FOLK COLLECTION 11: The Skaggs Foundation Cowboy Poetry Collection
Folk Coll 11 is Utah State University's cowboy poetry collection. The collection, originally created
by a generation donation by the L. J. and Mary Skaggs Foundation, includes books gathered
during a fieldwork project in the early 1980s to document cowboy poetry in the U.S. west (see Folk
Coll 11f). From this important fieldwork project came the impetus for the first Cowboy Poetry Gathering held in
January 1985 in Elko, Nevada. Since that time, each January, the Fife Folklore Archives staff take the collection
and Access database (that details each book, poem, author, first line and key words), to the National Cowboy Poetry
Gathering for offsite use. Through University purchases and generation donations from poets and collectors, this collection continues to grow.
Book Title
Composer
Call #
Pages
Author
Poem Title
First Lines
Keywords
Crazy Quilt: A Patchwork of New and Collected Poems
FC 11 E-21
114
Elizabeth Ebert
First Robin
I saw a robin yesterday! With feathers ruffled 'gainst the blow He lit upon my windswept lawn, Then tiptoed carefully through the snow.
Just More Thinking
FC 11 S-69
87
Georgie Connell Sicking
Cowboy's Wife
Many stories have been told, Of the cowboys romantic life. I have a different story to tell, That of a cowboy's wife.
Ride The Silence
FC 11 H-58
50
Linda Hussa
Uncle Ben On The Bench
Every afternoon they say trembling with disease, cane tapping, whispering against his rough jeans a code, a message I can't tell. A plain open hillside watches him
eye, lightning, husband, kitchen
Song of the Cowboys
N. Howard Thorp
FC 11 T-11
153
N. Howard Thorp
Three-Block Tom
We was trailin' some stolen cattle
Hey! Elko
FC 11 P-05
49
M.H. Porter
Capriola's Confused Customer
In the mid-morning lull, the doors swing open
Best Loved Poems of the American West
John J. and Barbara T. Gregg
FC 11 G-09
433
Eda Lou Walton
How Our Forefather Got His Wife
Our forefather once wished a wife.
tribe, yellow dog, disguise
Bygone Days of the Old West
FC 11 L-01
140
Fred Lambert
The Ranger's Old Six Gun
I sleep in rust neath a coat of dust; Hanging over the old fireplace at rest.
More Horsin' Around
FC 11 C-54
22
Stu Campbell
Chocolate Chip
Prose: Runnin' a dude ranch can be a pretty good job, as long as the ranch is set up to handle the guests. But when the ranch doesn't have the facilities to handle dudes, guests or freeloaders can be a problem and a nuisance.
On the Edge of Common Sense
FC 11 B-12
84
Baxter Black
Lake Valley Dance - not a poem
"Powder River" Jack Lee
FC 11 L-33
6
Debbie Kondel
'Singing' Cowboy returns with 'tales': Irwin man remembers meeting 'Powder River' Jack Lee on visit to area
newspaper article, no date.
Best Loved Poems of the American West
John J. and Barbara T. Gregg
FC 11 G-09
427
Constance Lindsay Skinner
Three Songs from the Haida: Queen Charlotte's Island, B.C.
The Bear's Song I have taken the woman of beauty.
gratitude, kinsmen, friends, offering
Western Poetry: In this land of little rain
FC 11 M-56
45
Jane Ambrose Morton
Trail driver
He spit the trail dust from his mouth.
Trail Dust of a Maverick
FC 11 B-15
56
E.A. Brininstool
The Disappointed Tenderfoot
He reached the West in a Pullman car, where the writers tell us the cowboys are.
tenderfoot, greenhorn, West, East
Night Herding Song
FC 11 H-10
41
Gerald Hausman
Burls
Maple burls like rounded knots of rope.
trees
Passing Through
FC 11 N-03
46
Howard L. Norskog
Wyoming Heaven
If happiness to you is money, I'm sorry for you my friend
Cowboy Curmudgeon and Other Poems
FC 11 M-45
18
Wallace McRae
Eminent Domain
From the Highland Sod, with faith in God.
Counting the Aerie Escalator's Steps: Bald Mountain Poems Winter 80/81
FC 11 P-06
22
Scott Preston
Two Pools at Frenchman's Bend
Baptismal
Our West to You
Idaho Writers League
FC 11 I-01
29
Edna Hickman Day
Ching Chong Chinaman
Old Lady Ling washed in a wooden tub.
Chinese, west, laundry, mining, miners, youth, boy, tease
One Cowboy's Faith, Family & Friends
FOLK COLL 11 M-74
62
Roy R Moore Jr
My Bucket List
Was only 8 years old when I started My bucket list. Wanted to ride where I had never been But already missed.
mongolia, uintah, ride
West Word Ho! The western poetry of Doris Daley
FC 11 D-23
11
Doris Daley
Fire Fighters
A spark flew out the old John Deere and set the swath on fire. It was just a smoky smudge at first but the wind soon whipped it higher.
Songs of the American West
Richard E. Lingenfelter, Richard A. Dwyer and David Cohen
FC 11 L-10
266
The Texas Rangers
Come all you Texas Rangers, wherever you may be.
Indians, San Antonio, Rio Grande, fight, Rocky Mountains
A Little Bit of Texas: A Collection of Original Poetry
FC 11 N-10
115
Rod Nichols
Pearly Gates Saloon
last night, old son, I fell asleep.
dream, bar, white, cards, pool, souls, Lord
The Humbler Poets: A Collection of Newspaper and Periodical Verse, 1870-1885
Slason Thompson
FC 11 T-04
288
author unknown
Life and Death
What is the life of man? A passing shade
The Cowboy Way
FC 11 L-38
5
Jim Liles
Buckaroo
What pieces make up a cowboy? What Staples go in the pot? There must be Garlic and onion, and probably something hot. A cowboy's life is something hard, and bitter to the taste. For his is not an easy life, and gathered not in haste.
Diary of My Heart
FC 11 S-23
9
Edwin Lee Sankey
Mighty Sea
O many a thing you'vee seen