cowboy poetry
Wild West Show
After losing the election in November, Hickcock took off the sheriff’s star and left Hayes. But this city did not seem to let him go. Wild Bill returned to Haze six months later, in July 1870, and again his revolver found his victim there. Two drunken soldiers of the 7th cavalry regiment – Jeremiah Lonergan and John Kyle – could not calmly pass by such a famous person as Wild Bill. A quarrel broke out, Lonergan knocked Hickcock to the floor, and Kyle put a revolver in his ear and pulled the trigger. Misfire! Another second, and a new attempt will follow, but Hickcock has already managed to snatch his revolver. One bullet crushed Lonergan’s knee, the other two injured Kyle. The clash cost the cavalry dearly – Lonergan remained crippled for the rest of his life, and Kyle the next day went to where Sam Strohan had been restless for about a year. Hickcock thought it would be better if he took his legs out of Haze before the other soldiers arrived. Continue reading
Wild riders
Real cowboys have never played the slightest political role in US history – because the cities that featured in the Wild West myths are not real cities or even state capitals, but seedy holes in forgotten god corners like Abilene or Dodge City are wild. horsemen in other countries played an important and sometimes decisive role in the history of their nations. Great peasant uprisings in Russia in the 17th — 18th centuries began with Cossack provinces, and later these same Cossacks became the Praetorian Guard of late tsarism. Continue reading
American cowboy
Corpus has published a book by the British historian Eric Hobsbaum. Analyzing the most diverse trends in art and social thought, from classical music to the artistic avant-garde of the 1920s, from modern to pop art, from feminism to religious fundamentalism, Hobsbaum tries to understand where the world is going. With the kind permission of the publishing house “Medusa” publishes a chapter from the book of Hobsbawm devoted to cowboys: why, unlike the peasants, they did not participate in American politics – and that in principle meant for American culture. Continue reading
