TX BIOS:  John Hardgreaves Crawford
   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
   
   EARLY SETTLEMENT
   
   Mrs. Ada Davis, P. W.
   
   McLennen County, Texas.
   
   District No. 8 Range Lore
   
   JAN 18 1937
   
   No. of words 950
   
   File No. 230
   
   Page No. 1 [S 700?] 230 Reference
   
   A. Interview with John Hardgreaves Crawford, Elk, Texas. Review of
   Early Central Texas Cattle Raising [.?]
   
   By - John Hardgreaves Carwford.
   
   Mr. Crawford had his first experience in cow hunting in 1867 and 1868.
   His equipment was a pony and saddle. The saddle was supplied with
   buck-skin strings to hold provisions and bedding. The equipment
   included a wallet which had one end sewed up, it was split in the
   middle, one end contained biscuit and the other raw bacon. There were
   no coffee, buckets, cups or pots; no shortening in the bread, there
   was a crust on all sides of the biscuits, these biscuits were cooked
   hard and after a week or ten days they were soft. This wallet was tied
   to the back of the saddle. Bedding consisted of a pair of blankets
   wrapped inside of the saddle blanket and put on the horse. Cowboy rode
   on top. The horse was staked at night with a long rope made from a
   cow's or horse's tail. Cowboys always traveled south, because the
   cattle drifted south from about ten to thirty miles. The round-up
   would take a week. Cattle were collected in big lots at neighbors. The
   cowboys would stake their horses on the grass; eat biscuit and bacon,
   broiled on a stick, and sleep on the ground. Several men, seven, eight
   or more, would go together to hunt for their cattle which had drifted.
   Each man would have his cattle's ears marked and branded so they could
   be identified. For instance, if two men had the same brand they could
   tell their cattle by the ear marks. crop, right, cut off right tip of
   ear. Split left under bit. Brands B. 3, circle H, and others.
   
     NOTE: C12 - Texas
     
   00022The cowboys would travel on south, in the same manner. They could
   tell about how far to go by the winter weather, if the weather was
   bad, they would not go so far. After they reached their destination,
   the boys would go back a different route and probably find more
   cattle. After they had reached a certain point, they would separate
   the cattle and go home. After marking and branding the calves, they
   would pen the calves and let the cows run out all day. Often the tame
   cattle came home and brought range cattle with them. Since the cattle
   would tramp down the grass, it was necessary to build new lots the
   next winter and use the old ones for fields and gardens. These lots
   consisted of three, round pens. Cattle were marked and branded in one
   pen, cows milked in another pen, and calves put into the third. These
   were big lots, covering from one to two acres. Cattle were penned to
   keep clean places for them to lie down, and to tramp down the grass,
   etc.
   
   Marks and brands were put on record at the Court House. A general
   round up was held about the 15th of April; beef cattle, when fat, were
   sold about August 1st, to buyers from Shreveport, Louisiana. Steers
   brought from $12.50 to $20.00 each, owing to the size and flesh.
   Buyers paid in twenty dollar gold pieces, right on the prairie. They
   bought by the head and didn't weigh the steers. Buyers rode through
   the drove of cattle and made the price. If the ranchmen didn't like
   the price offered, they would wait for the next buyer. Heifers and
   milk cows were seldom sold because cattlemen did not want their brand
   scattered. If heifers and milk cows were sold, they cancelled their
   brand by drawing a line through it with a red 00033hot iron.
   
   By 1870, there were many improvements, among these were; a pack-jack
   for bedding, plenty of buckets, coffee pots, frying pans, ropes,
   better saddles, from which cowboys could rope cattle. Cowboys would
   travel through the prairie, and when they found cattle belonging to
   their ranch they drove them home. There were round-ups. But they
   followed the same schedule. In early days, the cowboys made rope of
   raw-hide. Ordinary rope and saddle rope was of four [plaits?]. Every
   cowboy carried a six shooter or two, a quirt which was an
   iron-handled, four [plaited?], raw-hide rope, three feet long, which
   was used, when the cattle ran too slowly, to make them run faster.
   
   The ranch horses were also branded, usually on the shoulder. Cowboys
   were often known by the ranch brand. Then spurs were introduced. To
   brand the cattle they would stamp the iron letter to blacken it; then
   build a fire, heat these irons, throw the cattle down, and press
   branding iron on hip, or side, or shoulder. A running iron was used
   later; this was something like a wagon rod and was a faster method
   which could be put on any part of the body of the cattle. They also
   used a knife to brand. There were no matches, so flint rock was used
   to start a fire. Water was scares. There were no tanks, and nothing
   with which to build them. Often cowboys carried cattle from eight to
   fifteen miles to water. They doctored cattle some but not much.
   Western Texas in 1878
   
   Cattle often drifted a hundred miles. During the spring round-up
   cattle were gathered as before. It required a month or six weeks for
   00044each round-up. The ranch outfits would start about the first of
   May; they used a wagon equipped with a grub box, the lid of this box
   was used for a table. Provisions were kept in the box. They ate beans,
   bacon, coffee and killed and cooked a calf every two or three days.
   Made coffee in buckets. Had a boss over the cook wagon. They built a
   fire in a trench and threw branding irons across this on which vessels
   were placed to cook. They cooked a big pot of beans, or stew and put a
   big spoon or fork in it. Each ranch-hand helped himself to the coffee,
   bread and stew, then they would go off fifteen or twenty feet from the
   fire to eat. They would get their bed and make it down by their
   saddles. Saddles were used as pillows. Horses were hobbled out for the
   night. In the mornings they would roll the bed up and tie it with the
   hobbling rope. A tarpaulin was used to keep rain, wind and water off.
   They usually slept with their boots on. The horse used in the round-up
   was a good strong one. Cowboys would round-up cattle and then change
   horses to separate the cattle. To cut out the cattle from different
   ranches, or to cut out the cattle to be sold, a specially trained
   horse, known as a "cutting horse" was used. This horse was so
   sensible, so quick in his movements and so well trained that he was
   very valuable and was never used for any other purpose. The "cutting
   horse" would wind his way in and out through the largest herds,
   quickly turning and dodging the cattle to force a particular steer out
   of the milling hard. By using the "cutting horse" cowboys were able to
   separate the cattle in to different owner's groups. 00055Then the
   outfit went on with the wagon to the next ranch and there repeated the
   performance. Later round-ups were held to brand the cattle.
   
   Roping horses were especially trained for use in roping calves or
   cattle to be branded. This was a quick, sensible horse and especially
   trained to stop quickly when the rope hit the cow aimed for. If the
   rope was on the cow, the cow would run until it reached the end of the
   rope, then the sudden stop would throw the cow. These ponies were
   trained to brace themselves against the jerk given by the cow. The
   other cowboys would catch the animal over the back and by the legs and
   throw it on the side. Another cowboy with the red hot branding iron
   would quickly slap it on the animal, thus burning the brand into its
   flesh. This place would be sore several days. When healed, the
   hairless scar carried the print of the owner's brand. Roping horses
   were not used for running. Horses which had been found to see real
   well at night were used for night riding on the herds. (A)

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