The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-09-04
Campflre stories-No. 1s.


Boys, when Iretire from the motion
picture screen I am going to make
tour of the world, and then settle
down on big western ranch for the
rest of my days. Life in the great out
doors is the birthright of every human
being, and I, for one, intend TO enjoy
this fulfillment. When I was 16 years
old my father took me from the Da-
kota territory to New York City. When
we stood on the station platform, wait
ing for the train, in that little frontier
town, l neId onto my dads hand and
asked, as I gazed out broken heartedly
at the beautiful western country L
loved SO well: Dad, when are we
coming back?" And my dad looked
down at me gently as he replied:
Sonny. only God knows that.
Boys, 1 have come back to my be-
loved west after many years of hard
work on the stage. Beyond making
the trip around the world. nothing is
going to suit me better than to settle
down on my ranch to enjoy the life
which 1 have longed for ever since
that day when my dad and 1 said
goodbye to Dakota
Many of you boys have written re-
questing me to relate something ABOUT
western ranch life, and the daily work
and play of the cowboys who still ride
cattle ranches and the cowboys have
almost become history, there are a few
left in the west. OF these who pre-
serve the life and customs of the old
west I aim to tell you.
First of all, boys, a ranch in the
west is always called an outfit" Many
Outfits" are known by their brands.
such as the Circle Diamond, the Tri-
angle o Bar, the Spear, the Two Bar
or the Double Diamond. These brands
+ - k1,a rai1t1
designs a brand to suit him and reg
listers the same with the county and
the state in which he does his brand
ing. And, naturally. westerners re-
ferred to certain Outfits" by their
brands.
Work on the time ranch was
done solely by men and horses. Cow
boys. while working, have been known
to sit twenty-four hours in a saddle
Land never complain. You've got to be
a regular herman to do a puncher's
work. But. boys, if a cowboy were
asked to do any kind of work about
the ranch "afoot'' he would probably
be insulted-
Don't ever get the idea that the cow
boy was a bad man." who went
around shooting up everybody who
crossed him. In the last twenty years
a real cowboy hardly ever packed"
six-gun, tho of course every man
owned a six-shooter for protection in
| traversing the trails in the open coun-
( try. AS a class of men, cowboys are
and always have been Woodworking
men, with a strict sense of right and
wrong. They have always the great
! est respect for law and order and a
square deal fer everybody. Their deep
/ respect for women has always been a
law of the West"
In the old days of the West. when
I every man made his own law. there
were plenty of bad men" and cattle
''rustlers' or thieves, gamblers and
ruffians of all sorts. But even in
those days the average cowpuncher
was a sober, honest, Industrious citi-
zen. With the progress of civilization
and law, the days of the bad men"
came to an end. The cowboys I have
been privileged to know are the finest
class of men in the world.
/ Ranch life and work varies in the
West. according to the location. In
the Northwest, for instance, we have
long, cold and hard winters and de-
! lightful summers. while in the South
west we have fine winters and. in a
great many locations. extremely hot
summers. Then again. in California,