Life History of Edward T. Pruitt as recorded by Phipps, Woody; Rangelore; Tarrant Co., Dist. 7.

Edward T. Pruitt, 81, resident Masonic Home for Aged near Ft. Worth, Texas born Feb. 26, 1857, near Mt. Sterling, Alabama. A rider at six he became a cowboy on the SB ranch from 1890 to [?] and later bought a 10 section ranch 2 miles west of Post, Texas. Was employed by a Mr. Pruitt (no relation) in 1897 to trail boss a 1,600 head herd to Medicine Hat, Canada from Post, Texas.

"I'm just an old man but I've sure minded critters on the ranch and the trail drive. I was born February 26, 1857 on a plantation that my dad was overseer on near Mount Sterling, Choctaw County, Alabama. I was named Edward Thomas Pruitt. The Thomas was after the fellow's that owned the plantation. His name was Thomas RIDGEWAY and he let his brother-in-law B. Turner run the place as long as he didn't marry. Youse see his first wife had died and she was RIDGEWAY'S sister. Dad had the overseeing of about 35 niggers for Turner and 35 for RIDGEWAY who owned three or four plantations around there.

"I got my fust hoss from the Doc that 'tended the niggers while they were on the plantation. It was an old flea bitten grey. I don't guess it had any stock in it. Just an old hoss. Doc gave him to me when I wasn't but five years old. I learned to ride on that old hoss before I was six. I'd go around and tend to the different chores left up to me on that hoss. My dad died a couple of years before the war ended so ma lit out with us kids to her mother's. Grandma had about 20 nigger slaves on here place and it was the same as being on the other place 'til freedom come along and upset everybody's apple-cart. Freedom put all us kids to work in the fields along with the niggers that stayed and got pay for their work. We kids worked for nothing after freedom and the niggers got money where they worked for nothing before and we kids got the money. C.12 - 2/11/41 - Texas

"In 1880 we boys were getting pretty good size and taking an interest in how things was being run so ma lights out to San Saba County, Texas, and buys a 320 acre place to build a stock farm. My brother Sam and I had connived around and got us enough money to buy us [about?] 140 head to put on the place. We branded our stock SMP; later on ma got her 40 head and we branded them MAP after her name. We didn't have a speck of trouble while there and made right good. We had to go in debt a little when we first come there but we made enough money to go to Graza county in the Fall of '89 and bought 400 acres of land, about 350 head of cattle, and about 50 head of native hosses. This place was located about 12 mi. from Post City and we run the same brands we run back in San Saba County.

"My cow punching experience didn't amount to nothing until I got ants in my pant to go to work where they had a little excitement every day. I'd got so tired of the [little?] herds that I turned my part over to Sam to manage and went to work for the Scroggins and Brown ranch. It was in Graza county and was run by Pete Scroggins and Bolley Brown. They run a partnership herd of about 750 head with a BS brand, then Pete run about 750 with an IDS brand, and Bolley run about 375 with a block bar brand. You make it with a square and a line running down the middle.

"That was the kind of a berth I'd been looking for. Bolley was the best rider I ever saw and he rode the best cutting hoss in that section of the country. He'd just make old Jerry understand which critter he wanted cut out and let the hoss do the rest. Jerry'd stay with the critter 'til Bolley could loop it. The next best hoss was old Shiloah owned by Pete Scroggins. Shiloah was right as good a [?] as Jerry. Bolley actually went to the Fair at Haslett, took the reins off and won a blue ribbon with Jerry in the hoss show.

"I'm kinda old to recall much of the ranch life. I know they was wild tales told by the hundreds until somebody started a crap game or a card game, or put and take. I can't recall a one that had to do with ranch life. We had music and singing too but I don't recall any songs either. About the troubles a puncher could have were stampedes and other things but not much trouble with rustlers. I never saw an Indian on the make out there either.

Pete and Bolley had made a rep for taking care of their stock before I came out into ngs but not much trouble with rustlers. I never saw an Indian on the make out there either. Pete and Bolley had made a rep for taking care of their stock before I came out into that country so folks with a loose loop kinda missed the BS when they made a foray.

"I saved my money on the BS and after 3 1/2 years I met J.M. Ozer in Snyder, Tex.; he was smart and knew how to make money so I quit the BS and we pooled what money we could rake and scrape up. We started a grocery store by the name of J M Ozer Co., then bought a cotton gin from a fellow who had gone broke before he ginned his first bale. I runs ale it burned down and I rebuilt it and run it for 7 more years.

"I met L. H. Pruitt who owned about half of Snyder, he was no relation of mine but he and I gee'd together so we became fast friends. It was through him that Ozer and me sold our grocery store and bought a 10 section ranch about two miles west of Post City. We run over 600 head on it with the JMO brand. It was known as the Ozer and Pruitt ranch out there at the time. This Pruitt got the motion in his head that he wanted to go to Canada. He propositioned me about 50 times to trail boss his herd up there. I turned him down a long time but I took him up in 1897 and he sells everything he had but 1,600 steers. He had to sell his 40 section ranch and 2,400 cattle for almost nothing to get away but he did it. We gets ready to strike the trail up to the Matador Ranch in Motley county., on the old Mackenzie trail on the Red Buck Ranch in Scurry county than stayed on it 'til we made the Matador. The railhead came to Estelline which was right at the edge of the Matador and we shipped the cattle from there to Big Sandy, Montana.

"All the way up we had to stop the train every day and water and feed every head. About half way up we let the critters have a two day rest. It wasn't a bad trip though. When we unloaded we strikes for Medicine Lodge, Canada. It was a different kind of country to what the critters was used to so they kept us busy day and night with small stampedes. I was lucky in that I made Pruitt hire nothing but top hands before we started so we was able to run close herd on the critters. These small stampedes kept us so busy that we didn't get much rest. One night I'm standing guard alone and I decided to get down off my hoss. After I got down the hoss shakes his self and the saddle makes a lot of noise. Them critters was off like a shot. Since I was alone it seemed like they'd run two miles before any of the other fellows gets up to me and helps me circle them and start them to milling.

"The next trouble was when we got almost to the Canadian line. About a mile ahead of us on the Milk River was a little settlement right on the line and between two lakes. Pruitt's boy rides ahead and when he comes back he says that we can't go on account of the mosquitoes. I's raised back in Alabama and I'd seen mosquitoes there big enough to carry a dog or cat off so I thought we'd just go ahead and take the mosquitoes as they came. Along 10 o'clock when it was just good dark it seemed like the earth just roes and it was all mosquitoes. I learned something that night, they bit and bit and the cattle got scared and ran. We stayed with them and kept them in line 'til morning when the mosquitoes left us. We speed herded the critters past the spot we had our trouble and crossed into Canada. About dark they came again and the old man's chuck wagon bogged down. He says, "T'hell with it! Let's get out of these varmints!" We leaves the wagon and drives on out of the valley.

"Two miles past [the?] Canadian line a Red Jacket joins us. He's been sent down by his sergeant to keep us from cutting out any critters we didn't want inspected. We'd beat him to the draw because we didn't bring anything but the best of Pruitt's stock so we just put him to work as we were short handed and he was a good cowhand. When we got to Medicine Hat the inspector had us string out and he looked the cattle over and counted them; then he ok'd us to pass on.

"When Pruitt got the herd to 20 miles this side of Medicine Lodge he settles and I caught the first train back home. That trip was the one outstanding thing that ever happened to me. After I got back I went out of the cattle business but I always kept good hosses. My first hoss cost me $40, my chaps cost $8, my boots cost $16, and my first big hat cost $8. Since the time I bought my first hoss I've bought them as high as $325 for a Percheron in Snyder."