ESSENTIAL LIFE LESSONS Some of what ninety-two-year-old Warren Hunt knows about life can be found in these true tales of his youth living on a ranch in the wilds of Wyoming. What constituted civilization in the 1920s and 1930s was a sixty-mile drive away. Learning to ride horses before he was big enough to reach the stirrups, getting tricked into being the primary wood chopper in the family, training horses to cut cattle, and learning to use a rifle were all part of cowboy life ... which was just plain life to Warren. WYOMING'S EARLY DAYS To populate the western expanses, the Homestead Act was passed to allow ordinary citizens to claim and develop land. Warren's parents were some of the early 20th-century settlers in Wyoming and Montana and they stayed until mid-century. Tales like those shared here are the real stories of the American west, not long after most of the "wild" had left the West. Ranchers still carried firearms, rustling was still a hangable offense, and boys like Warren learned the self-sufficiency and gentle humor that characterizes ranch life. WESTERN HISTORY DETAILS Along with life lessons, this book shares fascinating little details about life on a ranch. Working with animals was only part of the game. Having fun with neighbors, playing jokes on friends, and burying a widowed rancher with no known relatives figured into the singular culture of the West as well. Learning to make sure a cinch is tight is a lesson that Warren carried with him into his future life. You'll laugh and recognize yourself in these specific stories that have a universal appeal. CHAPTERS

• NEXT TIME MAKE SURE THE CINCH IS TIGHT
• HOW TO READ A COW
• AN EQUINE TANGO
• MY BUFFALO HUNT
• READING SIGN
• TWENTY SIX GATES
• YOU AREN'T OLD ENOUGH, YET
• WHAT A WALLOP
• A NICKNAME IS BORN
• BIB OVERALLS
• COW COUNTRY FUNERAL
• PUT YOUR LITTLE FOOT
• CUT HIM LOOSE

You'll read this collection of western humor again and again and then you'll read it to your family.