TX BIOS:  Neal S. Watts
   Selected and converted.American Memory, Library of Congress.
   
   Washington, 1994.
   
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   This transcription intended to be 99.95% accurate.
   
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   U.S. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project (Folklore
   Project, Life Histories, 1936-39); Manuscript Division, Library of
   Congress.Copyright status not determined.
   
   00011
   
   Beliefs and customs - [Occuptional?] lore
   
   Gauthier, Sheldon F.
   
   Rangelore
   
   Tarrant Co., Dist. #7
   
   Page #1
   
   FEC
   
   Neal S. Watts, 78, living at 110 1/2 E. 2nd St., Fort Worth, Tex., was
   born on his father's farm in Shelby co., Tex., Aug. 20, 1859. His
   father, William Watts, immigrated to Texas from Tenn., in 1841. He
   chose [Shelby co.?] as his future home, due to the Tennessee
   Settlement at that time existing there. He had learned the shoemaking
   craft which he followed for a livelihood. Eff Daggett, a neighbor of
   his, moved from Shelby co. to Tarrant co. about 1867, and wrote him
   letters describing Tarrant co. and its advantages. The descriptions
   give appealed to him, so he moved to Tarrant co. in 1868. The Watts
   family located where the town of Mansfield is now situated. William
   Watts negotiated for a tract of land, on which he built a home. He
   cultivated a small tract and raised cattle. He died in 1869. Neal
   Watts started working the year following his father's death. his first
   job was planting corn, dropping the seed by hand, and received 25¢ per
   acre for his labor. At the age of 13 he secured employment on the
   cattle ranch of [?]. H. Stevens, located 15 miles W. of Mansfield. He
   worked on this ranch for three years, then started a cattle business
   of his own. After quitting the cattle business, he engaged in farming
   for several years, then retired. His story:
   
     NOTE: C-12 - 2/11/41 - Texas
     
   "I am nearing 79 years of age. I was born Aug. 20, 1859, on the farm
   of my father, whose name was William Watts. The farm was located in
   Shelby co., Tex.
   
   "My father came to Texas in 1841, from Tenn., and located in Shelby
   county because there was a settlement of Tennessee folks there, which
   was called the Tennessee Settlement'.
   
   "What I refer to as a farm in Shelby county was a tract of land
   consisting of about 10 acres cleared for cultivation. On this tract we
   raised the vegetables, wheat and corn we needed for our feed supply,
   also a few acres of cotton lint for making cloth. We usually had some
   extra cotton, besides our home needs, which 00022was sold.
   
   "My father was a shoemaker and depended on his shoe craft to provide
   the needed cash money. Most of my father's time was occupied making
   shoes for families of the settlement. The 10 acres did not require a
   great amount of labor to attend the crop raising. Before the Civil
   War, father owned a couple of slaves who did the farm work, which
   enabled him to devote his full time to his shoe business.
   
   "When father arrived in Shelby county, there were not many people
   living there. I am repeating what father told me. Even what I became
   old enough to recollect, the country was thinly settled. The people
   settled there were clustered in little settlements.
   
   "The conditions we lived under, when I was a child, was vastly
   different from what it is today, but we were secured against want of
   food or clothing.
   
   "The woods contained a large amount of wild game of various kinds, and
   the beast and fowl, which were edible, could easily be hunted or
   trapped. Figuratively speaking, a person walked over wild game while
   passing through the timber. I have often watched wild turkeys drinking
   water out of our cattle's watering trough, located near the barn and
   about 100 feet from our house. [?] thought in those days that the wild
   game would never become exhausted. Also, besides the wild game, the
   woods contained hundreds of cattle and hogs which bred and raised
   themselves in the regions adjacent to the settlements.
   
   "The cultivated fields were fenced with split rails, to 00033protect
   the crops from the cattle, hogs and wild beast.
   
   "Everybody had more or less cattle. Some made cattle raising their
   principal business, some raised cattle as a side line, and some did
   not give cattle any attention except when they wanted beef to eat.
   However, even if a settler did not have a critter, there were many
   animals without a brand, and a supply of beef could be secured by
   spending a little time hunting for an unbranded yearling. If a person
   did not want to spend the time hunting for an unbranded yearling,
   there was no objection to him taking a branded animal for eating
   purposes.
   
   "The hogs were raised as the cattle were, except for a little corn
   feed given to them once in a while, to keep the animals in the woods
   adjacent to the farm. The hogs lived on the various nuts and
   vegetation of the woods, which we referred to as ['mass?']. The cattle
   were provided with salt licks only, which were placed near their
   waterholes, and the licks held the cattle in its vicinity.
   
   "With cattle, hogs and wild game everywhere in the woods, we had a
   variety of meat to choose from to satisfy our meat appetite. Our wheat
   supplied the necessary flour, and the corn the meal and feed for
   animals. these articles were taken to the grist mill where the grain
   was ground. The miller retained a portion of the flour and meal in
   payment of his grinding charge. Our garden provided our vegetables. In
   the woods we could find plenty of honey, stored by the wold honey
   bees. Also, wild berries and wild fruit of several varieties. With
   this supply of food there was not any chance to go hungry. 00044"The
   cotton, and a few sheep, supplied the material out of which our
   clothing was made. Therefore, we were secured against want by products
   from the land and woods.
   
   "Father's money made from his shoe making business was clear profit,
   which when added to some money derived from the sale of a little
   cotton, enable father to save some money.
   
   "Among the people for whom he made shoes was Eff Daggett, and the two
   men were close friends. Daggett was among the men in Shelby county who
   made cattle raising their special business. He owned several hundred
   head and foresaw great possibilities in the cattle business. He was
   not wholly satisfied with the Shelby county territory for carrying out
   his plans. He finally decided to move to Tarrant county, and did so in
   1867.
   
   "After locating in Tarrant county, Daggett developed a large cattle
   ranch. He ranged cattle over all the region North from the city of
   Fort Worth to what is now [Rhome?], a territory extending about 25
   miles.
   
   "Daggett wrote father frequently, giving information about Tarrant
   county, and the letters created a desire with father to move to
   Tarrant county, which he did in 1868. [He?] settled in the southeast
   part of the county at the present location of Mansfield.
   
   "Father negotiated for a tract of land, which was cleared and broke
   and on which he raised our food supply, devoting the major part of his
   time to developing a cattle ranch. Father died in 1869, at the time he
   was just getting started in the cattle business. This castrophe caused
   me to hunt work.
   
   "I did odd jobs which I was able to secure, working first for 00055one
   and then another. My first job was planting corn by hand and I
   received 25¢ per acre for the work. The land was marked off in rows
   and I would step about two feet, punch a hole with the heal of my
   boot, drop two kernels and then kick dirt with the toe of my boot to
   cover the seed. The field I planted was about 10 acres and I was
   engaged a week doing the planting. However, the $2.50 was excellent
   wages for a 10 year old land those days.
   
   "I did some work for Mann and Fields, who operated a grist mill on
   [elter's?] Creek. The town of Mansfield takes its name from these two
   men. The mill was built about a year before we came to the region.
   After the mill was built a community began to develop. A store and
   blacksmith shop were the first to be located, then gradually others
   and finally a postoffice was located there. I have a vivid mental
   picture of the first church building, because it was built of logs,
   the work being done by the men of the community with my assistance.
   There was not a nail used in the structure. All timbers were fastened
   in place with wooden pegs. Nails cost money and the nails were
   donated, consequently we used our labor to make wooden pegs and saved
   spending money for nails.
   
   "When the store, blacksmith shop, postoffice and church were
   established the place became a community center.
   
   "The entire section was a cattle range, with a few patches of fenced
   land on which a little wheat, corn and cotton were raised.
   
   "The largest cattle ranch in the section was the 'LHS" ranch, owned by
   L.H. Stevens. He bought several [DEL: [?] :DEL] thousand acres of land
   in the region for 25¢ per acre. His ranch headquarters was located
   near the village. 00066"When I was 13 years old I was hired by Stevens
   to work on his ranch at a wage of $15.00 per month.
   
   "I could ride a hoss and throw a rope, which were about the first
   things a boy learned to do those days., but I was no bronc buster.
   
   "There was one job a boy could attend to just as well as a man. This
   job was riding the range looking for sick, injured and bogged cattle.
   On Stevens' range there were a few low places where the cattle would
   mire following a period of wet weather. the injuries were almost
   entirely from brush or horn cuts which were followed by screw worm
   infection. Occasionally an animal would develop bloat, which resulted
   from food fermentation producing gas. I was put to work riding over
   the range looking for distressed cattle.
   
   "I would leave camp in the morning with a morsel of food in my
   saddlebags and ride among the cattle scrutinizing the herd. I carried
   a salve compound with which I daubed the cuts to kill the worms, or to
   prevent an infection when I discovered a cut on a critter. To perform
   the work it was necessary to loop and throw the animal. Then, with the
   hoss holding a taut rope, one must leave the saddle quickly to reach
   the animal immediately after hitting the ground. There is a few
   seconds following the fall when the critter will lie still, and during
   this time the daubing took place. That the animal would fall with the
   out side up, the rider approached the animal from the same side. [?]
   the loop around the animal's neck when the jerk took place, the
   critter's 00077head is pulled towards to hoss and its body swings to
   the opposite direction and falls on the side away from the hoss. In
   the event the animal fell contrary to the usual way, we let it up and
   again set out to perform the task.
   
   "When a bloated critter was located, it was always in too much
   distress to get up and run or fight. I carried a long bladed knife for
   the purpose of treating bloated stock. We stuck the knife in the
   animal's side puncturing its paunch, thus allowing the gas to escape.
   The puncture was made in the low spot just to the front of the hip
   bone.
   
   "The mired cattle were hauled out of the mire by the hoss pulling by
   means of the saddle. With the lasso tied to the [pommel?] and the loop
   placed around the critter's horns the hoss dragged the critter out.
   
   "There were times when I was kept busy and other periods when I did
   nothing particularly, except to ride.
   
   "Stevens bought many cattle from the small ranchers, and when his herd
   reached a low number he would begin to buy and gather cattle.
   
   "There was an average of seven hands employed. At times there were as
   many as 15 waddies working.
   
   "We lived in a bunk house when not working too far off from
   headquarters. During the Spring and Fall roundups, the crew always
   lived out doors. Each of the roundups kept the boys out 00088about
   three months, and then the chuck wagon was their home.
   
   "All the ranchers in the region took part in the roundup. Then all the
   strays were separated, the calves branded and the cattle counted. As
   the roundup proceeded from one section to another, more or less strays
   belonging to different sections would be encountered. Each rancher had
   some waddies, called 'reps', in the roundup crew who looked after
   their ranch's cattle
   
   "The cattle would stray off of their home range during storms, or when
   the grazing became scarce.. Otherwise, the cattle would stay within
   the vicinity of their own range. The herd would graze far away, at
   times perhaps several miles, but towards late evening they would start
   drifting towards their bedding ground. They bedded near the waterhole
   and salt licks.
   
   "While the weather was fair and grazing sufficient the herd didn't
   need any watching to keep it from drifting, but when a storm came the
   crew were compelled to ride in order to hold the herd. The more
   inclement the weather, the harder it was to hold the animals.
   
   "There always was danger of a stampede while a storm was in progress,
   especially when it was thundering and lightning. When a stampede took
   place, sometimes the herd could be stopped and at times more or less
   of the cattle would get away. If a bunch of cattle strayed, we would
   be compelled to spend some time hunting them. Perhaps a number of the
   strays could not be located, but those would turn up during the
   roundups.
   
   "In the Mansfield region there was considerable woods and 00099hills
   which provided shelter for the cattle. Therefore, the cattle would not
   do much drifting during ordinary storms. The animals would go to a
   wooded spot or into a ravine at the [?] side of a hill. The hailstorm
   was what we dreaded. When a hailstorm began to pelt the critters, they
   became wild and woods or ravines would not satisfy them as a shelter.
   In addition to the cattle becoming wild from fear and pain, the hosses
   became unmanagable. It is then next to impossible to do a thing but
   wait till the storm subsides, then start to hunt the scattered herd.
   
   "While I was on the Stevens' ranch we experienced one stampede during
   which we were helpless, and that was caused by a hailstorm. The stones
   were large and the cattle went wild. The hosses started to pitching
   whenever a rider started in any direction except with the storm, so we
   just had to let the cattle go where they pleased.
   
   "The 10 gallon hats saved us waddies by protecting our heads and
   shoulders, but the rest of our bodies suffered bruises. The pain we
   suffered from the hail made us feel that the cattle should not be
   blamed for the way they were running. We hunted cattle for several
   days after this storm and found some [50?] miles away. We were short
   about a third of the cattle until the roundup and then located nearly
   all the strays.
   
   "During my stay on the Stevens' ranch I rode the range and did not
   take part in the roundups. My only change of work was taking part in
   one drive of a herd to Kansas City.
   
   "Stevens did considerable herd driving to the Northern market and
   besides selling his own cattle he bought many cattle to make 001010up
   driving herds of 5,000 to 3,500 head.
   
   "The driving crew numbered 14 men which included the cooky and the
   hoss wrangler. The cooky drove the chuck wagon team besides attending
   to the chuck wagon and doing the cooking. The hoss wrangler was in
   charge of the remuda, which contained about 30 hosses. The hosses
   trailed with the chuck wagon which usually went on ahead of the cattle
   to the next camping place.
   
   "The extra hosses were needed for changing mounts, because a hoss
   could not stand the traveling it was compelled to do at times,
   consecutive days. While the herd is grazing leisurely and moving up
   the trail, some of the hosses are traveling forward and back here and
   there. Then when the cattle became fretful or went to running the
   hosses were put to hard riding. therefore, to insure sufficient
   mounts, extra hosses were taken on the drive.
   
   "The trail boss generally rode ahead of the herd selecting the route,
   deciding on the camping places for the nights and the bedding ground
   for cattle. While there existed a well established general route, the
   route was not followed exactly. The herd was shifted right and left to
   give the animals plenty of grazing.
   
   "Riders rode at different points at each side of the herd and at the
   rear. The animals were allowed to graze at their leisure, but always
   headed up the trail, except when we desired to reach some specific
   place at a certain time. Then the riders would bunch the herd in a
   compact body and urge the herd forward.
   
   "Watering places were the thing which governed the speed of our
   travel. It was essential to reach water for the cattle twice a
   001111day, if possible, but there were sections of the country where
   once a day was as often as we could reach water, and longer periods in
   a few locations.
   
   "Before dusk, the cattle would start to bed and by dark, as a rule,
   the entire herd would be bedded down. In ordinary clement weather four
   night riders kept watch over the herd. The night riding was done by
   groups of four working in four hour shifts. During the 70's there were
   many depredaters, such as cattle rustlers and Indians in some sections
   along the trail's route, and it was necessary to guard against the
   depredations. the depredaters would stampede the cattle to produce
   strays which they would pick up. On the trip I made we experienced no
   rustler trouble, but Stevens had such trouble on previous trips.
   
   "While we drifted through the Indian Territory, Indians contacted us
   and asked for beef. They would be satisfied with one or two critters,
   and we gave them sore-footed animals. There were always more or less
   animals developing sore feet, which could not complete the trip and
   would have to be dropped eventually, so we were not out anything by
   giving the Indians such animals.
   
   "The stampede was another thing we were compelled to keep on the watch
   for. Because the cattle were away from their home range, they were
   more liable to take fright and go on a run. While the drive I was with
   had no stampede that resulted in a serious loss of cattle, yet there
   were a large number of runs.
   
   "We drove the cattle through Fort Worth and crossed the Trinity River
   about a mile northeast of where the courthouse is now located.
   001212At this point was the best place for fording the river with the
   cattle. Our route out of Fort Worth was northwest to Wilbarger county,
   to what was called Doan's Crossing on the Red River. At Doan's
   Crossing we forded the Red River. From this crossing we drove
   northward to Kansas City.
   
   "We forded many streams. Some were crossed easily, while others
   presented more or less difficulties. Our troubles forded streams were
   due to high water which we occasionally encountered following rains.
   By the time we arrived in the Indian Territory and farther west, the
   cattle had learned to take the water readily, but when the water was
   high it was also running swiftly. With a swift running stream the
   tendency of the cattle is to drift down the stream with the current.
   Under such a condition, it was necessary for the riders to swim their
   hosses at the lower side of the herd and, by waving slickers or the
   curled lassos, force the cattle to swim against the current enough to
   remain in a straight course. At times the riders were unable to
   accomplish their purpose, and cattle would reach the opposite bank
   scattered down the shore. Perhaps some of the cattle would get into
   hogs of quicksand, and then we would have a time pulling the critters
   out.
   
   "After we arrived at the end of our drive and the cattle were disposed
   of, we relaxed for three days before commencing our return trip. There
   were plenty of amusement places of various kinds and the boys enjoyed
   themselves according to their taste. Some of the boys felt worse after
   three days of the rest period than when they began the relaxation, but
   all felt they had a good time.
   
   "A short time after I returned from the Kansas city drive, 001313I
   spent six months buying cattle for Stevens from the small ranchers. I
   saw a chance to go into the cattle business for myself and did do so.
   
   "An uncle of mine owned considerable land near Mansfield and I leased
   1,000 acres from him, which I fenced. The lease cost me the fencing.
   Then I rode through the country buying any critter from a weaned calf
   up to a year old, but nothing over a year in age. In my pasture was an
   abundance of grass and an excellent supply of water. those young
   cattle I placed in the pasture and forget about the animals, except to
   watch the fence and ride over the pasture occasionally to see how the
   cattle were progressing. There was no feed bill or much of a wage
   bill. I would pasture the cattle for six or mine months and then sell,
   if I received a satisfactory price. The natural growth of the cattle
   [netted?] me a good profit. I continued this business for several
   years.
   
   "My fence was built of boards and rails, and the cost of the fence put
   me to hustling for money. Just about the time I had my fence under way
   and was wondering where I could get some money to complete the job,
   the [P. & P.?] railroad built into Fort Worth, which was in 1876.
   
   "The track building had reached where Arlington is now and the
   builders were pressed for time to complete the road into Fort Worth on
   a specific date so that they could received a bonus. The contractors
   needed all the workers they could possibly crowd on the job. I went to
   work for Hughes, a team contractor, and drove 001414a team of mules
   pulling a scraper. I started to work then the grading work was going
   on at about where the west edge of Arlington is now, and continued
   until the track was laid to the depot of Fort Worth. At the time, the
   depot was located on a tract of land south of (now) [Lancaster?] Ave.
   and east of Main St.
   
   "I don't suppose there has been another piece of track laid which will
   compare with the original [T. & P.?] tract from Arlington to Fort
   Worth.
   
   "I worked cutting down high spots and filling the low places. For a
   high spot to received attention it had to be an abrubt rise and the
   low places received the same attention. What we actually did was to
   level the ground so that each end of the ties would be on a level.
   When we came to a creek, which required a bridge, instead of building
   a trestle we placed a crib of ties on which the track was laid. When
   we reached the ground near where the depot was located, there a duck
   pond was encountered, which had been used by the farmer owner raising
   geese and ducks. It would require some time to fill the pond,
   therefore the track was laid curving around the pond and back to the
   depot.
   
   "Towards the last week or so, men and teams worked till exhausted,
   then would rest a short time and return to the job. Just so fast as a
   way was provided for laying ties and rails, they were laid.
   
   "There was some provision in the Legislature's grant which set out
   that the road must be completed on or before the Legislature
   adjourned. The Legislature's time to adjourn was three or four
   001515weeks prior to the time the road was completed into Fort Worth,
   but by some parliamentary maneuver the friends of Forth Worth were
   preventing adjournment. It was by a close margin that the Legislature
   was held in session. Each day rumors went the rounds to the effect
   that Fort Worth would lose the Legislature battle, followed by a
   contrary report. Such rumors continued up to the day the track was
   laid to the depot.
   
   "The day the first train came into town, which was the final act in
   winning the race against time, was a day of celebration in Fort Worth
   for everybody. People came into Fort Worth for miles around, some
   driving hosses or mules hitched to buggies or wagons, some driving ox
   teams hitched to carts or wagons, and many on hossback. The largest
   contingency was cowboys riding mustangs. Many of the visitors had not
   seen a railway train before and I was one of them, except for the work
   train which hauled material on the laid track behind us workers.
   
   "The people began to gather early in the morning of July 19th, 1876,
   which was the day the first train ran over the new road. Folks were
   craning their necks looking east down the track for the train which
   was soon to arrive. After considerable waiting, smoke of the engine
   was soon in the distance, then a shout from the crowd rendered the
   air. Then the train appeared, wibbling and wabbling, with a slow
   movement over the track. At times it appeared the train would never
   reach the depot, because the way it swayed a tip seemed certain.
   
   "The train finally reached the depot blowing its whistle, then
   001616steam began to pop suddenly. The popping of steam scared many of
   the assembled people and there was a scurrying to get away. The scared
   folks seen realized that the engine was not going to burst and they
   returned to inspect the locomotive. There were many speeches made
   [entelling?] the future of Fort Worth; and, with whistles blowing and
   bells ringing, the hilarity continued till [night?].
   
   "I completed my pasture fence and made good profit out of my cattle
   business because, after the railroad entered Fort Worth, our market
   improved and it was easier to sell stock.
   
   "I bought and pastured cattle for about 10 years. By this time
   settlers were moving into the section in great numbers, which
   increased the price of land. My uncle desired to sell tracts from the
   land which I had leased. I bought 100 acres from him and started my
   farming career.
   
   "other ranchers, who continued in the ranching business, began to move
   their herds West, and then ranching gradually ceased in the Mansfield
   region.
   
   "I shall relate on more custom of the early days, which was followed
   while I was a child.
   
   "Matches were scarce and expensive. The old sulphur match cost 10¢ a
   box and the boxes were not much, if any, larger than this penny box of
   today. therefore, we used matches sparingly and a few were kept for
   emergency use.
   
   "The flint and steel were used to light a piece of punk or tender for
   starting fires. Also, we would set fire to a tree stump, which would
   burn slowly for several days. When we wanted to start a 001717fire, we
   would knock off a piece of the burning wood and carry it to the
   fireplace.

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