"Texas Dogae" 1891

Stephen Goranson goranson at DUKE.EDU
Mon Sep 17 13:08:18 UTC 2007


OED dogie, dogy U.S. [Of obscure origin.]
    A motherless, neglected, or undernourished calf on a cattle range. Also
attrib.
[1888 Cent. Mag. Oct. (Farmer), They were mostly Texan doughies--a name I have
never seen written, it applies to young immigrant cattle.] 1892 Outing (U.S.)
Feb. 358 A queer, pot-bellied little dogy (a calf prematurely weaned by the
death of its mother and developed into a runt)....

HDAS and DARE share 1888 as the first citation; DARE adds the the I = Theodore
Roosevelt; HDAS cites from his Ranch Life 89
DARE: also sp. dogee, dogey, dogy, doughgie [Orig. uncertain; perh. from doggie;
perh. inf. by dobe 6] West
HDAS:...prob. alter. doughgnut , poss Afr creoli dogi 'small' (esp. among
cowboys) a runtish usu. motherless....


Rocky Mountain News, (Denver, CO) Friday, September 18, 1891; page 1, col D
     A Remarkable Case. Pecuilar Plea Entered in the Conway Murder Case by
Attorney for the Defense [Category: News] (19th C US Newspapers)
Casper, Wyo. Sept. 17...The most important case tried was that of the state
against John C. Conway, who was indicted for murder in the first degree for the
killing of Jack Tidwell, or "Red Jack," as he was familiarly known among the
cowboys, in the dance hall at Casper....
...a few weeks before killing the proprietor, one "Lee May," better known as
"Texas Dogae [a and e joined here, but not below]," had a quarrel with his
mistress, and invited her to take a horseback ride [then, at gunpoint, abducted
her]...a sheep herder came into town and reported he had seen Dogae driving Lu
ahead of him at the point of a pistol....Dogae, seeing the sheriff ride up,
drew a knife and cut off Lu's nose....


Stephen Goranson
http://www.duke.edu/~goranson

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