Ted Terry and the Sawtooth Range Riders Travel to New York on a Bull Named Hitler

Ted Terry started out as someone else.  He was born Dallas Edgman but GIVEN to a family in Canada!  I had no idea one could give away their children back then.  Dallas became Ted, and he eventually became a member of the Sawtooth Range Riders, a rodeo group who performed on the radio.

In 1937 he and a few band members accepted a $500 bet from a casino owner that he could ride a bull to New York.
 
The bull he rode over 3,000 miles had two names too.  Originally named "Ohadi" which is the reverse of Idaho, the beast seems to have acquired the name "Hitler" on the road.  Also on the trip was Skipper the dog, Silver Sally the aging pack horse and other members of the Sawtooth boys.  They covered an average of 12 miles a day.  The crew reached Times Square in 1940 and won the bet.

There are several entries on the adventure, but one comes from The Backyard Cow: An Introductory Guide to Keeping a Productive Family Cow by Sue Weaver.  I'd not ever have learned of the book if it weren't for Hitler Ohadi the Bull.

A ten minute youtube film featuring band member H.G. Wood follows. His amazing photographs document a long lost Western America as well as the amazing trip. The film was produced as part of the Phd work of Janine Curry.

Real Photo Postcard of Ted Terry and The Range Riders.  Circa 1938 Collection Jim Linderman  

Antique Pipe Cleaner Cowboy, His Trusted Steed and a Large Cardboard Six Shooter Folk Art Sculpture

Antique Pipe Cleaner Cowboy, His Trusted Steed and a Large Cardboard Six Shooter Handmade Folk Art Toys circa 1950 Collection Jim Linderman

Damn nice Duds Dude Tenderfoot Fashion Cowboy and Cowgirl Range Fashion!

Cowboy Poseurs all dressed up in their weekend duds!  Tenderfoots.  Drugstore Cowboys.
Good color though...Cowboy Joe and Cowboy Jill around 1955.

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Tom Mix ? Or Just a Big Cowpoke ? Dull Tool Dim Bulb Cowboy Mystery

Whoa, boys,  It's silent oater star Tom Mix (or is it?)  "Tom" is sporting a pair of homemade chaps and an ACTUAL pear so his big size can be determined.  I purchased this wrangler at an antique show for a price so low it doesn't matter, but since he was called Tom Mix I'd like to know. 

I can't find any big dolls of Tom Mix online.  Is this an amateur sales stimulator put in a toy shop?  I dunno!  All his duds are homemade (and old) and there is on six-shooter made of lead.  He WAS a cowboy, as the hard composite boots are attached (as are the hands and noggin) but the body is soft.  The kerchief appears to be a found object, and the holster is handmade.  The chaps and vest, leather, have cool leather applied stars.  He really isn't very cuddly...so I don't think he is a doll.  I think some kind of display thing.

So is this Tom Mix, or a city slicker posing as him? I am going to put him on the Collector's Weekly "Show and Tell" pages and call him a unsolved mystery.  Someone will know.  Was there a commercial trade figure or toy 24 inches tall of Tom Mix?

Cowboy doll with homemade clothes.   Collection Jim Linderman