Memories of Bud Buffalo Cotton's life as a cowboy. A lively history of the range - its critters and its people - Bud Cotton's memories bring the West to life. He arrived from Quebec in 1906 - in love with horses and his dream of the his open rangeland. His first night out on the lone prairie was a scary affair but it didn't dim his enthusiasm for this new lifestyle, and he spent the next forty years in the saddle - taking time out only for military service. As night jingler, as day rider, as buffalo warden, he rode far and wide. He met all the challenges - the wildest broncos, the bitterest winters, the meanest buffs - and triumphed with a grin. A keen observer of both people and animals, his tales of his life on the range are at once amusing and perceptive. He sees the kindness beneath the rough and tough facade of the cowboy, smiles wryly at the naivete of the greenhorn, and almost bashfully acknowledges his affection for some of the animals he worked with.

E.J. (Bud) Cotton's profile page

Ethel Mitchell's profile page

Born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, in 1890, Bud Cotton grew up in the Eastern Townships, but longed to ride range on the Western Plains. He was just 16 when he achieved his goal. His years as a cowpuncher have been captured in words --Mr. Cotton's work has appeared in two anthologies and many magazines and newspapers --and in wood, for he is also a noted wood carver whose sculptures have won innumerable awards. He now lives in Calgary.