Sample Topics: Smoking
just seemed to go along with cowboy life, Barbed wire telephones, Screen door
was faithful fixture, Bugs provided hours of entertainment, Quilting was hub of
family, social life... more
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Texas
Ranches, Ranching, Cowboys & Cattle Drives:
Doan's
Crossing - There is a large granite marker that includes many of the brands
of the most famous ranches in Texas.
Black
Cowboysby Murray Montgomery 2-3-08
The black cowboy has been part of the ranching industry in Texas for a long time.
They were born into slavery in the beginning but after the Civil War they continued
to work on the ranches as free men...
Stetson
led way for modern cowboy hatsby Delbert Trew
8-19-08 In about 1860 the "perfect headpiece"
was invented by John B. Stetson. He was the son of a Philadelphia hat-making family
and suffered from tuberculosis, an occupational disease of hat-makers. Forced
to travel west for his health he was on a Pike's Peak camping expedition when
the need for a hat arose.
Technology
replacing old ranching ways by Delbert Trew 7-10-08
Many changes have occurred in the ranching business over the years. Some are good,
a few are sad and occasionally one is somewhat ironic or funny.
No
journey too far for determined cattlemenby Delbert Trew 4-17-08
From the stockman of biblical times to the modern day rancher, he has always been
out in front of civilization looking for fresh graze for his livestock. His trials
were many, often more than his share as he challenged the vast prairies, unpredictable
weather, one disease after another and the continually changing financial world...
Horse-to-tractor
switch laboriousby
Delbert Trew 2-21-08 The
big switch from equine horsepower to gasoline power was about over when I became
old enough to remember...
Dust
Bowl was deadly by Delbert Trew 2-7-08
Until 1930, most agriculture workers, and especially the cattlemen, had retained
their independence from government help and interference. However, the Crash of
1929 ushered in the beginnings of the Great Depression. By 1931 severe drought
set in all across the Great Plains from Canada to Texas with annual rainfall averages
cut in half from normal. By 1933, areas in the Southern Plains began to experience
dust storms that eventually grew into the Dust Bowl...
It's
a wonder the Panhandle was ever settledby Delbert Trew
12-11-07 From 1850 to 1900, new settlers
flocking to the Panhandle and West Texas prairies faced almost insurmountable
odds in establishing a legal homestead. Most had few resources at hand or the
time to waste as they searched and settled...
Hog
Drives of Frio Canyon Texas - Part I: “Git Along Little Piggy” Late 1890’s
- Early 1900’sby Linda-Kirkpatrick 12-8-07
The Frio Canyon suffered hard times in the late 1800’s... The folks, who built
up the early ranches in the Leakey area, did what they could to just get by...
Like the cattle drives of old but just not as classy or as romantic or as written
about were the hog drives of the Frio Canyon.
Early
ranchers formed well-organized groupsby Delbert Trew 10-16-07
Since the beginning of livestock domestication of sheep and goats in 6,000 B.C.,
problems of ownership of livestock and regulation for grazing the public domain
have occurred. As numbers of livestock increased, pastoral customs, grazing regulation
and preservation of ownership problems grew in proportion...
Bull
Durham tobacco the 'cheapest luxury'by Delbert Trew 10-10-07
...The tobacco became famous after 1860 when the trademark was registered, as
almost every posed photo of a man showed the small round paper tags hanging from
a vest or shirt pocket. This product took center stage in the West just like Arbuckle
Coffee and Stetson hats...
Cow
Pattiesby Mike Cox 9-26-07
...On the High Plains, where trees were scarcer than sinners at a revival, finding
fire fuel took more effort. While folks traveling in a wagon might haul an emergency
supply of split wood, travelers, scouts, and cowboys soon realized that a ready
source of fuel surrounded them – buffalo chips...
B.
F. (Frank) Payne, Texas Rangerby Linda-Kirkpatrick
9-5-07 ...Annually they would round up
the herds and brand the calves according to the brand of their mother. Thus each
rancher was able to keep up with the herd size and the cattle belonged to him
even though the cow herds ran free. This process worked well until the Civil War.
Many of the young men who had hired out to work these cows were called to fight...
Conditioning
a saddle into tiptop quality by Delbert Trew
8-7-07 venture a guess that only one in 10 readers will be familiar
with the term "Neatsfoot Oil." This oil has been a mainstay in saddle and harness
maintenance for centuries. No old-time, self-respecting rancher, farmer or cowboy
would be caught without a can sitting in his saddle or harness storage...
Sarge
Cummings Master of the Long LoopLinda-Kirkpatrick 7-1-07
Robert H. “Sarge” Cummings was known as a master of the long loop, a cowboy term
for rustler. This old coot was loved by all, except for maybe the Texas Rangers.
Children were ecstatic whenever he came to visit a spell. Some would crawl under
his chair just to spin the rowels on his spurs as he spun tales of the wild west...
Trail
drivers brought in income, coined phrasesby Delbert Trew 5-6-07
Texans owe a round of applause to the old-time trail drivers who in a period of
years drove more than 5 million head of livestock to the northern markets. This
income helped the state of Texas recover from the effects of the Civil War. The
following terms were coined during the Trail Drive Era and many are still with
us today...
Hungry
cowboys foil pickle planby Delbert Trew 5-2-07
In the early days when a cowboy "sold his saddle" it meant he was down and out,
finished, disgraced or maybe doing time in jail. In short, he was no longer a
cowboy...
"Vaquero"- Cowboy statue by Luis Jimenez in Houston
Stampede
Mesaby C. F. Eckhardt "Not many people know about Stampede
Mesa these days, but from the early 1880s until Texas cattlemen quit driving beef
north, those two words would make a cold-footed rat run up and down a cowboy's
spine. Stampede Mesa was-and may still be-one of the most thoroughly haunted places
in Texas."
Withersby Mike Cox ("Texas
Tales") Back in Texas' trail-driving days, a cow pony could cause
a man an awful lot of worry - especially a horse with idiosyncrasies...
The
Devilin' of Old Johnby C. F. Eckhardt Old John was about the oldest
man I knew who was still working as a cowboy, and I don't know how old he was
when he died...
Cowboy
Life on a Small Spreadby C. F. Eckhardt Cowboyin' ain't all it's
cracked up to be. It's not all horsebackin' and branding and Saturday night at
the dance hall. Herewith a view of some of the cowboy chores Roy and Gene never
did in the Saturday matinee...
The
Chisholm Trail Rides Againby Clay Coppedge Anyone wanting to follow
the Old Chisholm Trail through Bell County would find part of the quest relatively
easy, at least as easy as driving on IH-35...
Deere
was a man farmers could really digby Delbert Trew " In 1838,
a village blacksmith named John Deere created a plow from a worn saw blade. Amazingly,
the new design blade sheared the soil cleanly and the moldboard laid the new soil
aside in long, neat ribbons..."
Cowboy
Treeby Mike Cox "...In a way, it’s natural enough that Pleasanton
would have such a tree, unnatural as the combination of the words “cowboy” and
“tree” seems to be. The Atascosa County community south of San Antonio has long
claimed to be the birthplace of the cowboy..."
Windmillsby Clay Coppedge "This
may be a bitter pill for some Texans to swallow, but the windmill was not invented
in Texas. Neither was the Colt revolver. Ditto barbed wire..."
Shortly
after World War II, the threat of invasion from Mexico was far different from
the perceived threat today. Then the menace was disease. Mexican cattle infected
with the dreaded hoof and mouth disease could easily wander (or be herded by smugglers)
across the shallow, drought-stricken Rio Grande. .... more
Whiskey
Funeral by Mike Cox "...A cowboy who worked on ranches along the
Concho River in the top part of McCulloch County, Whiskey was known to take a
drink or two or three. He won his nickname when he got so desperate for a drink
that he traded his horse and saddle for a gallon of whiskey..."
Spanish
Cattle by Mike Cox
"All those longhorns that revitalized Texas’ post-Civil War economy had to
come from somewhere. And where the breed came from was the interior of Mexico.
Via trail drive."
Range
Wisdom by Mike Cox Cattle roundup in the free range days, and the dispute
over branded steers.
The
Spanish America War Chronicles by John Troesser Texas provided men and
a place to train "The Rough Riders", the group composed of cowboys, adventurers
and polo playing aristocrats from New York.
Donley
County by Lou Ann Herda A saloon and dance hall were going to be erected
by some outsiders at one point. This didn't set well with several local cowboys,
who offered to scalp them if they didn't leave. It took legendary cattle driver
.....
The
Cowboy Silhouette by John Troesser You've seen him if you've driven through
the country. He's a booted and hatted cowboy, leaning up against a building or
fence post with no visible means of support other than his fence post. Hotels >
Traveling Texas? Book Your Hotel Here & Save
Texas
Ranches - Books of Interest
In
association with Amazon.com Click on Titles for current pricing and order
information :
Lone
Star Living: Texas Homes and Ranches
by Tyler Beard Publisher: Bulfinch; 1st edition (December 2003) Hardcover:
Book Description- "Texas Style," is now reflective of America itself. Rugged individualism,
high quality, large living, and impeccable taste are values that Texans share
with all Americans. Tyler Beard, who is known as the "King of Texas Style" and
whose own ranch has been featured in dozens of books and magazines, introduces
us, in a way that only an aficionado could, to homes that are incredibly appealing
in beauty, architecture, and pure Texan spirit. Vibrant photography by Jack Parsons
offers inspiration, ideas, and a glimpse of how Texans are living today. Beard
examines architectural and design elements throughout the home, both inside and
out, highlighting details of furniture, construction, art, and history along the
way. An in-depth resource guide will help readers find all things Texan, no matter
where they live.
The
Texas Cowboys: Cowboys of the Lone Star State Hardcover:
252 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.91 x 11.06 x 12.08 Publisher: Stoecklein
Pub; (August 1997) Legacy Books, Sept. 1998 - Stoecklein and Saunders
have created a compelling account of Texas cowboying. Vital, reliable, and informative,
The Texas Cowboys is an extraordinary photo essay and compact text on the topic;
one of the best of recent times. The illustrations are stunning and revealing
Hotels
> Traveling
Texas? Book Your Hotel Here & Save
