The weekly herald. [volume] (Amarillo, Tex.) 1906-19??, 1908-04-30
old BRINDLE
GLORIF|ED
L. B. Watkins Delivers Anus.
T. Address al CatlIemen'S
CONVENTION

Dumas, delivered before the Cattle
mems convention, Wednesday morn
ing last, on the subject OF "old
Brlndle" is here reproduced yerba-
| tim at the request of many who
| heard II.
! History tells US that an old biblical
character gave up all Of the striped
1ind OF his herd to his son. The boy
conceived the idea to peel the sticks
and stripe the posts at the watering
troughs that the greater part OF the
increase might be ring streaked and
striped" The success OF this effort
I'VE do not know, but this We do
know, that In the '70's the most Of
Tho Texas cattle were brindle, yell
lows, browns and reds. But that
was In the days before great improve
ments had set IN, the old time COW
IMAM had more improved way OF
making the streaks and the stripes
than peeling the sticks and painting
the posts. He took the red hot iron
and not only changed the streaks and
stripes, but transferred the title of
the cattle to his own convenience;
then again that was before there was
= Cattle Raisers Association and this
state and the territories was one
common grazing ground, before the
question had ever been asked who
the land belonged TO. Before the
shrlll whistle of the steam engine had
ever disturbed the buffalos and an
telopes, II was the cowmans paradise
and tho haven for old Brln.
But with the railroads came improve
ments old Brin was mated to a COM
panion OF another color, the Durham,
White Face, Hereford and the black
muly The offspring OF these noble
sires get old Brin into society fast.
We find her having a cattlemen's
convention on a small scale at first
but as the years so by II grows larg-
err and larger. In the early days OF
the convention we have hard speak
ers flatter the cattlemen and tell
them that they were the pioneers and
the developers of the country. We
have always accepted that they were
the pioneers but not developers, We
have ever contended the railroad
and the farmers, teachers and
preachers we're the ones that de-
veloped the country. One OF the
most fitting things we have ever
heard for the cowman was given TO
General Sheridan on one of his trips
OF inspecting the military post OF the
West. When he had reviewed {
soldiers and inspected the camp he
had one OF the Indians called and
through his interpreter he said,
"Jno. how do you like my soldiers?"
The Indian shook his head, as In
dams always do and said "chatal,"
which in Indian is mo good" The
Indian said General give me gun,
big gun, cannon, heap. The gen.
eral said John what you want with
cannon, to kill my soldlers?" The
Indian shook his head and said, mo,
no, kill soldiers with stick, want can
non to kill cowboy"
There is nothing like going to one
Of old Brins conventions, how good
we feel, knowing winter is over and
the cattle is safe. We have had let
ters from friends telling they would
there and Others we meet, and as we
talk over the days of the long ago,
happy days when we went on the
long spring roundups and over the
trail, cementing friendships eternal
bond that will last as long as life
itself Will last, Happy nights were
they as we sat around the camp fire,
talking OF the past, present and flu
ture and listening to the cowboy as
he stands his guard singing some
plaintive air Of the girl he left be-
hind. There is the old chuck wagon
as 1t stands by the brook with It's
ever abundance Of well-cooked beans,
the best beef that the herd affords
and the big old black coffee pot,
with its ability to furnish coffee for
thirty or forty men; and such coffee
will never be drank again unless
made under the same conditions by
the dear old camp fire.
Ladies! as we live again amid these
familiar scenes that are past and
gone are we not pardonable II we
shed the dignified poise Of manhood
and old age and live again as boys
on these occasions, for is 1t not
fact that one OF your fair sex APP
pealed to Father Time and said,
Backward, turn backward, o time
In your flight, and make me sweet
sixteen again, just for tonight" But
'ter we start home again from the