The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 77, July 1973 - April, 1974 Page: 430
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
memoirs retain freshness and originality. The book is written with literary
taste and intelligence. It contributes rather than repeats.
The time is the early twentieth century and the setting western Canada,
but Symons does not let himself get fenced. He herds his readers from Sas-
katchewan to the Rio Grande, and when he finally closes the corral gate
the four-wheel drive has replaced the horse. His "Epilogue" is a philosoph-
ical nugget.
Like his unpretentious and effective drawings, with which the book is
liberally illustrated, Symons's descriptions reveal a talented artist's ability
to capture "essences." One random sample: "In the stall where Jake had
always kept the missing sorrel was a tall bay that looked as if he had trav-
elled far. He knew it was a strange barn and a stranger entering, for he
stopped eating and turned his head to me with hay still hanging from his
mouth. I spoke to him ... and he heaved a deep, tired sigh and relaxed,
burying his nose again in the sweet prairie hay." Urban critics may not
detect the delicate brushwork in the vivid simplicity of this picture, but R.
D. Symons has the "touch." With insight and a mellow sense of perspective,
Symons writes like a cultured "caballero" of a lost tradition. He reflects the
lustre of those genuine cowmen I have known-Ed Fisher, Jack Lamson,
Mac Hansel and others of refined nobility distinct from the horse buffs,
saddle hooligans and rodeo-struck bums with which the modern vulgarized
West abounds.430
Reed College
OWEN ULPH
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 77, July 1973 - April, 1974, periodical, 1973/1974; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117148/m1/480/: accessed March 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.