TX BIOS:  James Childers
   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.
   
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   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
   
   [Folk?] Stuff - [Rangelore?]
   
   Gauthier, Sheldon F.
   
   Rangelore
   
   Tarrant Co., Dist. #7 [3?]
   
   Page #1
   
   [FEC?]
   
   James H. Childers, 83, living at 1320 College Ave., Fort Worth, Tex.,
   was born on a plantation in Murray co., Ga., Dec. 10, 1855. His
   parents were Jane (Gray) Childers and John Childers. Prior to the
   Civil War and his death in 1857, his father was the overseer for a
   large plantation owner in Murray co. After the Civil War, in 1868, his
   mother, Mrs. John Childers, moved to Tennessee. James H. Childers came
   to Tarrant co., Texas, in 1877. He bought a tract of land nine miles
   [S.W.?] of Fort Worth, on which land he developed a farm. He was ranch
   foreman of the [W?]. J. [Boaz?] cattle ranch for a period of 17 years.
   After terminating his employment with the [W?]. J. [Boaz?] ranch, he
   bought additional land adjacent to his farm and entered the cattle
   business, and has since continued in the cattle business. He was
   elected to the office of County Commissioner in 1918 and served the
   terms. His story:
   
   The place and date of my birth was Murray co., Ga., Dec. 10, [1855?].
   My parents were John and Jane (Gray) Childers. Father was an overseer
   for a large plantation owner of Murray county. Father died in 1857,
   and mother moved to Tenn. in 1868, where she had relatives living. I
   lived with her and farmed until I was 22, which was in 1877, and then
   I came to Texas. I came direct to Fort Worth and have lived here ever
   since.
   
   "When I came to Fort Worth the T. & P. was its only railroad, having
   built into the city the previous year. At the time I arrived I was
   compelled to walk over a mile to Main St.
   
   "This spot of ground where I am now living was part of a cattle ranch,
   as was practically all the South Side of Fort Worth. There were a few
   houses and cultivated fields scattered through the region.
   
     NOTE: C12 [????]
     
   00022"The business establishments of the city was situated around the
   south side of the courthouse square and extended south for about three
   blocks. The main residential section extended out from the business
   section east and west for a few blocks.
   
   "The principal business of the town was cattle dealing. The people of
   Fort Worth lived on incomes derived from the ranches which surrounded
   the town for many miles. At the time of my arrival there was also a
   considerable buffalo hide business transacted here. Buffalo hides were
   hauled into Fort Worth by teams from the [West?] and shipped out of
   here by train.
   
   "Every day, one could see a hundred or more wagon loads of dry hides
   pulling into the city. Almost all the wagons had a loaded trailer
   hitched to it. The block of land where the [Wood's?] building is now
   located, on Lancaster Ave., was the buffalo hide yard. Haulers arrived
   and unloaded hides through the day. At times the yard was covered with
   hides stacked several feet high.
   
   "One would see large numbers of cowboys on the streets everywhere,
   dressed in their full range attire, the 10-gallon hat, high heel
   boots, bandana around their necks, cartridge belt and the six-gun.
   Also, the buffalo hunters and hide haulers were conspicuous by their
   numbers.
   
   "The town was rough and ready. If one desired a little or a large
   amount of trouble, he could easily find it, but if one wished to be
   peaceful and not [intrude?] on any one there [DEL: there :DEL] was
   little danger of being molested or harmed.
   
   "The cowboys were bent on having fun when in town, and they were
   somewhat rough in their method of play. [With?] 200 or 300
   00033cowhands in a town the size Fort Worth was in those days, it was
   impossible to handle the crowd and compel the boys to confine their
   hilarity to genteel manners.
   
   "I have seen 20 to 30 mounted cowboys leaving town in a crowd, riding
   at top speed and all shooting their guns in the air and yelling as
   wild Indians. It was not an unusual occurrence for a crowd of cowboys
   to shoot the bar fixtures of some saloon full of holes, just to enjoy
   seeing the patrons duck and run for cover. Also, shooting out the
   lights of some establishment was one/ of their favorite games.
   
   "One night I watched a crowd of waddies celebrating in a saloon. The
   bartender failed to serve a drink as quickly as one of the waddies
   desired to be served and the fellow shot a hole into a barrel of
   whiskey so he could get his drink of whiskey from the liquor as it
   poured out of the hole.
   
   "It must be said to the credit of the waddies, that they always paid
   for their fun. [When?] the boys had shot out the lights, shot the bar
   fixtures, or any other damage which they did, they would return and
   pay for all destroyed property.
   
   "During the early days, the streets of Fort Worth were not paved, so
   when there was a period of wet weather the streets were impassable in
   many places. It was a common occurrence, during wet weather, to see
   teams stuck in a mud hole. Between the courthouse and the depot there
   was about three blocks of plank sidewalk. Some of those planks were
   loose, and one was compelled to stop cautiously or take the chance of
   being tripped. 00044"Rush St. (now Commerce) was the notorious street
   of the town. The principal business places located on the street were
   [quean?] joints, gambling houses, saloons and honky-tonks. The waddies
   rode into town from distances as far as 100 miles to celebrate. Rush
   street was where they went to take in the sights. As a rule, the
   street furnished any diversion which one cared to indulge in.
   
   "My first move after arriving here was to locate a tract of land. I
   bought a tract located nine miles southwest of Forth Worth and
   established a farm.
   
   "It was necessary to fence the cultivated field to keep the cattle
   out, because the entire country was on open range, except for a few
   scattered fenced fields.
   
   "During my first year in Fort Worth, I became acquainted with [W?]. J.
   [Boaz?], one of the early day ranchers, and about the year 1880 I
   accepted the position as ranch foreman under him. His ranch was
   located west of Forth Worth, about 10 miles, where [Seabrook?] is now
   located. [Boaz?] owned almost 3,000 acres of land entirely devoted to
   ranging cattle. In the same section were located Corn's, Winfield
   Scott's, [?] and other ranches. The ranches utilized the Clear Fork of
   the Trinity River for their cattle's water supply.
   
   "The [Boaz?] ranch varied greatly in the number of cattle we ranged.
   At times we would have over 1,000 head and then we would sell till the
   herd numbered as low as 200.
   
   "[Boaz?] did not raise many of his own cattle, but bought and sold
   constantly. When he found a good buy he bought the cattle 00055and
   would range the animals till he could sell at a satisfactory price.
   
   "The first year I managed the [Boaz?] ranch we fenced the 3,000 acres
   and thereafter our crew numbered about six hands. We used our waddy to
   ride the fence line constantly. His job was to inspect the fence for
   defects and repair all minor defects, but if he found a major break,
   such as a broken post, broken or cut wires, he would report it, and a
   repair crew, with the necessary material, would make the repairs.
   
   "Occasionally, we would find the wire cut. The wire cutting was done
   by cattle thieves, [who?] cut a gap through which they would drive the
   stolen stock. [We?] were compelled to keep a close watch for thieves.
   One or two men were used to ride the range whose principal job was to
   watch the thieves. Also, to attend to injured and bogged cattle.
   
   "[We?] kept salt [licks?] close to headquarters and near the river
   where the cattle could get water, and near the licks is where the
   cattle chose their bedding grounds. The cattle would range over
   various sections of the range during the day and begin to drift
   towards their bedding ground towards the late part of the evening. By
   coaxing the cattle to bed near the headquarters, we reduced the
   [chances?] of having cattle stolen during the night. Our time of
   trouble with rustlers was during the day when the cattle would scatter
   and some grazed near the fence. If a thief was watching for a chance
   to steal some of our cattle, it was an easy matter for him to cut the
   fence and drive the cattle away. Our losses to the thieves were small
   because of the fence and the constant watch 00066we maintained.
   
   "The man who suffered the most from rustlers in our section was Corn.
   A thief came very near to putting Corn out of the cattle business. For
   a period of time he was losing cattle constantly. In order to create
   an interest in catching the thief, Corn offered a reward of $500.00.
   Corn's foreman was a fellow named Mitchell and he stayed awake many
   nights watching for the thief, and during the day he put one of the
   waddies attending to part of the foreman's work so that he could
   devote the time watching for the rustler. But he was unsuccessful.
   
   "Tom Snow, now deputy sheriff, was just commencing his career as a law
   enforcement officer, and one day a negro came to Tom with several
   letters and a complaint. The colored fellow's complaint was that the
   man he had been hauling some cattle for had cheated him out of some of
   his pay. The negro said he had hauled cattle from Corn's ranch and the
   dispute, over pay, developed the previous day. He had hauled a large
   cow into market and the weather was exceedingly hot, and because of
   the weather condition the cow became overheated and died. The negro
   and his employer took the [carcass?] to a ravine east of the city
   where they skinned and quartered it. The rest was sold to a retail
   butcher named Zimmerman.
   
   "The letter dropped out of the employer's pocket when he took his coat
   off and threw it on a bush, while skinning the cow. The negro took the
   letters to Tom Snow to disclose the name of his employer. The letters
   were addressed to Mitchell, Corn's foreman. "Mitchell was a man with
   an excellent reputation and had worked hard to catch the rustler, even
   to staying awake night and 00077laying out on the range watching but
   there were the letters. Snow went to the ranch and arrested Mitchell,
   and when the prisoner was confronted with the letters and the story as
   told by the negro, he confessed. He was tried and sent to the
   penitentiary. The stealing stopped on Corn's ranch immediately with
   the arrest of Mitchell.
   
   "This series of incidents took place before the days of the
   automobile. [With?] the coming of the automobile truck, there came a
   change in the methods of the cattle rustler. Now, the rustler hauls
   the cattle off in a truck instead of driving the critters off or
   loading the animal in a wagon.
   
   "The rustlers have improved their methods, keeping progress with the
   times, and now have a trailer or truck and gate arranged to meet their
   needs. The boys now back their vehicle up to a fence and the end gate
   is lowered and the top part reaches [over?] the fence and rests on the
   ground. This arrangement forms a chute, up which the cattle are
   driven. The present day tame cattle can be driven up a chute very
   easily. Even a more adequate arrangement than the end gate is used by
   some. It is known that some thieves use a crane with which they lift
   the cattle out of the pasture and swing the critters into the truck
   bed. By using the crane, all that is necessary is to drive the critter
   to the side of the fence and throw a swing-harness on the animal, and
   then use the crane.
   
   "The sale of stolen cattle has been greatly restricted by the efforts
   of the Cattlemen's Association. The Association maintains inspectors
   at the cattle markets and they watch for brands which are reported
   stolen. However, there are buyers who buy stolen 00088cattle, but make
   the purchases outside of the regular markets.
   
   "An incident which took place between [Weston?] and Corn is brought to
   my mind by talking about cattle rustling.
   
   "When I first came to Fort Worth, there were a few unbranded cattle to
   be found on the range. Also, occasionally, a stray branded critter
   would be found which had gotten away from some herd which had been
   driven through Fort Worth.
   
   "The various ranchers kept on the watch for strays. One day [Weston?]
   and Corn were riding over the range region together and found three
   head of tiptop strayed yearling steers. [Weston?] suggested that Corn
   and he flip a [coin?] for the odd steer and to drive the steers to
   their ranch. This suggestion was agreeable to Corn and the [coin?] was
   flipped, resulting in [Weston?] winning the odd steer. Then Corn
   suggest that they should return the following morning to get the
   steers, because the hour was late, and driving the steers, as would be
   necessary, would keep the men out late. [Weston?] agreed to the
   suggestion, as the two men speeded their mounts homeward.
   
   "Corn met [Weston?] the following morning, as agreed, and rode to get
   their steers. When the men arrived at where the steers had been found,
   the animals were no where in sight. The two men spent about an hour
   hunting for the strays then quit, thinking somebody had taken the
   three animals.
   
   "About a month later [Weston?] and Corn were discussing the
   disappearance of the three steers. [Weston?] said:
   
   "'Corn, I wonder who got 'em'.
   
   "'You know, [Weston?], I never lie', Corn replied. 'I just
   00099figured them critters weren't safe with you knowing where they
   were. So, I doubled back after parting with you that night and drove
   the steers home. I made fair time and arrived home about 2 P.M.'
   
   "[Weston?] and Corn were good men. In fact, every rancher in the
   region were good men, and practically all ranchers I have met were
   dependable men, but they just couldn't resist snatching a pretty
   yearling. A fat and magnificent yearling was just too tempting to them
   and they couldn't keep from driving the animal home.
   
   "During my early days here there were hundreds of cattle herds driven
   in and through Fort Worth. Many were shipped from here to the Northern
   markets. Many of the herds were driven through here, to be grazed on
   the Northern ranges of Kans., Nev., Mont., and other sections. They
   were driven to the Northern range to be fattened before delivery to
   the markets and others were being shifted to a less congested range.
   
   "With the herds coming here and being drifted through, the ranchers in
   the section discovered many strays. Generally, the strays were the
   result of a stampede.
   
   "The worst stampede I have ever seen take place happened just south of
   town. A herd was drifting in and a terrible storm blew in from the
   north, striking the cattle in the face.
   
   "The herd was [fretful?], because of being in strange territory, and
   when the storm started the herd turned and went on a stampede. The
   storm started just before dark and soon the darkness made it
   001010impossible for the waddies to see where they were going or where
   the cattle were traveling to. This stampede cost the [drover?] about
   [100?] head of cattle. Of course all the strays were found later by
   the ranchers in this vicinity.
   
   "After the Cattlemen's Association was organized and developed to a
   position so it covered the many problems of the ranchers, the
   Association looked after the strays of the drovers that were found by
   ranchers of the territory through which the herd traveled.
   
   "After I had worked 17 years for [Boaz?], I quit to enter the cattle
   business for myself. I bought additional land adjacent to my farm land
   for range purposes. I fenced about 800 acres and in the pasture I
   ranged about 500 head, on an average.
   
   "I started my ranch at the bottom of the 1893 panic. The prices were
   low and I bought some of the yearlings as low as $5.00 per head.
   
   "I calculated on holding the cattle for a year or two before selling.
   I anticipated the market would be on the upswing during the following
   couple years. My guess was correct and before the two year period was
   up I began to sell at a fair profit.
   
   "During the panic of 1893, many ranchers were compelled to quit,
   because the price of cattle were so low the stock did not bring enough
   money to pay the debts. The ranchers with a little money ahead were
   able to stay in the business by marking time, but the man who owed
   money on his stock found himself unable to sell the cattle for enough
   to pay the loan. There were some shipments made which did not sell for
   enough to pay for transportation cost to the Northern market. 001111"I
   bought close and was at very little expense ranging the herd. My range
   being fenced and with an abundance of grass and water, all I had to do
   was to meet the expense of one man. Wages were low and I paid my
   helper $15.00 per month [?] we needed to do was to watch the fence for
   breaks and look over the herd occasionally for sick or injured cattle.
   With a small herd and plenty of range room, one is not troubled to any
   extent with sick or injured cattle.
   
   "My herd did well and stayed in excellent [flesh?]. Therefore, while
   the panic ruined many ranchers, it enabled me to get an excellent
   start in the cattle business.
   
   "By the time I was ready to sell cattle, there was a good market in
   Fort Worth. The packing industry had been established here, which took
   place in 1902, and it was then I was ready to do any great amount of
   selling.
   
   "I was never entirely out of the cattle business from the time I
   started in the business. I was elected and served two terms as a
   member of the Commissioner's Court of Tarrant County, and this
   position took me away from active attention to my cattle business. My
   service as a commissioner began in 1918, and after I terminated my
   service as a county official, I have left the work of raising cattle
   to others.
   
   "About all I do now is think of the days when the longhorn steer and
   the animals roamed, numbering thousands of herds, over the Texas
   range. Branded by their owner, the animals were turned loose to find
   their living. During the days of the open range 001212cattle drifted
   for many miles and the brand of many different ranchers could be seen
   grazing with a specific herd. Perhaps some of the animals would be
   more than 100 miles away from their home range.
   
   "The general roundup was the medium of separating the cattle and
   driving the strays back home. The general roundup was a cooperative
   work, participated in by the ranchers, and very interesting to work in
   or watch. Many people came to visit and watch the work at the roundup.
   
   "The roundup crew was divided into various units. One crew would ride
   the range and gather the cattle, working one section at a time.
   Another crew held the gathered cattle till the herd had been worked.
   There was the cutting crew whose [duty?] was to cut out the unbranded
   critters and separate the various brands and, of course, the branding
   crew did the branding.
   
   "Each ranch had its own brand on hand, and the branding crew kept the
   branding irons heated to the proper temperature. The cutters would
   yell out the brand required for the critter coming out of the herd,
   and the brand boss would repeat the brand called. The branding crew
   branded the critter and the [counter?] recorded it in the count book.
   At the conclusion of the roundup, each rancher was given a record of
   the number of cattle branded with his brand.
   
   "The most enjoyable sight to watch was the swing crew, which is the
   term applied to the gathering crew, leaving in the morning. From 10 to
   20 mounted men would start with the word 'go', and it was always a
   race among the crew for the lead.

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