Who Rode the Bronc to Breakfast?

"Bronc to Breakfast" is one of Charlie Russell's most famous paintings. The iconic scene of the life of cowboys of the old west, features a horse and rider bursting through the camps morning gathering. The painting depicts the bucking cayuse endeavoring to lose the rider as they crash through the fire and gathering of range riders having a quiet breakfast. In the process the fry pan and its contents empty into the fire, the lid is knocked off the Dutch oven, the water kettle is dumped and the coffee pot perilously swings over the fire. Not as well-known is the name of the rider on the bronc in the portrayal.

The incident depicted in Russell's work occurred at "Living Springs in the Snowy Mountains about 20 miles northeast from where Harlowton now is." The bronc rider is a then 18-year-old Frank "Doc" Nelson. Doc had first met Charlie Russell 3 years prior when they were horse wranglers for the "Two Dot outfit at Martinsdale." Nelson's older brother, Beaver, was roundup foreman for the Two Dot Wilson outfit at the time. It was in 1884 that Doc had become a regular cowhand with his own string of horses. Russell was still a night wrangler for the same outfit. One of Doc's string was a young gelding that he described as "plumb mean and spoiled, hard to get on, and damned hard to stay on." On the fateful morning Docs brother was away from camp. Beaver had told Doc to leave that particular horse alone. Doc figured it a good chance to give another try to the horse that had bucked him off once. The rest of the story is immortalized in the Russell painting.

I first became aware of the bronc rider's name in 1969. My friend, Larry Gannon, wrote an article about his interview of the old cowboy. Larry gave a copy of the print and the article to each of his 5 sons as a Christmas present. I happened to be at the Gannon Box L ranch around Christmas time that year, and Larry showed me the print and article. Larry says in the article, "My contact with him, starting in about 1942 – to his retirement, was to avail my company of his high-class skill as a machinist". Larry continued to work with Doc Nelson on other projects over the years. It was after Doc retired that Larry states, "My brother Bill and I continued to visit him on a friendship basis. Cigars pleased him and he enjoyed telling of his early days on the open range – because he said he liked to look back; "I can see farther in that direction."

The nickname "Doc" appears to have originated from either Doc's father or employer. Larry Gannon speculated that "he was so called because of his skill as a vet". Earlier accounts associate the name being related to Doc's love for race horses. When Doc was 6 or 7, his love of horses found him riding as a jockey in local horse races. Doc saw "magazine pictures of Eastern race horses with their tails docked caught his eye. So, he borrowed his mother's scissors and bobbed the tails of the horses he rode". The name probably started out spelled Dock. Dick Nelson in a letter to Dave Walker of the Historical Society Library wrote that Dock had actually signed his name with that spelling "in some letters he wrote me." Doc himself added to the confusion with two different stories. In his account of bobbing tails with his mother's scissors, Doc claims that "my dad raised the devil and threatened to cut off my ears, but when he saw the horses, he thought they looked pretty good. He called me 'Doc' then and the moniker stuck". In another account reported in an interview with Lester Thompson, Doc tells it different. He claims "an old fellow who owned some race horses in the Gallatin when I was a kid gave me the nickname of "Doc". I used to ride his ponies for him. Just why he called me 'Doc' I don't know, maybe he had too many Franks around".

Russell painted "Bronc to Breakfast" in 1908, 23 years after the incident. Larry Gannon writes, "Doc assured me it was like a camera take of the event, and it astonished him as to its accuracy in all details". Russell is noted for the details in his paintings, and it is particularly interesting that he could accurately depict a scene that occurred so much earlier. Doc told Larry the details included, "the horse as to color and marking, brand on the left hip, detail on the saddle, the ivory handle on the colt six shooter – it was a 44". Also distinctive to Doc Nelson are the buffalo hide chaps with hair to the outside, and the grey 4 dent crowned hat. These details also identify Doc Nelson as the cowboy in another Russell painting, "The Herd Quitter". Larry writes that Doc could name the other riders. "Russell is sitting on the right side with his tin plate on his lap and a knife or fork in his right hand". In an interview with Lester Thompson Doc named some of the others; "the cook in the picture was named Nicholson. The fellow standing beside the cook is Steve Cooper. On the wagon wheel is George Canon. Next to the fellow with the white chaps in the left rear of the picture is Simm Roberts.".

Frank "Doc" Nelson was born in the Gallatin Valley at Central Park, a stage station west of Belgrade, in 1867. His parents, John and Lavine Nelson "had arrived in Montana from Iowa three years before in a wagon train let by John M. Bozeman, trail-blazing pioneer . The John W. Nelson family arrived at Old Central Park, July 14, 1864. And no sooner had they arrived than a baby boy, Pike Nelson, was born to them. There was not even a cabin to welcome the newborn babe, but a trapper who was camping there had a little shelter and they hung up blankets and made a little more protection for receiving the tiny pioneer." The Nelson's raised a total of 9 children, 8 boys and 1 girl.

Doc grew up around horses and was no stranger to work. "When Doc was the ripe old age of ten and his brother Pike was thirteen, they hauled several loads of hay weighing 7 tons each from the Scott Matthews ranch west of Bozeman to Fort Ellis. To pull this load carrying enough hay for a complete stack, they drove 4 yoke of oxen. Mr. Matthews took care of the loading of the hay and the soldiers at Fort Ellis unloaded it, but the responsibility of transporting it was entirely up to those young boys and the 4 yoke of oxen."

By the age of 11, Doc helped drive about 1,000 head of cattle north of Great Falls to Highwood. Doc was 14 when he helped a man named Adolph drive "300 cattle over to the Judith Basin". (I have been told that Dolph Mortag had claimed to have been present at the Bronc incident. However, I have not been able to confirm that story). "While camped on the Judith River, they walked to a nearby camp to get acquainted". There they were introduced to a 17-year-old "Buckskin Charley". The young Charlie Russell "was dressed in a fancy new buckskin jacket with lots of fringe, and the cowboys were teasing him for being so proud of his new finery".

Doc loved horses and was fascinated with Indians. Indian trouble was not uncommon in the Gallatin Valley at the time. Phyllis Wolcott wrote that "Doc remembers his mother telling of the first bread they had after they come here." A man they knew offered the Nelson's some of the wheat he had grown. "His mother said the wheat was very dirty so she carefully washed it and spread it out to dry, then after grinding it she made the whole wheat bread, baking it in the fireplace. But when she put the priceless loaves out to cool, some Indians came by and ate it all up."

The 1870's saw contention among the Indians due to the increased traffic through their lands by miners, early settlers and cattle drives, like Nelson Story's herd that came up the Bozeman Trail in 1866. At a young age, Frank heard stories of battles including the Rosebud Expedition of 1870. Seeing several Indian scalps taken by some neighbors that were on the expedition made a vivid impression on young Frank. His brother Marsh encountered a group of Indians near the present town of Logan while mowing hay. The group could not get across a swamp, and Marsh was able to get away. The war party "rode up east of there a few miles, where a couple of fellows name Sheppherd and Nixon had located and built corrals for their horses. The Indians killed these men and took their horses. A posse was formed that chased the Indians up a canyon to a ridge where they were killed. This ridge became known as "Battle Ridge".

According to the Great Falls Tribune story in 1960, "Restless bands of Indians were continually raiding and harassing during the 1880's". Young Frank Nelson had his own encounter with Indians. When "he was returning three horses to the ranch he encountered a band of about 15. He saw the jig was up and the best thing he could do was forget the horses and ride for his life. When he got to the ranch, Sim Roberts, foreman for the old 79 outfit and a couple of cowboys were saddling to leave." Frank didn't think much of it until the next morning "when Nelson got up, the three horses were in the corral safe and sound." Later Frank got a chance to ask Roberts how the horses got back. Roberts replied: "Well, the Indians just got to feeling sorry for you kid, and put the horses in the corral."

Since his brother, Beaver, was foreman of the Two Dot Wilson Cattle Company, doc would spend the roundup season working for the outfit. (Two Dot Wilson had earned the nickname for which his outfit and the town are named after he used a wagon part to brand his cattle with 2 dots). It was during the 1882 roundup that Doc and Charlie Russell worked together as night herders. They had a herd of 300 horses to wrangle. Doc figured the job of horse wrangler was beneath him. He claimed, "this was quite a blow to me because I had myself figured as a way better man than that". Doc returned to work the roundup for the Two Dot outfit in 1885. Russel was still night wrangler, but Doc worked as a regular hand. This was the round up when the "Bronc" incident occurred. Doc had gained a reputation as a bronc rider by then. "By the time he was 12 he was trailing cattle, and when he was 14, he was gaining a reputation as a bronc rider". His reputation started to spread after an incident from when Doc was 14. "A man from Yellowstone River brought a bay gelding into Bozeman and bragged the animal couldn't be ridden". Doc had already established himself as good with broncs. He had been breaking horses for neighbors for some years. It was the livery stable operator, Ed Freedly who took on the Yellowstone man who "bet $10 the kid couldn't stay on his horse three jumps". "I rode the bronc and Freedly won his $10", Nelson Said.

To be continued...