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Morgan Bonaparte “Bone” Mizell wasn’t just another Florida cow hunter.

A gifted horseman and cattleman with a remarkable memory for cattle, brands and earmarks, Bone was especially skilled at what the old cow hunters called **“mammying up”**—matching cows with their calves across the open range. His ability eventually put him in charge of cattle for Judge Ziba King, one of Florida’s great cattle barons.

But skill alone didn’t make Bone a legend.

He was a storyteller, practical joker, hard drinker and occasional outlaw whose exploits became part history and part Florida folklore. By 1895, his reputation and unmistakable appearance caught the eye of Frederic Remington, who put Bone horseback in *A Cracker Cowboy* and introduced the Florida cow hunter to a national audience.

Bone belonged to the Florida range before fences closed it in: cattle scattered through scrub and palmetto, a good horse underneath him and a cow dog working alongside.

There were Florida cow hunters. And then there was Bone Mizell.