"My life began in Fort Worth, Texas. One of the main things that I still call to mind about Fort Worth is the great number of Indian teepees which covered the hill when I was a tot, after discarding my three cornered pants. Of course, I can see, in my mind, the hundereds of Indians, men, women and children that lived there.
"At 22, I decided to go into the ranch business for myself and picked old Mexico for my location. I leased a track of land five miles square on the lines of Chihuahua and Sonara.
"I had a fair start and was getting ahead tolerablely well when the Carranza revolution broke out. I fiqured that I was sitting alright, because Pancho Villa had been at my ranch many times and had eaten meals with me. I reckoned him as my friend.
"Finally Carranza and Villa got on the outs and the Carranza forces made me a call. The Carranza folks took charge of everything I had, leaving me on foot with only the cloth I had on my back. If it was not because of the fact that a Mexican women, who I had working for me as cooky, had not helped by interceding in my behalf, no doubt. I would have been a victim of the Mexican law of the fugitive as many others were. The way that law was applied was to allow the prisoner the chance for escape. When the prisoner started to run he would be shot.
"I was under arrest and my Mexican cooky went into action. She caught the drift of talk between the soldiers and they were interested in learning where water holes were in that section. She told the soldiers that I knew every water hole between the ranch and the U.S. line and suggested that they have me show them the holes. They made a proposition to the effect that I would be turned loose if I could show them the water holes and that I accepted.
"Just before we started, the woman passed me the information that I would be killed after the soldiers were through with me. I led the soldiers towards the U.S. line and showed them water holes. I knew where there was a U.S. Cavalry Post and I headed for that near Columbus in New Mexico territory. We traveled in the early morning and late at night, because of the heat during the middle day.
"We were near the U.S. line and in the vicinity of the Cavalry Post one morning as we began our march. I told the soldiers that a dandy fresh water hole was ahead of us. The Cavalry Post was in a low spot and could not be seen until within 100 yards of it. When we were around 200 yards from the Post, I gave my hoss the gut hooks and the hoss leaped forward. The soldiers took after me and began to turn lead loose, but they were up to the post before they realized where they were. The shooting drew the attention of the U.S. boys who took after the Mexicans.
"That ended my range career. After that I came back to Fort Worth."