FOLK COLLECTION 11: The Skaggs Foundation Cowboy Poetry Collection

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

113

S. Omar Barker

Charlie Bowdre

Over a hut near Stinking Springs.

gunfight, shooting, battle, Billy the Kid, outlaw, gang, adobe hut, adobe clay, posse, lawbreakers, lead, Garrett, Sheriff Garrett, men hunting, riding for help, death, getting shot, courage, blood, guts, hero, song, story, glory, glorify, praise, untold story, unknown hero, glorification

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

112

S. Omar Barker

The Unpardonable Sin

There's things that make a cowboy mad.

outgoing, spirited, good mood, happy, trivial matters, convivial, mad, angry, heated, bad temper, upset ,enraged, infuriated, maddened, sore, borrowed saddle, stirrup, changing, altering, saddle

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

111

S. Omar Barker

A Page from the Old Frontier

They say that Billy the Kid shot straight, though he rode a crooked.

courage, bravery, gunman, curse, greenhorn, Frank Page, tenderfoot, Puerto deLuna, clerk, store, gun, Colts, Colt, .41's, new-style gun,.45's, Old West's guns, stolen gun, bucktoothed, thief, unscarred, unharmed, cuss, shooting, grit, old-age, honor, respect, outlaw, law, peaceable man

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

109

S. Omar Barker

The Tie-Fast Men

This is the way of the tie-fast men.

hard work, strength, dust, rope, roping, sweat, whims, open range, wide range, nature, blue quail, birds, pronghorn, animals, night, darkness, blizzard, wind, sun, coyote, mesa, cattle, heat, cold, Caprock's rim, dutiful, loop, tie-fast crew, steer, rawhide school, cinches, saddlehorn, pride, vanishing breed, stout heart, freedom

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

115

S. Omar Barker

The Silent Master

Range cattle drifted seeking grass 'cross plains and desert sand.

dust, drought, drouth, barren land, roundup, thirst, hunger, dry mouth, importance of grass, nourishment, nature, loyalty, obligation, devotion, death, range wars, ranch wars, six-gun battles, sheep camp raiding, Old West's feuds, fights, quarrels, need for grass, shooting, killing, Lincoln County, the Kid, tragedy, romance, horseback men, courage, blades of grass, crickets, rain

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

116

S. Omar Barker

The Great Seizer

They asked me "What's a sheriff?" I thought everybody knowed.

West, horney toad, important person, law and order, outlaw, thief, duty, responsibility, arrest people, avoid shooting, fair chances, sheriff occupation, shoot without warning, guts, courage, fearlessness, elected sheriff, trigger, fast reaction, friends, foes, warrant, trouble, solving problems, taw, uphold the law, Great Caesar, nickname, difficult job

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

117

S. Omar Barker

Vocal Rawhide

You ask me "What's a cowboy yell?" I've heard a few, of course.

outburst, liveliness, vitality, excitement, bawl, holler, mellow, hoarse, mood, feeling, tonsils, sound, Yippee, Wa-Hoo, bellow, squall, roar, tough throat, whooping, cactus, western land, yodel, mating song, ring-tailed wowser music, lonesome, coyote howls, prairie owl, soprano, longhorn bull, April, moon, whiskey-tenor, eardrums, wild sounds, train whistle, human sounds, animal sounds, description of sounds

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

118

S. Omar Barker

His First Shave

"Too young to straddle broncs, my lad!

young boy, beardless, mean horses, sprout, snout, Bar L, boss, youth, unscared boy, cattle, six gun trigger, too young, Cap McNally, Texas Ranger, King Fisher, posse, rustler's trail, shooting, saving lives, lead, puberty, bearcat, sixteen, coming of age, courage, courageous boy, rustling

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

119

S. Omar Barker

Cowboy Saying

With these two rules to live by.

wisdom, whittle, spit, wind, figure things out, common sense, conclusions, understanding, realization, knowledge, wit, humor

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

120

S. Omar Barker

Granger's Daughter

I spied a granger's daughter as the herd come up the trail.

falling in love, courting, longing, emotions, dreams, women, small girl, dugout, dugout door, lonesome land, dust, excitement, ragged clothes, wave, blue eyes, yellow hair, golden hair, yaller-golden hair, poor farmer, Abilene, fancy gals, buxom gals, plains, alkali, coyotes, pay, waiting woman, courtship, poverty

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

121

S. Omar Barker

Horses Versus Hosses

I heard an old-time cowboy swappin' off some drawlin' talk.

nag, worn out horses, salty information on horses, knowledge, advice, race track, riding school, pampering horses, saddle, postage stamp, caressing, overprotective, combed, slick, elegant riders, shaggies, strength, hardy, sturdiness, toughness, firm, strong, stable-pampered, cow range hosses, spoiled, delicate, tame, racing

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

122

S. Omar Barker

Line-Camp Christmas Letter

Inside an Old West line-camp, settin' on his lonely bed.

dugout, outpost cabin, boar's nest, cowboy, writing, home, parent, family, Christmas cheer, drop a line, feeling well, safe, blizzard, cold, snow, drifting cattle, lame horse, scattered cattle, frozen waterholes, poor looking cattle, shack, Happy New Year, frostbit hands, Ma, Pa, Frank, Bess, low woodpile, busted ax handle, beans, scorched beans, mending a rope, goodwishes, wonderful cowboy life, Adelaide, Jack, critter, proud to be a cowboy, liking the job, tough, enduring, mother, father, pride

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

125

S. Omar Barker

Cowboy's Definition of a Saddle

They asked me "What's a saddle?" It's some leather-covered wood.

tenderfoot, getting used to sitting on a saddle, tender meat, soreness, pain, butt, rear end, seat, unaccustomed to riding a horse, rocking chair, cowboy's rocking chair, morning, dawn, coolness, chilly, cinch, blanket, saddle blanket, stirrups, boots, cowboy boots, doodad, trinket, saddle horn, bucking horse, cantle, horse's tail, straddle, cattle, cattle herd, bottom, rider, experience,

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

132

S. Omar Barker

Black Jack Ketchum

His name was Black Jack Ketchum, and he rode with Bronco Bill.

robbing, savvy, skill, killing, jokes, law, Clayton, shotgun, train conductor, prisoner, injury, injured arm, cutting off an arm, doctor, balk, grisly job, favor, Santa Fe, jail, pay to look at Black Jack, Jerry Leahy, Judge Mills, sentence, death, hang, jury,, hell, day of hanging, bloody trail, last favor, barber, shave, State Attorney, impatience, fretting, humor, gallows humor, black humor, dinner in hell, wittiness, hanging

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

131

S. Omar Barker

Fireside Windies

Now cowboys 'round the fire at night.

story, exaggeration, talk, broncs, broncos, gals, women, kissing, bragging, boast, big talk, showing off, swagger, prance

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

130

S. Omar Barker

Weddin' in Texas

The wedding guests were gay that night, with josh and joke and quip.

merriment, cheerfulness, celebration, six gun, tension, armed, Texas, blood, violence, frolic, horses, gun, bride, groom, dance, feast, beauty, Joe Sitterlee, music, band, fiddler, caller, singing, sudden silence, Ranger Hall, Bill Meador, Doc. Brazell, killing, confrontation, anger, list of wanted men, weddin' night, fight, blaze away, women, dry powder, wedding night, court, law, pain, heartbreak, jail, heifer, swinging, danger, revenge

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

127

S. Omar Barker

Rawhide Romance

A rawhide rope's an implement you sure have got to pet.

limber, flexible, carefulness, attentiveness, neatness, meticulousness, Ol' Mac, shoot, horse, town, lasso, lariat, dance, women, gals, Op'ry House, fancy, stitchin' on a boot, pattern, boots, nice girls, cheerfulness, amusement, fun, filly, date, flirt, Mac, show, ramrod, turned down, unaccepted, mooning, roping a girl, courting, marriage, possessions, treasure, wife, love courtship

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

123

S. Omar Barker

The Dancin' Kid

Clay Allison whiled dull time away.

jokes, rowdiness, six gun play, wild bunch breed, wildness, mean, heed, audience, shooting, shooting for fun, hard words, Lambert's Bar, ranch kid, popping gun, malicious, despiteful, evil, ill will, wicked, nasty, scared kid, fear, laughter, bar, drinking, whiskey, revenge, challenge, anger, courage, fearlessness, guts, gun, lead, dance not for fun, courageous boy, bravery, admit fear, bluff

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

136

S. Omar Barker

Ol' Ranny

Caught in a cliff-rimmed canyon.

longhorn, cowboys, trap, loop, roping, resisting animals, brand, sting of a brand, battle, fight, strength, power, might, energy, force, disgrace, eyelids, fringe, scrub oak root, blind the animal, half-blinded, sausage vats, tame herd, breaking a wild animal, escape, clog, hobble, break-out ,runaway, get free, break loose, breaking horses

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

135

S. Omar Barker

Ranchman's Widow

She's got ones on a doctor.

mother, children, daughter, Latin, education, school, knowledge, lawyer, ranch, foreman, Dad, father, memories, saddle, pride, brainy daughter, longing for the old days, riding men, success, ambitiousness, cowboy son, tenderness, cowpuncher dad,

Rawhide Rhymes

FC 11 B-05

134

S. Omar Barker

Wolf's-Eye View

When viewing gals in Levi's.

spic and span, men, women, shape, figure, pun on span, contour, profile, frame, look,

FC 11 B-33

no book, free number

Sonnets of a Freshman

FC 11 B-35

Berton Braley

Sonnets of a Freshman

It seems so strange to find myself down here, Away from pa and ma and all the rest

FC 11 H-24

no book, free number

FC 11 L-04

no book, free number