"I was born an American;       
           I will live as an American;      
           I shall die an American."  


       Daniel Webster, Public Official    

   "In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American...............There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.",

Theodore Roosevelt, 1919   

Way out west you will find many things that are different and strange, one of the little things that you will miss the most is indoor facilities, the little house inside the big house, with the thunder mug, the throne. Where it is warm and comfortable, a indoor reading room, a place to find respite, along with just your favorite book. Out here we have a little house with a half moon cut in the window in the door,

that in the summer smells bad and in the winter, you freeze your little back side off. So you learn not to linger and read and turn this little house into a reading room, that is unless it's spring time, and you have found a nice warm breezy morning to read a good book. Just leave that door open, let the warm sunshine wash over you and enjoy the spring morning breeze blowing across your nekked back side.

Now that you have seen what this little shack, out behind the big shack looks like, you will know, when visiting those western homesteads, what the little house with the half moon is for. Remember, bring your own paper, called mountain money by the locals, for most of the soft pages from the Sears Catalogue will have already been used, and, remember, don't use the color pages, for the ink does come off and it is very hard to remove, besides just try explaining those marks to your spouse.

These cute little barrels shown here is used for many different things, where men are men and often cows are nervous because of this little known fact, but that is another story of a different kind. Many items were stored in these barrels, from flour to liquor to family keepsakes. These barrels came in many different sizes from very large to very small, depending on what was to be stored in them. But mainly they held whiskey. That golden necture of the Foolish gods.

Whiskey, a stable of the Cowboy's diet, one of his main food groups, was often stored in this item, that was kept hidden from prying eyes until it was time to tip a few or more often tip quite a few, mostly on Saturday night right before bath time. Every Cowboy knew that bathing to often could be detrimental to ones well being. Any way, back to the whiskey barrel....

That is until the little Western Woman found that little barrel. Then it was used to store a more precious liquid, WATER or some other item that was important to the Little Lady of the House. Sometimes Western Ladies have no sense of humor at all, then again they have to have a great sense of humor, for look what they have to put up with, the Great American Western, beer drinkin', whiskey sippin', horse chasing, ole rusty pickup driven, let the three legged dawgs in the house, pistol packin' Cowboy. God Bless those Western Ladies, especially mine.

I ain't much good at prayin', and You may not know me, Lord -
I ain't much seen in churches where they preach Thy holy word,
But You may have observed me out here on the lonely plains,
A-lookin' after cattle, feelin' thankful when it rains,
Admirin' Thy great handiwork, the miracle of grass,
Aware of Thy kind spirit in the way it comes to pass
That hired men on horseback and the livestock that we tend
Can look up at the stars at night and know we've got a Friend.


So here's ol' Christmas comin' on, remindin' us again
Of Him whose coming brought good will into the hearts of men.
A cowboy ain't no preacher, Lord, but if You'll hear my prayer,
I'll ask as good as we have got for all men everywhere.
Don't let no hearts be bitter, Lord, don't let no child be cold,
Make easy beds for them that's sick, and them that's weak and old.
Let kindness bless the trail we ride, no matter what we're after,
And sorter keep us on Your side, in tears as well as laughter.


I've seen old cows a-starvin', and it ain't no happy sight:
Please don't leave no one hungry, Lord, on Thy good Christmas night -
No man, no child, no woman, and no critter on four feet--
I'll aim to do my best to help You find 'em chuck to eat.


I'm just a sinful cowpoke, Lord - ain't got no business prayin' -
But still I hope You'll ketch a word or two of what I'm sayin':
We speak of Merry Christmas, Lord -- I reckon You'll agree
So one thing more I'll ask You, Lord, just help us what You can
To save some seeds of freedom for the future sons of man.

1. Don't squat with your spurs on.
2. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
3. Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier 'n puttin' it back in.
4. If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.
5. If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
6. After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him...........The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.
7. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
8. There's two theories to arguin' with a woman. Neither one works.
9. If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
10. Never slap a man who's chewin' tobacco.
11. It don't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.
12. Always drink upstream from the herd.
13. When you give a lesson in meanness to a critter or a person, don't be surprised if they learn their lesson.
14. When you're throwin' your weight around, be ready to have it thrown around by somebody else.
15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket.
16. There are three kinds of men:
    1. The one that learns by reading.
    2. The few who learn by observation.
    3. And the rest of them have to pee pee on the electric fence for themselves.