fbpx

Covered Wagons, Cattle Drive Draw Rustlers

By Capper's Staff
Published on August 26, 2011

My mother drove one covered wagon and my father drove the other when we accompanied cowboys on a cattle drive through the most dangerous sections of the Nebraska sand hills. I was a little girl, but I remember it well.

We had been advised not to drive through this section with the cattle because rustlers might attack. But my father said it would take too long to drive around, so we drove through anyway.

One night we were attacked by rustlers, and they tried to stampede the cattle and almost did. I remember the cattle running and bawling. My mother and I ran to the wagon and crept in for protection. It was lucky we did because our tent was torn down.

The rustlers did not get the cattle, but we discovered the next morning that they had driven our hobbled teams away.

The cowboys found the horses the next morning, and we finally reached our destination in safety. Guess we had too many cowboys for those rustlers.

Mrs. Roy Kirkwood
Turney, Missouri


Back in 1955 a call went out from the editors of the then CAPPER’s WEEKLY asking for readers to send in articles on true pioneers. Hundreds of letters came pouring in from early settlers and their children, many now in their 80s and 90s, and from grandchildren of settlers, all with tales to tell. So many articles were received that a decision was made to create a book, and in 1956, the first My Folks title – My Folks Came in a Covered Wagon – hit the shelves. Nine other books have since been published in the My Folks series, all filled to the brim with true tales from CAPPER’s readers, and we are proud to make those stories available to our growing online community.