Lawrence Clayton

Herding cattle from horseback has been a tradition in northern Mexico and the American West since the Spanish colonial era. The first mounted herders were the Mexican vaqueros, expert horsemen who developed the skills to work cattle in the brush country and deserts of the Southwestern borderlands. From them, Texas cowboys learned the trade, evolving their own unique culture that spread across the Southwest and Great Plains. The buckaroos of the Great Basin west of the Rockies trace their origin to the vaqueros, with influence along the way from the cowboys, though they, too, have ways and customs distinctly their own.In this book, three long-time students of the American West describe the history, working practices, and folk culture of vaqueros, cowboys, and buckaroos. They draw on historical records, contemporary interviews, and numerous photographs to show what makes each group of mounted herders distinctive in terms of working methods, gear, dress, customs, and speech. They also highlight the many common traits of all three groups.This comparative look at vaqueros, cowboys, and buckaroos brings the mythical image of the American cowboy into focus and detail and honors the regional and national variations. It will be an essential resource for anyone who would know or portray the cowboy-readers, writers, songwriters, and actors among them.

A potpourri of the best photographs I've made over time--and the stories behind them. Patriotic Moments, Interesting Faces I've Seen Along the Way, 5 Sorrowful Sights, Not Just Your Average Ordinary Snapshots, More Special People, Places, and Things, and My Personal Favorites.

Historian David Coffey wrote that the ""late Texas folklorist and historian Lawrence Clayton found beauty where many might see only mesquite and limestone; he found humor in unlikely places, and he found nobility in the hard lives of cowboys and the roughnecks. ""For years, Dr. Clayton chronicled the history of the Clear Fork Country - the stretch of land cut by the Clear Fork of the Brazos River - of Shackelford and Throckmorton counties. His thoughtful prose on the region's colorful past and its equally colorful characters has appeared in dozens of publications over the years. His efforts to record the stories of area ranches and the men who built them and worked them represent a major contribution to the state's recorded history. Indeed, few writers could capture in words the ranch life of West Texas the way Lawrence Clayton did - fewer still might bother to translate the nomenclature and nuances of a working ranch to underexposed readers of all backgrounds. Unfortunately, much of Clayton's work resided in scholarly journals or magazines not easily accessible to a wider audience. But these stories and others long unpublished belonged in books to be passed down through generations. Before his death in December of 2000, Dr. Clayton worked diligently to see that this history - these unique tales - remained available to all who are interested (and to some who don't yet know it). This volume goes a long way toward honoring his wishes, and we are all better off for it.

These nine titles discuss both individual drugs and drugs in society to present teens with solid information so that they can make smart choices.Amphetamines and other stimulants are prescribed by physicians for a variety of ailments. However, the abuse of these drugs has become widespread. The facts of their use and the dangers of their abuse are clearly presented in this volume.

These nine titles discuss both individual drugs and drugs in society to present teens with solid information so that they can make smart choices.This comprehensive book about depressants touches upon the history of barbiturates and the medicinal and recreational uses of each type. Warnings about intoxication from depressants are offered adjacent to descriptions of troubled teens who have tampered with depressants and experienced disastrous results. Common depressants are identified by both brand and street names with descriptions of complications such as the addiction to and withdrawal from the ingestion of each type. Teenagers are also warned about the dangers of taking multiple drugs, including the often-deadly combination of depressants and alcohol.

The tradition of storytelling and folklore reaches deeply into the American notion of national identity, and among the more prominent emblems of American culture stands the cowboy. Despite the attempts to modernize the cowboy of our frontier past, today's mounted horsemen have learned how to adapt to a rapidly changing worldwhile tenaciously holding on to their heritage. Tall tales and yarns make up a great amount of the folklore of this literary tradition, yet woven throughout such stories stir an American mixture of humor, wisdom, and philosophy. In ""Horsing Around"", Clayton, Davis, and Collins draw upon the vast amount of anecdotes portraying the lighter side of working on the range. The collected vignettes in ""Horsing Around"" will provide the collector of Texana greater accessibility to stories that are often told only at public performances.

From the author of "The Far Canyon" and "The Good Old Boys" comes this poignant story of a freed slave who goes west with the army and confronts much more than the hostilities of the Comanche and Kiowa.The Civil War has ended and Gideon Ledbetter is feed from slavery. Like many, he has no land, no money, and no means to make a living. Gideon is drawn into the army by a recruiter who paints an alluring picture of cavalry life out in the west. The Indians called the black men "Buffalo" soldiers, as their tightly twisted hair reminded them of the large animals that they hunted for survival. Gideon is drawn into a conflict with a Comanche warrior, Gray Horse Running, which leads to a shattering confrontation on the plains of west Texas. This is the story of two men drawn together amid the blood and the fury of a conflict not of their making.