Enjoying a day of real cowboying

I was up at the break of day and at the getting on place. I guess there were five of us horseback and two with four-wheelers. My buddy that does not believe in cross fencing and likes to live on the wild side had us mounted and ready to gather his herd. Yep, the whole entire herd; he does not separate anything.

I met this strange feller at a meeting many years ago and found he lived south of us a couple hundred miles. His place is over in the uninhabited area of the bordering state, the territory still pretty primitive as far as new technology goes. There are cattle there that have never been touched by a human. And critters that have never been wet with rain too!

Some folks just click into your personal puzzle like a missing piece found! That is what Roy was like. He was short and tough looking but smiled a beamer around some teeth, not many but some! I knew I had found a friend andone that was gonna be important to my life. And he is. He also preaches the Word and lives by it.

I didn’t know he preached for a couple of years of visiting, finally was invited to hear a sermon and went. My close relative and I put on our Sunday best and showed up at his church on time. I was sure surprised to see how good Roy could clean up. He was still short, of course, but he was shiny as a new penny and his close relative was as sweet and delicate as a newly-bloomed rose.

Good preaching is a real fine thing and I must say it was a feast that day. We were fed from the Word and then from a spread of potluck that was bordering on heavenly. My close relative was impressed and that is uncommon since she thinks her church is tops at all things. That is the story of Roy and how we met up.

The cattle drive was as wild and wicked as any I can ever remember. We popped cattle out of brush and some of the steersthat were missed last spring popped us out several times. Snip got sorta spooked by a three or four year old “yearling” that charged at us and hit him square in the rump! I had to cajole him back into the brush after that.

No stopping for lunch, that would be wasting daylight, worked right on through to the end of the place, putting together a big herd of bellering and fiery-eyed bovine. These cattle were not what I would call domesticated, more like feral.

It is my opinion, and everyone has one, that was one of the very best days of my life. I wish any man who would want the experience could have it, as it was a perfect day for a cowboy wanna-be! I make my living raising beef but that was a day of Old West cowboying and it was wonderful.

I could barely walk after I crawled out of bed the next morning and had joints swollen and pitiful. But I was happy! Snip was not gonna let me catch him and put him through the wringer again but he was in good shape. I guess some blessings come in strange packaging.

Bill is a pen name used by the Gravette author of this weekly column.