Wide open range, wild range cattle,
no horse, no dog-and our few cows were out there somewhere. In 1916, when my
brother was 12 years old, and 1,10, and we lived in Moffat County, Colorado, we had the job of finding the cows
and bringing them home for milking.
One evening, after hours of fruitless walking, we went back
without them, and our mama told us “to find those cows and don’t come home
without them.”
We took a lantern, for it was quite
dark, and we hunted. When we couldn’t tell a cow from a cedar tree, we used a
light from the lantern to start a small fire. We alternated resting and
searching until about three o’clock in the morning when we gave up and
struggled home.
Mama and our sister were in the
yard calling, even shooting a gun to attract our attention. We had not heard a
thing.
We really got told off! But when
Mama gave an order, we thought she meant it like she said it.
Mary J. Feuerborn
Grand Junction, Colorado
Back in 1955 a call went out from the editors of the
then Capper’s Weekly asking for readers
to send in articles on true pioneers. Hundreds of letters came pouring in from
early settlers and their children, many now in their 80s and 90s, and from
grandchildren of settlers, all with tales to tell. So many articles were
received that a decision was made to create a book, and in 1956, the first My Folks title –
My Folks Came in a Covered Wagon –
hit the shelves. Nine other books have since been published in the My Folks series, all filled to the brim with true
tales from Capper’s readers, and
we are proud to make those stories available to our growing online community.