Cowboy in the new west

A friend of mine, Don, was a cowboy of sorts; his leathered face chiseled by the elements, with a wide toothy grin, more like Gaby Hayes than John Wayne. He always wore a Stetson, a big belt buckle with a longhorn or a bucking horse on it, great detailed cowboy boots, all his shirts had pearl snaps and a Levi jacket that boasted many days under the sun. He played the guitar as was fitting a wanabe cowboy but his talent lay in his story telling. He could entertain young and old for hours relating adventures that pieced together his life on the prairie.  He spent most of his time on cattle breeding ranches in the Northwest.  Most of his work was done with a pickup truck, (a fact he would have liked to leave out,) but on occasion, they used horses to find cattle lost in winter storms. Snowstorms in the Northwest can be deadly, he told stories of freezing rain, snow and wind you would have to see to believe. It pushed across the prairie, piling snow into enormous drifts, and the temperature could drop below zero in breakneck speed. Part of his job was to keep track of the cattle on ranches with hundreds of acres. The cardinal rule during this kind of weather was, no hand was to travel out in these conditions alone, and he must be partnered up. Searching for cattle on huge expanses of ranch land was a difficult job, especially in bad weather.

The cattle would often turn their backs to this icy blast, slowly drift against a fence, and many would die. Don discovered that Hereford cows reacted differently. They would head into the wind and slowly move forward until they came to a fence at the windward end of the ranch.  They would stand shoulder to shoulder facing the storm, taking turns moving to the inside of the herd for warmth.  When this happened, they would be found hungry but alive and well, days after the storm. Who would have believed that cows had a sense of fare play?

There may be a lesson here; every human being has to decide to meet difficulties head on or to turn from them. If you evade what you are afraid of  and go drifting with the wind, it can destroy you.  It may not kill you physically as it does some cattle, but it may cost you fine opportunities and spiritual enrichment.  Your faith will support you, when the wind blows and tempest swirls around you, standing fast, can bring you through alive and well days after the storm.  It is what we are promised; those who endure will be saved.

1990