Town revels in cattle drive after floods jeopardize herd
DAYTON, Texas — This small town looked like the Wild West on Sunday as people lined the highway to witness something not seen in these parts since the 1800s: a cattle drive, complete with cowboys, cattle dogs and longhorns.
The cattle drive past Jack in the Box, Little Caesars and Family Dollar was a desperate effort to rescue more t han 600 head trapped last week when floodwaters from the nearby Trinity River inundated their pasture, turning it into an island.
“What we’re trying to do this morning is to herd the cattle over to Highway 90” and through town to temporary pasture on land volunteered by the railroads, Liberty County Sheriff’s Capt. Ken DeFoor said. But that was no easy task. “Those cattle have a mind of their own. When you’re taking them off of something that’s considered high ground and put them into water that’s up to their neck, it takes a little time. They have different opinions on what they want to do,” DeFoor said.
This has been the wettest month on record in Texas. The Houston area got drenched with over a foot on Memorial Day weekend, then at least another 3 inches late Saturday. The storms, which extended into Oklahoma, killed at least 36 people in both states and left about a dozen still missing Sunday. Homeowners, drivers and livestock were stranded statewide.
A lot was at stake for the Liberty Bell Ranch’s million-dollar herd, which includes pricey longhorns, heifers and about 250 calves, some of which had to be rescued by airboat Sunday.
As the cattle moved slowly through the water and up the highway Sunday afternoon, the crowd grew and a parade atmosphere reigned in Dayton, a town of 7,300 about 40 miles east of Houston.
“It’s been a long many years since they done this, back when the highway was dirt,” said Jimmy Whiddon, 52, a retired steelworker waiting on his tailgate to see the spectacle.
At one point, a news helicopter hovered overhead and spooked the herd, which split in two and had to be gathered again.
Ricky Brown, 61, a tax assessor, grew up on a ranch and has worked with ranchers for years. He considered the cattle drive a “drastic step” to save the herd, which belongs to Pat Henscey, a veteran rancher who runs an electric and air conditioning shop in town.
With the state’s five-year drought virtually over thanks to the recent rains, ranchers are rebuilding their herds, restocking cattle and driving up prices — making Henscey’s herd even more valuable.
Shortly before 3:30 p.m. local time, cattlemen began walking the curbs of Dayton, warning the crowd that had gathered to watch to back up. The cows were coming.
The cattle appeared as a solid, mud-speckled bovine line moving as one up the highway, a dozen cattle dogs at their heels.
“I was impressed with how orderly they were,” said Brown’s wife, Becky, 61, a kindergarten teacher.
A few cattle were lost in the swift-moving water, DeFoor said, but most made it safely to the rail yard that will serve as their temporary stockyard.