own way, and eventually he would talk them
into paying him to help move the cattle.
After the cattle drive was completed, he
would head back to another big city where
he would advertise he needed help getting a
large herd of cattle from the railroad pens at
Las Vegas back to his ranch. He would then
convince another set of “Dudes” into paying
him to drive the cattle home. He was the
ultimate promoter of his day!
AZintheSaddle.com
Unfortunately, timing was against
Tex as the onset of the Great
Depression hit. He had spent
money like it was a never ending
stream of cool, clear water during
the 1920s while promoting his
Rodeos and Dude Ranch. When
the Depression hit, he borrowed
heavily to maintain the same
standards and promotional levels
his events had seen in the past.
His return to London in 1934 was actually
a last desperate attempt to regain financial
stability. He risked everything—and
everything seemed to go against him. British
Animal Rights Activist protested the event,
saying that steer wrestling was cruelty to
animals. This stopped the show for a time
and caused lower than expected attendance.
Coupled with higher expenses and lower than
expected income, Tex reportedly lost about
$20,000 putting on the show. This was the
final straw for him financially. He lost his
ranch and rodeo company.
After losing the ranch, Tex and his wife,
Mary Lou McGuire, moved to Santa Fe,
New Mexico and opened “Tex Austin’s Los
Rancheros” restaurant near the Plaza. In
October 1938, Tex committed suicide. Rumor
has it Doctors told him he was going blind.
Photographs of his rodeo days were found
stacked on his couch at home and those close
to him figured he was very depressed over his
current state of affairs.
Tex Austin, the “Daddy of Rodeo,” as he
was affectionately called, was posthumously
inducted into the National Cowboy and
Western Heritage Museum Hall of Fame
in 1976.
May 2015
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