American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940
J. K. Millwee
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{Begin handwritten} [Work?] {End handwritten} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {Begin handwritten} 1327 [?] {End handwritten}
Robertson, Mrs. Wyndham
December 30th, 1936. {Begin handwritten} [memoir - ??] {End handwritten}
Lubback County
District 17
240
Pg. 1
BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. K. Millwee, Cattleman. "THERE [?] [AND?] [?] A CATTLEMAN"
Among the old timers she came to these glorious Plains during the "70's" [/s?] stands out a picturesque [charcter?], J. K. Millwee.
I first met him while in search of some one really seasened in the intricacies of the cattle business of early and later days.
We got to talking [about?] {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} cattle drives, Indians, Colonel Goodnight, Oliver Loving and John Chisum. When I [inquired?] Mr. Millwee's age, he cleared his throat and said" Say, I was born in [Pernbrack?]", and when I looked at him questioningly, he [continued?], {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Well {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} now you would not know that place by that name now, it is called Paris nowadays,
"Well, I was born there an the 15th day of January, 1851, and my father was a lawyer. I went to work at a young age, and my first job was driving 1600 head of cattle to {Begin deleted text} Ellswroth {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} Ellsworth {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Kansas, and Smoky River, and we went by way of Wichita, Kansas, which then only had one saloon and a blacksmith shop. The cattle were sold to private parties on nearby ranches and not shipped. {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} On this drive, {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Mr. Millwee went on, {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} I saw one of the biggest herds of [buffalo?] and the boys figured that they numbered about 5000 head in that one herd. They were so thick, they took up the entire [Panhandle?] it seemed like. We had to stop our cattle and let the buffalo have the right of way. We encountered some Indians too, but I never saw an Indian killed. The tribes we would usually encounter were Apaches, and they hankered after trouble. It was on account of the Indians and of course the advancing settlements, {Begin deleted text} which would drop {End deleted text} the cattle trails {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} dropped {End handwritten} {End inserted text} more and more westward every year. {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} In 1868 I worked for the {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} [?] {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} outfit in Archer county and worked for them off and on for {Begin deleted text} [twenty?] {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} 20 {End handwritten} {End inserted text} years. Robert Strayhorn of Chicago, Ill., and [E?.] B. Harold of Ft. Worth, Texas, owned this ranch, which extended ever Archer,Wichita and Young counties, and they ran about 40,000 head of cattle. {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text}
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Here Mr. Millwee took a deep pull at his cigar before he went on. Then: "Say, I want to tell you about John [Chisum?]. Nobody that has ever written anything about him, has ever told the truth. Say, John Chisum was an educated man , a big cowman and a good friend of my father's. Chisum was the first County Clerk of [Lamar?] county. W.H.Millwee, my father {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} and he were boys together. I went to work for him in 1869, in Coleman county. Helped him move a herd of cattle to his {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} [Besque?] Grande {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} ranch in New [Mexico?], somewhat northeast of where [ {Begin deleted text} [Rosswell?] {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} [Roswell?] {End inserted text} is now located. {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Well, as I started to say, we rounded up the cattle at Belivar on Clear Creek, in Denton county, and moved to a point on [Home?] Creek in Coleman county, from where we started on the trail drive to New Mexico, where Chisum had built himself a magnificent ranch house, about three miles northeast of Roswell, on the South Spring river. His cattle brand was the "Bar" or "[?]", placed on the left hindquarter, and the cattle were given a "jingle-bob" an each ear, which did not prove practical, however, as in cold weather the ends would freeze off. John Chisum used this brand between 1869 and 1892. He probably sold the first herd of cattle to the Matader people. His career became a rather sketchy and checkered one in later life. [Especially?] so [?] the {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Lincoln county war {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} which was started by {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Billy the Kid {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} . {Begin deleted text} however {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} However {End handwritten} {End inserted text} ,let me say, that {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Billy the Kid {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} was friendly toward Chisum and he had no trouble with him."After leaving [Chisum?] in 1872". Mr. Millwee {Begin deleted text} resumed {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} resuming {End handwritten} {End inserted text} the conversation, said: {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} I went back home and attended school in Mansfield, Tarrant county, for three years. {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} There I also attained membership of the [Masonic?] {Begin deleted text} [?] {End deleted text} Order. {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} After that, in 1875, I joined {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} the [Bark?]" ranch in Archer county again, about 115 miles northwest of Ft. Worth, Texas. Also worked for the {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Circled {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} outfit, 40-miles east {Begin deleted text} [?] {End deleted text} of Albuquarque,N.M., at Antelope Springs, in 1880. Then I went with {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Jess Hitson {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} and {Begin deleted text} [?] {End deleted text} drove trail for two years to {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Deer Trail {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Colorado, for him. {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Some time after that I ranched in Crosby county, [?]about one to two miles south of Lerenzo. Here, I branded my cattle the "Flying M"
and ran about 1500 head. I used
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this brand for {Begin deleted text} twenty {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} 20 {End handwritten} {End inserted text} years, even while I was managing the Cross [C?] {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} In the year 1885 I came to Lubbock {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} County and helped organize the I O A ranch. I had the first six wells dug in Lubbock county and also planted the first 100 acres of sorghum in this {Begin deleted text} [locallity?] {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} locality {End inserted text} . The next year I purchased 8000 head of {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Cross C {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} cattle for the {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} IOA {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} ranch, which were tally branded, by putting a "V" on the hind quarter, which indicated that they had been purchased. {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} By 1887 approximately 30,000 head of cattle were grazing on the open range which extended over a 65 to 75 mile area. At that time,the "T Ancher" was the only fenced range. {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} I went into Lynn county in 1896, where I acquired a part of 40 sections of land for which I paid $50,000. I ran around 2000 cattle and bought about 1000 hand from the, {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Deuce of Hearts {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} , from J.L. Vaughn, in Hale county, but did not use his brand. I {Begin deleted text} discotioued {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} discontinued {End handwritten} {End inserted text} and wound up my business in 1935. {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text}At this point Mr. Millwee paused, as if for reflection. Directly he turned to me and said: "Did you want to know about Indians? {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} , Say,I have had several experiences when I was a young boy {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} . It was when I was helping drive that herd of 1600 cattle from Coleman county {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} to Besque Grande for [?] Chisum. We were in the neighborhood of {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Old Eddy {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} , which is now known as Carlsbad, {Begin deleted text} [?] {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} on {End handwritten} {End inserted text} the {Begin deleted text} [?] {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} Delware {End handwritten} {End inserted text} river, when some of the boys {Begin deleted text} [?] {End deleted text} wanted to stop to {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} shoot fish {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} (you shoot fish only in shallow water). One fellow was left at the head of the herd, He was Ed Burlingham. After a little while he rode up to where we were fishing and told the boys to take their time, that some Indians had driven off the cattle anyway. He said that the Indians just sweeped down upon the herd and that he alone could not give chase. Our "straw boss" decided to go after the {Begin deleted text} [?] {End deleted text} Indians and try to get the cattle back, but when the boys made the bend in the creek they counted at least fifty Indians. Feeling that they were outnumbered, {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} [?] {End handwritten} {End inserted text} decided to let the Indians keep the cattle. Say, we never did get them cattle back. {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Once while we had a herd bedded down an {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Seven Rivers {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} in New Mexico, the {Begin deleted text} [?] {End deleted text}
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Indians stampeded them. Five of us boys worked like everything and finally succeeded in calming and settling the animals down again. {Begin deleted text} [?] {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} A band of {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Indians had caused this stampede and Jim McDaniel and I were close upon their heels, for we had been nearest to them and given chase on an impulse. They shot Jim's horse from under his and as the horse fell it turned over and pinned Jim under its body. I was plenty scared and plenty mad too. In order to keep Jim from being killed by the Redskins, I kept on firing at them, We found we had killed three Indian ponies. Well, for some reason the red devils went off and Jim and I thought that maybe they were going after reinforcements, We decided to get away, and so we {Begin deleted text} [?] {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} [and hid in?] {End handwritten} {End inserted text} a clump of hackberry bushes, scared and expecting to be found and killed any time or {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} to {End handwritten} {End inserted text} starve to death. Shortly we heard the clop clop of galloping horses, and now we were sure that it was the {Begin deleted text} redskins {End deleted text} {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} Redskins {End handwritten} {End inserted text} back again. However, it turned out to be 20 of Chisum's boys. Seems that they had been rounding up some cattle and had heard shots and had also found my riderless horse, which made them think we had been killed. {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text} Say, we sure were glad to see the boys that time. {Begin inserted text} {Begin handwritten} {End handwritten} {End inserted text}