TX BIOS:  Jim Kirk
   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 [35?]
   
   Jim kirk, 85, living at Old Folks Home, Tarrant Co., born Mar. 8,
   1852, at Covington, Ky. The family moved to Waco, Tex. in 1853 on land
   adjacent to the town and engaged in trading horses and mules. Kirk
   started to wrangle horses for his father at 15 and at 16 joined Gypsy
   Tom Stanly's band which traveled from town to town trading horses.
   After two years he started trading for himself and dealt in the wild
   bronco which be broke for the saddle.
   
   "My name is Jim Kirk, the son of Tom Kirk who lived at Waco, Tex. I
   was born March 8, 1852 at Covington, Ky. from where my father hauled
   his family in a covered wagon behind a team of mules to Waco in 1853.
   I was just a year old when the trip was made and of course don't have
   much recollection of the event but according to mother's tale I didn't
   enjoy it any too well. We were weeks on the way and traveled over
   trails and at times through mud, forded steams, and traveled through
   unsettled country where we did not see another human for spells of two
   and three days.
   
   "We landed at Waco where dad settled on a piece of land near the town.
   He did a little farming, enough to feed the family, and dealt in
   hosses and mules. He handled saddled and work stock. The saddle stock
   were the wild broncos that he got off the range which he would bust
   and sell.
   
   "When I became big enough to ride I was put to work helping to handle
   the hosses. That was when I was 13 years of age and by the time I was
   15 I was wrangling wild hosses. Most of our broncos were gotten south
   of Waco below the section where the town of McGregor is now located.
   In those days the wild bronco could be found in herds numbering 50 to
   a_s high as [500?] without a brand.
   
     NOTE: [C12. Tex.?]
     
   00022They belong to no one and any person that knew how to catch the
   critters had the right to take those animals. A party of about six
   waddies would go after a bunch of the animals and it was no picnic to
   catch them but exciting. For me, a young lad, it was top fun chasing
   those speedy little animals.
   
   "Those wild broncos were shy of a waddy on a hoss and it was hard to
   get within roping distance of the critter. It was necessary to crowd
   the broncos into a draw or gully where they could not turn around but
   would have to pass the roper. When no natural trap was at hand into
   which we could drive the critters we would have to run them until they
   were tuckered out so we [c uld?] get within roping distance.
   
   "The way we run the broncos until they were tired and wearied was by
   the waddies working in relays. Two waddies would keep the animals on
   the run for a spell, then two others on fresh mounts would take up the
   chase. As a rule by the end of a day we could get close enough to
   smear the critters. We would rope and snub the broncos until we had
   the amount wanted then we would trail the herd home. We roped the
   animals together in bunches of five to ten and one waddie would lead,
   having his rope tied to one and another rider would drive at the rear.
   Six waddies could bring in as many as 30 animals.
   
   "The selling price far a busted bronco was on the average $25. A well
   busted animal that was a top critter some times would sell for $35. A
   good number of the broncos were broken to work in harness by the
   buyers. The small farmers East of us bought a good number for farm
   work. They were too light for farm work but the system used was to
   work three broncos to do the work of one mule team. They were worked
   in rotation allowing one bronco to rest after working a few hours.
   
   "A good mule team sold for around $350. and three broncos could be
   bought for $75. So it was the price that caused many small farmers to
   use the broncos. There were a few heavy work horses in that section
   00033and their price was just about $50. under the mule's price.
   
   "We always had a demand for the extra fine bronco saddle hoss and
   always tried to catch the best if the critters but they were the
   hardest to get unless they were put into a trap. The hardest chase I
   had was after a beautiful young stallion that I hankered for. It took
   us two days to run him to the point he was wearied down and we could
   smear him. He was as pretty as any picture ever painted of a hoss. He
   had the staying ability and proved to be as good as he looked. I was
   offerer $50. for the hoss many times, $60 several times but turned
   down all the offers and finally sold the critter for $100. up in Mo.
   while on a trip up that way.
   
   "Let me tell how come that I made that trip into Mo., I was 16 and one
   day Gypsy Tom Stanly came to [aco?]. He was a traveling hoss trader.
   That man knew all the tricks about trading and how to fix up an old
   plug to look like one of the King's cavalry hosses. I wanted to get
   next to all the ins and outs of the trading game so I tackled him
   about letting me join his outfit and he took me in. I was with him for
   two years and learned the hoss trading business and some other things
   too.
   
   "He had a wife and daughter so when I joined the outfit that made a
   company of four. We camped out all the time. The family lived in a
   tent and I used the covered wagon for sleeping quarters. We traveled
   from town to town and stayed in one place about a week, some two
   weeks. The two women told fortunes while he and I looked after the
   hosses. One thing that I learned was that the more folks hear about
   your trading ability the more they want to sway hosses with you. When
   we lit into a town within an hour fellows would begin to show up
   dickering for a swap. 00044Gypsy Stanly was known far and wide as a
   keen hoss trader that never lost a trade but them fellows seemed to
   think that they were the best swapers in the world and came to show
   Stanly up. I never saw him beat in a trade. When he swaped he always
   made money and he made plenty. The women folks didn't do bad either.
   It was not long ater we hit a town and made camp at the edge of the
   town until women and some men too started to call wanting their future
   told. In the cow towns the cowhands were good customers for the women
   as well as swaping hosses. The cowhand for the most part had their
   fortune told out of devilment.
   
   "What I saw take place through the trading was amusing at times and
   some of the incidents were not so funny. Generally at the end of a
   week the squawkers interferred with business to such extent that it
   paid us to move. In those days the law covering hoss trading was not
   much and all trades were made at arm's length. I have seen women come
   to Stanly after their husbands had made a swap and cry about how they
   were beat and want Stanly to trade back. He would always do so
   providing they made it worthwhile, say a matter of $5. or $l0. To him
   a hoss was a hoss and he could trade one is well as another.
   
   "We got hold of a work hoss at Belton. It was a fine looking critter
   but the animals shoulders showed it was not much of a puller. Stanly
   swaped a wind-broken animal for it an received $10 in boot. We tried
   the critter on our drive out of Belton. The hoss was alright on down
   hill and did fairly well on level ground but when we hit deep sand or
   a hill to pull that animal wouldn't pull a lick under any condition.
   At Temple a fellow called with a hoss to swap. He said his hoss was a
   good worker but a little [ligh?] for the hauling he had to do.
   
   "The balky hoss took the fellows eye but Stanly pretended he didn't
   want to swap the critter. He kept suggesting other animals. That is
   one of the tricks of the game, pretend you do not want to part with an
   00055animal the party will sure hanker for the critter. They finally
   get to dickering for the balky critter. The fellow asked: 'Is he a
   good worker?' "I don't know how well be can stand up under heavy work
   because I never put the critter to a test but I can say that if you
   get in a pinch with a load you'll be delighted to see it pull.'
   
   "They made the swap and Stanly got $25. boot. The next day the fellow
   came back and was ot under the collar: 'Damn it you told me that hoss
   was a good puller and it is as balky as bell. It won't take the slack
   out of the tugs.' 'No, I didn't,' Stanly; I didn't say anything about
   the hoss being a good puller. What I said was that if you got in a
   pinch with a load you would be delighted to see the hoss pull. Did you
   get in a pinch? ('By God I sure did and that critter wouldn't pull the
   slack out of the tugs.' 'All right I'll leave it to you wouldn't you
   have been delighted to see that hoss pull?' 'Hell yes', admitted the
   fellow. They traded back even and Stanly made $25.
   
   "Stanly had another trick that made him money. He had a mule about 15
   hands high and that mule was trained to make a certain pull. That was
   to pull a slide loaded with something heavy such as sand or stone at
   the end of a 50 ft. rope. The trick in that sort of a pull is to ease
   the slack out of the rope until it is taut and then put the pull on.
   If the pull is made by diving into it the slack will kill the power
   before it reaches the slide. Stanly would start a conversation about
   good pulling teams. There always were some good pulling teams in a
   town. which everybody know about. The boys would get to chinning about
   this and that team pulling and Stanly would come back at them saying:
   'If that is all those teams can pull I have one mule that can out pull
   any of the teams.' That would start talk about bets. When they got all
   bet up., Stanly would proposition them that he would a slide and put
   his mule on the end of a 50 ft. rope and bet the mule could overa load
   00066that no team could equal. I have seen him win all the way from
   $50. to $500. with that mule. The $500. was won in a Mo. town. When
   those teams reached the point when the rope was taut they were leaning
   into the collar and had no leverage to move forward. They would try
   several times and get to see-sawing.
   
   "We pulled out of Texas about a year after I joined and traveled
   through the states of Ark., Mo., Iowa, Minn,, and into N. Dak. I left
   Stanly at Fargo and returned to Texas. In those days I learned how to
   swap hosses and how to judge a hoss. Stanly showed me how to judge a
   hoss by its eyes. You can tell more about the staying qualities and
   health of a hoss through the eye than any other way. If you learn the
   eye you can't be fooled. A wind-broken critter, a cribber and all such
   hoss ailments can be handled so that it can't be detected by the
   ordinary hossman. Of course the next day it is all back.
   
   "I came back to Waco and went into the hoss trading and followed it
   the whole of my life until seven years ago. The last 40 years I dealt
   here in Ft. [Wo th?]. When I returned to Waco I hired wild Hoss Jerry
   to take charge of picking up wild broncos and to do most of my
   wrangling. He and I together did all the wrangling. Wild Hoss Jerry
   was the best wrangler that I ever saw. He got the name he had because
   he was the master of the wild bronco. I was no mean wrangler, I never
   failed unless the hoss was loco but Jerry could do all that any man
   could do and do it quicker and better. He had a way of handling
   critters that caused the animals to learn right pronto that they were
   wasting time trying to go against his wishes.
   
   "I stayed in Waco until the wild broncos moved farther West. The
   section where they roamed started to be settled and with the coming of
   humans the wild hoss departed for the unsettled west. The wild hoss
   kept hunting for unsettled country as the country was 00077being
   settle and finally the wild hoss was crowed out of existence as far as
   I know except for a few in some remote section. After the wild hoss
   departed from the section South of Waco I decided to come to Ft.
   Worth. I came to the city about 1897, at that time I did a tolerable
   lot of dealing in saddle hosses. I traded and sold those to cowhands
   that came to ft. Worth in large numbers in those days.
   
   "Like the wild hoss the cowhand began to disappear. He became as
   scarse around Ft. Worth as the sallylulum bird. Of course there are a
   lot of cow folks around Ft. Worth now but they are not cowhands. Them
   folks are ranch-hands. I stayed at the trading after the demand for
   the cow pony went out and dealt in work animals trading with the
   farmers. I guess I was about the last of the real traders in these
   parts. There are hoss and mule dealers but I mean the old time hoss
   trader. I had to quit on account of my age seven years ago.

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