Jones County Texas Archives - Scandalous John Selman *********************************************************** Submitted by: Dorman Holub Date: 19 January 2020 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tx/jones/jonestoc.htm *********************************************************** The Stamford AmericanThursday, June 30, 1927ÒScandalousÓ John Selman Member of Old School West Texas Cowpunchers Who are Fast Passing Into HistoryÓby John F. Rust To a stranger or one who is not familiar with cowboy life the name Scandalous mightimply that the bearer contracted such a name thru the execution of an ungentlemanlyact. This is indeed not true in the case of ÔScandalousÕ John Selman, for there isnot a cowboy on the range today that is better loved and respected than our ownScandalous John. He is no longer merely a cowboy but is foreman of the S.M.S. FlatTop Ranch with headquarters near the City of Stamford.When 16 years of age young Selman left home and went to work on the old Spur Ranch,(spur was the brand used), and the first mount issued to him, Old Talface, wasgenerally known as a bad horse. The lad, unaware of the treachery of the horsemounted him and Ôgot bucked off.ÕÒMy, but that hoss pitches scanÕlous,Ó he exclaimed as he got up off the ground andstarted for the horse.Just ast this time someone said, ÒGo to him Scandalous John,Ó and the name stuck.So it was that Scandalous John rode the horse that was instrumental in giving theyoung Cowboy a name, and all for a sack of Durham tobacco.His life on the range is an interesting story, and limited space does not permit thewriter to go into detail which are incidents to this story, but a few of the moreinteresting are related with the permission of Scandalous John:For the first four months John worked for 10 dollars per month and he spent $37.50 ofthat amount for a saddle. His first week as a cowboy was comparatively unsuccessfulinasmuch as he Ôgot bucked offÕ four times. He has driven the Hoodlum wagon, wrangledhosses, done line ridinÕ, cooked, been straw boss, in fact there is nothing in thelife of a cowboy that Scandalous John has not experienced.Very few cowboys have been in the saddle 30 years and still be as spry as ScandalousJohn, for he is in his saddle every day either on roundup, branding, or in some ofthe general routine of the ranch work, and despite the fact that he suffered a brokenleg about one year ago as a result of a bucking horse falling on him, he is able tocompete with the best of the boys in riding Ôbad horsesÕ. John is a modest sort of afellow and denies that he makes as good a Ôhand as he used toÕ, yet he admits henever asks a cowboy to ride a horse that he himself cannot ride.He is even inclined to belittle his own worth by referring to his wife generallyknown as Mrs. Scandalous, as Ôthat widow womanÕ. Upon one occasion the writertogether with a few other visitors to the Flat Top offered Tony, Scandalous JohnÕs10-year-old boy, a few dollars in appreciation of some splendid bronc riding he haddone as a part of the entertainment tendered us while there. Well, to make a longstory short, Tony accepted, but above the vigorous protests of his father, whoinsisted that it is not worth anything to ride a ÔbuckerÕ.