Did A Daring Hoof Footed Hermit Really Outsmart Authorities?
We're all familiar with wild tales of cattle rustlers in the early days of the Texas panhandle. Legends abound of wars between competing ranches over allegations of cattle theft. One man, however, outdid any such legend.
His name, was Crazy Tex.
The Legend Of Crazy Tex Hazelwood, General Nuisance
Crazy Tex is a man whose memory has been pretty lost in the sea of time. No one thinks much about him anymore. When he was alive, those that were thinking of him wished they weren't.
He was a nuisance. A good-for-nothing petty criminal who had a knack for rubbing people the wrong way. He was a bit of a screw up. He had worked his life in such a way that no one would hire him to do any work, and nobody wanted much to do with him.
Crazy Tex found his way onto a ranch in Nevada, where he commenced to aggravating everyone and anyone nearby. Legend has it that he lived "like a wild animal." He took refuge in caves or shelters he had built on his own.
He was described as being "erratic."
Suddenly, Cows Started Disappearing With No Explanation
Heads of cattle started disappearing. It wasn't much, just a couple at a time. On occasion, one of the unlucky bovines would be found butchered not far from the rest of the herd. People started getting concerned.
The reason for the concern, and accompanying confusion, was the fact that there were no tell-tale signs of cattle rustlers working in the area. All anyone could find were prints left by cows. Not a single footprint.
That was until some men started following a trail of wandering cow tracks.
Crazy Tex, Crazy Shoes, And Stolen Cattle
The stories go that the men spotted the missing cattle, and with them was a man. They rode down on him, and when they caught up to him they discovered it was none other than Crazy Tex.
Crazy Tex at some point had a stroke of creative genius. He took two planks of wood, and fastened them to some fake hooves. After attaching some leather straps, he had shoes that would leave behind a hoof-print instead of a footprint.
He allegedly confessed to practicing walking like a cow for hours on end.
He was arrested, and spent a couple of years in prison before being released. Upon his release, he took up his old aggravating ways and returned to being a general nuisance.
Eventually, he would meet his demise staring down the wrong end of a shotgun held by a man who had finally had enough.