Life on the Prairie

 

Lindsay

 

Living on the prairie was hard at best.

Surviving the elements was the test.

 

Ranchers came for open range land.

Cowboys were needed for helping hands.

 

Round-up was exciting, held in the spring.

Riding skills cowboys did bring.

 

Ten-year-old Lindsay was just the right age.

Her independence was center-stage.

 

Rustlers and blizzards she did endure.

Triumph and success made her secure.

 

 

Please note the blog posts on the first and third weeks of the month.

Prairie Girls

Lindsay

My name is Lindsay Martin, and I am an independent cowgirl on the prairie in the 1880’s. Ma and Pa own the M Cattle Ranch. Charley and Layne, my brothers, work on the ranch after school. They got to go on the annual spring round-up when they were ten-years-old. Now that I am ten, I want to go along, too. I want Pa to teach me everything there is to know about ranching.

I’ll tell you more next time about my adventures on the ranch.

 

 

“Round ‘em up, Move ‘em out”

                                                                                                By Judy

 

Like Lindsay, I helped my family with our cattle. Most of the time our beef cattle were in pastures on the south side of the highway. Several times a year the cattle were moved to the pasture on the north side of the highway. I use the term highway, but actually it was just a narrow, blacktopped road. At most it was traveled by only one or two cars an hour. Still, moving the cows to the north pasture required my assistance plus help from my grandpa, dad, two brothers, my dog, Red, and sometimes even my mother.

 

The process began by placing a couple of bales of hay in the back of our old WWII army jeep which had been painted red. The cows followed the jeep with the hay in it to the gate of the pasture. Directly across the road was a gate to the destination pasture. My brothers, grandpa and I were stationed on the highway to stop cars and to prevent any livestock from taking a “road trip.”  When the gates were opened, Grandpa drove the jeep through the first gate, across the highway and through the second gate with the cattle following. My dad and Red were behind the cattle to push any laggards on their way. 

 

My family moving cattle in Kansas in the 1950’s was much easier than the round-up Lindsay experienced in the 1880’s. One thing that hasn’t changed in Kansas, however, is that on a family farm all the family works. The weather has not changed either. The sun is still as hot in the summer, and the winters can be as cold as they were in Lindsay’s time.  

 

 

Prairie Recipes

Chuck Wagon Recipes

The “Cookie” who prepared meals for a cattle drive or round-up was someone every cowboy on the trail valued. They made it a point to help him out whenever it was possible. If he was a good cook, one wanted him for a friend. The following is a bean soup which might have been served on Lindsay’s round-up.

Chuck Wagon Bean Soup

2 cups navy beans                                        chopped celery to taste
¼ pound salt pork, washed                          chopped carrots to taste
2 mediums onions, chopped                         chopped green peppers to taste
1 pound can of tomatoes                              canned milk

Soak beans in water overnight. Parboil beans and salt pork in water to cover until bean skins crack. Add onions, tomatoes, celery, carrots and green peppers; cook until vegetables are tender. Add enough milk to make desired amount of soup just before serving. Any left-over canned or dried vegetables may be used.

Another variation of beans might have been this recipe with ham.

Southern Hambone Soup

1 meaty hambone                                         1 small head cabbage, shredded
¼ teaspoon pepper                                       1 quart fresh or canned tomatoes
3 onions, chopped                                        dash cayenne pepper
2 medium potatoes, cubed                            salt to taste

Place hambone, pepper and onions in kettle with three quarts of water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook for about three hours or until meat falls off the bone. Add potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, cayenne pepper and salt; simmer for one hour longer. Skim off excess fat before serving. Yield: about 8 servings.

This recipe is one of my boys’ favorites. It has many ingredients, but is worth it.

Cowboy Beans

1 pound lean ground beef                                      1 teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped onion                                            1 teaspoon pepper
¼ cup ketchup                                                       2 tablespoons mustard
¼ cup granulated sugar                                         1 # can pork and beans, drained
¼ cup brown sugar                                                1 # can butter beans, drained
2 tablespoons molasses or sorghum                      1 # can kidney beans, drained
1 tablespoon chili powder                                     1 # can pinto beans, drained
¼ cup barbecue sauce                                            ½ # cooked, crumbled bacon

Cook ground beef until browned, breaking up and stirring as it cooks. Add onion and cook until tender; drain any excess grease. Add remaining ingredients, except bacon. Put in casserole or crockpot and top with bacon crumbs. Bake @ 350 degrees for an hour, or cook in covered slow cooker or crockpot on HIGH for one hour, then reduce heat to LOW and cook for 2 to 4 hours.