Wednesday, November 11

bookshelf -more tales from slim ellison

Fans of turn-of-century cowboy tales told in the vernacular, take note. I found this about 5 years ago at the (now moved) McIntyre and Moore bookshop, Davis Square, Somerville... solid gold. The following is from a reviewer on Amazon.
He [Glenn R. (Slim) Ellison] lived under the Mogollon Rim in Central Arizona and his characters and events are all real.. Dates are accurate...Slim spins stories of old cowboys, roping and riding, funny events, and general cowboy stories. He lived to be 93 years old...and I was lucky enough to camp out with him for over fifteen years... If you like genuine "cowboy" stories.. this is for you...His books are in limited supply...Philip Ellison Smith
Stories of campfire cooking ("Dars no segred to makin good coffee. Py Got, I poot some good coffee in it!"), town dealings (i.e. "ruined women"), and the minuteai of cowboy life ("There were a lot of cowhands in town... Some of the young hands let their spur strap out to the town hole as they call it, so their spur rowels w'd drag on the sidewalks and attract attention." [love this stuff -ed]). Just tons of historical nuggets and turns of phrase. Little clip below ticks a few boxes. Tough book to find for sale cheap, but a few libraries have it.