Rancher's Prayer
by Lewis Martin Pederson
O Lord; Our Great Creator
We thank you for this ranch
we're grateful for the foothills
where the sparkling waters branch
We will lift our eyes unto the hills
where herds of cattle graze and roam
and the eagles and the wildlife
sheltered in this valley we call home
Good stout horses that our partners
in this business raising cows
circle or swing; riding point or drag
we'll do our best with what we have right now
Lord, we thank you for our Ranch Family
helping neighbors in our community
this is western life that used to be
growing wild and strong and free!
Amen |
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Around the Campfire
by David "Doc" Paulsen
Cowboys sat around the campfire and told stories and then they would be on another herd and trail ride and they would tell the story over and over again. It was the poetry and the songs that the cowboys made up telling the history of the trail drives.
The first trail drive that came to the Bar U came out of Idaho. John Ware was on that trail drive. If you started in South Texas with 3000 head of cattle you would have to cross rivers. There were lightening storms and dust storms all kinds of problems.
Every night they would bed down the cattle. 3000 head, very wild cattle. It would be the sound of cowboy's voices at night that would keep the cattle quiet. They would be riding' around and some of the cowboys couldn't sing very well and so they would read the label off of the Arbuckle's coffee can. Arbuckle's coffee really became the coffee that won the West. In every package of their coffee they would put a little stick of peppermint and that was a very good idea because cowboys notoriously and even to this day have a sweet tooth. The very first question that the cowboy would ask is who your cook is. Before I hire on with the outfit, I want to know who your cook is because if the cook's no good, I don't want to hire on. |
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