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Cattle Drive Heroes and Trail Bosses

Bose Ikard: The Formerly Enslaved Trail Driver Charles Goodnight Trusted Most

Born enslaved in Mississippi, Ikard became a skilled drover, a valued partner on the trail and a Weatherford farmer.

Who was Bose Ikard?

Bose Ikard was one of the best-known Black trail drivers in Texas. The Handbook of Texas entry says he was born a slave in July 1843 in Noxubee County, Mississippi, and became one of the most famous Black frontiersmen and traildrivers in the state. Birth year varies in other references, from 1843 to 1847.

Much of what is known comes through Charles Goodnight, who trusted him and wrote about him. That means the surviving record shows Ikard mostly through an employer's eyes, and little of his own voice, a limit worth keeping in mind.

Born enslaved: Mississippi to Parker County

Ikard lived in Union Parish, Louisiana, before his owner, Dr. Milton Ikard, moved to Texas in 1852. Several months later Bose helped Isabella Ikard move the family's belongings and five children to Lamar County, and soon afterward to Parker County. He grew to adulthood with the owner's family, learning to farm, ranch and fight in a region where Indian attacks were a threat.

The Civil War left him free. He was far from alone in the trade. A University of Texas page estimates that between five and nine thousand of roughly 35,000 cowboys on Texas ranches and trails were Black.

Riding the Goodnight-Loving Trail

In 1866 Ikard went to work as a traildriver for Oliver Loving. After Comanches killed Loving in New Mexico, Ikard stayed on with Loving's partner Charles Goodnight for four years. The two became lifelong friends.

Goodnight later said he trusted Ikard farther than any living man, calling him his detective, banker and everything else in Colorado, New Mexico and the other wild country. BlackPast's account of the drives adds that Goodnight praised Ikard's endurance and stamina. The Handbook's list of the 1866 crew for the first Fort Sumner drive, in its entry on Goodnight, includes Ikard among the eighteen hands.

Settling in Weatherford

In 1869 Ikard wanted to settle in Colorado, but Goodnight persuaded him to buy a farm in Parker County, Texas, because there were so few Black residents in Colorado. Ikard settled in Weatherford. That year he took part in a running battle with Quanah Parker's Comanche band, riding alongside his former owner, Milton Ikard.

He married a woman named Angelina in 1869 or 1870, and they had fifteen children. In later years he attended several cowboy reunions, and Goodnight visited him in Weatherford whenever he could and gave him gifts of money.

The Key to Ikard's Success

The record points to reliability, range of skill and a trusted relationship with an influential employer as the core of Ikard's career. He then used that standing to stay out of a region where he would have been isolated.

The context deserves a fair note. Black drovers did equal work for equal pay on many drives, but BlackPast documents that racial tension also existed on the trail.

  • He arrived with ranch and frontier skills learned in his youth in Parker County.
  • He worked reliably under pressure, during stampedes and in three engagements with Comanches, as Goodnight's epitaph put it.
  • He took on trust-based roles, acting by Goodnight's account as detective and banker on the trail.
  • He accepted advice to settle where he would have community, buying a farm in Parker County.
  • He raised fifteen children and attended cowboy reunions, staying visible in the trail-driving community.

Death, memorial and legacy

Ikard died in Austin on January 4, 1929. After his burial in Greenwood Cemetery in Weatherford, Goodnight bought a granite marker and wrote an epitaph saying Ikard served four years on the Goodnight-Loving Trail, never shirked a duty or disobeyed an order, and showed splendid behavior.

The monument is often cited in work on Black cowboys, and it stands near Weatherford according to BlackPast. For wider context, read BlackPast's survey of Black cowboys, the ranching section of farm.FM and a farm.FM story about Black cowboys on the trail.

Timeline

  1. 1843Born into slavery in Noxubee County, Mississippi
  2. 1852Moves with the Ikard family to Texas
  3. 1866Begins work for Oliver Loving as a traildriver
  4. 1867Continues with Charles Goodnight after Loving's death
  5. 1869Buys a farm in Parker County and settles in Weatherford
  6. 1929Dies in Austin on January 4; buried in Weatherford

Frequently asked questions

Who was Bose Ikard?

Bose Ikard (1843-1929) was a formerly enslaved Texan who became a trail driver on the Goodnight-Loving Trail and a close associate of Charles Goodnight, later farming near Weatherford.

What did Charles Goodnight say about Bose Ikard?

Goodnight said he trusted Ikard farther than any living man and called him his detective and banker on the trail. He also bought and inscribed Ikard's headstone.

Where is Bose Ikard buried?

He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Weatherford, Texas, beneath a granite marker bought by Goodnight and carrying an epitaph Goodnight wrote.

How many Black cowboys rode Texas trails?

A University of Texas page estimates five to nine thousand Black cowboys among roughly 35,000 who worked ranches and trails. They held every job except trail boss, though a few crews were all Black.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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