SPECIAL Section
The History of the “War-Welding Cowboy” By Austin E. Brown, Bee County
W
HEN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR WAS OVER thousands of Confederate soldiers, being without home or job, went
west to Texas to work on the frontier as cattle hands for the early cattlemen who chose that wonderful area of free grass. They took innovation with them: skills as
mule skinners, wild game hunters, craftsmen of all kinds, and, most important, the desire to live and work outside. They acquired new skills of riding stock
horses and handling herds of free-range cattle. To this new and exciting industry they lent
the well-worn “rebel yell” to the driving of cattle, a yell that was feral in nature and that would soon become the early version of the cattle call. With this yell, used to coerce cattle to change directions or just move forward, these men of renown drove the big herds north from deep South Texas to northern markets. From this era a new “job title” was coined — cowboy. Within 10 years, these strong young men
would fi nd themselves handling a newly in- vented ferrous material, barbed wire. This new metal product would forever
change the cattle industry by fencing the open range. The open range years were over. Large crews of former cowboys suddenly became ranch fence builders. They traded their stock horses for teams of mules, supply wagons and post-hole diggers. They slept on the ground in all types of
weather. The great XIT Ranch of the Texas Panhandle required 6,000 miles of barbed wire fence. With this new innovation in ranching came another new job title — fence hand. This class of unsung men contained those who fenced and secured our ranches and some of their early work can still be found today in isolated areas. The First and Second World Wars changed
the lives of many of these ranch laborers, but at the same time, taught them new skills, the most important of which was welding. By the early 1950s, ranchers were replacing weaker, wooden implements with stronger,
52 The Cattleman June 2015
Chad Lee provided these photos of how they keep their ranch ATVs and equipment safely locked away from thieves.
Pablo Garcia, Brown Ranches, Beeville, shows his handiwork and skill in a decorative gate and the cattle handling facilities at the ranch.
Harry Dudley, Dudley Brothers, Comanche, built this sale ring, making sure the Hereford cattle and horses that sell every October are handled safely and shown off to their best.
thecattlemanmagazine.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116