The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1922-07-25
TELLS AUDIENCE OF
THE COWBOY LIFE
DIR. LOMAX GIVES DISCOURSE ON
THE POEMS AND BALLADS OF
CATTLE PUNCHERS


audience in singing the choruses to
popular cowboy melodies, DR.. John L.
Lomax, Of the University of Texas,
student of cowboy and negro folklore
and literature, entertained a good siz-
ed audience at the university auditor
ium last evening with his lecture on
cowboy songs and ballads.
Come ii yiyi yippi ya," and "Get
along little dowgy,' were the two prin-
cipal songs in which the audience
participated. The latter was sung to
the tune of MAY Bonnie Lies Over
the Ocean, The former had it's own
melody which is familiar to many
DR.. Lomax sang the verses and the
audience Joined in on the chorus.
Dr. Lomax's discourse dealt with the
carious phases of the cowboys life,
including the social, religious and &C.
onomic sides. Pausing from his man
uscript the Doctor would illustrate
his points as he went along by CIV
ing extracts from the various songs
and ballads he had collected.
He vividly pictured the life Of the
cowboy from Texas to Montana, as he
laboriously trailed the cattle, night
herded them or kept them milling
around during the dangerous hours of
thunder storm when the lightning
literally flashed from horn to horn
of the Texas longhorn steers.
DR.. Lomax is very familiar with
the life of the cowboy and clearly
sketched his PHILOSOPHERS, dreams and
aspirations as he lonesomely piled
his trade on the range in the early
days. Humor, satire and pathos Of
the cowboys life were brought out
by different poems and songs repre-
senting these different moods.
Cowboy Forerunner of Civilization
DR.. Lomax branded the cowboy as
the forerunner of the civilization that
now exists in the west in that the
miner and homesteader followed the
path Of the cowboy in travelling to the
new lands toward the Pacific.
He very fittingly summed this up
in one of the poems or ballads he has
collected which recites the frontier
life of the cowboy in relation to the
Indians, the vast expanses of the prai-
rie, and the overcoming of natural
impediments along the cattle trail.
The most interesting part of DR..
Lomax's discourse had to do, perhaps,
with the deep insight he showed Of
the characteristics of the cowboy from
the standpoint of his convictions, his
humor, his pathos and his philosophy.
II went to the boss to draw by roll.
And he said I was two dollars IN
the hole"
This and other songs and poems
were used by Mr.. Lamax in relating
the humor of the cowboy. Another
which was characteristic of the cow
boys humorous attitude was reflect
ed in the poem containing:
Roll your tails, little dowgies;
Roll them high,
You'll be beef for the Indians
Bye and Bye
Speaking of the intimacies demon
strated by the cowboy, he illustrated
his point with the following verse of
4 cowboy speaking about his girl:
'sThere was a little girl,
And she lived with her mother;
All the devils in the world
couldn't scare up such another"
The cowboy was naturally person
Of gaiety and lightheartedness but
he too had moments of sorrow and
pathos, said Dr. Lomax He illustrated
his point by: Bury me not on the
DR. Lomax concluded his discourse
With a poem which summed up the
cowboys free spirit and Independent
nature entitled "Just Ridin'", in
which the cowboy author paints the
of the desert life that lure
lin.
DR.. Lomax carried his audience
through every mood of the cowboys
L. ~. ~.
,oys and his rehearsal of poems and
ongs illustrating the particular
hought he wished to convey.
He spoke again at a special assem-
,ly called at 9:45 this morning. In
III the Doctor gave three lectures
While at the university. He spoke
yesterday morning on negro folk
iterature.