The Washington herald., 1913-07-06

Growth from Eleven Men in 1873 to 10000 in 1913
President Carter "Ablest Labor Leader in America"

nshed, Mr.. Carter put smile into his
restless blue eyes and began to talk
MY stepfather was a prosperous cow
man in Texas" he said. IT was born
in 1850 In 1861 my father left our home
in Austin with a Confederate regiment,
and two years later was killed at viclks-
burg. Ny mother married again at the
close Of the war. Her husband had .
farm fifteen miles out in the country
and ranches in the northeastern part Of
the State. Ranchers, you understand.
didn't own their land-it belonged to the
public-but they did own their houses
and corrals. We usually had 1000 cattle
at pasture.
when Indians Came to Steal.
Il was persuaded to attend a paid
school three months every winter. Per-
suaded is the right word in connection
with that experience. But the ranches
were calling and from the age Of nine
until l was eighteen, I lived with the
cattle. Those were early days in Texas.
though 1 still regard myself as being
youngish man. Our house on the farm.
near Austin, was made of hewn logs.
There were four rooms downstairs and
two in the story above. Comanches
were then numerous in that region. They
were horse thieves, principally. but
would murder the settlers when they
thought 1t to be a necessary side-line OF
their business.
"our house was built to withstand tho
attacks of depredating Indians. There
were loopholes under the roof. through
which We could fire our rifles. Also
there were auger holes in the logs near
the ground so that we could chain our
horses to the house when the Comanches
came in the night to steal them. Word
would pass that the Indians were moving
and ther farmers and ranchers for miles
in every direction would bring their
families their horses, and their mules
to my stepfather's house. At night the
live stock would be tied and padlocked
the logs, the women and children would
sleep on the floor of the halls and rooms
downstairs, while the men, rifles in hand.
would wait upstairs for signals from the
guards stationed some distance away in
the high grass.
such were some of the experiences of
my earliest childhood. Game was sc
plentiful as scarcely now to be credible.
Deer and antelopes could be shot by the
hundreds, and 1 have seen herds Of
burfaloes stretching away as far as one
could see even with a spyglass. Nat
urally, became a cowboy. / have done
all the work that Is required on a ranch
and have spent weeks on the plains driv-
ing cattle to railway stations in Southern
Kansas. We read of cowboys in tales
of the West and see them on the stage,
but they are mostly bad or dramatic
characters. having a limited existence
in real life.
Picture of . Real Cowboy.
THE genuine cowboy was not a wicked
or a theatrical man. He was actually
prosy in his conduct except when he
was chasing a runaway steer or round
ing up a herd. / would describe him as
a cheerful, peaceful, and conscientious
worker.
THE fictional cowboy always wears
goatskin leggings. AS a matter Of fact.
the real cowboy almost invariably wore
lie -gings of smooth leather, Jeans panta-
looms, a blue flannel shirt, red. cotton
around his neck and boots
made to order with fancy designs at the
tops. His hat was white and cost about
IS. and as soon as he bought it he OF 4
friend would disfgure 1t with hearts,
clubs, spades, and diamonds drawn in
colored ink.
Before the civil war every one carried
arms. Indians Were numerous. The pistol
habit was continued in my day in har-
mony with tradition and not because the
cowboys wanted to kill one another or
make a tenderfoot dance a hornpipe or
set up the drinks.
There were homicides. I admit. bur
the victims and the murderers We're the
rinraff of the ranges, and were not rep
resentative cowboys. They are the ruff
fans who shot up towns when drunk and
were finally shot up themselves by the
Texas Rangers. and no questions were
asked either before the event or after.
| associated with cattle and cowboys, as
l have said. until was eighteen. trav-
eled on horseback as far West as Ell
Paso. only there was no town there at
that time l lived out of doors winter
and summer and carried books with me
so that 1 could read in the saddle or on
the ground when We camped for the
night.
Became Ranch Manager.
THE sailor has a pleasant time in
good weather. The cowboy has better
time when the sky is clear and the grass
Is belly-high to his long-horned cattle.
He can read and reflect and study ma
ture. But all the time he must be
because his steers are likely
to get homesick and drift away to their
old feeding grounds several hundred
miles distant. Then a norther may drop
the temperature 40 degrees in q very
few minutes and turn the falling rain
into sleet At such times the cattle
want to run. and the cowboys have to
ride like the wind and gradually ma
neuver them into their corral.
"A man by the name of Baker owned
a ranch and 500 cattle some twenty miles
from our headquarters. He wanted to
employ a manager to tidy up his place
so that he could sell out and quit the
cow business. / was recommended to
him by my stepfather. So at the age
Of eighteen / found myself in posi-
ton Of some responsibility. took two
Of our experienced cowpunchers with me
and spent several months in getting
property on a salable basis. "A
man will call on you in a few days he
wrote late in the spring. after the grass
has begun to grow. Show him around
and sell him the ranch without fall
when the man came everything was
in the best of order. I let him see the
young cattle and the fat cattle, but kept
him away from the old ones and lean
,nes. He bought the whole outfit Baker
hen telegraphed-the message being
brought many miles over the prairies-
hat he desired me to manage his tram
-oad. He offered me 800 a month. I
accepted the invitation by wire, though
ram-road was a new word to my vo-
.abulary. The cowboys. too, went up in
he air when I put the question to them.
Anyway. il was some kind Of a road.
was curious, but not embarrassed. 1t
,eemed to me that cowpunching fitted
man for banking. manufacturing, or
my Job that required hard work and
laring I'd be green at first, perhaps,