“That these dear friends I leave behind May keep kind hearts’ remembrance of the love we had.” Solon In affectionate gratitude to a group of men, my intimate friends during College days (brought under...

No loopholes now are framing Lean faces, grim and brown, No more keen eyes are aiming To bring the redskin down; But every wind careening Seems here to breathe a song⁠— A song of brave careering, A sa...

The Songs of the Cattle Trail and Cow Camp does not purport to be an anthology of Western verse. As its title indicates, the contents of the book are limited to attempts, more or less poetic, in trans...

Out where the handclasp’s a little stronger, Out where the smile dwells a little longer, That’s where the West begins; Out where the sun is a little brighter, Where the snows that fall are a trifle wh...

Out where the handclasp’s a little stronger, Out where the smile dwells a little longer, That’s where the West begins; Out where the sun is a little brighter, Where the snows that fall are a trifle wh...

Did you ever wait for daylight when the stars along the river Floated thick and white as snowflakes in the water deep and strange, Till a whisper through the aspens made the current break and shiver A...

Don’t you hear the big spurs jingle? Don’t you feel the red blood tingle? Be it smile or be it frown, Be it dance or be it fight, Broncho Bill has come to town To dance a dance tonight. Chaps, sombrer...

At a round-up on the Gila One sweet morning long ago, Ten of us was throwed quite freely By a hoss from Idaho. An’ we ’lowed he’d go a-beggin’ For a man to break his pride Till, a-hitchin’ up one legg...

I think we can all remember when a Greaser hadn’t no show In Palo Pinto particular⁠—it ain’t very long ago; A powerful feelin’ of hatred ag’in the whole Greaser race That murdered bold Crockett and Bo...

The first that we saw of the high-tone tramp War over thar at our Pecos camp; He war comin’ down the Santa Fe trail Astride of a wheel with a crooked tail, A-skinnin’ along with a merry song An’ a-rin...

Twenty abreast down the Golden Street ten thousand riders marched; Bow-legged boys in their swinging chaps, all clumsily keeping time; And the Angel Host to the lone, last ghost their delicate eyebrow...

I want free life, and I want fresh air; And I sigh for the canter after the cattle, The crack of the whips like shots in battle, The medley of hoofs and horns and heads That wars and wrangles and scat...

She was a Texas maiden, she came of low degree, Her clothes were worn and faded, her feet from shoes were free; Her face was tanned and freckled, her hair was sun-burned, too, Her whole darned tout en...

’Way high up the Mogollons,1 Among the mountain tops, A lion cleaned a yearlin’s bones And licked his thankful chops, When on the picture who should ride, A-trippin’ down the slope, But High-Chin Bob,...

’Way high up in the Mokiones, among the mountain tops, A lion cleaned a yearling’s bones and licks his thankful chops; And who upon the scene should ride, a-trippin’ down the slope, But High Chin Bob ...

I was just about to take a drink⁠— I was mighty dry⁠— So I hailed an old time cowman Who was passing by, “Come in, Ole Timer! have a drink! Kinda warm today!” As we leaned across the bar-rail⁠— “How’s...

It was on the western frontier⁠— The miners, rugged and brown, Were gathered round the posters, The circus had come to town! The great tent shone in the darkness Like a wonderful palace of light, And ...

I’m wild and woolly and full of fleas, I’m hard to curry below the knees, I’m a she-wolf from Shamon Creek, For I was dropped from a lightning streak And it’s my night to hollow⁠—Whoo‑pee! I stayed in...

I shot him where the Rio flows; I shot him when the moon arose; And where he lies the vulture knows Along the Tinto River. In schools of eastern culture pale My cloistered flesh began to fail; They bo...

Far out in the wilds of Oregon, On a lonely mountain side, Where Columbia’s mighty waters Roll down to the Ocean’s tide; Where the giant fir and cedar Are imaged in the wave, O’ergrown with ferns and ...

Once more are we met for a season of pleasure, That shall smooth from our brows every furrow of care, For the sake of old times shall we each tread a measure And drink to the lees in the eyes of the f...

I ust to read in the novel books ’bout fellers that got the prod From an arrer shot from his hidin’ place by the hand o’ the Cupid god, An’ I’d laugh at the cussed chumps they was a-wastin’ their brea...

I ust to read in the novel books ’bout fellers that got the prod From an arrer shot from his hidin’ place by the hand o’ the Cupid god, An’ I’d laugh at the cussed chumps they was a-wastin’ their brea...

Funny how it come about! Me and Texas Tom was out Takin’ of a moonlight walk, Fillin’ in the time with talk. Every star up in the sky Seemed to wink the other eye At each other, ’sif they Smelt a mous...

Oh, the last steer has been branded And the last beef has been shipped, And I’m free to roam the prairies That the round-up crew has stripped; I’m free to think of Susie⁠— Fairer than the stars above⁠...

Spanish is the lovin’ tongue, Soft as music, light as spray; ’Twas a girl I learnt it from Livin’ down Sonora way. I don’t look much like a lover, Yet I say her love-words over Often, when I’m all alo...

I was young and happy and my heart was light and gay, Singin’, always singin’ through the sunny summer day; Happy as a lizard in the wavin’ chaparral, Walkin’ down through Laramie with Snagtooth Sal. ...

It hain’t no use fer me to say There’s others with a style an’ way That beats hers to a fare-you-well, Fer, on the square, I’m here to tell I jes can’t even start to see But what she’s perfect as kin ...

The couriers from Chihuahua go To distant Cusi and Santavo, Announce the feast of all the year the crown⁠— Se corren los toros! And Juan brings his Pepita into town. The rancherias on the mountain sid...

Say, Moll, now don’t you ’llow to quit A-playin’ maverick? Sech stock should be corralled a bit An’ hev a mark ’t ’ll stick. Old Val’s a-roundin’-up today Upon the Sweetheart Range, ’N me a-helpin’, s...

I’ve heard that story ofttimes about that little chap A-cryin’ for the shiney moon to fall into his lap, An’ jes a-raisin’ merry hell because he couldn’t git The same to swing down low so’s he could n...

Here’s a moccasin track in the drifts, It’s no more than the length of my hand; An’ her instep⁠—just see how it lifts! If that ain’t the best in the land! For the maid ran as free as the wind And her ...

Let us ride together⁠— Blowing mane and hair, Careless of the weather, Miles ahead of care, Ring of hoof and snaffle, Swing of waist and hip, Trotting down the twisted road With the world let slip. Le...

Thar she goes a-lopin’, stranger, Khaki-gowned, with flyin’ hair, Talk about your classy ridin’⁠— Wal, you’re gettin’ it right thar. Jest a kid, but lemme tell you When she warms a saddle seat On that...

I’m night guard all alone tonight, Dead homesick, lonely, tired and blue; And none but you can make it right; My heart is hungry, Girl, for you. I’ve longed all night to hug you, Dear; To speak my lov...

The herds are gathered in from plain and hill, Who’s that a-calling? The boys are sleeping and the boys are still, Who’s that a-calling? ’Twas the wind a-sighing in the prairie grass, Who’s that a-cal...

The dust hangs thick upon the trail And the horns and the hoofs are clashing, While off at the side through the chaparral The men and the strays go crashing; But in right good cheer the cowboy sings, ...

Whar y’u from, little stranger, little boy? Y’u was ridin’ a cloud on that star-strewn plain, But y’u fell from the skies like a drop of rain To this world of sorrow and long, long pain. Will y’u care...

I could not be so well content, So sure of thee, Señorita, But well I know you must relent And come to me, Lolita! The Caballeros throng to see Thy laughing face, Señorita, Lolita. But well I know thy...

Lonesome? Well, I guess so! This place is mighty blue; The silence of the empty rooms Jes’ palpitates with⁠—you. The day has lost its beauty, The sun’s a-shinin’ pale; I’ll round up my belongin’s An’ ...

You’re very well polished, I’m free to confess, Well balanced, well rounded, a power for right; But cool and collected⁠—no steel could be less; You’re primed for continual fight. Your voice is a belli...

That time when Bob got throwed I thought I sure would bust. I like to died a-laffin’ To see him chewin’ dust. He crawled on that Andy bronc And hit him with a quirt. The next thing that he knew He was...

Haven’t got no special likin’ fur the toney sorts o’ play, Chasin’ foxes or that hossback polo game, Jumpin’ critters over hurdles⁠—sort o’ things that any jay Could accomplish an’ regard as rather ta...

If a feller’s been a-straddle Since he’s big enough to ride, And has had to sling his saddle On most any colored hide⁠— Though it’s nothin’ they take pride in, Still most fellers I have knowed, If the...

You bad-eyed, tough-mouthed son-of-a-gun, Ye’re a hard little beast to break, But ye’re good for the fiercest kind of a run An’ ye’re quick as a rattlesnake. Ye jolted me good when we first met In the...

I’ve busted bronchos off and on Since first I struck their trail, And you bet I savvy bronchos From nostrils down to tail; But I struck one on Powder River, And say, hands, he was the first And only l...

When it comes to saddle hawses, there’s a difference in steeds: There is fancy-gaited critters that will suit some feller’s needs; There is nags high-bred an’ tony, with a smooth an’ shiny skin, That ...

Wrangle up your mouth-harps, drag your banjo out, Tune your old guitarra till she twangs right stout, For the snow is on the mountains and the wind is on the plain, But we’ll cut the chimney’s moanin’...

You can’t expect a cowboy to agitate his shanks In etiquettish manner in aristocratic ranks When he’s always been accustomed to shake the heel and toe At the rattling rancher dances where much etiquet...

Way out in Western Texas, where the Clear Fork’s waters flow, Where the cattle are “a-browzin’ ” and the Spanish ponies grow; Where the Norther “comes a-whistlin’ ” from beyond the Neutral strip And t...

From every point they gaily come, the broncho’s unshod feet Pat at the green sod of the range with quick, emphatic beat; The tresses of the buxom girls as banners stream behind⁠— Like silken, castigat...

Git yo’ little sagehens ready; Trot ’em out upon the floor⁠— Line up there, you critters! Steady! Lively, now! One couple more. Shorty, shed that ol’ sombrero; Broncho, douse that cigaret; Stop yer cu...

Yip! Yip! Yip! Yip! tunin’ up the fiddle; You an’ take yo’r pardner there, standin’ by the wall! Say “How!” make a bow, and sashay down the middle; Shake yo’r leg lively at the Cowboys’ Ball. Big feet...

He wears a big hat and big spurs and all that, And leggins of fancy fringed leather; He takes pride in his boots and the pistol he shoots, And he’s happy in all kinds of weather; He’s fond of his hors...

He wears a big hat and big spurs and all that, And leggins of fancy fringed leather; He takes pride in his boots and the pistol he shoots, And he’s happy in all kinds of weather; He’s fond of his hors...

We ain’t no saints on the Bar-Z ranch, ’Tis said⁠—an’ we know who ’tis⁠— “Th’ devil’s laid hold on us, tooth an’ branch, An’ uses us in his biz.” Still, we ain’t so bad but we might be wuss, An’ you’d...

A pattering rush like the rattle of hail When the storm king’s wild coursers are out on the trail, A long roll of hoofs⁠—and the earth is a drum! The centaurs! See! Over the prairies they come! A roll...

I’ve beat my way wherever any winds have blown; I’ve bummed along from Portland down to San Antone; From Sandy Hook to Frisco, over gulch and hill⁠— For once you git the habit, why, you can’t keep sti...

He never made parade of tooth or claw; He was plain as us that nursed the bawlin’ herds. Though he had a rather meanin’-lookin’ jaw, He was shy of exercisin’ it with words. As a circus-ridin’ preacher...

I’ve swum the Colorado where she runs close down to hell; I’ve braced the faro layouts in Cheyenne; I’ve fought for muddy water with a bunch of howlin’ swine An’ swallowed hot tamales and cayenne; I’v...

I went into the grog-shop, Tom, and stood beside the bar, And drank a glass of lemonade and smoked a bad seegar. The same old kegs and jugs was thar, the same we used to know When we was on the round-...

When my loop takes hold on a two-year-old, By the feet or the neck or the horn, He kin plunge and fight till his eyes go white, But I’ll throw him as sure as you’re born. Though the taut rope sing lik...

’Twas the lean coyote told me, baring his slavish soul, As I counted the ribs of my dead cayuse and cursed at the desert sky, The tale of the Upland Rider’s fate while I dug in the water hole For a dr...

A-down the road and gun in hand Comes Whiskey Bill, mad Whiskey Bill; A-lookin’ for some place to land Comes Whiskey Bill. An’ everybody’d like to be Ten miles away behind a tree When on his joyous, a...

“Say, fellers, that ornery thief must be nigh us, For I jist saw him across this way to the right; Ah, there he is now right under that burr-oak As fearless and cool as if waitin’ all night. Well, com...

We are the whirlwinds that winnow the West⁠— We scatter the wicked like straw! We are the Nemeses, never at rest⁠— We are Justice, and Right, and the Law! Moon on the snow and a blood-chilling blast, ...

’Mid lava rock and glaring sand, ’Neath the desert’s brassy skies, Bound in the silent chains of death A border bandit lies. The poppy waves her golden glow Above the lowly mound; The cactus stands wi...

See, stretching yonder o’er that low divide Which parts the falling rain⁠—the eastern slope Sends down its waters to the southern sea Through Double Mountain’s winding length of stream; The western si...

All day across the sagebrush flat, Beneath the sun of June, My sheep they loaf and feed and bleat Their never changin’ tune. And then, at night time, when they lay As quiet as a stone, I hear the gray...

Yes, o’ cose it’s interestin’ to a feller from the range, Mighty queerish, too, I tell you⁠—sich a racket fer a change; From a life among the cattle, from a wool shirt and the chaps To the biled shirt...

I rode across a valley range I hadn’t seen for years. The trail was all so spoilt and strange It nearly fetched the tears. I had to let ten fences down⁠— (The fussy lanes ran wrong) And each new line ...

The lingering sunset across the plain Kissed the rear-end door of an east-bound train, And shone on a passing track close by Where a ding-bat sat on a rotting tie. He was ditched by a shock and a crue...

Ho! wind of the far, far prairies! Free as the waves of the sea! Your voice is sweet as in alien street The cry of a friend to me! You bring me the breath of the prairies, Known in the days that are s...

I admire the artificial art of the East; But I love more the inimitable art of the West, Where nature’s handiwork lies in virginal beauty. Amidst the hum of city life I saunter back to dreams of home....

Here’s to the passing cowboy, the plowman’s pioneer; His home, the boundless mesa, he of any man the peer; Around his wide sombrero was stretched the rattler’s hide, His bridle sporting conchos, his l...

We’re the children of the open and we hate the haunts o’ men, But we had to come to town to get the mail. And we’re ridin’ home at daybreak⁠—’cause the air is cooler then⁠— All ’cept one of us that st...

He reached the West in a palace car where the writers tell us the cowboys are, With the redskin bold and the centipede and the rattlesnake and the loco weed. He looked around for the Buckskin Joes and...

When I ride into the mountains on my little broncho bird, Whar my ears are never pelted with the bawlin’ o’ the herd, An’ a sort o’ dreamy quiet hangs upon the western air, An’ thar ain’t no animation...

Oh, for me a horse and saddle Every day without a change; With the desert sun a-blazin’ On a hundred miles o’ range, Just a-ridin’, just a-ridin’, Desert ripplin’ in the sun, Mountains blue along the ...

Soh, Bossie, soh! The water’s handy heah, The grass is plenty neah, An’ all the stars a-sparkle Bekaze we drive no mo’⁠— We drive no mo’. The long trail ends today⁠— The long trail ends today, The pun...

Pronounced by the natives “muggy-yones.” ↩ A famous saloon in West Texas carried this unusual sign. ↩ Only such cowboys as are in desperate need of employment ever become sheepherders. ↩ Fox is a half...