Post by cottonpicker on Sept 5, 2011 21:14:14 GMT -5
RODEO DAYS, 1946
Larry D. Davis
Every year since the 1930’s my hometown, Elk City, OK, has held a three-day rodeo
on the first weekend in September with a parade on the first day to kick off the festivities.
The famous Beutler Brothers Ranch has always supplied the livestock for our Rodeo and
they were, and still are, nationally recognized as having the very best rodeo livestock in
the United States or probably the world. Chances are, if you’ve seen a Hollywood movie
featuring a rodeo, then most likely you have seen Beutler livestock and the “credits” will
honor the Beutler Brothers as the supplier. We personally knew the Beutler Brothers—
Jake, Lynn and Elra—since we lived on a cotton farm next to their ranch when I was a
small child during the 1940’s. I was always fascinated by the wild buffalo they ranged
there along with all their bucking horses and fierce Brahma bulls that were used for bull
riding.
For the parade, highly decorated horse riding clubs from OK and TX came to ride
along with several highschool marching bands from all over western Oklahoma,
decorated floats of all descriptions and, of course, the Cheyenne Indian dancers with their
long flowing feather headdresses. One year, 1949, Mom decorated my bicycle and I
rode it in the parade representing my Dad’s company, the Paymaster Cottonoil Co. and I
won the 3rd place ribbon in that category.
Our area of the state before 1892 was the Cheyenne-Arapaho Indian Territory but
now the Cheyennes mostly lived about twenty miles north of my hometown in Hammon,
OK and for “Rodeo Days” my Dad’s company used their trucks to bring the Indians and
their personal belongings down to Elk City where they set up their rawhide teepees in the
City Park and resided there during the three days of rodeo activities.
I remember and witnessed one year for the Rodeo halftime entertainment, the Rodeo
Committee had arranged an authentic demonstration during which a Cheyenne horseman
demonstrated how his tribe once hunted and killed the buffalo for food. At halftime, a
wild buffalo (supplied by Beutler Brothers) was turned into the arena and the horseman
chased the scared animal around for awhile, finally caught up with the wooly beast and
used a spear to fatally wound the big animal. It was not a pretty sight as I remember and,
soon, to put the poor animal out of it’s misery, Dr. Baker a local physician, hunter and
expert horseman rode up and instantly killed the agonizing animal with a single shot to
the brain from his high-powered hunting rifle. This was a bad idea for “entertainment”
and was never repeated.
In 1946, during the second day of the Indian encampment in the City Park, which was
located a few blocks from our house, my little dog was missing from home. Dad and I
drove all around searching but it was nowhere to be found. Dad finally took me home
and went looking on his own since he suspected the worst and, knowing the ways of the
Cheyennes, he headed straight for their campsite in the park. Sure enough, as he walked
through the teepee encampment, his worst suspicions were realized. There, next to a
teepee, was the hide of my little dog drying on two upright wooden poles. The color
pattern of hair was unmistakable and a positive visual identification was confirmed.
They had killed and eaten my pet dog and planned to use the hide for some utilitarian
purpose. Dad came home and explained to me what had happened. I “threw a fit”…
kicked & screamed… but got over it after a few days when he promised to get me
another dog. That helped a lot.
©2009LarryD.Davis
Larry D. Davis
Every year since the 1930’s my hometown, Elk City, OK, has held a three-day rodeo
on the first weekend in September with a parade on the first day to kick off the festivities.
The famous Beutler Brothers Ranch has always supplied the livestock for our Rodeo and
they were, and still are, nationally recognized as having the very best rodeo livestock in
the United States or probably the world. Chances are, if you’ve seen a Hollywood movie
featuring a rodeo, then most likely you have seen Beutler livestock and the “credits” will
honor the Beutler Brothers as the supplier. We personally knew the Beutler Brothers—
Jake, Lynn and Elra—since we lived on a cotton farm next to their ranch when I was a
small child during the 1940’s. I was always fascinated by the wild buffalo they ranged
there along with all their bucking horses and fierce Brahma bulls that were used for bull
riding.
For the parade, highly decorated horse riding clubs from OK and TX came to ride
along with several highschool marching bands from all over western Oklahoma,
decorated floats of all descriptions and, of course, the Cheyenne Indian dancers with their
long flowing feather headdresses. One year, 1949, Mom decorated my bicycle and I
rode it in the parade representing my Dad’s company, the Paymaster Cottonoil Co. and I
won the 3rd place ribbon in that category.
Our area of the state before 1892 was the Cheyenne-Arapaho Indian Territory but
now the Cheyennes mostly lived about twenty miles north of my hometown in Hammon,
OK and for “Rodeo Days” my Dad’s company used their trucks to bring the Indians and
their personal belongings down to Elk City where they set up their rawhide teepees in the
City Park and resided there during the three days of rodeo activities.
I remember and witnessed one year for the Rodeo halftime entertainment, the Rodeo
Committee had arranged an authentic demonstration during which a Cheyenne horseman
demonstrated how his tribe once hunted and killed the buffalo for food. At halftime, a
wild buffalo (supplied by Beutler Brothers) was turned into the arena and the horseman
chased the scared animal around for awhile, finally caught up with the wooly beast and
used a spear to fatally wound the big animal. It was not a pretty sight as I remember and,
soon, to put the poor animal out of it’s misery, Dr. Baker a local physician, hunter and
expert horseman rode up and instantly killed the agonizing animal with a single shot to
the brain from his high-powered hunting rifle. This was a bad idea for “entertainment”
and was never repeated.
In 1946, during the second day of the Indian encampment in the City Park, which was
located a few blocks from our house, my little dog was missing from home. Dad and I
drove all around searching but it was nowhere to be found. Dad finally took me home
and went looking on his own since he suspected the worst and, knowing the ways of the
Cheyennes, he headed straight for their campsite in the park. Sure enough, as he walked
through the teepee encampment, his worst suspicions were realized. There, next to a
teepee, was the hide of my little dog drying on two upright wooden poles. The color
pattern of hair was unmistakable and a positive visual identification was confirmed.
They had killed and eaten my pet dog and planned to use the hide for some utilitarian
purpose. Dad came home and explained to me what had happened. I “threw a fit”…
kicked & screamed… but got over it after a few days when he promised to get me
another dog. That helped a lot.
©2009LarryD.Davis