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
Arizona Women: Weird, Wild and Wonderful
FC 11 J-16
103
Dee Strickland Johnson
The Last Stage Robbery: Pearl Hart
I thought I was rugged, I thought I was rough, I thought I was tougher, much tougher than tough.
The Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing
Guy Logsdon
FOLK COLL 11 L-46
77
Randolph Reynolds
Old Zebra Dun
We camp out upon the plains on the head of the Cimarron, Along came a dudish fellow and stopped to augur some. Such an educated fellow we'd seldom ever heard, He astonished all the natives with his jaw-breaking words.
dun, talent, bronco, burro
Custer and Other Poems
FC 11 W-02
83
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
The Hammock's Complaint
Who thinks how desolate and strange to me must seem the autumn's change,
Tokens in an Indian Graveyard
FC 11 H-57
102
Linda Hussa
The First Camp McGarry
On the shores of Summit Lake the U.S. Army built a camp in 1866. Ruins of the barracks, barn, parade ground. The officer's quarters had a fireplace in each end.
Army, soldier camp, rodeo, judgment
Cowboy Lyrics
FC 11 C-03
67
Robert V. Carr
To A Cowboy Poet
He rode a bronk he called Pegas'.
cowboy poet, poetry, Homer, song
Confessions of a cowboy poet: The complete works of Bob Christensen, to date (in
FC 11 C-52
45
Bob Christensen
So you're movin' in
So you've moved out to the country and left the city lights and the hustle and the bustle for the quiet summer nights.
Riding With Jim: Adventures with Cowboys and Farriers: Stories and Cowboy Poetry
FC 11 N-13
83
Andy Nelson
Mud Season
Whoever said nothing can be certain, only death and taxes are sure; Never spent a spring time in Wyoming, and never had mud to endure.
From My Window and Other Poems
FC 11 H-48
74
Yvonne Hollenbeck
Nature's Church
Did you ever see the mountains that are covered up with snow, or watch a setting sun and see its purple afterglow?
Bell-Bottoms to Boots
FC 11 W-07
13
Joe "Blackie" Wilson
Tommy
Tommy was the ugliest one, so I saved him
One Hundred Poems
Waddie Mitchell
FOLK COLL 11 M-73
144
Waddie Mitchell
Grasshopper
You made up your mind about your chosen career When your chin couldn't even grow hair And you learned what you know from your peers and the years Now the 'dream' is the 'done, and been there'
youth, growth, age
The Prairie Schooner and Other Poems
FC 11 D-01
42
Edward Everett Dale
Pal O' Mine
It is true the years are going Pal o' mine.
love, age, companionship
Songs of the American West
Richard E. Lingenfelter, Richard A. Dwyer and David Cohen
FC 11 L-10
390
The Gal I Left Behind Me
I struck the trail in seventy-nine.
Cowboy Poet
FC 11 W-03
15
Stephen R. Wilhelm
Ain't Nuthin' Like a Jamboree
When th' chores an' ridin' th' range are done,
One Hundred Poems
Waddie Mitchell
FOLK COLL 11 M-73
120
Waddie Mitchell
The Hand
They're rough and they're calloused and scar'd up and brown And they're thick from the work and the weather To some they're obscene cuz they never look clean All patina'd and cracked like ol' leather
hands, work, memories
Rhymes Along the Way
FC 11 L-39
18
Robert L. Laumeyer
Old Photographs
Ah, music makeres of the past, how sweet your old familiar sound. For it is in your scratchy music my lost boyhood can be found. From "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum", to "When the Work's All Done This Fall", your old verses I hear again, Kerosene lamps I can recall.
The Song of the Hunter
FC 11 L-40
47
Robert L. Laumeyer
Poet's Frustration
He feels the world needs What he should create. But his lines seem weak Though is dreams seem great. He dreams of lfe's meaning He dreams of song and mirth. He writes the best he can
Screwbean Perspective
FOLK COLL 11 B-80
58
Fin Bayles
The Day That We Fed the Boys Skunk
Me and my shackmate, Boondocks Was gettin' to feel pretty mean, We'd been mendin' fence and punchin' cows And livin' on bread and beans.
skunk, food, dinner
Saddle Talk
FC 11 B-08
47
Owen J. Barton
Spick
I once owned a real nice horse.
bay, shiny, pride, ride, sire, race horse, buck, bucking, saddle, cinch, run, lope, gallop, trade, nag, range
Cow Tracks on the Land
FC 11 B-66
126
Lona Tankersley Burkhart
Wilson's Little Ben
I got him as a yearling, the black stud I dreamed about. He head was keen a nd fine, his chest and hips were stout. His leg refined and, his ears were nice and small.
Piled Higher and Deeper on the Cariboo Trail
FC 11 P-36
30
Mike Puhallo
Horse Drawn Tour
Some might think it boring for Diamond and Pat to plod the same rounds every day. Their teamster turned tour guide, chats with the passengers, and points out the sights on the way.
Prairie Vagabonds
FC 11 H-04
17
Laura Vernon Hamner
November on the Prairie
November is a crone.
seasons, autumn, winter
Sleepin' in the Bunkhouse
FC 11 G-32
10
Kenneth D. Gardner
The Dual-controlled Electric
I was feelin' kinda chilly in the hour before dawn, so I asked my good wife, Dorothy, "Is our 'lectric blanket on?"
Shorty's Yarns: Western Stories and Poems of Bruce Kiskaddon
FC 11 K-28
40
Bill Siems, ed.
Shorty Is Bill's Secretary
About a month after Bill has vamoosed fer the high country a letter comes to the ranch fer him. I open it and reads it.
A Little Bit of Texas: A Collection of Original Poetry
FC 11 N-10
2
Rod Nichols
A Million Head of Cattle
They got a million head of cattle down in Texas.
The Cowboy Sings: Traditional Songs of the Western Frontier
Kenneth S. Clark
FC 11 C-33
24
Dying Cowboy
"Oh bury me not on the lone prairie."