THU
!" IEMBER 1
1994 -
nl
Bluff
There was a Cattleman's Convention at Mobeetie, Texas,
and Colonel Charles Goodnight and Uncle Nick Eaton were
up there for two days. When they came back they got all
hands together and told them to clean their thirty-thirties,
wrap them in a blanket with two boxes of shells and put
them into the chuck wagon, get their best ponies and get
ready to ride to town.
We didn't l now what was going on and for that matter
didn't care. We rpde along with the chuck wagon and camped
on the outskirts of Mobeetie. We were a disappointed bunch
of cowboys, though, when we got strict orders to stay in
camp. But when we saw Nick Eaton's.chuck wagon and
riders, and outfits from some of the other ranches, come in
and camp near us we began to wonder what was up.
After a while Colonel Goodnight's foreman, a man
named Pennington, told us to come on - so we got on our
ponies and started for town.
We were joined by boys from the other outfits, and we
made a hard-boiled bunch of riders. The fore,ban of each
outfit took his riders up to the place where the cattlemen
were holding their meeting• We left our horses at the hitch
rack, filed into the room, lined up against the wall and
listened.
Colonel Goodnight was talking and he said something
like this: "We have enough evidence against them to hang
every damn one of them and that is what is going to hap-
pen right away. I have eighteen good riders, every one a
fighting man. Every one has a thirty-thirty, besides his
belt guns, and we have lost all the cattle we are going to
lose. Now we will clear the room and not let anyone in that
is not a cowpuncher• Each foreman must vouch for all his
men. We will fix up our plans and give the boys the names
of the men we want and they can bring them in. When we
will hold court and give them justice. Now, all you owners
keep you seats; and everybody else must go. A foreman will
be at each door to see that everyone who comes in belongs
you don't know but that you have orders to wait and then
maybe take a ride in the hills. Now, don't drink too much
and don't let any ]nan kick you into a fight.
The boys scattered and the foremen and the ranchers
had a celebration of their own laughing over the trick they
had played.
Of the eighteen men that left town that night only
three ever came back. They were very careful for a long
time not to lay a rope on a calf and when they did they
were promptly hung by the Vigilantes.
Late the next nmrning the different outfits started for
home. They had broken the cow-stealing ring without fir-
ing a single shot, and it stayed that way for a long time.
They still laugh, down there in Texas, about Colonel
Goodnight's bluff.
Whooping It Up, in Town
After the spring roundup, 1884, Colonel Goodnight and
J A outfit took a herd of up the trail to Kansas, where the
colone'l sold them. The cattle were shipped from Caldwell,
Kansas, to Kansas City and the colonel went along with
them to Kansas City. We made camp at the edge of town
where we were to wait until the colonel came back.
It was just at the beginning of the depression of the
middle '80, but money was getting tight and so was credit
for the cattlemen. Talk among the cow hands was that the
Colonel had gone to Kansas City to look into the situation.
After the cattle were shipped the boys all got paid and
went into Caldwell to have some fun. Rolla and I did not
drink but we went along to see the sights and there sure
were plenty of them. The town was full of railroaders, cow-
boys, freighters and traders, buffalo hunter, gamblers and
loafers of all kinds. The dance halls and saloons were run-
ning wide open.
We took turns going to town; part of the boys had to
stay in camp and take care of the remuda, that's the saddle
horses, and the stuff in camp. When the bunch got back
from town they watched the things and let the boys who
had stayed at camp go in and look around.
Rolls and I were watching the dancers one night when
a couple of pretty girls came up and asked us to dance. It
was the old-fashioned square dance and we were having
lots of fun. There were about, thirty-five railroaders in the
room and two of them had partners in the same set. They
were drinking heavily and could hardly stand on their feet.
Pretty soon the dancers got all tangled up and the floor
manager was trying to straighten them out. One of the
drunks came over and grabbed my girl and started back to
his set with her. The girl broke away from him and slapped
his face and just as I came up he struck at her with his fist.
l caught his arm and struck him right under the ear, knock-
ing him out cold.
There was a roar from the railroaders on the sidelines
and they all started for the dance floor• Rolls and I backed
against the wall and drew our guns. Telling the girls to get
into the other room, we waited for the mob to come on.
to immunize the Herefords, too, if he only could
tried everything he heard about but the Herefords
on dying.
One day Rolla and I were out on the range
the grass watching the cattle• We got to talking
Herefords and the Texas fever. Rolls said that he
thinking about it and he believed if the young
was taken away from its mother as soon as it was
not allowed to suck but given to a Texas cow
immune to the fever, the calf might become
disease.
His idea sounded sort of reasonable and I
to got to his Uncle Charlie and talk to him
when we went back to the ranch, Rolls went to the
and told him what he had been thinking. The colonel t
it might work, too, so he tried it. We used to
Hereford calf as soon as we found it and give it to
cow. We would milk the native cow's milk all over
then she would mother it.
It was slow but it worked and it was one of
things that helped the Hereford cattle to live in
were imported but they still died of the fever. It
until a generation or two of Herefords were raised i!
that they were immune to the Texas fever.
were better ways, but that was one of the first
was tried with any success. That was the be "
Hereford cattle in Texas.
The Parson
In the fall, 1884, Colonel Goodnight, Nick
Deaf Smith gathered up a bunch of cattle in the
part of Texas and drove them through to Caldwell,
to be shipped east.
A nice-looking boy came into our camp just
started the drive and wanted to ride through to
with us. The boss gave him a job as horse wrangler.
good, clean-looking boy and had a beautiful sin
He was rather small but well put together and had
retiring disposition. He never drank, used tobacco
and was always ready to help anybody. For his
ties we called him Parson. Whenever the boys
talking or acting tough, the Parson always had
his horses. He never carried a gun and showed
ing and good sense in every move he made.
The Parson helped drive clear through to
Kansas. When we got to Bluff Creek, where we
the end of the drive, the Parson quit and the boss
off. He shook hands with all of us and went to
the wagon went in for supplies.
The next day Rolla and I were saddling up to
the aRernoon watch when Rolls let out a
"Hold me down, buddy, look what's coming!" I
saw a lady riding the trail toward camp. She had
black riding habit with a pink silk waist and a
hat with a long curly ostrich plume around the
was riding sidesaddle, rode up alongside of us
in. This is a cattlemen's meeting for the purpose of stopping The other boys from our outfit were at the bar watch- "Hello, fellows, where are you going?"
cow thieves; no one but cattle men and their hands will be .drew .... ,, and ...... _t e,, igig. tt I loo ed at her a minute and then I said, "I don
allowed. ennington, who is my foreman, will- ouch': or l " o ac e . o aj r.. , ea gueu rm g .cr az v* , Y I've•'seen'y u
men :t e" has with him. Nick Eat0nl here , and :his b-5 .s are •
• just outside. . - - She laughed, i"Why Fra don't-you know
ready. You other men are as ready as you ever wilLlae' so ....... • ..... " . ,
There Were all kinds and sizes of guns working at theRolla took off his hat ntl- said, "WeHI be
let's clear out all but the cattlemen and get to work. Clear same time, from thirty-twos to forty-fives - and the gain- Oh, excuse me, Parson for swearing."
the room, boys."
The boys got busy and started to clear the room• There
were a lot of town loafers and shady characters who wanted
to stay and hear what was confing off, but they were all put
out and two guards were stationed at each door and win-
dow. The foremen stood at the doors and let in only their
own men.
After they were all settled down, Nick Eaton and Deaf
Smith, another big cattle owner, went out and the others
just sat around and waited for them to come back. When
they did come back they were laughing; they told the other
cattlemen their plan was working and they all laughed.
Then Colonel Goodnight said. "Pennington. take the boys
down and line them up against the wall in the saloon and "
let them stand there awhile and wait for orders. Now, they
will try. to get you to drink: but I don't want any damn one
of you to take a drink of any kind, so tell them you haven't
got time now but you will later, Now don't talk to anyone,
just go in and line up with vou backs against the wall and
stand there Until we . ,end ti)r you."
It was a very qmet town JUSt then. There were over
fifty armed cowboys ]n the different groups and they went
into every saloon and (lance hall in town and nobody wanted
to , tart any trouble with them as they stood silently wait-
ing orders. They wondered what the orders would be and
there were a good many others in the town that would have
liked to know. In that t)rief time there were eighteen men
who left town and went to the hills to camp until they could
learn how things were going to turn out After we had
stood there for hbout half and hour the foreman came in
and said. "Come on. boys, they are going to wait until morn-
ing and make a, clean sweep of the whole shebang. Let's get
b ck to camp."
We all file out and went to the chuck wagon where
the cook had supper ready and the foreman said. "Stay in
camp. boys: don't anyone go to town tonight. We have them
on the run and in the morning we will .finish up and hoist
a .few drinks and go back home•"
Pennington went over and joined the bosses and they
all rode into towg and weVt around asking.for certain men
who they knew had left town. Then. a little later, when
they saw a man ride out of town. they knew he was taking
word to the suspects who had left for the hills earlier in the
day, so they let him go - fbr that was part of the game.
The next mo ning Pennin on told Rolla. Jack and me
to get our rifles and go with him and the others, When we
roacl ed the first .sal%o9 saw, the = her foremen, with
s hall squads offencebow.; going rote the other saloons and
darfcg halls and wondered what it meant.
Pennington went up to the barkeeper and asked for a
man name The barkeeper said the man had not been in
that morning and he guessed he was down at his boarding
place Penning :on answered that we had just come from
there and he was not there. Then he turned to us and said,
"Co e on, boys. we will fred himif we have to go all over
hell with afine4ooth eoml " We turned and walked out and
went:over to whei"e' the boys from the other outfits had
gatll r( l': P etty,we saw another horseman ride out of
tqwn. the dir ctiofi of the hills, hell bent for leather• We
sfood around a little while longer; then the foreman said,
"All right, boys. go wet you whistle but don't take too much.
If anyone wants to know what we are going to do, tell him
biers were shooting their derringers, short-barreled pocket
pistols of large caliber• The air was idled with yells, creams
and oaths• The forty-fives of the cowboys were belching fire
clear across the room as we scrambled for the door. Outside,
finding that we were all there, we got on our ponies and,
shooting in the air a few times as we rode past the door, we
headed for camp.
The foreman was sitting on the wagon tongue and was
sure surprised to see us ride in so early, all sober. "What
the hell is the matter with you fellows?" he asked, "Have
they run out of whiskey and shipped all the girls out? What's
the reason for vo " getting in this time of night?"
"We joined the W. .TU ," Charlie Siringo replied.
One of the boys who ha'd stayed in camp said, "Hey,
boys. it's not late: let's go to town and start in where they
left off."
"'Well, go ahead, t llows," said charlie., "but I don't
thi nk the J A cowboys would be very welcome at :the dance
hall we just left." He gave them a rough idea of the, fight
and when he had finished, the foreman saddled up his pony
and rode into t wn to see what had really happened.
The boys all waited for him to come back until after
midnight. Th.en they went •bed and, Rolls, Jack Landrum
and I started out to look for the foreman. We met him not
far from camp, riding along samlaling the contents that
hung from his saddle horn.
"It's all right, boys!" he called to us. "I talked to the
manager of the dance hall and be said it was all the fault of
those drunken railroaders. He said you boys just finished
up what he started to do. He made the railroaders pay the
damages, and just so there would be no hard feelings he
gave me this jug of good whiskey."
The next day the foreman took the wagon to town and
had it loaded for the trip home. Colonel Goodnight got back
from Kansas City that day, so the next morning we pulled
out for the J.A.
.When we arrived ai the ranch, we found Quanah Parker,
with a band of Indian warriors and their womenfolk, camped
in the lower end of the canyon. Quanah Parker was chief of
the Comanche ][aditans. His mother, Cynthia Ann Parker,
w as a white w man. She had been captured as a child and
raised by the Comanche India is. When was grown she
married a Comanche warrior, so Quanah, their son, was
half'Indian. ,- ""
Coloi i G oodnight and Quanah Parker were firm friends
hey were glad to see each other. The colonel drove
some beeves down to the Indian-camp and there was feast-
ing and dancing among the warriors and their squaws. And
the colonel knew his cattle were safe from marauding
.Comanches for a long time. Herefords
Colonel Charles Goodnight was always interested in
the progress of the cattle business. He was a real old-time
cattle king and he Was always trying to improve his breeds.
He was a great leader and had far-sighted vision. He was
one of the cattlemen who organized the Panhandle Stock
Association in the early '80's to protect themsel, es against
the spreading of Texas fever by infected herds passing over
their ranges• The colonel tried to bring the Hereford cattle
into Texas, but they died with the Texas fever almost as
soon as he got them there. The Texas longhorns were im-
mune to the disease and the colonel knew there was a way
Some of the other boys gathered round and we
gized for some of the language we had used on the
The Parson explained to us she had been obli
from Texas to Topeka, Kansas, and since there was
road across the Indian Territory, she had decided
,with us on our drive, letting on all the time that
boy. Now that we had reached the railroad at
could go on to Topeka by train. But she said she just
leave without telling us all good-by. The 8ehoolttaeher
After we got back home to the J A ranch,
Goodnight had us drive a herd of about forty-five
head of cattle to another range. We were west of
Texas, and had five brands of cattle in the herd,
longhorns and a few extra longhorns.
One day we passed a schoolhouse. In those
had a fence wherever you didn't want the cattle to
the schoolhouse was fenced in. The schoolteacher
the children were out in the yard watching the
The teacher was small and young and just as
could be. By gosh, she was a beauty! We rode
twenty steps of the schoolhouse. Rolla was
of me in the swing and I was on the flank. When
to the school house I hollered at Rolla, "Oh Rolla,
off right here and finish our education."
Rolla hollered back, "We21 draw our money
and come back." Then we rode on.
Up at Enid, Oklahoma, in 1945, Rolla and I
helping a girl named Betty Jo Glover with some
facts for a historical-event contest in which she
prize. We were there when the prize was awarded
the ceremony was over, Betty Jo said, "Let's 'go
visit Grandma. She is an old Texas
know she would like to meet you men. Her name is
Swindler."
So we went over to meet Grandma Swindler -
her mother and father and Rolla and I. The old
was just as white as milk, long and wavy and
She wasn't any bigger than a prairie but just
a three-year-old. By George, she was active! She
see pretty good too. Mr. Glover introduced us as a
old Texas cow hands. She shook hands with us
"It's good to meet some of the old boys from Texas.
know lots of Texas cow hands. When I was young
teach school out west of Fort Worth. One day the
big herd of Texas cattle going by the schoolhouse
children wouldn't study anyway, so I let them all
yard to look at the cattle. The herd had pretty near
the school when one of the fellows called out to a
ahead of him, 'Let's stop here and finish our
other one answered, 'Wait till we draw our money
come back,' but they never did."
I looked at Rolla and laughed. "Oh yes they
said, "we're here to finish up!"
Buckskin Pete's Fight with the Indians
Rolla and I were still riding, helping drive
cattle up the Chisholm Trail. There were two
close together by night but there was a herd
and we didn't know what they were going to do.
As I have said, in driving a herd of cattle
out front are called the "pointers"; the ones you
alongside the herd are the "swing," and the
