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| Billy Harding Martin Jr. has been a cowboy all his life. He was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall in Oklahoma City in 1990. When ask by Sam Elliot, actor and cowboy star, to say a few words. Martin just said, “I have been a cowboy all my life and it is the only thing I know.” I believe his acceptance speech didn’t last thirty seconds. |
I can only speak from my experiences as to what cowboys are really like.
When I was a young man I dreamed of being a cowboy based on the images portrayed on the silver screen at the old Rex Theater in Hayden, Arizona. I knew cowboys were good, honest and respectable men. They always defeated the bad guy and won the heart of the ladies. Hollywood had created the perfect image of the American Cowboy in my mind. This cowboy persona accompanied me throughout my life.
My image of the American cowboy was shattered when I accepted a job on the Quarter Circle U Ranch in the mid 1950s. I expected the cowboys to be a hero in all aspects, however I soon found out this was not case. Real cowboys were only human—they were not the demigods I thought they were. The real cowboys I met around Globe, San Carlos, Tonto Basin and Apache Junction were of a different breed. Most of them were rowdy, wild and often careless. They drank far too much alcohol, cussed too much and were often not too dependable. Some of the best cowboys I ever saw were Apaches on the San Carlos Reservation east of Globe. Floyd Stone, owner and operator of the Tortilla Allotment, hired Apache cowboys to work his ranch. Most were really good cowboys and knew how to work wild cattle. Elmer Pope, an Apache cowboy could rope a wild cow on the run in the roughest country east of Superstition Mountain. Stone always had a problem keeping his San Carlos cowboys sober.
Cowboys such as John A. Bacon, Bernard Hughes, Charlie Weeks, George Cline, Billy Garlinghouse, Slim Ellison, William A. Barkley, Billy Martin Sr., Billy Martin Jr., Jimmy Heron, Frank Herron, Duane Reese, Wheeler Reece, Bill Bohme, Royce Johnson, Jack Reeder and many more were real cowboys in our area that have left the legacy of the cowboy and cattle ranching in central Arizona. They were all good men.
First and most important, a good cowboy has to be honest and dependable. These are the star attributes of a cowboy’s character because they were often left in charge of corralled animals that needed to be fed and watered daily. By all means not all cowboys are good cowboys. Any rancher can testify to that statement. Most cowboys are hard workers and they also play hard. Most of them love cowboy or country music. They would rather talk about cattle, horses, saddles, horse trailers or pickup trucks. Now your old time cowboys wouldn’t be caught dead listening to some music we call Country-Western today. As a young man I dreamed of someday owning my own cattle spread. Of course it was nothing but a dream. However, I did work on one of the true legendary cattle outfits. The old Quarter Circle U Ranch belonged to William A. Barkley and William Thomas Barkley. I worked for the Barkleys in the twilight years of this legendary Arizona cattle ranch. This was during the late 1950s. To this day, I cherish those couple of years I spent becoming what I am today. Life on that ranch certainly shaped my character, but also strengthened the values I had learned from my mother and father. More than fifty years ago I sit astride a wild ranch pony and chased wild cattle across the mountains and desert east of Apache Junction. In those early days there was not much in Apache Junction but a filling station, and some permanent residents and a few desert dwellers that lived in mobile homes. To find the old Quarter Circle U Ranch you had to drive out Highway 60 some nine miles and turn east toward Don’s Camp. After driving another eight miles you arrived at the Quarter Circle U Ranch. This ranch was really isolated and had no communications with the outside world. The old ranch had no electricity and little running water. Conditions were very primitive, but I learned to cope with my new environment. My parents thought I was insane working in such an isolated place making little or no money. I could never convince them I had found my calling. I wanted nothing more than be a cowboy. My dad had wanted me to go to college and make a career for myself. I suppose I was a disappointment when all I could talk about was the Quarter Circle U Ranch and the cattle I cared for.
Like all good things my cowboy career ended one day when I was severely injured by a large Brahma-mixed bull. I lay in a hospital bed for several weeks. I found a new direction in life. I realized my father and mother were correct and I eventually returned to college and embarked upon a new career with the life of a cowboy always in the back of my mind.
Now friends, that is why I continue to this day wearing my cowboy hat, western shirts and jeans. Deep down in my soul I am still that young cowboy that worked on the Quarter U Ranch so many decades ago. The “Day of the Cowboy” honors this magnificent persona of the American West.
Those of you that would really like to read about a real cowboy I recommend the following book titled Cowboy Sign by Duane Reece. Duane has cowboyed all his life and also spent twenty years as a rodeo hand. His book should be on every cowboy and cowgirl’s shelf or in his or her saddlebags. You can find out information about Duane’s book by calling 928-812-0300 or dropping a card to
Kaycee Reece-Stratton
4840 Longhorn Lane
Winkelman, AZ 85192
