HORSES IN THE OLD DAYS
He said his family always had a lot of good horses called the
"Prairie horses." To a cowboy his horse came first of all. (Like
my grandfather, wouldn’t eat till his horse was fed first.) He said the
small cow horses simply could not pull much. Hence, one reason oxen were
used. They used to bring wood with oxen to their house.
Told the story again about the time when they were rounding up horses
down on the Leon River below the Hico bridge. That the cattle were wild
and would run into bushes and thickets. Arch Blansit lived down that way
and he got off his horse, went into the bushes, came out riding a wild
bull pitching as hard as he could, holding on with his spurs. He didn’t
see how he could hold on.
His wife’s name was Dutch. A good woman. A flood came up and hemmed
them in and she cooked breakfast. Arch was a rough talking good fellow.
(Remember once sitting on the Blansit’s front porch and talking to
them. They did talk loud, but good folks. Arch and John Martin Blansit
were some of Old Man John Blansit’s, a Mexican War Veteran, who had
lived down the creek. Old house still there. Two sons of Arch were friends
of mine, Clem, who went in W. W. One about the same time; Roy whose boy
was killed or died in W. W. Two.)
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CHESLEY'S HAMILTON COUNTY INTERVIEWS
BY
HERVEY EDGAR CHESLEY, JR.
Born: 21 November, 1894
Died: 17 July, 1979