"R. D. Symons's classic and authentic memoir proves that western Canada's cowboy tradition continued after the death of the open range. His appreciation of the natural world is the kind that comes from living in it attentively, every day and every season."
- Fred Stenson

R. D. Symons was born in England in 1898, and came to Canada as a teenager to work on a ranch. Here he tells of his initiation into the life of the cowboy: learning to herd cattle, saddle a horse in the dark, tell time by the stars, help a cow give birth, train a cow pony, and endure long hours in the saddle. He brings to life the characters he met and worked with, including ranch owner "Scotty" Gow, range riders Banjo Pete and Chuck Dennis, horse rustler Coyote Bill, straw boss Lee Blackwell, Métis cowboy and horse trader Isadore Trottier, and many others. His lush and graphic descriptions of blizzards, storms, drought and other environmental hazards, of the many horses he knew and loved and of the cowboy's creature comforts, such as a breakfast of hotcakes, bacon, biscuits and syrup before a hard day's work, immerse us in a world long past.