I lived from 1867-1943. I was from the United States, and am in the Americas category.
D.J. O'Malley was born in San Angelo, Texas, in 1868,. He started his life as a cowboy in Montana in 1884. His ‘Cowboy Poet’ life began in 1889 when he wrote d "To the Memory of Wiley Collins" about a chuck wagon cook who was killed by lightning.
Over the next 50 years, he wrote many poems and stories about the men and the work he knew, often using the pen name ‘N Bar N Kid White’. Some, such as "When The Work's All Done This Fall," (which was originally called "After the Round-up") were popularised in song.
As his poems worked their way around the ranges from Montana to Texas, they were often changed or added to, and their original wording might have been lost, except for that fact that, thankfully, O'Malley also had them published in newspapers, notably the Miles City Stock-Growers Journal, and when later would-be poets claimed his work, he could produce the originals with the date right on the page.
He was proud to have been a representative of the N Bar N during the roundups. He would have admitted to being a cowboy and a poet, but never seems to have thought of himself as an historian. His work, whether poem or prose, did record history, though: the history of the men, the work, the humor, and the loss of the open range.
Over the next 50 years, he wrote many poems and stories about the men and the work he knew, often using the pen name ‘N Bar N Kid White’. Some, such as "When The Work's All Done This Fall," (which was originally called "After the Round-up") were popularised in song.
As his poems worked their way around the ranges from Montana to Texas, they were often changed or added to, and their original wording might have been lost, except for that fact that, thankfully, O'Malley also had them published in newspapers, notably the Miles City Stock-Growers Journal, and when later would-be poets claimed his work, he could produce the originals with the date right on the page.
He was proud to have been a representative of the N Bar N during the roundups. He would have admitted to being a cowboy and a poet, but never seems to have thought of himself as an historian. His work, whether poem or prose, did record history, though: the history of the men, the work, the humor, and the loss of the open range.
My poetry
- One day I thought I'd have some fun,
And see how punching cows was done;56 lines - A group of jolly cowboys discussed their plans at ease,
Said one, "I'll tell you something, boys, if you please --44 lines
