TX BIOS  Bud Brown, Ft. Worth TX

   Selected and converted.American Memory, Library of Congress.
   
   Washington, 1994.
   
   Preceding element provides place and date of transcription only.
   
   This transcription intended to be 99.95% accurate.
   
   For more information about this text and this American Memory
   collection, refer to accompanying matter.
   
   U.S. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project (Folklore
   Project, Life Histories, 1936-39); Manuscript Division, Library of
   Congress.Copyright status not determined.
   
   00011
   
   Gauthier, Sheldon F.
   
   Rangelore
   
   Tarrant Co., Dist. #7
   
   Page #1
   
   FEC [12?]
   
   Bud Brown, 77, living at 200 Emma St., Fort Worth, Tex., was born in
   Stoddard co., mo., in 1861. [His?] father, E. B. Brown, came to Fort
   Worth with his family in 1877, where he entered the saloon business.
   Bud attended the first public school established in Fort Worth. He
   watched the cowboy, ranchman and buffalo hunters transacting business,
   also, entertaining themselves in the various places of amusement, then
   provided in the town, during the early days. When he reached manhood's
   estate, he entered the saloon business. He operated a saloon in
   Colorado City when the town was solely a cowtown. He attended the
   cattleman's convention held in that town in 1886. His story of early
   range life follows:
   
   "I was born in Stoddard co., Mo. in Feb. 1861. My parents came to Fort
   Worth, Tex. in 1877, which was about one year after the T. & P.
   railroad built into the town.
   
   "When we arrived in Fort Worth, the town was clustered around the
   courthouse square. The principal business houses were on Weatherford
   St., and extended south for about a block on Main, Houston and Rusk
   (now Commerce) Sts. The residential section extended east and west
   from the business section. The business houses were almost entirely
   one and two-story frame structures.
   
   "At the time my parents arrived in the town, there was one public
   school. It was located at Weatherford and Elm Streets. The J. Hunter
   home is now located on the old site. The school building was known as
   the Callaway Building. The principal was Alex Hogg. Susie Hoffman,
   sister of Walter Hoffman, was the teacher, and I attended this school.
   
   "We secured our supply of water from the Trinity River. The water was
   hauled to the school in barrels. During warm weather, we pupils
   suffered thirst rather than drink the putrid water. We [waited?]
   [until?] [school?] [was?] [out?] [and?] [could?] [go?] [home?].
   
     NOTE: C12 - 2/11/41 [?]
     
   00022Ice was a scarce article those days, and during the summer months
   the only cool water we could get, before wells were sunk, was from
   springs. around the vicinity of the courthouse were several wells
   which had been dug by U.S. soldiers at the time the Fort was located
   here.
   
   "Fort Worths at the time of my school days, was surrounded with
   cowcamps. There were some farms scattered in the vicinity, which were
   fenced, but the longhorn was king. For instance, north of Fort Worth,
   after passing J. A. Putnam's place, which was fenced, but was an open
   range country that extended practically to Denver, Colo.
   
   "Among the prominent cowcamps north of Fort Worth were those of
   Charles Goodnight, John Goodnight, Jim Reed, [Bob?] Ellison, Dan
   Waggoner, E. B. Harrold, Burk Burnett and Col. Joe Goodwin.
   
   "Dan Waggoner controlled, and I guess owned, the major part of 50
   square miles of land in the vicinity of Decatur, Tex.
   
   "In the territory west of town, after a few miles out, was practically
   one cowcamp after another. It was the same north of town. The men on
   the streets were almost entirely cowmen, dressed in their range
   outfits. The high-heel boots, spurs, ten-gallon hat and a six-shooter
   hung at their side. In addition, there was the buffalo hunters. The
   hunters brought hides into town and stacked them where the Brown
   building is now located. They bought their hunting supplies here and
   departed to the West, where the slaughter was taking place. The
   buffalo hunter's trade was a big factor in giving A. J. Anderson his
   start in the gun store business. His trade from the buffalo hunters
   amounted to around $50,000.00 a year, during the period buffalo
   hunting lasted. 00033"Forth Worth was supported by the money coming in
   from the buffalo hunters and the cowman.
   
   "My father, after his arrival here, considered the nature of business
   to enter for a livelihood. He chose the saloon business because it was
   one of the leading lines and doing the greatest business of all other
   lines, during that period. He established a saloon at Third & Main
   Sts. and named it the "Ruby Bar".
   
   "I recall the soda-water man of those days, because soda-water was my
   drink. John [Beherns?] was the man from whom father bought his
   soda-water supply. [Beherns?] was the first soda-water manufacture in
   the town.
   
   "I shall mention some of the first men in various lines of business in
   Fort Worth. For instance, Dahlman operated the first meat processing
   establishment. If my memory is correct, the plant started as a beef
   packing institution, but finally changed to processing work
   exclusively. The establishment was located between E. Ninth and
   Eleventh Sts. at the edge of the [sheer?] bluff bordering the Trinity
   River bottom.
   
   "Dahlman was also one of our leading drygoods merchants. Another
   leading merchant was B. C. Evans, whose place of business was located
   at First & Houston Sts. His store occupied the ground floor, and the
   noted Evans Hall of those days was on the second floor. The classy
   saloon of the town was operated by our Mayor, G.H. Day, but the
   notorious place of business was the Waco Tap, a honkytonk operated by
   Pony Bell and Dutch Rose. The place was a combination saloon, gambling
   house and queen parlor. The place occupied two stories. The ground
   floor was devoted to the bar, which was about 60 feet 00044long, a
   dance floor, and in each of the four corners of the ground floor was
   some gambling game. The second floor was divided into about 20 rooms,
   which were occupied by the women who worked in the place.
   
   "The queens were employed to entertain the men. The girls danced and
   drank, which was a part of their work. The queens received a
   percentage of all drinks served to them and their partners. The girls
   were adopt in luring the men into dancing and buying drinks. The
   ladies would always call for the most expensive drinks, but the
   bartender would mix the girl's drinks very light so that they could
   drink and remain sober.
   
   "The Waco Tap was not the only place of its kind. There were the White
   Elephant, Occidental, First and Last Chance and others, which
   furnished entertainment to the visitors.
   
   "Our leading newspaper was the Fort Worth Democrat, published by Capt.
   B.B. Paddock. Chas. [Hoazle?] published the Evening [Mail?]. Each of
   these men were live wires. B.B. Paddock was the most prominent civic
   leader of the town. He was constantly boosting for the town and
   predicting for it a great future. "The Gateway of the West" was his
   slogan. Peter Smith was Paddock's partner. Paddock created in the
   interest in the various movements, and Smith was the man who followed
   up in getting the citizens to put up the money to carry the projects
   through to success. Smith had the ability to make the boys shell out
   the coin. 00055"Our main place for public gatherings was Cold Spring,
   located at the junction of Cold Spring Road and the old Birdville
   Road, about two miles northeast of the courthouse. At the spring there
   was a pavilion, a saloon, a shady grove and a race track. The shade
   trees shaded about an acre and a half of land. The saloon was named
   the "First and Last Chance". It was the first chance to buy a drink
   coming into town from the east, and the last chance leaving the town
   going that way. The race track was located west of the Trinity River
   which flowed past the spring, and occupied the land commencing at the
   river and extending almost to the bluff south and west of the river
   bottoms.
   
   "When I was about 18 years old, I went to work with my father tending
   bar in his saloon, and learned the saloon business. I went to Colorado
   City in 1881 and tended bar for a time. Later, I established a saloon
   of my own.
   
   "Colorado City was the leading cowtown of that territory at the time.
   It was a typical frontier cowtown and the town's sole support came
   from cattlemen. Also, I may add, that the town was well supported.
   
   "The leading ranchmen of the Colorado territory, at the time I
   operated a saloon there, were Winfield Scott, C.C. Slaughter, Andy
   [Merchant?], Clay Mann, and one or two others which have passed out of
   my mind at this moment.
   
   "There was an abundance of money. It was not unusual to see a man
   reach in his pocket and pull out a pouch containing several hundred
   dollars in $20.00 gold coins. 00066"Gambling was one of the
   diversions, and all the popular games were operated to accommodate the
   cowhands. To present an [idea?] of the extent the boys played, I shall
   tell about a game Clay Mann was engaged in.
   
   "Bob Winders was one of the [monte?] dealers, and an excellent [?], of
   those days. Clay Mann came in one day and looked over the stack of
   $20. gold [conins?] stacked on the table. The coins covered [?] space
   about one foot square and were stacked about six inches high. Bob was
   running the cards and had turned up a jack. Clay Mann said:
   
   "'Bob, I want to bet a mule's tail and some coin on that jack.'
   
   "'Alright, Clay', Bob said, "lay out what it takes to talk.'
   
   "Clay reached in his shirt bosom and pulled out two sacks of money,
   which he emptied in his ten-gallon hat, so the money could be easier
   reached. The hat's crown was almost full of gold coins.
   
   "The time was about 1 P.M. when Clay and Bob began to play monte and
   Clay played steadily till 12 o'clock without stopping to [?]. Several
   times he went out for sandwiches and munched while playing. He would
   occasionally send for a drink from the bar.
   
   "At one time Clay was close to $10,000.00 winner and at another time
   he was about the same amount loser. However, when Clay quit he [?]
   $100.00 winner.
   
   "Games such as Clay played were not unusual those days, and losses and
   winnings often ran into the thousands.
   
   "I prevented Clay from being killed or killing a man, and [?] relate
   the incident to illustrate a frequent occurrence. Those days, shooting
   affrays were not an exciting event. But, we prevented killings if it
   was not too much trouble, especially if a friend 00077was involved.
   
   "A fellow named Geo. Gadden and Clay Mann had a dispute and there
   existed bad feeling between the two men. I noticed Gladden standing
   behind the front door, one afternoon, seemingly intend watching for
   something. I asked Gladden what he was waiting [?] and he replied "a
   friend of mine". I knew from the tone of his voice that the remark was
   [sarcasm?]. I looked out of the door and saw Clay Mann coming. It then
   occurred to me that Clay was the object of Gladden's watch.
   
   "I stepped outside and told Clay to come in at the back. He accepted
   my advice and came in through the back door.
   
   "When Clay came into view at the back door, he saw Gladden and Gladden
   saw Clay at the same moment. Each man reached for their guns. Dick
   Wise, city marshal at the time, came in the saloon at the same instant
   the men were reaching for their guns. He stepped quickly in front of
   Gladden, and with a drawn gun ordered Gladden to march ahead of him
   out of the saloon.
   
   "About this time the T. & P. railroad had built to and expanded beyond
   Colorado City, and I made a trip to Fort Worth to visit my father.
   
   "When I arrived at home, I found father so busy he had not time to do
   much more than [any?] 'hello, I'll see you later'. Father, and many
   others, were busily engaged in thwarting three U.S. marshals and six
   rangers in their attempt to take Jim Courtright, a former city marshal
   and well known citizen, out of the State of Texas, and to the
   Territory of N. Mex., to be tried on a charge of murder.
   
   "Jim had been employed as a mine guard in the Territory, and
   00088several men had been killed during some trouble which happened
   [?] the mine. Courtright returned to Fort Worth after the trouble took
   place, and was in business here operating a detective agency.
   
   "The officials from N Mex. came here with a warrant and, instead of
   requesting the local sheriff to act in conjunction with them, they
   proceeded to handle the matter alone. I suppose, to [?] time or to
   avoid extradition proceedings. The officers lured Courtright to the
   Continental Hotel, under [pretence?] of employing him. At the hotel,
   he met two more men and the three disarmed him and held him under
   arrest. They refused him a chance to communicate with his friends. The
   officers intended to depart on the 6:30 P.M. [?] & P. westbound train
   with their prisoner before anyone would know what had happened to
   Courtright.
   
   "The employees of Courtright, at his office, became alarmed when he
   failed to return or send word where to find him. Chas. [?], who
   published the Evening Mail newspaper, heard of the accident and spread
   the alarm through the town, and suggested that the citizens do
   something about the matter. He said, "we can't [?] foreign officers to
   come into Fort Worth and carry off one of our citizens without due
   process of law'. Therefore, the citizens went into action.
   
   "When the officers, with their prisoner, arrived at the depot, they
   found it crowded and surrounded with people. District Judge [?] was
   among those present, and an application for a writ was presented to
   him. He accepted the application and issued an order that the prisoner
   be delivered into the custody of the sheriff of [Tarrant?] co.,
   pending a hearing on the merits. 00099"The order of Judge Head
   thwarted the N. Mex. officials' intentions, but they put up a fight
   for the prisoner at the hearing and won.
   
   "The officers notified their Territory officials of the state of
   affairs. A request made of the Governor of Texas for protection of the
   three marshals while in Fort Worth. Six Texas rangers were assigned to
   render the necessary protection.
   
   "During the time the legal question was being decided, friends of
   Courtright were busy arranging for the next move.
   
   "The N. Mex. authorities made arrangements to leave, with their
   prisoner, on the 6:30 P.M. train, and engaged supper at Merchant's
   restaurant, which was operated by Lawson and [Hirley?], to be served
   at [:45?] P.M.
   
   "When the officers called at the restaurant for their meal, they were
   seated at one table, with Courtright sitting at the end and the
   officers and rangers sitting at the two sides of the table. Soon as
   the officers arrived at the restaurant, it began to fill with people,
   and soon every inch of room was occupied.
   
   "The meal was served and the men were eating when the clock started
   its strike of 6 o'clock. With the first sound of the clock's striking,
   Courtright reached under the table and jumped to his feet at the same
   instant. He held a 45 caliber six-shooter [?] each had, and covered
   the officers and rangers. At the same instant, the officers jumped to
   their feet, simultaneously the officers and rangers had each of their
   arms locked behind their back, [?] two men. One man for each arm had
   taken their stand waiting for the move. 001010"Each of the men holding
   the officials continued to speak pleadingly to their captives, saying,
   'don't shoot, because with this crowd present some innocent person
   might get shot'. During this period Courtright walked out through the
   back door. In the alley was a speedy horse, which Courtright mounted
   and rode to a friend's house.
   
   "The next day, Courtright was placed in a wooden box and shipped to
   Galveston by express.
   
   "My father helped A.J. Anderson place the two guns at the end of the
   table where Courtright was seated, and helped Hoezle pick the 18 men
   who locked the officers' arms, and the other arrangements necessary to
   enable Courtright to make his escape.
   
   "Now, let us return to Colorado City, where I was in business at that
   time.
   
   "The cattlemen with ranches in the Colorado City district were
   [beset?] with range trouble. There was the rustler trouble, as well as
   the disputes over range rights and branding of Mavericks. Therefore,
   the ranchers decided to organize and adopt ways and means to eliminate
   the troubles.
   
   "A convention was held in Colorado City in 1886. The meeting was
   attended by all the leading ranchers of the district, and may came
   from distant places. After the cattlemen began to organize, matters of
   dispute began to disappear to a great extent. I attended the meeting
   and listened to some of the proceedings, as a spectator, but could not
   spend much time at the meeting. The town was filled with delegates and
   visitors; therefore, my place of business required my attention.
   001111"To say that the town was busy waiting on the trade, is stating
   the situation [mildly?]. There existed a scramble on the part of the
   visitors to get waited on. My bar was crowded from the hour of
   opening, till we closed in the wee hours of the morning. Rancher after
   rancher would come in and call every person in the bar up to 'name
   their [pizen?]'. When a rancher gave such order, each bartender would
   report to me the total charge for the drinks he served. I then would
   total the bill for the treater, who would place the money, usually in
   gold coins on the bar. The amounts were from $5.00 to $15.00, and many
   times more, especially if champagne had been served. Such treats as I
   have described were not just an occasional happening, but frequent
   during the convention.
   
   "About this time, Winfield Scott sold his cattle interest in the
   Colorado City district. Scott came to Fort Worth and invested his
   money in real estate. Chas. Dickinson, who was one of the firm of
   [Ligon?] & Dickinson, was Winfield Scott's agent. It was not long
   after Scott began to buy Fort Worth real estate until the value of
   property almost doubled.
   
   "Winfield Scott built the Metropolitan Hotel (now Milner). At the time
   his hotel was built, its location was in the county, comparatively
   speaking. Folks remarked about 'Scott building such a magnificent
   hotel away out on Ninth & Main Sts.' Time proved that Scott knew what
   he was doing.
   
   "Winfield Scott was not the only man, and rancher, who saw the future
   of Fort Worth, as B.B. Paddock predicted in his newspaper. Monuments
   evidencing the belief in Fort Worth's future stand today in the form
   of many magnificent business structures built by Scott, the Waggoners
   and the Burnetts.

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