From the CampHouse
February 1983 Whitsett, TX - Morgan O’Brien putting a rope on a cow he was on in a creek
He wasn’t excited about getting down on a wild cow, but he had no rope… and no other choices.
It was Stock Show weather. If you were outside not doing anything, it was pretty miserable. But if you were cleaning part of the Santa Rita Ranch in Whitsett, TX and had to wear a brush jacket just to go saddle your horse, it was almost comfortable.
Everyone had already saddled and strung out for the morning. The cattle that could be penned had already been penned. The ones that were left in that pasture were still out there for a reason - they weren’t coming willingly.
“We had to clean that place and it was plenty thick - white brush I think they called it,” said Morgan O’Brien. “Our dogs were good though and they hit a set [of cows] pretty quick after we trickled out there. We couldn’t see how many since the brush was so thick but we could hear them rolling around in there and knew they weren’t going to stay bayed up long.”
More cowboys came to the dogs and were taking up their positions all the way around the small herd of wild cattle. You’d hear a soft cowboy call now and then as different guys showed up like ball players in Field of Dreams - they just materialized out of the brush. A couple guys would call back and the new arrival would know where the rest of the group was and would position himself accordingly.
Morgan was right. The cattle weren’t there long. A bigger bull yearling left first and the first pair of cowboys left just as fast right behind him. Then the rest of the small, wild herd scattered like a busted covey of quail. It was on! Just about everyone there had a shot to make the board this time. Cowboys and cattle went nine different directions.
Morgan recalled, “I rolled out of there behind a young black cow that was drifting on pretty good. I just couldn’t get a shot at her though.”
Brush makes it very difficult to catch cattle. You’ve got to ride to your position to rope while you’re laying on your horse’s neck running through the brush so that when there’s a small opening, you can raise up and take a shot. If the opening in the brush is big enough, you can catch up pretty easily and get one caught. That’s usually not the case. And it’s definitely not how it was in Whitsett.
“I raised up and took a bad shot at her. I knew I was out of position, but the situation wasn’t getting any better. About that same time though she stumbled into a draw that snuck up on us since we were going a little fast. She acted like she might go down, so I snatched my rope off of the saddle horn so I wasn’t dragging it and rode by her,” Morgan said. “I wasn’t excited about getting down on her, but I didn’t really have a choice. Everything had to go and Don was the only one behind me.”
He was referring to Don Schatleben. Don was a hell of a Game Warden and close family friend of J.M. O’Brien and his sons, Morgan, Mick and Dick. He was a great shot and an outstanding individual, but he was not a great brush hand. He didn’t pretend to be one though. He wasn’t in the way by any means. He knew his way around cattle and was good help. He always had a good, seasoned horse but he knew his limits. He wasn’t going to shake down a loop and rope a wild cow in the brush. He had no interest in being tangled up with one of those.
February 1983 Whitsett, TX - Don Schatleben holding a cow in the brush.
But everyone has got to test their limits at some point.
Don came riding up through the brush to find Morgan astride that black cow and had a couple questions. Morgan wasn’t interested in his questions though.
“Toss me your rope,” Morgan respectfully half asked and half told Don.
“Where’s yours?” Don asked.
“Come on. Toss it down here. She’s about to get up on me.”
“Where’s your horse?”
“It’ll be fine, Don. Throw it down here. We gotta get a rope on her.”
“How am I gonna get her outta there? Are you gonna get another rope on her pretty quick?”
“You’re just gonna help me hold her. We’re not going anywhere yet. You got a nice horse now just throw a loop down here.”
Don was really more of a hand than he gave himself credit for. If you’ve ever worked cows, you know that a hand that knows more than he says is WAY better than a hand that says more than he knows.
Well, Don pitched a loop down to Morgan and effectively ended one of the many captures that day. Morgan retraced his steps and located his rope. He remounted and several of them, Don included, logged that cow out to a spot where a trailer could get to and get her loaded.
One more cow made it to town and two more men made it onto the board - in the good column.