Take A Look!

Here are some content items you may be interested in.

Content Index
Find more articles and writing regarding various topics.

Breed Histories
The history and stories of various breeds of gamefowl.

Articles
Find original articles and reprinted ones from various sources.

Advertisments

Main Menu
    Tagcloud
    iowa republican   clipper history   garrard   running horses   muff   blanket tx   informational sites   blue jeans   great brother   image manipulation program   arkansas travelers   poor health   andy dick   minimal ads   english variant   
    more tags
    Welcome
    Username:

    Password:


    Remember me

    [ ]
    [ ]
    [ ]
    Donate
    If you find this site useful please consider donating to keep us running!

    breadcrumb

    content > Breed Histories > California Chets

    California Chets

    History of the California Chets written in a letter from an unknown source to Tom Spurrier.
    on Tuesday 29 December 2009
    by Tom Spurrier author list print the content item create pdf file of the content item
    in Breed Histories
    comments: 0
    hits: 2387
    not rated -


    TOM SPURRIER, Blanket, TX
     
    Dear Tom,
     
       Yours just received and will try to get an answer off to you and tell you what I know about the “CHETS”. The first four men I can remember in my life were Dad, Grand Dad, Fred Johnson and JOE WOLFE all cockers and kept fowl up to the time of their passing.
     
       Now Joe Wolfe (Spelling?) was the only one of the four who had anything to do with the origination of the “Chets" and the best I can do is relate the story as Joe Wolfe told it to the late Wm Taylor, who visited me many times before his death. It seems in the early 30’s or late 20’s there was sort of a combine formed in Los Angeles, California. with Chet Robinson having the finances and Joe Wolfe the cocker. They bought a great many cocks from A.J. Jarrett of El Paso, TX. In one shipment of cocks there came a small, dark, pea comb hen. They couldn’t understand why she was in with one of the cocks. They wrote Jarrett about her and he explained it in this way, the Mexican he had working for him raised some Oriental-Spanish crosses that were fought in naked heels and from the description, one of these hens or pullets must have decided to use a shipping crate for a nest. They picked the shipment of cocks off the roost at night, put them in the crates and didn’t realized or know the hen was in the crate. They just tossed the little hen in the “Hen pen” and damned if she didn’t whip every hen in the pen. In fact, she grew spurs and knocked an eye out of several hens. JOE WOLFE told Chet Robinson he was going kill her but Chet Robinson said “Hell no - put her in with that Mortgage Lifter stag” (From Guss Williams, Luthersville, GA) who needs a hen for company. Well you know what happened, the hen raised a clutch from this Mortgage Lifter stag - The get were damn near unbeatable.
     
       Later on he crossed and 8 time winning REDQUILL cock to some of the hens and this if I remember correctly is the basic breeding of the "Chets". The exact proportions of this bloosd NO ONE KNOWS and the originators themselves would no doubt have to check their own breeding charts to tell as we both know. Several years later, I understand a GARBER SID TAYLOR BLOOD was bred into one family of the CHETS. It did increase their size and didn’t hurt their fighting ability but it put a shot of cold blood in them and this one family of Chets is not too game.
     
       Prior to the Sid Taylor blood. Its possible they bred a Jarrett R.H. over the first pullets or hens they raised. It seems to me they did and that would make the four different families going into the strain. The original Spanish Oriental blood hen, The mortgage Lifter stag, The Redquill cock and a R.H. cock. The Sid Taylor family was discarded because of the cold blood, but some of it got out and there are some families of Chets carrying this blood that are not too game. This may not be too accurate but perhaps as close as anyone can get. I don’t think it too far off. The Chets were all on the small side perhaps their worst fault. They were rather smart ground fighters who could really fan and cut when the time came, CUTTING was their biggest asset. While on the subject of Chets you may remember when Don Carse of California tied for 1st in the 8 cock derby held at Tulevile, Miss, He used a straight show of Hatch-Chets from WM Hentges of Santa Ana, Calif. After the derby he presented "Sweater" McGinnis his choice of the Hatch Chets that were fought, about a years later Sweater McGinnis came out with the Peacomb Hatch.
     

       But with little selection, it’s impossible to select a trio of Chets from a trio of Peacomb Hatch. They look so much alike and there isn’t a California cocker alive who knew the Chets fowls but that wouldn’t bet his last dime the present day PEACOMB HACH ARE LOADED WITH CHET BLOOD. Each had what the other needed, The Hatch had the power and bottom, the Chets the shuffle and cut. The last of the good Chets I saw fought were in the hands of Dave Merideth of Southern California, I think Dave tied up for 1st place three years in a row at Copper state in the Prelims. This was several years back and Dave must have been in his 70’s then and still handling. If Dave is still alive, he could add much to what I have written and might still have some of the good Chets left. They are great little cocks to cross on anything that might be a little short in the cutting dept. I don’t know just how your attorney friend could got in contact with Dave if he is still alive. Perhaps an add in one of the journals might bring forth an answer. Will draw this to a close for now. Fraternally yours...


    Addendum:
     
       The gentleman that wrote the above letter has now passed on. However, his request that I am not to use his name either in print, or out. So I will honor that request. I will say, that he was one of the most learned, one of the most respected and one of the top cockers of California. The information he gave in this letter is from men that were very well acquainted with the Chet fowl, and to make a long story short, I'll say I believe every word he had to say in his entire letter. Now a little bit about the breeds, cocks and hens that made up the Chet family. First of all, how they got the name Chets, as in his letter. Chet Robinson was a policeman, I have been told, but I am not sure about that either, But the people just took the first of his given name and the family was called “CHET” I am well aware of the Roundhead blood that was used. I know A.J. Jarrett and have seen him fight cocks in West TX many times. It is my opinion that the Chets had more Roundhead blood in them, than any other blood, as all I ever saw of the Chets, all were Roundhead. But keep in mind, there were some straight comb blood in them also.
     

       I have said before, I’ll say it again, the Redquill cock came from me. No, I can’t prove it, but thats what I believe. I did not breed the cock, Jess Cavins bred the cock. Mr Cavins lived in the country about thirty five miles from Wichita Falls TX. He was a close friend of Buck Vestal, and Buck Vestal was a close friend of W. C Sherrod, of Wichita Falls. Mr Sherrod had Redquills handed down to him from his father. His father was a U. S. Senator, from the state of Tenn. I believe he in turn was a close friend of the Eslins, consequently had access to the Eslin fowls. I know for a fact that the Senior Sherrod ended up with whatever he wanted. Mr Sherrod got the Eslin Gaffs also. All this stuff was turned over to his son in TX W. C. Sherrod. W. C. Sherrod willed all his gaffs which included two pairs of the Eslin gaffs to J. B Kennard. J. B in turn gave them to me, which I still have, and always will have. As I said, Jess Cavins gave me this particular Redquill stag, I received both stags at the same time. One was a shade older that the other, The older stag had a bump under his right eye, and about the size of pinto bean. He had at at one time a disease known here in Texas as ROUP. Canker had formed underneath the right eye, then had dried up, leaving this hard bump. It didn’t bother him in any way. The other stag that Mr. Cavins gave me, was also blemished, as he had a black eye on one side, and black eye with a red ring in the other eye. I never did fight the latter stag, but Floyd Freemond may have fought him, as I gave him to Floyd at later date. Now this first stag, the one that had a bump under his eyes, I fought at least eight times, Four times as a stag, and four or five times as a cock.

       J.B. Kennard and I fought cocks in our back yard, and thats where these fights took place. Also there was another party that J.B. and I also fought against whose name was Bill Goodin. As I remember, it, I beat Bill twice with this Quill stag. When he matured into a cock, I met Herman McGinnis three times with him all the different times, winning all three times in the first pitting. These fights were at the Old Curlee Ranch house pit in Wichita County. I fought this cock one more time but can’t recall who it was against. This actually made him 9 times a winner and I doubt that any of these fights went more than a pitting or two never three pittings. So you can see he was a super ace.
     
       OK - Time marches on. Sometime in the latter part of 1925. J.B. moved to Los Angeles, California. when he was ready to leave, I gave him three cocks. one was a little cock I called “Lightning” that I had bought out of a poultry house in Wichita for a quarter. I beat JB many times with this one. I also gave J.B. a little blue cock, that I had also bought form the poultry house in Wichita , and also a quarter was paid for him. The third cock I gave him was the Redquill I have told you about. Joe Sneed also gave JB a cock, a many times winner that was half Allen Roundhead, directly from Will Allen, one quarter Campbell Blue Boone, and one quarter Bushwhacker. These chickens had won many for Joe Sneed. Along about this time, I got a job with the Telephone Co. in Wichita Falls, and left the Vernon area. I didn't hear of or from J.B. for many years. Finally, in 1945 I had rather a large ad in Grit and Steel. JB saw this ad. He had gotten himself married and had a boy that was about five years old and owned a drilling company. His home was now at KMA, not too far from his old stomping grounds at Wichita Falls. Well, I got a letter from JB wanting to know if I was the same Thomas Spurrier that he used to know back in 1924-25 and 26, I answered his letter and told him I was. It was no time at all, about three or four days later a Plymouth Couple drove up in my driveway, when the driver got out, I recognized JB immediately, His wife Elsie was with him, also a son Britt. From the looks of Elsie, I could see that JB’s family was going to enlarge and pretty soon, too I was right. The next was their second child, a girl, Caroline. Alright , the first time that JB and I sat down to hash out old times, keep in mind it had been 20 years since we had seen each other. When I got around to it, I asked JB what happened to Old Lightning also the little poultry house Blue. He didn’t hesitate one moment. He told me and I know he was telling the truth. I don’t recall what he told me. But when I asked him about that Ace Redquill cock, it’ s the color of another horse. He used Mr Sherrod’s old trick of getting to another subject, and just as far away from that Redquill cock as he could get me. That went on and on, from 1945 to 1970 and past. Every damn time I’d ask JB about that Redquill cock, he’d always get me off on something else, and he never did tell me what he done to that Redquill cock.
     
       OK, Lets look at some facts, when J.B. got out to Los Angeles, he went to work for a combine out there. I know of two men in this combine, Ashton and Easton, and the name they fought under. These people had plenty of money and I figure that JB fought that Quill cock, was seen by Chet Robinson and was purchased from JB. I also figure that JB didn’t want me to know that he sold a gift cock to him from me. That Quill cock was such a helluva fighting machine, and the Chets were also very very good. I figured thats the cock that we used to furnish the Redquill blood, as I have never heard of anybody in California that had real “Honest to God” Eslin Redquills, and you might say right out their hands and furthermore, so far as I know the Eslins didn’t sell cocks.
     

       Now just a few more lines about this Redquill cock to shed more light on the subject. A fellow here in Texas that still very much alive know about this particular family of Redquills that Jess Cavins had just happened to be Jes Cavins grandson. He know from whom Mr Cavins got the family and he also know that they were the real McCoy’s. He has told me so, From what has been told to me, and I’m telling to you the Chets when finally made into a family, well they only had one quarter of that Redquill blood in them, but that would be enough to put that terrible shuffle and that deadly cutting in the rest of the family, And , Mister, I wanna tell ye them Chets was just like the writer of the letter said They had the Shuffle and Cut. Regardless as to what they were, theirs was great family. There may be a few Chets still around like they were in the late 20’s and early 30’s But saying it and proving it is two horses of different colors.

    Comments are locked

    Advertisments


    Follow Us on Twitter


    Mobile Version

    e107mobile You can now visit us on your mobile phone! Simply goto gamefowlbreeders.info/ on your mobile phone or PDA to get started!