Dad's Stories

by Joe Thorpe McCarter

My dad, William McCarter, was a first class storyteller and, while he could go a long time without a word, he could also spin yarns well into the night, especially in the cow camps that were home from August to November.

For those of you who never knew Dad well, he was a real cowboy. This may not mean a great deal now, but when he was 20-years-old he drew top hand wages from the Diamond outfit which was one of the biggest cattle operations in the state of Idaho.

It's hard to think of a present day occupation that requires the same combination of skill, courage, and sheer stamina.

The bad horses of today bear only a small resemblance to those of his era. He was allowed to try out for the position mentioned above because a Diamond hand was killed by a horse in his string. That horse, by necessity, became Dad's and he rode it as long as he worked for the Diamond outfit. Ah, but that's another story.

Please note that Dad's older brother, Orla James, was nicknamed Pete and more formally Orly or O.J. Dad used all three indiscriminately based, more or less, on the role he was playing in the story at the time.

I hope all of you enjoy the following as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

1897 Lights Out

1907 The Horse that Turned Hand Springs

1910 Whitey

1910 How Corral Creek Was Named

1910 Rustlers

1913 Buggy Horses

1915 Montana Stories

1921 Rodeoin'

1926 Card

1926 Harvey

1926 Cars

1926 Henry

1929 Horse Tradin'

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