Elmer Virgil Snyder
Virg Snyder was born June 28, 1889 at Mercer, Missouri to Jim and Margaret (A’Hern) Snyder. Jim was a Kentuckian and Margaret came from County Clair Ireland.
Aspiring to become a bronc rider, young Virg would ride his dads’ mules and the training was good as he rode the rough string for the Laurel Leaf after he came west, although it didn’t set well with Old Jim, who said he’d ruin the mules for working the fields and took a heavy strap to Virg whenever he caught him bucking one out.
In the spring of 1908, in the town of Kellerton, Iowa, where they had moved, he and about 20 o9ther young guys were having a boxing match in a farmers barn when the constable dropped in and arrested the lot of them for violation of the blue laws of Ringgold County. You see, it was Sunday. Upon payment of the fines 18 of the boys decided they’d hop a freight headed west. Locating a train made up for the west they climbed into a nice box car and went to blowing to each other how they were gonna tame the west, but when the engine got up steam and they started moving the brave ones started unloading and two miles down the track only two were left. They were both asleep when the train passed through the town they wanted, Moorcroft, and it was at a point ten miles east of Clearmont that they jumped off the train. Next morning they caught an eastbound on the fly and finally landed in Moorcroft.
Newman Nation, a Texas outfit, put Virg on and here he got his first taste of cowboying. It didn’t last long as they preferred Texas hands and if you happened to be from Callahan County, Texas, you could write your own ticket. Virg was neither and after a little bunkhouse humor involving one of the Callahan County boys, he was looking for a new job. The job turned out to be with Ray Tarbell, down by Biddle, Montana. The first day, Tarbell loaded up a heavy post, a posthole spade and a crow bar and drove out in the pasture. He unloaded them and digging his heel in the dirt told Virg to set the post there, that he’d be back later. Virg dug a hole as deep as was possible then packed in rocks and tamped the po9st with rock from the bottom to the top tightly. Sitting in the shade of a tree he watched as Tarbell drove the wagon up past the post then backed up to it. Then he took a log chain and tied the post to the wagon axle. Crawling back on the wagon he wacked the horses with the lines and when they hit the end of the chain it about threw Tarbell out of the wagon. Backing the wagon up he unhooked and drove around to the other side and backed in. Here he repeated the procedure only with more vigor. Now he got out and checked the post which showed no signs of loosening. Waving my dad over he told him, “You’ll do.”
Having made up his mind to stay a year he had to find winter work when the fall round up was done. This he accomplished by going to work for Tom Hunter who ran sheep on Duck Creek. This Duck Creek Ranch as Hunter called it got into Virg’s blood and after cowboying for the Laurel Leaf Roundup in the teens and doing a stretch in the army he went to work for Guthrie’s who now owned it, as ranchman.
Robert Macy’s book Few Clothes and Plenty Horse – “To provide replacement saddle horses for a cow outfit, someone must break, gentle and train “green” colts – animals off the range – many of them have never had a rope around their neck. About ten or twelve green horses are designated as the “rough string.” A rider was selected for this assignment, and there was some competition among the top riders in the outfit for the job. At the time Virg Snyder was riding the rough string for the Wagon Hammer, cowhands were being paid thirty-five dollars per month and their board. The rough string assignment paid forty-five. Some used to say that Virg, who was a big, raw-boned man, could ride a wild horse after he was in the saddle, but that he had trouble getting “on deck.”
In 1921, he married Ivy Starrett, who had homesteaded on Antelope Creek – they had three kids Bill, Doris and Buff, or Stanley. His son Bill was born in 1928 – at the time he was working for the Empire Sheep Company, owned by the Guthries. In 1932, they moved to Ivy’s homestead on Antelope Creek where they lived until 1943 when he bought the Duck Creek Ranch from Guthrie’s. He’d wanted it for a long time. His son said, “I think a man is lucky if he realizes a big ambition or two in life and Dad did.”
Virg Snyder was born June 28, 1889 at Mercer, Missouri to Jim and Margaret (A’Hern) Snyder. Jim was a Kentuckian and Margaret came from County Clair Ireland.
Aspiring to become a bronc rider, young Virg would ride his dads’ mules and the training was good as he rode the rough string for the Laurel Leaf after he came west, although it didn’t set well with Old Jim, who said he’d ruin the mules for working the fields and took a heavy strap to Virg whenever he caught him bucking one out.
In the spring of 1908, in the town of Kellerton, Iowa, where they had moved, he and about 20 o9ther young guys were having a boxing match in a farmers barn when the constable dropped in and arrested the lot of them for violation of the blue laws of Ringgold County. You see, it was Sunday. Upon payment of the fines 18 of the boys decided they’d hop a freight headed west. Locating a train made up for the west they climbed into a nice box car and went to blowing to each other how they were gonna tame the west, but when the engine got up steam and they started moving the brave ones started unloading and two miles down the track only two were left. They were both asleep when the train passed through the town they wanted, Moorcroft, and it was at a point ten miles east of Clearmont that they jumped off the train. Next morning they caught an eastbound on the fly and finally landed in Moorcroft.
Newman Nation, a Texas outfit, put Virg on and here he got his first taste of cowboying. It didn’t last long as they preferred Texas hands and if you happened to be from Callahan County, Texas, you could write your own ticket. Virg was neither and after a little bunkhouse humor involving one of the Callahan County boys, he was looking for a new job. The job turned out to be with Ray Tarbell, down by Biddle, Montana. The first day, Tarbell loaded up a heavy post, a posthole spade and a crow bar and drove out in the pasture. He unloaded them and digging his heel in the dirt told Virg to set the post there, that he’d be back later. Virg dug a hole as deep as was possible then packed in rocks and tamped the po9st with rock from the bottom to the top tightly. Sitting in the shade of a tree he watched as Tarbell drove the wagon up past the post then backed up to it. Then he took a log chain and tied the post to the wagon axle. Crawling back on the wagon he wacked the horses with the lines and when they hit the end of the chain it about threw Tarbell out of the wagon. Backing the wagon up he unhooked and drove around to the other side and backed in. Here he repeated the procedure only with more vigor. Now he got out and checked the post which showed no signs of loosening. Waving my dad over he told him, “You’ll do.”
Having made up his mind to stay a year he had to find winter work when the fall round up was done. This he accomplished by going to work for Tom Hunter who ran sheep on Duck Creek. This Duck Creek Ranch as Hunter called it got into Virg’s blood and after cowboying for the Laurel Leaf Roundup in the teens and doing a stretch in the army he went to work for Guthrie’s who now owned it, as ranchman.
Robert Macy’s book Few Clothes and Plenty Horse – “To provide replacement saddle horses for a cow outfit, someone must break, gentle and train “green” colts – animals off the range – many of them have never had a rope around their neck. About ten or twelve green horses are designated as the “rough string.” A rider was selected for this assignment, and there was some competition among the top riders in the outfit for the job. At the time Virg Snyder was riding the rough string for the Wagon Hammer, cowhands were being paid thirty-five dollars per month and their board. The rough string assignment paid forty-five. Some used to say that Virg, who was a big, raw-boned man, could ride a wild horse after he was in the saddle, but that he had trouble getting “on deck.”
In 1921, he married Ivy Starrett, who had homesteaded on Antelope Creek – they had three kids Bill, Doris and Buff, or Stanley. His son Bill was born in 1928 – at the time he was working for the Empire Sheep Company, owned by the Guthries. In 1932, they moved to Ivy’s homestead on Antelope Creek where they lived until 1943 when he bought the Duck Creek Ranch from Guthrie’s. He’d wanted it for a long time. His son said, “I think a man is lucky if he realizes a big ambition or two in life and Dad did.”