Just Read A VERY Interesting Cattle Book!

[Running Arrow Bill]

Just finished reading "Wild Cow Tales" by Ben K. Green, published by Knopf. Green was a TRUE wild west cowman in the 20's and 30's who later became a Vet. Talk about some wild and wooly tales of his buying and selling and collecting for others "Range Delivery" outlaw steers and others! Book was hard to put down.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Bill I read a book recently that I could not put down. "A Land Remembered". It's about some of the first settlers to try and tame Florida, their co-existence with cracker cattle, cracker horses, cur dogs, wild hogs, alligators,seminole indians, mosquitos, all the other hell that Florida has to offer and trying to actually avoid "progress" and what the yankee was about to do to Florida. I liked it so much I read the whole thing in 3 days. I'll look for the book you described.

Just finished reading "Wild Cow Tales" by Ben K. Green, published by Knopf. Green was a TRUE wild west cowman in the 20's and 30's who later became a Vet. Talk about some wild and wooly tales of his buying and selling and collecting for others "Range Delivery" outlaw steers and others! Book was hard to put down.

 

[fugley]

I also have that book, my favorite was when he poked a hole in their nose and tied thier nose to their leg to herd them to town. It is a great book. If you like old west, another great book is Trails Plowed Under, it has some great stories.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey guy, I read that book about 30 years ago as a 17 year old city kid dreaming of the day I could feed cows every day. It was a great read!

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Runnin Arrow I bought and read the book after your recomendation. Not the best book I ever read but DEFINITELY worth reading. I just finished "Picturesque Steers". So far my favorite story was "Peddy", the slow kid who helped him catch heifers with salt in his hand. If everything the writer says is true then I've just picked up a few new tricks for the "wary" cattle.

 

[dun]

It isn't about cattle, but if you want an excellent read, try Monte Walsh. Trust me, it's nothing like the stinky Tom Selleck movie.

dun

 

[bward]

What is cracker cattle and cracker horses?

 

[D.R. Cattle]

The Spanish Conquistadors left cattle, horses and hogs in Florida roaming free when they left (the Spaniards gave up on the God forbidden place). Galleons from the 1500-1700 era which wrecked here managed to contribute as well. The first American settlers to brave the jungles of Florida became known as Florida Crackers. It is believed they got this nickname because the use of whips was essential to their survival. They would kill squirrels and rabbits, gather wild cattle, pop rattlesnakes etc. The cracking of a whip hence "cracker". The horses they managed to capture (with the help of Seminole Indians) and the cattle roaming freely that sustained them also captured the name. The original Florida crackers were thought to have a few loose screws in their heads for even coming here. They probably did.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Just finished reading "Wild Cow Tales" by Ben K. Green, published by Knopf. Green was a TRUE wild west cowman in the 20's and 30's who later became a Vet. Talk about some wild and wooly tales of his buying and selling and collecting for others "Range Delivery" outlaw steers and others! Book was hard to put down.

I put one of the tricks to use today from the Wild Cow Tales book. Had a couple of slick heifers in a pasture that I vacated two weeks ago. They wouldn't go on with the rest of the cows for anything, They wanted to stay in the woods. Well I just strolled on over to the water trough and cut the supply. Drained the trough. Haven't had rain in a while so swales are empty. Amazing how quickly those sneaky little bitches found their way into the other pasture!

 

[TXBobcat]

Well I just strolled on over to the water trough and cut the supply. Drained the trough.

I like that method also. Good way to get cattle to come to pen if you make it the only source of water. After a couple of days, they are usually ready to cooperate.

 

[ffscj]

D.R.,
The original "crackers" probably had a few loose screws for coming here but not as many as those of us who stay here.

Chris

 

[D.R. Cattle]

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