Bennett Musgrave

• "Bennett was the biggest horse thief in South Texas," according to a nephew. (1)

The Panic of 1873 marked the commencement of a business downturn lasting several years; many eastern entrepreneurs declared bankruptcy. In the West, panic selling of cattle, coupled with a corn shortage that raised the price of feed, depressed cattle prices. Drivers held their herds outside of Ellsworth and Wichita, fed their stock with expensive corn, and hoped for market improvement. As market prices continued to drop, panic shipping increased. Large herds sold at considerable loss. The 1873 drive proved costly to Musgrave. He, like many others, was forced to borrow money to stay solvent. Musgrave returned to Texas. There is no evidence that he ever drove north on the trail again.
Despite financial setbacks, the Bennett Musgrave family lived comfortably on their St. Rocky Ranch during the later 1870s. Under the watchful eye of Watson Stanfield, Musgrave's foreman, Bennett's stock grazed on some thirty-five hundred acres of land; the family ranked among Atascosa County's more prosperous and respected citizens. (2)

Sources

1. Last of the Old-Time Outlaws: The George West Musgrave Story. By Karen Holliday Tanner, John Douglas Tanner

Links

• http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/outlaws/musgrave.html
• http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/person.aspx?pid=25181295