|
"Clarence C. "Clayton" Danks, 1907 Bronco Riding Champion, photo by Ed Tangen, 1907.
James T. "Jimmie" Danks, on Teddy Roosevelt, 1911, photo by
J. E. Stimson.
Clayton Danks and Jimmie Danks grew up in Long Pine Canyon, Nebraska, where their father was the
operator of a stage station. The two brothers later worked as range riders for the Two Bar in Chugwater. Clayton
homesteaded property in Valentine, Nebraska, while Jimmie with another brother Harry settled down in
South Dakota. A fourth brother Lawrence received a patent to land in Niobrara County.
Ed Tangen (1873-1952) was a Boulder, Colo. photographer, known as the "pictureman." During the course of
his career from 1906 to 1951, he took an estimated 16,000 photos primarily of the
Boulder area. Of those, only approximately 800 exist today. In addition to photography, he became a self-taught
expert in fingerprints working for the Boulder County Sheriff's office. He was also noted as being somewhat
parsimonious, residing for thirty years in a tent behind 1942 Canyon Blvd.
In 1909*, a little known cowboy who had previously appeared in Widerman's Wild West Show entered the calf-roping and
Bronco-busting contests. The cowboy drew a horse named Sabile. Charles B. Irwin (1875-1934), a wild west show and later a movie producer,
remarked to no one in particular that he would bet $500 that the cowboy would not last three jumps. A young lady sitting in
the next box belonging to the Plains Hotel overheard the comment and took Irwin up on the bet. The hotel
manager held the funds. It was only later that Irwin learned that the young lady to whom he had lost was the
cowboy's wife, Olive Stokes (Mrs. Tom) Mix. Irwin, himself, was the winner of the 1906 roping contest
and, today, is mainly remember as one of the
cowboys who sang Life is like a Mountain Railroad at Tom Horn's hanging. Horn, himself, had entered the
1901 roping contest but did not progress to the finals.
[*Writer's note: The date and anecdote comes from Mrs. Mix's biography of her husband,
The Fabulous Tom Mix by Olive Mix with Eric Heath, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1957. The year may be in
error. The Plains Hotel did not open for another two years. Additionally, Mrs. Mix notes that
Charlie Tipton won several events. Tipton won the 1912 saddle bronc contest. Mrs. Mix also notes that she
stayed at the Plains and that another guest was Clayton "Banks" who had won the
saddle bronc contest the year before. Clayton Danks won in 1909.]
C. B. Irwin, 1906, photo by J. E. Stimson
Irwin's time was 38 1/5 seconds. The above photo is one of
Stimson's more noted photographs. The writer has observed a copy of it on the wall
of a cowboy theme restaurant in Florida. In addition to promoting wild west shows, Irwin was
a lobbyist for the Union Pacific and
president of
the Cheyenne Feature Film Co. which in 1911 produced a movie apparently inspired by
the life of Tom Horn,
Round-Up on the Y-6 Ranch.
Left, Movie Poster, 1911. Right, C.B. Irwin. Photo by Ralph Doubleday.
The movie was filmed on Irwin's own ranch as well as at Frontier Park and the Colorado State Prison in
Canon City, Colo. On the ranch Irwin trained various animals for rodeos
including Frontier Days and race horses. Included in his stable was Steamboat which Irwin purchased from
John Coble. For his efforts as a stock contractor, Irwin was
inducted into the Pro-Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1979. The Y-6 Ranch, near Meriden, is still in business both as a working
ranch as well as catering to visitors. Irwin's soddie homestead is located near
Albin between Pine Bluffs and Lagrange.
The six foot four inch Irwin later developed a weight
problem. Mrs. Mix describes Irwin as being "massive," Professor T. A. Larson in his
definitive History of Wyoming uses the term, "globular," and photographer J. E. Stimson in his caption to the
1906 postcard above refers to Irwin as the "Giant Cowboy." At the time of his death Irwin's weight has been
estimated to have been 400-450 lbs. Prior to his death in an automobile accident, Irwin campaigned for governor
under a slogan suggested by his friend Will Rogers, "Popular government at popular prices." The accident, 14 miles north of
Cheyenne, was caused by a blow-out on a front tire on the car driven by Irwin's son-in-law Claude Sawyer. The Elks service
conducted by Past Exalted Ruler Al Leslie was attended by 1300 mourners and concluded with the
singing of The Last Roundup:
I'm heading for the last roundup
Gonna saddle old Paint for the last time and ride
So long, old pal, it's time your tears were dried
I'm heading for the last roundup.
I'm heading for the last roundup
To the far away ranch of the Boss in the sky
Where the strays are counted and branded there go I
I'm heading for the last roundup.
[Chorus omitted]
Contemporaneous newspaper accounts indicated that Charlie's brother Frank Irwin's whereabouts were
unknown.
C. B. Irwin on right, 1909.
Ed McCarty on "Silver City,", 1909. Postcard by J. E. Stimson
The caption on the reverse of the above postcard, with no mention of Ed McCarty, reads:
Silver City is one of the most noted broncos of the southwest, and is a very hard horse to ride.
Only cow boys of nerve and daring will attempt to climb this "Outlaw." He was the only horse
to "down" Charlie Irwin the "Giant Cowboy" at Frontier Day."
Ed McCarty later became a noted stock contractor and developed the famed "Chugwater String." More photos and discussion of
McCarty is on a subsequent page.
Ed McCarty on Steamboat, Wyoming State Fair, Douglas, 1910.
webscan copyright G. B. Dobson, 2004.
Next page, Frontier Days continued.
|