164 SADDLE AND CAMP 



sure, as they do in the old-settled farming com- 

 munities of the East, but the saddle horse is no 

 longer a means of practical transportation, but 

 of recreation with the few. The spurred rider, 

 the freighter, and the stage coach are already 

 of the past. 



Fifty years ago cattle ranged these fertile 

 valleys and the adjacent hills. Here the cow- 

 boy bloomed in all his glory. 



"We were a pretty reckless lot," a one-time 

 cowboy told me. "Our typical dress was a blue 

 or red flannel shirt, trousers tucked in the tops 

 of knee-high boots, and often Mexican chaps, a 

 belt with one or two six-shooters hanging from 

 it in holsters, Mexican spurs with immense 

 rowels, a wide-brimmed Mexican sombrero, a 

 cigarette, and a swagger. There you have a 

 picture of the Utah cowboy of my day. 



"The boys were generally a pretty good lot, 

 but some were always going around with chips 

 on their shoulders. We generally used cayuses 

 with plenty of life in them and rode hard. 

 Sometimes we'd get together to celebrate, and 

 it wasn't uncommon to dash through a settle- 

 ment and shoot it up, though we were always 

 pretty careful not to hurt anyone. Those were 

 good days, those reckless pioneer days, and I'd 

 like to live them over." 



