Two Cowboys

                                      Two Cowboys

                                              by

                                        Skeet Gould 

When the Tovrea feedlot ,Cudahy packing house and Cornelious sale yard were up and running there were two cowboys that made things happen. Junior was a Mexican, born in Arizona and raised a cowboy. Ed was a Black Man, do not know anything about his raising, but he was a sure enough good hand. Along in the 50's there were lots of cattle to work in those pens, and quite a few sure good men made their living there , working thousands of cattle horse back. Most of them rode nice horses, at least good enough to get the work done.

At 48th Street and Broadway there was an office complex with the Stockyards Restaruant, company offices and a BIG glass fronted Arizona bank. Well , pretty often cattle crawled out of the pens, and would wander around , get on the roads, in yards, and the parking lot around the complex. I know Dad as well as most of the crew at different times had cattle tied down on the pavement and in front yards. They were not always appreciated.

There was a big crossbred steer out on Broadway, he was fat and feeling good, and was runny. Johnny and Ed went to get him, and had hell with the traffic, people afoot wanting to tell them what to do and all. So we have a couple of pissed of cowboys when they got in the parking lot in front of that tall glass bank front. Junior wanted to go right, Ed wanted to go left, and they had old steer in a dead run, and laned between them. Guess there was even a little cussing match going. That steer could not see that glass, and it did not matter anyway , as our boys ran him straight into the Bank Lobby. Scattered customers . The steer was finally roped , no one was hurt, and by then there were two tickled cowboys

Another time at the sale barn there was a big rank, sharp horned Brammer bull that did not want to leave the corral and go to the sale ring. Johnny finally roped him, jerked and drug him into the alley. Bully by then was on the hook, and took the fight to Juniors horse. So they are in a dead run up that alley, with Juniors horse bairly keeping from getting a hooking. Ed was up just outside the sale ring, and realized the Johnny was almost to get trapped in that ring. The gates were shut . Like was said things were going at top speed, Ed got in a wide spot in the alley, and when the bull got there Ed roped both hind feet, dallied on top of a tied rope{not ideal} and stopped the bull. Johnnys' horse was at the closed gate with the bull down only a few feet away. Ed was a hero that day.