He had callouses from pattin’ his own
back.
The subtitle of this book is “Colorful Cowboy
Sayings”; a compendium of, well, that.
We get 123 pages of single space “witticisms” such as “Plain
as the hump on a camel” or “Dished up soup made out of dirty socks.”
This volume seems more composed than an accumulation of
research.
If one reads Ramon F. Adams’ The Cowboy Dictionary
or Win Blevins’ Dictionary of the American West you will find very
little [if any] crossover from Potter’s book with either of these more scholarly
books.
That is not to say scholarly makes all things better,
but Adams and Blevins give us authenticity. They culled from original sources
to give us words and sayings as they actually existed in the “wild.” We get a
feel for the humor and wit of the men and women of that day.
Mr. Potter’s work feels more like, “Oh, I thought
of another good one, I’ll write that one down.”
It feels more yarnspinning’ than truth. More Twain
truth-stretching than reportorial accurate.
The problem is, as with the examples offered, none of
these manufactures are particularly clever or memorable.
If one needs a feel for authenticity for one’s own
tale-spinnin’ or would simply like a homespun chuckle, well, frankly there’s
better fare than this.
I admire all who put pen to paper to make a mark in
the world; perhaps this would have fared better with me if it wasn’t offered as
truth.
Instead of truth one is served a plate of whimsical “I
don’t think so.”
