|
|
Born May
2, 1883, he was 14 years old when Pete French got killed in 1897. Pete like Corey real well and wanted to
adopt him.
When they
were getting people for the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, they wanted him to go
and ride the saddle broncs, but his Dad said he needed him on the ranch and
would not let him go.
Corey’s
father had cattle and horses on their ranch.
Every spring they would gather the wild horse to brand, and castrate the
colts. Corey would ride a bronc and if
his horse gave out, the other cowboys would catch on of the wild horses for him
to ride and they would drive him with the other horses to the corral.
Corey was
still young and working for his Dad when he went to the Juniper Ranch on the
east side of the Steens Mountains to ride with the Pacific Land and Livestock
buckaroos. Juan Redon was the boss
there. He told Corey he would loan him
a horse. Corey said the horse was fat and you could tell that he hadn’t been
ridded for quite sometime. When he got
on the horse, it bucked real hard, but could not throw him. There was a fellow by the name of George
Rilley working with the Pacific Land and Livestock cowboys. He had seen Corey ride and thought he was
very good.
After
Corey was married, he and his wife Minnie went to Drewsy, Oregon to the 4th
of July celebration. They had a hose
there that they would bet $100.00 that no one could ride. Corey thought gee, I could make
$100.00. George Rilley had a ranch over
by Drewsey by then and he told the fellows they would lose their money as a
horse might as well try to buck his mane off as Corey, so he didn’t make the
$100.00. HA!
Corey won
the saddle bronc contest at the first rodeo they had in Burns, Oregon. They would take the horse down and you would
have to ride him up and stay on until he stopped bucking.
Corey
worked for his uncles, George and Presley Smyth in Diamond, Oregon. He was there when George passed away in
1917. He stayed on and worked for
Presley and George’s son Fred. He was
still working there when Sheriff Goodman got killed at Folly Farm, Oregon. Corey was on of the posse men that caught
old Cody on the Steens Mountains at Daddy Wards homestead.
Corey
worked for a time at the P ranch in the 1930’s. When he first went to work there, Ross Dollarhide was the
boss. When Ross left the ranch, Corey
became the boss for the most of the 1930’s.
Corey
worked for Paul Stewart at the Mann Lake ranch and when Paul sold Mann Lake and
bought the White Horse Ranch, Corey worked there in the early 40’s.
Corey was
a real good hand with a horse. He broke
several colts when he worked for Joe, and he was a real good hand with a
snaffle bit and spade bit bridle. He
was also good with a rawhide reata.
He was
working for a time at the Island Ranch when he died June 10, 1948.
Inducted
into the Buckaroo Hall of Fame 2001