Jeremiah Watt

For my wife and I our first real chance came in Wyoming at the Padlock ranch. I was hired for the spring branding season and told to head to Harding,small town in Montana that was the northern most end of the Padlock. I was elated, scared and eager all at the same time. I had spent most of my time on a farm in Manitoba and cow work meant working on foot, nobody even considered branding anything and a wagon was something you seen at the local fair. I know, its a heck of a thing to have to admit, but its the reality of it all. So to get ready I read, thats right read.........matter of fact I had about wore out Faye Ward's great book that documented the life of a working cowboy. From camp etiquette to the various loops thrown and positining yourself on a drive. I think I wore out two long ropes and at least one saw horse in my nightly ritual of roping practise, from every angle and every distance that I could imagine having to cope with.
I was prepared.........and not prepared all at one time. I was fortunate to have met Bob Douglas before going up to work, and his sage advise stayed with me " a good man can go along ways with his eyes open and his mouth shut". He was right, the opening nights conversation was a mix of brag and boast, combined with tales of bronc's and long throws..............all of this was followed the next day by the stark reality of who was really a hand and who among us was a little greener than the grass the cattle ate. I am sure glad that I already knew what color of green I was.
It took time, as all twleve of us congealed into a descent crew, we had our minor infractions with authority, slight differences of personal opinion. 3500 hundreds calves later we were all the best of friends , we knew what each done well and what would present a problem for some. By the very nature of an intuitive cowboss and a little time for us to bump our heads together a bit, each of us knew his place and had respect for the other.
Having spent time studying the book did not hurt me at all, nor did is misguide me, matter of fact it set me up very well in many instances for an understanding of what was to be done in the bigger scheme of things. I would be unfair to say that I was the worst roper in the crew, nor by any means was I the best. I simply held my own very well amongst many fellas who had grown up doing what I had only dreamed of doing.
There are situations and things that come up that no book can prepare you for, such as the temperment of the horses. They are as unique as each of the cowboys that recieved them. How they would react to various events like running cattle of flushing deer, proved quite interesting and seat of the pants thinking has to take place or you end up walking, but even worse is when you have to get one of your friends to catch your horse while you figure a tale worthy of having you on foot. Books always emphasise the right way to catch and drag a calf, the right loop, the right position..............poof, like magic it happens. I haven't seen the chapter yet that tells a green crew member what do to do when he accidentally catches the cow instead of the calf, and doesn't Murphy's Law always come into play here. It will be a sloppy single front foot catch every time if its a honky horned cow that you rope.........and the rest of the crew is quite relaxed watching you deal with it.
Books can paint the picture with words, and poems set a stage with prose, but reality and appreciation become one when it is a personel expierience. There are NO words that can aptly describe the sunset that YOU have ridden home in, no prose can better describe the size of a Montana sky than the one YOU have ridden under. NO long since dead poets scralled lines will ever describe how bad I wanted that first chance, no ballad will ever capture the fondness of my memories of that first chance....................to work a wagon job on an oft written about ranch. Thanks Cleve!