America’s Tropical Cowboys

[John Wasmuth]

Hmm, wellI know exactly where you are speaking of and it sure woulda been a royal trek just gettin part of him out let alone all of him. Here in Texas if they are on private property they belong to the land owner, but in my old home lands the laws had changed so much I be hard pressed to say either way. Just be wary of them. They can, as you know, turn you into a bloody pile of snot in a big hurry. :thumbsup:

 

[Supercracker]

More interesting update.

Earlier, I was looking over topos of the area I was planning on going hunting at tomorrow. It's in the same area where my family came to rest after being run out of Ireland in the late 18th/very early 19th century. I believe that this area was a shipping area in that time period.

In any case I found a small island on the edge of it that is named after my family! I'm curious if perhaps it had been used as a staging area of some sort prior to loading the cattle on ferrys. I'm definitely going to be spending a good chunk of the day there tomorrow looking around.

How freakin cool is that?

 

In any case I found a small island on the edge of it that is named after my family!

And just where is Cracker Island? :wink:

 

[Supercracker]

Found an interesting article I wanted to add to this thread for the benefit of future readers.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1998-01-18/news/9801161416_1_cracker-settlers-florida


by the early 1700s, illegal migrants were already a problem for officials who governed La Florida, and it was probably during this period that cracker, or a similar word, began to be used to describe a class of people who were braggarts and boasters.

By the 1760s, cracker was a term commonly used by the gentry class, especially those who lived in the coastal regions, as an ethnic slur for Scotch-Irish frontiersmen in the South.

Eighteenth century documents describe these renegade settlers as rootless, unruly, shiftless, stubborn and corrupt. To some, cracker and criminal were synonymous. During this period, the term frequently identified loosely organized gangs of horse thieves, counterfeiters and slave-nappers.

In 1767, the Rollestown settlement near present-day Palatka was described by Henry Laurens as ``Mr. Rolle's crackertown,'' a poke at founder Denys Rolle's attempt to form his colony using English riffraff, mostly vagrants, debtors, beggars and pickpockets. It seems that the first-generation Florida Cracker was not a pillar of society.

One of the earliest accounts of the rambunctious Crackers and their general defiance of authority is explained in a letter dated June 27, 1766, from Colonial official Gavin Cochrane to the Earl of Dartmouth.

``I should explain to your Lordship what is meant by Crackers; a name they have got from being great boasters; they are a lawless set of rascals on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas and Georgia, who often change their abode,'' Cochrane wrote.

Apparently, the Cracker ``problem'' was not confined to Florida.

During their stay in Florida from 1763 to 1784, the British despised the lawless Crackers.

 

[montanawolfer]

I just finished a novel on the Florida cow hunters, set in 1864. "Miami Gundown" by Michael Zimmer. Check it out. I'd be interested in seeing what others thought.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

So about 35 years ago I was 15 and tramping around looking for hogs (with no idea what I was doing **15**) in Fl. near Port Charlotte.

2-3 times I got near cattle I thought were just lost stock. Same herd each time about a dozen. Wild as a night in Tijuana. Now ya got me wondering :hmm: could they have been Wild?

 

[crockett]

I spoke to the fish and game people on the status of these wild cattle. For those outside of Florida.....these particular cattle look sort of like a longhorn but not as long and somewhat smaller overall and the horns are maybe 2 1/2' to 3' wide. They are rather scrawny. They roam about on WMA's that are open to hunting.
If you are out in the spring turkey hunting in an open area these cattle can come up on your blind side and all of a sudden you are surrounded. The cows are pretty timid but the bulls look you over pretty good. I've never been charged but I think if I acted wronged I could be. I've heard that some guy's truck got rammed by a bull. Whether these bulls are any more aggressive than a "regular" bull- I'm not sure.
Well, the fish and game people tell me they aren't "wild" in the respect that wild hogs are. Somebody leases the grazing rights and they belong to someone. These maverick type cattle have a mixed blood line but as I understand it what evolved was an animal that could survive wet terrain without becoming diseased. Braham cattle from India are supposed to be similar, they aren't susceptible to wet land diseases (Hoof and mouth?)
The interior of Florida is a lot like the central part of Texas, central Texas has mesquite and that would be the tip off I "wasn't in Florida anymore". The Mormon ranch was around 400,000 acres but it has been split up. The King Ranch of Texas has now bought up a lot of Florida land and I think they might try the Santa Gertrudis or similar types- I think they would do well here.
Years ago I thought right along the Rio Grande were true "wild cattle" belonging to no one and you could hunt them. The wild cattle in Florida are owned by someone but not tended very much- as I understand it.
The "Old Florida" is pretty much gone. You used to see abandoned roadhouses, et al from bygone days. Kit Carson's son or grandson was a Sherriff in Kissimmee - right outside Disney World in the late 1800's and got killed in a shoot out.
There is the Silver Spurs Rodeo in Kissimmee that has a huge pursue and attracts top contestants from all over the world. I think they still do the parade through town at the annual opening of the Rodeo. It's worth attending. All the cowgirls come riding in with the Stars and Bars flying proudly. Quite the event and some top line Rodeo- the roping/riding times as good as anywhere. Florida is a good state for cattle. One guy said to me "we are in the grass conversion business- turning grass into steaks' and Florida has great rangeland with no worry about winter hay, etc. 12 months a year grass- but it is going fast, paved over with lots of track housing and strip stores.

 

[Supercracker]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Cracker_cattle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineywoods_cattle

Pythiosis and hoof rot are the big problems you're always fighting.

 

[Bob J]

We hunted a 10,000 acre Mormon Ranch lease near Kenansville when I was in my early teens. One late afternoon when it was getting too dark to legally shoot, I left my stand and started walking along a palmetto ditchline towards the direction my dad would be coming in the Jeep to pick me up. Eventually I came to a place to head across open prairie if I was to connect with Dad, who would be coming from the far off cypress heads he was hunting. As I stepped around some palmettos onto the open range, a big Brahma bull was standing there and he didn't seem very pleased. He started snorting and moving his head back and forth like he was a bit agitated with my presence. I bolted the .257 Roberts, but was sure hoping not to need it (and wasn't sure it would be up to the task!). As I stepped to one side, the bull stepped the same way; take a step back and he seemed more animated. FINALLY the headlights of the jeep appeared, and as Dad got close the bull ambled a bit to one side and was I ever glad to get in the vehicle!

 

[crockett]

Any bull is potentially troublesome so I'm not sure the "wild" Florida bulls are any worst but as a child I was told to stay clear of them and I have so I guess that might be why I haven't had any close calls. I figure if I have to shoot one that's after me there will be a big deal about the thing plus I'm not sure what kind of firepower you need to stop one. Keep near a tree you can climb quickly I guess.