RAISING CATTLE AND HORSES

PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN IN 1951 SHIPPING CATTLE AT OAK RANCH

In the Sulphur Springs Valley there were many varieties of good grass and there was water available so Mr. Riggs began to build a herd of horses and good beef cattle by trading the steers from the milk cows for Hereford heifers and bulls.  He bought bulls from Colonel Hooker who lived across the Sulphur Springs valley on the Sierra Bonito ranch near the Graham Mountains. He also got some cattle from John Slaughter of the San Bernardino Ranch that is located in the southeast corner of Arizona where Arizona, New Mexico and Old Mexico meet. Most of the cattle they purchased had horns. Later the Riggs family raised polled Herefords. (naturally without horns)

                                   

           

The herd of cattle continued to grow and they had more cattle to sell.  With the closure of Fort Bowie in 1896, the family had to find other markets for the sale of their beef cattle. They then sold their cattle to buyers that came to the ranch.  The cattle were driven from the ranch to Willcox, then shipped by railroad either west to California or east to various destinations.  Butcher Shops in Willcox, Pearce, Tombstone and Bisbee would also buy cattle from the family for sale in their businesses.

 

                At first most of their cattle had horns. In 1901 Polled Herefords, no horns naturally, were introduced into the cattle industry in the United States. This breed of Hereford cattle have a greater feed efficiency and gained weight faster.  The cattle were more docile and easier to handle. As Polled Herefords came into the area they added them to their herd.  You don’t have to dehorn them at branding time. Because they naturally did not grow horns there was less danger working with them. They are safer animals to work with. Bulls with horns were especially dangerous and the men were sometimes gored by the animals with horns. Through careful breeding a herd of polled Herefords was developed.                                 

 Mr. Riggs and Mary Elizabeth and their children built a small cattle empire at the base of the Chiricahua Mountains extending out into the Sulphur Springs Valley.   At one time Mr. Riggs and his boys would begin roundup near Turkey Creek, drive their cattle, gathering as they went along, to just outside Willcox, a distance of about 40 miles, where the cattle would be pastured and held for shipping on the railroad, and never leave Riggs land.  Mr. Riggs and the boys were very good business men. 

As their herd of beef cattle grew, Mr. Riggs acquired the contract to supply beef to Fort Bowie. In the cool of the evening a beef would be butchered, wrapped and hung to cool. About 4:00AM Brannick B. and James J., who were in their early teens, would load the beef carcass into the wagon and drive about 12 miles to the Fort where the meat was cut up and ready to sell by 6:00AM. They would come back, bring in another beef to butcher in the evening, then spend time with their school studies. After butchering in the evening. they went to bed to be ready to do it all over again the next morning. On one of these trips James J. was riding a young horse they were breaking. The horse stepped in a hole and went down, falling on Jim, breaking his leg at the knee. B.B. had to physically lift the horse off his brother by himself. J.J. was in bed with this broken leg when the earthquake of May 3, 1887 happened. Because the adobe walls of our house cracked and we were afraid of them falling down, J.J. was carried out to the frame school house. While carrying him out of the house his broken leg was dropped and injured again. It took a long time for him to recover. After this accident B. B. had to continue the deliveries by himself.

With the closure of Fort Bowie in 1896, the family had to find other markets for the sale of their beef cattle. They then sold their cattle to buyers that came to the ranch. The cattle were driven from the ranch to Willcox, then shipped by railroad either west to California or east to various destinations. Butcher shops in Willcox, Pearce, Tombstone, Bisbee, and Douglas would also buy cattle for sale in their business.

Mr. Riggs was the first in the valley to buy and privately own patented grazing lands. He also obtained land by homesteading. When others failed in their attempt at ranching or farming and had to sell out, Mr. Riggs would buy their lands and cattle.

Tuesday, July 2nd, 1896 Arizona Range News

Messrs. WM. and Brannick Riggs have purchased the “lap circle” cattle ranch, about six miles from Willcox on the south side of the S.P railroad, and will shortly move some of their cattle onto the range tributary to this ranch. The “lap circle” is one of the best cattle ranches in the Sulphur Spring Valley, there being an inexhaustible supply of water, the feed for a large number of cattle. It was purchased by Messrs. Riggs and Riggs from W.H. McKittrick.

This ranch was used as a holding place for our cattle when they were taken into Willcox to be shipped to market.

Toward the end of the Civil War many families in the South experienced difficulties with land ownership. Some of them lost land they had worked so hard to develop. Consequently Mr. Riggs believed that our land should all be Patented or Deeded land, then no one could come and take it away from the family. As our children grew to adulthood, they took up land for their own ranches but still stayed within the Sulphur Springs Valley or the nearby area. Names of some of the ranches that our family owned were the Home Ranch, the Tickle Gizzard, the Lap Circle, the 202, Star were the Home Ranch, the Tickle Gizzard, the Lap Circle, the 202, Star Ranch, the Mogul, Oak Ranch, the ZZ, the Red Wing, and the Cross J.

Rain and drought affects the life of anyone that relies on the land for their living. If the rains are good, grass grows on the range and the cattle prosper. When drought comes it is a struggle to keep the cattle alive and sometimes requires desperate measures. In late 1899 and in 1900 the southeast corner of Arizona experienced a drought. The rains, which normally start around the 4th of July and continue through September, were late. Mr. Riggs and William went to Texas looking for a place that we could ship our cattle to pasture so we wouldn’t lose our entire herd. They found a place in Marfa, Texas. However, the rains, though late, did come and it was not necessary for the cattle to be shipped. Although we didn’t have to ship cattle to Marfa, we did cut the numbers of cattle we had grazing here by selling off a lot. We learned by experience that having too many cattle on the range caused overgrazing, especially in time of drought. Over the years many types of good grass were lost from the range because of this.

As their cattle business grew it became clear that it would be to the benefit of all the family if they incorporated. They started the Riggs Cattle Company in 1904. Riggs Cattle Company The Articles of Incorporation were drawn up in September 1905 and the Riggs Cattle Company was officially organized with members of the family all having equal interests.  All of the children, with the exception of Brannick B., for he did not live in the Riggs settlement at that time, and Martha became part of this company.  After the company was incorporated Rhoda dropped out but left her calves in to help get the company going.  The company disbanded in 1922 with the land and cattle being divided equally among the members.

Beside the cattle business, Mr. Riggs and the boys had developed a sizable herd of fine horses that they sold in the area.  When you bought a Riggs horse you knew you had purchased a good, well-trained animal.  People even came from the East to buy their horses to use as Polo ponies.  Brannick, son of Mr. Riggs’ brother, Thomas, came from Texas a couple of times and drove herds of horses back to Texas to be sold for Mr. Riggs.

These animals also had to be branded with their identifying horse brand.  In addition to branding, shoeing the horses was a regular responsibility.  To keep the horse’s hooves in good condition, a metal horseshoe was heated, formed and nailed to the bottom of each hoof. Shoeing horses was a skill that required strength and experience. Mr. Riggs and the boys worked with their horses getting them used to having their feet worked with.  This made it easier for them to shoe a horse.  Sometimes a man called a “Furrier” or a “blacksmith” would be hired to put shoes on the horses.

                                                   

           

 

                Part of the work for Mr. Riggs and the boys was to gentle a horse and get it to respond to a rider on its back.  This is referred to as “breaking a horse“.  Some ranchers are very adept at this and some horses respond well.  There is lots of excitement though when a horse doesn’t respond well. There is lots of bucking, twisting and high jumping. Some cowboys, known as “bronc busters“, enjoy this activity and become very good at it and travel from ranch to ranch. Their job is just to break horses.  William was especially good at gentiling horses and training them to be ridden, as was Rhoda.

Stealing of horses happened to the Riggs family. J.J. was involved with bringing home the horses Malcolm Barfoot stole from them.

June 28th, 1899 Arizona Range News
THE BARFOOT CASE

The case of the Territory vs. Malcolm Barfoot for stealing a number of BR horses came up Thursday. The defendant's counsel stated that they had been unable to secure a very important witness and asked for a continuance. The district attorney and Hon. Mark Smith, attorney for the Arizona Stock Growers' association, were ready to proceed, but the court granted a continuance and also reduced the bond in each of the two indictments to $500. The defendant then put up a cash bond of $1,000 and secured his liberty. While both Mr. Riggs and the association would have preferred that the case go to trial, the evidence being very strong, the outcome is not altogether discouraging. The defendant lost the stolen stock, which was recovered, and is out $1,000 put up as security for his appearance at the next term. He has also had a taste of confinement. A bench warrant is out for Noah Barfoot, which will doubtless have the effect of causing him to lie low. If Malcolm returns for trial he will probably be convicted. If he forfeits his bond he will be an outlaw. Altogether, the situation might be much worse.

                Besides horses, we raised some mules.  The following article was in the local newspaper:

                                                                Friday, 2 Mar 1906   Arizona Range News

   Hon .J.J. Riggs and Supervisor Riggs, members of the Riggs Cattle Co., brought in a carload of mules for shipment to Guaymas, Mexico, Sunday.  They were all young, fine-looking animals and brought from $80 to $133 each.

 

The time came when Mr. Riggs had to decide between raising horses, or raising cattle.  As the motor car arrived on the scene, and the use of horses for work and transportation declined, it soon became apparent he had made the right decision when he decided to stay in the cattle business.  People drive cars now, instead of wagons and buggies that need a team to pull them, but they still continue to eat beef.