Cattle rustling has been on the rise in the American West throughout the recession. NPR has a nice story on an Oklahoma livestock agent.
Jerry Flowers’ official job title is chief special agent in charge of the law enforcement section for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture. Jerry is a cowboy through and though. He and his team have an unofficial uniform of starched jeans, starched shirts, “wore-out boots, and a clean, white hat.”
Check out the whole story here.
Eccentric Cowboy says
Some things never change, do they? I find it fascinating that in a day and age where a huge portion of theft takes place over electric impulses that there are still cases of men in the West stealing life stock.
Oh, and good to see you’re still alive Jim! Sorry if I’ve been unusually quiet lately.
And for a brief heads up I think you might be interested in a few things I’ve learned these last few months, one of them being the book Gun Notches by Thomas Rynning. If you haven’t read it, then boy will you have a surprise if you happen to come across a copy! 😀
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_H._Rynning
JimC says
OK, you’ve thoroughly piqued my curiosity…
Eccentric Cowboy says
I happened across a copy in a used book shop and read Gun Notches recently. Wow is it a treasure trove of classic cowboy life! It’s right up your alley my friend. Rynning worked as a cattle man punching cows, cavalry in the West fighting natives, Rough Rider side by side with Teddy Roosevelt in the Spanish American war, was the captain of the Arizona Rangers who cleared out an entire state worth of crime and records every fun little detail! If you can find a copy I guarantee you won’t regret looking for it. 🙂
I also found another brief trove of treasure which I’ve not yet read, but think it will interest you equally. Came across a fellow named Roy Andrews and he’s supposedly one of the inspirations for Indiana Jones. Fellow helped make paleontology a well known science, scavenging for dinosaur bones in the Mongolian Gobi Desert while dealing with bandits and sandstorms. And I’ve thankfully found his journals recorded online! I’m not positive if he qualifies as a Frontier Partisan, but I’ll be darned if he isn’t a fascinating fellow. 🙂
Here’s his journals right here if you want to give them a gander. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/4301
Speaking of writing, I’m most curious to hear about the status of that Frontier Partisan book you were contemplating. If you don’t wish to divulge any info about it here in the comments I fully understand. Just want something to look forward to purchasing, y’know? 😉
JimC says
Hey EC — you must be telepathic. My next post will be a status report on FP, the book, with a request for feedback on the title. Look for it Wednesday or Thursday at the latest.
I read your piece on Andrews and would love to see more from you on the subject. Thanks for the link on the journals. China at that tie was really The Wild East. I already carted a copy of Gun Notches at amazon. I’ll pull the trigger (sorry) when I know how the Xmas spending is gonna go.
Great to hear from you.
Eccentric Cowboy says
Superb! I’ll be sure to be watching and let you know what I think! 🙂
Thanks! I plan on learning a lot more about him.
You won’t regret it! Can’t wait to hear what you think of it. 🙂
Good to hear from you too! Thanks for getting back to me. Take care and Merry Christmas! 😀