TX BIOS:  Tom Carrett? Garrett?
   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.
   
   [Folk stuff-Rangelore?]
   
   Phipps, Woody
   
   Rangelore
   
   Tarrant Co., Dist. 7 [97?]
   
   Page #1
   
   FEC
   
   Tom Carrett, 52,/ negro was born on the Tandy Ranch, which was located
   on the [?] outskirts of Fort Worth and extended to where [Handley?],
   Tex. now stands. Tom was taught to ride at an early age, and was
   employed as a regular cowboy at the age of 10. His father, Frank
   Carrett had won recognition as a top cowhand, thus Tom received the
   best training possible, working with his father. When he was 25, he
   quit the Tandy Ranch to work with his father, who went to dealing in
   stock. His father died in 1916, and Tom went to the Triangle C Ranch,
   in Crosby and [Lubbock?] counties, where he was employed until he
   quit, at age 33. He then came to Forth Worth to pursue various other
   occupations, where he now resides at 1307 [?] St. His story:
   
   "Does I know anything 'bout de old time cowboys? I'll say I does! Why,
   I was bo'n on a ranch just a few miles f'om whar wouns an standin'
   right now. I was bo'n on de Tandy Ranch, right up de crick f'om whar
   de big white house at Tandy Lake now am. 'Twas on November de 10th,
   1885, when de ranch am so big it runs f'om somewhar in whar Poly am
   now, to de tudder side of whar Handley am now. In de days I'm talkin'
   'bout, 'twarnt no houses a-tall,- just cow critters, grass an'
   mesquite bushes. De headquarters house am a double log house wid a
   hall runnin' betweens, an' a big rock chimney on both sides.
   
   "[?] now, bein' a nigger kid, 'twarnt none of my business 'bout how
   many critters de Tandys am runnin', nor how many section 'twas in de
   ranch. 'Bout de most of what I can tell 'bout, am de wo'kin' and what
   de cow punchers done. I can't tell you 'bout when I fust rode a hoss
   but I'll say 'twas befo' I was three yeahs, old, 'cause I can rec'lect
   pullin' a hoss over to a mesquite bush so's I could crawl on when I
   was so small I couldn't carry anything very heavy.
   
     NOTE: C.12 [????]
     
   00012By the time I was six, I was ridin' ever' yearling I could catch
   wid a rope. I was crazy to ride. I wanted to be ridin' 'round all de
   time. De main most reason 'hind de ridin' idea was dat I wanted to be
   lak my dad. His name was Frank Garrett, an' lotsa oldtimers will
   rec'lect him as bein' de best in de business in dat day and time.
   
   "My dad was a [nacharal?] bo'n cow person. He had what was called 'cow
   sense'. Dat meant dat a man just had a nacheral hankerin' fo' dealin'
   wid critters, an' was bo'n wid de knowledge of how to go 'bout it.
   Ranchers f'om 'way 'round would send wild hosses to him dat had busted
   up one of dere men, to have my dad break him in. Tell you 'nother
   thing. You can go 'round as long as you lak, an' you'll never find a
   man dat ever saw Frank Garrett th'owed f'om da storm seat of a wild
   hoss, no matter how many men he's already kilt. Don't mean to be
   blowin' 'bout it, but I just wants to show you dat some folks am bo'n
   to be cow persons.
   
   "Now, bein's I wanted to be a top hand lak my, dad was, I tried to do
   anything he did, an' worked right 'long did him w'en he was out
   wo'kin. I made a full time hand w'en I warnt any mo' dan 10 yeahs old.
   Just a striplin', but de culls of de striplin's in does days could
   outbest de average man of today. Co'se now, since I was so young. I
   done plum fo'got most all 'bout de old place dat happened w'en I was
   so young.
   
   "I can rec'lect havin' de roundups in de spring an' fall, an' how de
   cow punchers f'om roundabout gathered together so's 00023to have de
   roundup an' all wo'k together, den 'vide de critters to each man,
   'cordin' to de brands. 'Twarnt so hard to 'cide on who de critters
   b'longed to 'cause dey am all branded wid dis brand an' dat. De calves
   follered day mammies an' day mammies have dey brand, so de calf am
   branded de same as de mammy. Ever' roundup have some strays f'om some
   ranch 'way off 'cause 'twas trail drives come through Fort Worth, and
   de strays have drapped [cuter?] de drives.
   
   "To show you how cattlemen done tudder in dose days, w'en a critter
   was found wid a strange brand, dat critter am drove to de markets wid
   tudder critters, sold, an' de money [?] to de man whose brand
   registered in de capitol.
   
   "I seen sev'al trail drives dat come through Fort Worth w'en I was a
   kid. De drives am 'bout fo' to five miles long if dey am any size
   a-tall, an' am headed to'ards de Eastern markets. [?] drives am usual
   headed to [Aberlene?], or tudder big markets. 'Twas rare fo' a drive
   to be headed to Chicago, but sev'al even went dere. De way I picks up
   dis fo'mation am w'en de drivers talks to tudder cow punchers while in
   town. Dey always stops an' tanks up on whiskey in de saloons down
   town, an' I stands 'roun' an' heahs de talk. Tudder thing 'bout de
   drives am dat dey don't turn out fo' no town nor city, 'stead, dey
   drives right on through town. De only place dey turns am fo' de fords
   on de rivers an' cricks, or to miss a hill to go through a valley.
   Sometimes, dey would have to go outer de way to git to a watah hoe fo'
   de critters. De chuck wagons would come through right behind de herd,
   'twas interestin' to see dem, an' de covered wagons wid de s'plies wid
   00034de chuck wagon.
   
   "Tudder thing dat am interestin' to see, am de wagon trains dat comes
   through Fort Worth, an' headed to'ards some army post, or some tradin'
   post. 'Twas usually cow pokes dat drives de teams dat pulls de wagons
   in de trains. Some wagons am pulled by six-eight oxen, or six-eight
   pair of hosses. De hosses am lots faster dan de oxen, but don't pull
   so much stuff as a rule.
   
   "Gittin' back to de Tandy Ranch, I shore wish we all could be back
   dere in de saddle right now 'cause 'twas sev'al real riders an' ropers
   dat wo'ked dere. 'Sides my dad, 'twas Ben Sanders, Henry Sanders, an'
   Joe Purvis, cullud fellows dat could ride most anything. Ben, Marster
   Calvin an' Marester [McDade?] em good riders an' crack shots. Dey
   could make a pistol talk, almost. Never saw den miss anything dey
   aimed at. Marster Calvin am de [ramrod?]. He runs de place for de
   Tandys. 'Twas sev'al mo' white fellows wo'ked dere, but been so long
   ago dat I've clear light fo'got dere names. Dey could ride, rope, an'
   shoot, too.
   
   "'Bout de hossed, 'twarnt no sho'tage of hosses. [?] all just went out
   on de plain an' keteched dem. On account of de plain, we couldn't pen
   'em, so two-three fellows teams up, an' wo'ks togedder. See a wild
   hoss, all ride so's to get de hoss 'tween 'em [?] de hoss am sorta
   penned 'tween de riders, close in 'til one of 'em could drap a loop on
   it. If one am a good shot, he'd just crease de hoss. Creasin' am
   shootin' just above de neck an' numbin' de muscle dat runs 'long top
   de neck. [?] dat am done, de hoss draps lak he'd been pole-axed. He'd
   be out 00045fo' 'bout long 'enough to tie him up, den, w'en he comes
   to, we'd let him up wid a rider on him. Dat's w'en de rodeo'd come
   off. If de hoss am caught by pennin' him 'tween sev'al riders, an' am
   roped an' helt down by de ropes, one of de boys transfere a saddle
   f'om a tame hoss to de wild hoss, mounts, an' den de rodeo'd come off.
   
   "Might [neah?] [all?] de hosses we ketched am wild Spanish hosses wid
   de long mane an' tail Dey sh' had plenty kick an' jump to 'em.
   
   "Aftah I was 'bout 25 yeahs old, Fort Worth had growed a lot an' my
   dad had gone to makin' a livin' doin' nothin' but dealin' in stock,
   hosses an' mules. [?] good deal of de wo'k was in buyin' stallions an'
   so on, an' castratin' 'em to make 'em better stock. I quit de Tandys
   an' went wid dad. In de more dan five yeahs I was wid him, I guess I
   castrated ever'thing f'om a house cat to a stable stud. One hoss we
   castrated was a racin' hoss named 'Barn D. He was famous for winnin'
   de races, an' Marster Whitten owned him.
   
   "Dad died w'en I was 31, so I quit de dealin' business an' took out
   fo' West Texas. I lit on de Triangle O Ranch, which run in Grosby em'
   [Bubbock?] countries. 'Twas a big-un, wid so many head of critters dat
   I b'lieve Marster Frank Cohen had to guess at de number he owned. I
   'spect he had 30,000 or mo', an' let me tell you dat's many a critter,
   or anythin' else.
   
   "De ranch am all fenced in, an' w'en you took to de fence row, you was
   always gone two-three days at a time. [?] all had to fetch a pack mule
   fo' de chuck wagon. De wo'k am mendin' fence breaks or anythin' else
   we [?] to does while out lak dat. 00056De food am beef, bacon, onions,
   an' a little coffee. If we all 'spicioned we might be out no' dam we
   figgered on, we'd take some jerk. Jerk am dried meat. 'Twas so dry in
   dat country dat it don't rain nine-ten months out de yeah. To make de
   jerks, cooky cuts de van'son, beef, or whatever he goin' use, an'
   hangs it out on a line in de air strips. De meat dries an' cooky hangs
   it up in de meat house. [?] we all wants any of it, we just goes to de
   meat house, an' gits as much as we figger we might need. [?] always
   toted a little in de chaps pocket to chew on, in case we gits hongry
   befo' time to make de dinner down. 'Twas fair chewin', even if I did
   lak tudder victnals better.
   
   "Twarnt no cullud fellows 'captin' myself on de Triangle [?]. To be on
   dat place, you had to be a real rider; 'twarnt tudder kind 'cepted.
   Clyde Davis, Frank Smith, an' Will Donaldson some of de cow pokes I
   rec'lects. Dey am 'bout de highest pow'ed riders in amy man's country.
   Dey could ride an' shoot, an' rope lak rodeo actors. In fact, dey
   could shade most de rodeo perf'mors I ever saw.
   
   "'Twas so dry out dere, a fellow had to be a good rider w'en de rainy,
   season sets in. De lightnin' an' thunder storms am what'd set de
   critters goin' on a stompede in mighty she't ordah. I've read in de
   wild West Books 'bout de stompedes, an' let me tell you dat de real
   thing shades what a man can tell. Just figger out what'd you do if you
   was ketched out in f'ont of a stompedin' herd on a night dark as de
   ace of spades, an' de hoss you am ridin' had stumbled in a gopher hole
   an' you was on de ground as de next lump in de way. 00067"Seem lak I'm
   tellin' it mighty scary, but dat's just 'xactly what happened to Frank
   Smith on time, so I told. De way out was w'en lightin' flashed, an' he
   made out some critters in f'ont of him. He already had his pistol in
   his mitts, so he blasted all he could see, an' kept firin' 'til de
   pistol am empty. 'Twas a break fo' him dat de critters he hit falls
   down an' slides right up 'til dey am in f'ont of him, an' tudders
   falls, an' dat makes a sorta fort, an' de herd on de stomp just goes
   'round. I'd say he used his noggin, wouldn't you?. I believes ever'
   word of dat tale, 'cause I never saw any of dose fellows miss a shot,
   an' I saw 'em shoot plenty times at rattlers an' prairie chickens.
   
   "Tudder thing causes stampedes an w'en 'twas extra dry season an' all
   de watah holes am all dried up. Ben, de hands have to make de 25-30
   mile drive to watah. [?] de critters come in 'bout 12-15 miles of de
   watah an' de wind am right, dey can smell de watah, an' de thing aint
   made dat can hold 'em, den. If 'twas a big herd, an' we can't git 'em
   to millin' befor' de watah am reached, [?] 'twas a beef lose dat run
   into real money.
   
   "[?] figgerin' on might be a stomp, de riders all totes sev'al extry
   lassos. [?] trick am in w'en de f'ont critter am hard to turn, rope
   him an' den try to pull him so he'll turn an' start de millin'. 'Twas
   only a trick rider dat could pull dat trick. It tool real ropin'
   knowledge to put it over, too. dat's why Marster [?] 'sisted on de
   good w'en it came to ridin' and ropin'. 'Twarnt just critters de boys
   roped, though. 00078"Dey don't think no mo' of ropin' a bear, or a
   wolf, dan I would ropin' a stick. I've heard lots times dat a bear
   would sit down an' pull de rope to him. Well, de riders dat knowed de
   business wont give time to sit down. Dey jerk an' jerk 'til de bear am
   off balance, an' den dey drags him 'til he aint so willin' to start
   trouble wid somebody. Many's de time I've seen a rider come draggin' a
   bear to de chuck wagon, an' have de cooky cut him up into steaks.
   
   "I've had lotsa folks ast me 'bout de roundup business. I don't know
   how to 'splain It 'captin to say dat we all just scatters out to de
   far corners of de place, gathers ever' head we can find on de way to
   de place whar 'twas 'greed on to hold de critters fo' brandin' an'
   cuttin'. 'Twarnt no tudder ranch dat hold de roundups wid de Triangle
   C. Tudder ranches have rep'sen'tives at de main herd afteh de roundup
   [?] de critters all gathered. De rep'sen'tives he'ps brand an' so on,
   an' cut out, an' whatever am wanted, den dey cuts out dey critters fo'
   dey bosses, Day way, if'n any tudder critters strays onto de Triangle
   C place, dey can git 'em. Marster [?] done de same way wid de tudder
   owners.
   
   "Lotsa [danger?] 'bout stampedes, an' 'twarnt to de old days, but in
   dis day an' time, too, 'cause I seen a stompede dis fall in West
   Texas. I was ridin' along wid some white fellows w'en we sees a herd
   make a rise over to our left. We stopped de car an' watched 'em,
   'cause dey seemed to be goin' hell bent fo' 'lection. Dey come right
   on to'ards de fence, an' if'n we all had been 'bout 500 feet farther
   on, an' couldn't move de car, we 00089all would have been [?]
   flatter'n a flitter, 'cause dey just plowed on over de fence, just
   stomped it down. We all watched 'em 'til dey run plum outer sight, den
   drove on to Fort Worth.
   
   "Well,guess dat's 'bout all dere is to de range business, 'cause I
   took tudder ways of makin' money since dere am lotas ways to beat de
   cow punchin' way of makin' money.

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