Baxter Black

This is the time of year when cow people don’t get much sleep. If you boiled “raisin’ cattle” down to its bare bones, the whole business revolves around gettin’ a live calf on the ground.

Gerald Two Bears was the foreman of the tribal branding crew.

Lots of Indians who were cowboys came to do what they could do.

There is a state law on the books in Colorado that makes it illegal for a sheepherder to abandon his sheep without notice.

A good law, really, since herders are often left alone on isolated ranges with their entrusted band. The owner or boss checks on the herder once a week or so and brings him or her supplies.

Dean was in his 80s and still drove his pickup. This concerned his best friend, Jack, who questioned the wisdom of riding with him. Dean based his self-confidence on the fact that he lived in western Kansas, where you could drive from Hugoton to Bird City and never see a person wearing a suit and a tie.

Bein’ a country vet, I’ve had my share of emergency calls regarding escaped animals. Feeder steers in city park, buffalo at the mall or snakes in the schoolyard. But none of my rescue missions can compare to Gary’s tale titled “The Day Ike Toured Fairview.”

I was ridin’ pens for Horton in the fall of ’91. It was early October and the run had just begun.
He was buyin’ calves like crazy ’cause the price was on the rise
And you couldn’t see his pupils for the glitter in his eyes.