Читать книгу Trails Plowed Under - Charles M Russell - Страница 3
Оглавлениеby
Will Rogers
The Old World. 1926.
Hello Charley old hand, How are you?
I just thought I would drop you a line and tell you how things are a working on the old range since you left. Old Timer you don't know how we miss you, Gee but its been lonesome since you left, even to us away down here in California, where we dident get to see near as much of you as we wanted to anyhow. But think what all them old Montana Waddies are thinking. Why some of these old Birds would miss their wives less than they do you.
Nancy come down to California this fall as usual her and Jack, I dident want to tell her so and she tried to let on they wasent but I tell you they was a pretty sad looking outfit. They sho was a lonesome layout. Nancy and I talked over the usual old routine about "it all being for the best, and that you had a better job, and would do maby better work there than you did here," Yes we both said that we kinder agreed in our talk with each other, and we joshed it off and sorter smiled a little, but I want to tell you that it was a mighty sickly little grin, and between you and me, in our own hearts we knew we were both trying to load each other, We knew in each others own hearts that we couldent see why you had to go and switch outfits, just when you had got to be Boss of this one.
You know I hadent seen you in about a year, and she told me the most part of that Time, that you were working on a Book of yours even more than on your Paintings, She said you had the thing all just finished up. She said she wanted me to write a sort of an introduction to the book, Said you wanted me to before you left. My Lord Charley you know I cant write any Introduction, thats for writers to do, Why a book like you got Charley that you put all your best Stories in, and spent all that time drawing, I bet a hundred wonderful pictures are with it, Why you ought to have somebody turn an introduction out of the "schute" that would really turn on some high grade words, and doctor them up with some pretty salty ideas. It ought to be sorter classy, I couldent try to make it funny in the introduction, for you know yourself Charley what chance I got being in the same book with my little maverick brand along side of your outfit of humor. Why you never heard me open my mouth when you was around, and you never knew any of our friends that would let me open it as long as there was a chance to get you to tell another one. I always did say that you could tell a story better than any man that ever lived. If I could a got you to quit that crazy painting idea, and took up something worth while like joke telling, Why I would a set you out there on the stage at the tail end of an old chuck wagon, hunched up on an old roll of "Sougans" and a "prop" campfire burning in your face, Say you would have been the biggest thing that ever fit in while the "Glorified Beauties" was changing their color of powder. But you would dab around with them old brushes, and squeeze a handful of mud into the shape of some old "limber neck" bronk, You looked to me at times like you would ruther be a good dirt dobber, or a sort of an old painter than just about anything.
Now I am going to try to talk Nancy out of that introduction Gag to that book, Every one of your old friends are too anxious to get into the book, to be messing around with any introduction anyway, I don't know why it is but everyone of them feel that this book will be more like you than anything you have done. We can just set there by the hour and imagine you telling that very yarn, and then we can look at the drawing and you will show us in it the things that we might never get if it wasent for you pointing it out to us, I bet we get many a laugh out of all those comical drawings. I want to see old Ed Borein when he starts a pointing out all the little cute things in the pictures that he thinks we don't get. Some of them stories of yours is going to be mighty sad when somebody else tries to tell em like you did. They say your range is up on a high Mountain and you can look down on all these little outfits like ours, You will get many a quiet laugh hearing modern "grangers" trying to unload one of your old favorites.
There aint much news here to tell you, You know the big Boss gent sent a hand over and got you so quick Charley, But I guess He needed a good man pretty bad, I hear they been a working shorthanded over there pretty much all the time, I guess its hard for Him to get hold of good men, they are just getting scarce everywhere. But you was gone one morning before the old cook could roll out, and when you beat him up you are stepping, But after we had realized that you had rolled your Bed and gone, it sure would a done your old hide good to a seen what they all thought of you, You know how it is yourself with a fellow leaving an outfit and going over to another, in talking it over after he has gone there is generally a BUT to it somewhere, Some old "Peeler" will unload some dirt about him, But there sure wasent any after you crossed the skyline, Why it would a been almost worth your going to a new Outfit just to have heard all the fine things said about you. Why even a lot of them old Reprobates (that perhaps owed you money) they said "we may have Painters in time to come, that will be just as good as old Charley, We may have Cowboys just as good, and we may occasionally round up a pretty good man, But us, and the manicured tribe that is following us, will never have the Real Cowboy, Painter and Man, combined that old Charley was, For we aint got no more real cowboys, and we aint got no real Cows to paint, and we just don't raise no more of his kind of men, and if by a Miracle we did get all that combination why it just wouldent be Charley."
Why you old Rascal you would a thought you was somebody. Why the Governor and the State Legislature of that big old commonwealth of Montana, said you was the biggest thing ever produced in the State, That your work would live and be known when maby Montana was the central part of Japan. Why we got ahold of Editorials by big Writers and Art Guys from all over the east, that said that you was the Michael Angelo of the west, (Thats some Dago over there that was as big in his day as Mussolini is now), You never was much for swelling up, but I tell you your old hat band would be busted if you had heard what was said about you.
Ah! but it was wonderful Charley, and it did please your old friends that the world recognized you. But somehow that dident seem to repay us, It wasent what you had done, it wasent because you paint a horse and a cow and a cowboy better than any man that ever lived, I don't know, it was just you Charley, We want you here if you couldent whitewash a fence, We are just sorter selfish I guess, Why when you left there was actually old "Rounders" cried, that you would a bet your last sack of tobacco that dident have any more sentiment than a wet saddle blanket. Why even your old horse followed you off with your saddle on, if you had looked back you would a seen him.
But we all know you are getting along fine, You will get along fine anywhere, I bet you hadent been up there three days till you had out your old Pencial and was a drawing something funny about some of their old punchers. That makes us want to see you more than ever for we know that you will have some new ones for us about some of them Sky Line Riders up there. I bet you Mark Twain and Old Bill Nye, and Whitcomb Riley and a whole bunch of those old Joshers was just a waiting for you to pop in with all the latest ones, What kind of a Bird is Washington and Jefferson I bet they are regula fellows when you meet em aint they? Most big men are. I would like to see the bunch that is gathered around you the first time you tell the one about putting the Limburger Cheese in the old Nestors Whiskers, Don't tell that Charley till you get Lincoln around you, he would love that, I bet you and him kinder throw in together when you get well acquainted, Darn it when I get to thinking about all them Top Hands up there, If I could just hold a Horse wrangling job with em, I wouldent mind following that wagon myself.
Write me about Bret Harte, and O Henry, I bet there is a couple of Guys standing guard together, auger awhile with them, and you will get many a laugh.
With that sign language that you "savvy" why you can gab with any of those old "hombres" up there, Tie in to that old Napoleon some time and pick a load into him, you ought to get something pretty good from him, if it aint nothing but about war, and women.
At first we couldent understand why they moved you, but we can now, They had every kind of a great man up there, but they just dident have any great Cowboy Artist like you. Shucks! on the luck, there was only one of you and he couldent use you both places.
You will run onto my old Dad up there Charley, For he was a real Cowhand and bet he is running a wagon, and you will pop into some well kept ranch house over under some cool shady trees and you will be asked to have dinner, and it will be the best one you ever had in your life, Well, when you are a thanking the women folks, You just tell the sweet looking little old lady that you know her boy back on an outfit you used to rep for, and tell the daughters that you knew their brother, and if you see a cute looking little rascal running around there kiss him for me. Well cant write you any more Charley dam papers all wet, It must be raining in this old bunk house.
Course we are all just a hanging on here as long as we can. I don't know why we hate to go, we know its better there, Maby its because we havent done anything that will live after we are gone. from your old friend,
WILL.
