Pate grew to manhood in the upper reaches of the Brazos River Valley as a cowhand, blacksmith and spur maker. He took part in some of the last big roundups in the Pecos River Valley where he got the nickname. Settling in the Monument Springs area of the New Mexico Territory with his father Clate (J.P.) and brother Bob, he was starved out by the great drought of 1903. Arriving back in Texas with nothing but a worthless string of wild New Mexican ponies, Clate and his sons set about to break the ponies for riding horses. They quickly found people would pay to see them work, so was born the Boone Boys Wild West Show. For the next 25 years their show would travel the southern plains and Arkansas Basin entertaining thousands of new settlers arriving too late for the real wild west. For more details, visit the website or talk your library into buying the book.