Skeeter Klaus and “Red” Berry were two who gambled and ran cock fights in in the San Antonio area. Red Berry had a ranch over off Rigsby Street and ran all the fights on the east side of San Antonio while Skeeter ran the fights on the southwest side.
In the early 1930’s Dad (Jesse Garfield James) got into cock fightin’ with Skeeter. The two were practicing with the chickens by holdin’ them and making them peck at each other to see if they were any good.
Dad was out there in the chicken pen with Skeeter. Each had chickens in their hands when Dad got the idea to make the chickens peck at my (Jesse Columbus James, age 8) duck. They’d hold my duck and let the chickens peck at him. His head was gettin’ mighty red and sore.
Skeeter told Dad to put the duck down and to bet down and to bet on them. Dad said he’d bet on his best fightin’ rooster to put that duck away. Skeeter bet on my duck.
When the two birds got on the ground, the rooster charged, but the duck slapped at him with his wing, knockin’ that Rooster to the ground.
Skeeter started laughin’. The duck kep’ poundin’ that rooster into the ground and daddy soon had enough and grabbed up his best rooster before my duck killed ‘im.
Skeeter started tellin’ Dad about a cock fight he was at in Oklahoma City 2-3 years earlier. This guy had a big black and white Muscovy Duck in the back of his truck. Another ol’ boy had bet $4000 or $5000 on his own rooster sayin’ his could wup any kind of bird there. Another guy brought out his Muscovy Duck. The guy with the rooster said, no problem, nothin’ could best his rooster, and especially no d u c k.
Skeeter said that duck used its wings to beat the rooster to the ground and then his bill to peck the fight outta that rooster. No sir, said Skeeter, don’t EVER fight one of them ducks, OR bet against ’em. You’ll lose ever’ time.
