H. H. Halsell - Cowboys and Cattleland

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Text originally published in 1937 under the same title.

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Publishers Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Authors original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern readers benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

COWBOYS AND CATTLELAND

BY

H. H. HALSELL

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATED TO MY UNCLE,

THE LATE, LAMENTED, W. T. WAGGONER,

WHOSE WIFE VERY GRACIOUSLY MADE THE PUBLICATION

OF THIS BOOK POSSIBLE.

THE idea and desire has been in my mind for several years to write a history of the life and achievements of the old-time cattlemen of Texas, including a story of my life, inasmuch as all that long period of seventy-seven years was spent in Texas, and the first forty years of the time represented a transition period from a wild and rugged frontier life full of daring deeds and wild adventures of these pioneers up to a period of cultured, well-settled society. Heretofore the delay has been caused by a dislike on my part to advertise my own name and exploits; at the same time there has been a constant urge to go forward in the work for several reasons. First, I desire to transmit to my descendants of the name I bear such a story as will be a comfort and consolation to them, as well as information as to our heritage. Second, I have a desire to furnish a realistic portrayal of the character and deeds of a race of frontier heroes, who have passed off the stage of life never to return. Another reason is the fact that a few of my old cattlemen friends still linger on this side of the divide, and they, as well as the descendants of the old-timers will, I think, enjoy this book with the memories it brings to their minds again. I have now decided that the reasons for proceeding with the work overbalance my hesitancy to do so. Agreeable to my desire to make this book a source of reliable information as to the deeds and achievements of the pioneers who through their trials and sacrifices made it possible to build our present civilization.

For two decades, following the years 1866 to 1867, cattle land stretched from Dallas County, Tex., on the east, to the eastern border of California on the west, and from the Gulf of Mexico on the south to Canada on the north.

This vast territory was in the main uninhabited except by cattlemen, hunters, trappers, wild Indians, vast herds of buffalo and other wild animals.

Into this semi-civilized wild domain came young men and boys from the homes of the East, seeking adventure and a livelihood, their ages ranging from fifteen to twenty-five years.

The hardships, privations, and dangers which these young men passed through became a crucible test to try out what kind of fiber they were made of. Very many of them made shipwreck on the open ranges and on cattle trails from the Gulf to Northern markets. As a rule this class of cowboys possessed no vision of the future, no dream of better things to come. They lived a jolly, reckless life, spending all their wages for wine and cards. That represents the dark side of the picture and a real tragedy.

But there was another side to the story. Very many of these young men dreamed of better things than the gratification of present animal passions. Like the former class, they enjoyed the open range, the long trail drives, the jolly times around the campfires; but the uppermost thing in their minds was to save their wages, be decent in their living, and so manage their lives as to fill important stations in life. So it came about that out of this crucible came such successful men as W. T. Waggoner, O. D. Halsell, Charles Goodnight, Col. C. C. Slaughter, Oliver and Jim Loving, John and Shanghai Pierce, Burk Burnett, Reynolds brothers, Blocker brothers (Harold and East), J. O. Jones, R. K. Halsell, and W. E. Halsell, owner of the famous Mashed O Ranch, and a great host of others.

This type of early cowboys became real cattle kings, men who thought of higher and better things. They prepared the way for our present civilization of the great West, They opened up large tracts of land for cultivation of farms and built homes, schools, and churches, and later assisted very materially in establishing Christian colleges in Texas and other Western states.

I am going forward with the work, being persuaded there will be sufficient meat in it to make it agreeable to the reader. The lack of continuity may make it appear like hash, or scrambled eggs. At the same time, I am persuaded there is sufficient seasoning to make it palatable.

I am indebted to various authorities in compiling these records.

As a background to my history of the cattle industry of Texas, from its beginning in the year 1865 up to the present time, I am including a short sketch of the early explorations of Texas by the Spaniards up to the first settlement in San Antonio in the year 1718.

Indirectly Spain began accumulating information concerning Texas in the year 1519 when Alvaraz de Pineda sailed the Gulf from Florida to Tampico. Ten years later, in 1528, several survivors of the Navarez expedition were cast on the shore of Texas, and after six years of wandering along the coast from Galveston to Corpus Christi, Cabeza de Vaca and three others escaped from the Indians (who had enslaved them) and made their way to Mexico. In 1540, De Sotos expedition, after the death of their leader, entered East Texas on their way to Mexico, penetrated as far as the Brazos, and turned back, the same year Coronados expedition, searching for Quevera, traversed a large portion of West Texas.

This seems to have been the beginning of the early history of Texas. San Antonio was founded in 1718. The great Missions near San Antonio were constructed between 1720 and 1730. October 1, 1800, Spain receded to France the province of Louisiana. On April 30, 1803, France sold Louisiana to the United States. On the session Jefferson claimed the western boundary of Louisiana to reach to the Rio Grande.

When we of this day reflect on the transition period of those small beginnings and the vast civilization developed within the short space of a few centuries, we are prompted to exclaim, What hath man wrought, and still more, What are the marvels of the future?

So far as I can discover our forebears came from the banks of the Rhine River in Germany. The name at that time was Holsol. Their descendants came to England, and the blood became mixed with Scotch-Irish. Our great-grandfather came from England to America. My grandfather came from Kentucky to Texas and some years later moved to Wise County and settled two miles south of Decatur about 1861. My father and mother went to school at the McKinsey College at Clarksville and married there on the Trimble Plantation, three miles southeast of that town, in 1857. I was born there on October 1, 1860, and my father moved to Wise County at the close of the Civil War in 1865. He was a Captain in Polinacs Division and served through the war in the Confederate Army. I often wanted him to talk to me about the War, but he rarely ever said anything to any of us on the subject.