On Juno Ranch, a Cowboy's Day

If you'd have lived and worked on Juno Ranch, you’d have come away better for it. It may not have seemed like it at the time but Pancho (Uncle Frank) would put it to you, an’ it was for you to decide to do it, what to do with it, or to fight. The motto was, “You either work or fight, there ain’t no quittin’ on this-here ranch.” Pancho cultivated a reputation as a living legend in his fifty-some years in the Devil’s River country of the Texas frontier. He loved his life, family, work and felt plumb lucky to be livin’ it. He believed there was art in every undertakin’ an’ practiced the highest standards in dealin’ with any an’ all comers. He savvied horses, cattle an’ the land; and death was just the gate that opened into higher pastures. Ride 'em Pancho! The cowboy wakes before each dawn With blurry eyes n'a mournful yawn; Gets breakfast down, just bacon'n eggs, An' biscuits dunked in coffee dregs. He feeds the stock some oats an' hay In growin' light of break o' day. Then Pancho comes an' rigs a hoss, An' chews his butt, 'cause he's the boss. “The sun is up, you little bride! We're loosin' light! We gotta ride!” So they ride out to make their rounds In echoed clops of hoof-beat sounds. The sun is high 'bout half-passed noon, An' dinnertime is none too soon. He eats his beans an' taters fast, Then rolls a smoke an' rests at last. He dreams of how he'll spend his pay When he's in town on Saturday, An' where he'll go to have some fun With gals who'll laugh and call him, "Hun..." He gets his hat an' pulls it down, Forgets the dream of gals in town, Cause if he ain't just damn near dead, The work comes first on Pancho's spread.