the first Spanish cattle on Hispaniola. Gregorio de Villalobos transported a number of generational offspring from the original Hispaniola herd to New Spain. (Current day Mexico) In 1540, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado y Luján gathered 500 of Villalobos' original herd to supply food for his grandiose expedition in search of the Seven Cities of Cíbola. Along the way, Coronado left cattle in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas.

In 1690, General Alonso De León helped establish San Francisco de los Tejas, the first Spanish mission in East Texas. In doing so, he led four expeditions using what would become known as the Old San Antonio Road. During these explorations he crossed and named the Guadalupe River, the Medina River, the Nueces River, and the Trinity River. At each river crossing, De León left a bull and a cow. Left to propagate at will, these self-dependent, prolific breeders soon were as numerous as buffalo on the Southern Plains and throughout the South Texas brush. These cattle, were called Criollo by the Spanish. The Criollo had their roots in the desert country of Andulusia, Spain, and they flourished in the South Texas climate.

 

The secret Treaty of Velasco (May 1836) granted Texas the land between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande River as a part of the new republic. This disputed piece of real estate would become the stronghold of some 1.5 million cattle. In this vast stretch of no-man's land, a nursery if you will, a new cross-bred animal began to appear. This animal, a mixture of Cirollo and European introduced cattle, was highly adaptable to its environ. It did well in brush or swamp, with plentiful grass or rustling during drought. The animal, the Longhorn, evolved to run through the brush like an antelope, swim wide rivers, fight off wolves or coyotes, and although Spanish by origin, it became unmistakeably Texan. Texas Historian, J. Frank Dobie, said of this animal, "It is the peer of the bison and grizzly bear." By 1837, between the Rio Grande and the Nueces, the hunting of wild cattle by both Mexican and Texans became a regular business.

Many people believe that trailing cattle (as it was called in its infancy) originated after the Civil War, when a lone Texas herd headed for some vague point north of the 36th parallel. But as a matter of record, on April 21, 1836, the same day that Sam Houston and a bunch of Texans whipped the Mexican army, a herd of Texas longhorns from Taylor White's ranch west of the Neches River was trailing for New Orleans. And cattle had been trailed out of Texas even before that. Through the 'forties Texans trailed cattle north into Missouri and also to Louisiana markets. Beginning in 1850, thousands of steers were driven across the continent to California.

Mike Kearbys Texas  Copyright 2011

Ranger James B. Gillett & Onofrio Baca



Photo James B Gillett

 During a Christmas church festival in 1881, in Socorro, New Mexico, two Mexican brothers, Abran and Onofrio Baca got into an argument with the local newspaper editor, A.M. Conklin. After the services ended, as Conklin exited the church, Onofrio shot and killed the newspaperman.


The Baca brothers fled to Mexico but were soon hounded by a proclamation issued by the governor of the state for $500.00 for their capture. The citizenry of Socorro issued a similar proclamation with the exception that the reward would be paid for the Baca's delivered dead or alive. The proclamations became widely known throughout the territory. The Texas Ranger station in Ysleta, Texas, also received the circulars with the Baca's descriptions. One Ranger, James B. Gillett, began watching the home of the county judge, Jose Baca, the boy's uncle. Two months later, Gillett received information that the Baca's were staying at the judge's home. Gillett and a detail of four other Rangers captured the two men and hauled them to Socorro. Upon arrival in Socorro, Gillett learned one of the men was Abran, but the other was a cousin, Massias.

A month after Abran's capture, Gillett learned that Onofrio was in Saragosa, Mexico, four miles southwest of Ysleta. The Rangers never let international borders stop their pursuit of a criminal and Gillett, accompanied by George Lloyd, rode into the Mexican town and spirited Onofrio back to Texas.

Once back on American soil, Gillett took Onofrio by train to Socorro. Along the way, Gillett received a telegraph from the governor of New Mexico. Fearing mob violence in Socorro, the governor warned Gillett not to come off the train in Socorro.

The train reached Socorro late in the evening and upon its stop was immediately boarded by twenty-five armed men. Gillett told the men that he could not collect his reward for Baca if he did not deliver the man inside the jail. The mob agreed and allowed Baca's delivery to Deputy Sheriff Eaton at the Socorro jail. The next morning, a vigilante mob took Baca from his jail cell, escorted him to a nearby corral and hanged him.

Gillett's commander in Ysleta, Captain Baylor received an order after the Baca affair to never again allow his Rangers to follow fugitives into Mexico.

In 1921, Gillett wrote his memoirs, Six years with the Texas Rangers. It has remained in print ever since. The book was used as a school textbook for several years in as many as seventeen states. Gillett died on June 11, 1937 and is buried in Marfa, Texas.

Mike Kearby's Texas copyright 2011