Disability History Fact: Hugh "Hackberry Slim" Johnson

Hugh “Hackberry Slim” Johnson II (1888 – 1979), from Belton, was one of the first cowboys to put together a Buffalo Rodeo, which included buffalo stampede shows, buffalo chariot races, and even Junior Rodeo events where children could ride on baby buffaloes. Johnson came to be known as Hackberry Slim as a teenager, when an accident resulted in the amputation of one of his legs. Johnson used a limb from a hackberry tree to carve himself a prosthetic leg; he loved it when people began to call him by the nickname, thereafter always introducing himself as Hackberry Slim. Johnson was known for being quite a storyteller; speaking to reporter Rick Smith at the Sherman Democrat newspaper in an interview he told him:

 

“Now that leg, that was to my advantage sometimes. Pecos Pate taught me this trick, see. When I was about to ride a bronc, I’d loosen the leg. I’d start yellin’ about halfway through the ride. Yell that I was gettin’ bucked to pieces. Then I’d let the leg fly off. Strong men would scream and women’d faint. The tent’d be half empty by the time I clambered down.”

 

In 1979, at the age of 91, Johnson played a bit part in Willie Nelson’s classic movie Honeysuckle Rose. One evening after the filming in Austin, Willie and other musicians performed at a party for the cast and crew. At one point, the band dedicated a song to Johnson. The audience applauded and Johnson got up, grabbed the hand of a young woman and danced animatedly, then went back to sit down, put his head on the table and died.

 

Friends said he always claimed he wanted to “go out of this life with his boots on,” but that he would be satisfied to go with just the one boot on.

 

Attributions: Rick Smith, Sherman Democrat, 1978