1

Music on the Range
There has always been a romantic view of cowboys on the range. Ridin' and ropin' and lopin' around - gittin' along with little dogies. Some early cowboys sang to themselves or their charges while riding the range. There was often music around campfires from musically-inclined (or not) souls. Occasionally cowboys took trips to nearby halls or towns for a Saturday night dance. Over the years cowboy music became entrenched in the culture of the Highwood. Artists such as Wilf Carter, Keith and James Lee Hitchner, Cindy Church, David Wilkie and Cowboy Celtic and Ian Tyson have called the Highwood area home and maintained the tradition of capturing the cowboy lifestyle in song.

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Bar U and Mosquito Creek round up
Circa 1892
Highwood Area, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood Archives 967-010-012

3

Green Walters - Cowboy Singer

Cowboys often sang to their cattle to keep them calm, and one of the best was Green Walters. It was said that he was able to sing for twenty-four hours straight without repeating a single song. His talents were tested during one night watch at the Bar U wagon. John Ware, a fellow cowboy, was hiding nearby and called out "Ohhhh! Green!" Scared to death, Green jumped up and woke the Bar U manager George Lane. Green asked if George could find someone else to watch the wagons but the manager told him to get back to work. Green reluctantly returned, singing louder than ever. He barely paused for breath until the sun came up.

Green came to Alberta from Idaho in 1883 on a cattle drive. He worked for several outfits. Of African American descent, he endured much racism. In 1886, J.L. Douglas of Market Harborough England, came to Alberta. He kept a journal during his travels and wrote about meeting Green:

"We had dinner at Dan Riley's house and then started for the Cochrane ranch for the night. We got there about six o'clock and found young Jenkins at home. We had a most amusing evening as they have a very original Negro named Green there as a sort of general servant, who is about the most original specimen I have ever come across; he is a very little fellow and built in the most extraordinary way imaginable; he sang plantation and other minstrel songs all the time and kept us in roars of laughter and the more we laughed the funnier he became; he would be worth a small fortune to anyone who could transplant him home as a music hall artiste."

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Horses at the Bar U round up
Circa 1900s
Highwood Area, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood Archives 008-023-002

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Two cowboys and cattle
Circa 1910s
Highwood Area, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood 978-010-029

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'Dad's Cookie Song Book' of western music
Circa 1945
Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood Archives 994-011-016

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Music in the Bar U Ranch bunk house
Circa 1965
Highwood Area, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood Archives 985-022-697

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Wilf Carter (also known as Montana Slim) moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1923 where he worked as a cowboy. His songs celebrated the cowboy way of life.