J. R. WILLIAMS

Of track affairs-records, times, breeding, etc. And they issue a racing "chart" that is to short track bettors what the Daily Racing Form is to Thoroughbred bettors. A number of Quarter Horse conformation shows are endorsed and are held throughout the entire cattle country, at which competent judges pick out the champions so far as conformation goes. Usually these shows include performance events that are designed to pick the best using horses-calf roping contests, reining classes, stakes races (around stakes to test dexterity and speed) and cutting horse contests in which a well trained horse eases into a herd of steers and, under his rider's direction, works an individual animal out to one side and then, by thrilling-to-watch footwork and "cow savvy," prevents the steer from making his way back into the herd. Another test for good Quarter Horses has been the rodeo arena. Most top deck hands will agree that winning any share of the prize money is more than half due to the horse the riders rope from. Some of the top echelon rodeo competitors, the professionals, make upwards of $30,000 a year and frequently pay $5,000 or more for a good horse. And here again a good one to them means all of the inherent qualities of the breed. They need a quiet, unexcitable horse that will stand behind the barrier without a lot of threshing around yet have the sprinting speed to overtake a galloping calf and the nimbleness to twist and turn through all the gyrations the calf might make to escape his pursuer. Their horses have to be trained to stop at once after the loop drops over the calf's head and then to "work" the rope steadily so his rider can quickly tie the calf's legs with a "piggin string," all this, of course, in simulation of range work during a roundup when each calf has to be branded.

Quarter Horses are a great breed, nowhere more popu-lar than in Arizona. A few old-timers don't care too much about the "paper work." And, as they like to point out, a piece of paper won't win a race, catch a calf or put muscles on a horse where there aren't any to begin with. But the majority of the old breeders and the new ones alike agree that registration and a stud book are necessary if the Quarter Horse is to continue its popularity gains on its good qualities that have pleased some horsemen for over two centuries. Another feature that has stirred up some controversy within the ranks the last few years has been the question of introduction of more Thoroughbred blood. There never has been a total ban on the use of Thoroughbred stallions, or mares either, by the association. From time to time there have been horses of this breed that have infused speed in certain Quarter Horse families and breeding herds without sacrificing too much in the way of conformation, character and other short horse attributes. Yet Quarter Horse men do not want the situation to arise where, if their horses can't win on the tracks, they are a total loss, good for nothing else. Nor do they want a situation to arise where only one in twenty foals ever gets to the track and even less than that win enough to pay their feed bill. So it is safe to assume that as time goes by a system will be ironed out that will take care of the situation in such a way as to benefit the Quarter Horse.

In Arizona an affiliate organization has been very effective in promoting interest in the breed in this state and there are now about 100 members in all parts of the state, many of them, of course, ranchers. Several state members are directors of the parent organization, which has headquarters in Amarillo, from where the officials publish a stud book, keep records, put out a monthly magazine.

Impassable roads in bad weather and miles from the nearest neighbor. It was located in one of the wildest spots left in the Southwest, where there was a lot of hard work to be done to operate a 45,000-acre cattle outfit.

Jim's range was full of predatory animals, there were many wild cattle that could be gathered only by roping and snaking them out, and it was a four-day drive to the nearest shipping point on the railroad. But Jim loved it. His cowboys recall that he entered wholeheartedly into ranch work, shod his own horses, rode his share of the rough string and thoroughly enjoyed the hard work of ranch life. He rode after cattle in the day and tried to draw his cartoons at night-often falling behind in the battle to stay on top of the cow outfit and keep the home office of his cartoon syndicate satisfied at the same time, for be it said that he loved ranching more!

With some 700 American newspapers carrying his cartoons daily the pressure from the head office was terrific, and after years of pleading Jim finally, and with genuine regret, sold out his beloved ranch and and again moved to the big city. He'll tell you to this day that he longs for the old life on the cow range.

Jim Williams is now in his early sixties, is of medium height and still possesses a rugged physique, the result of hard work. The irregularity of his features, emphasized by a broken nose suffered when his horse fell, is tempered by a pleasing expression and kindly eyes. He is a mild-mannered, genuinely friendly man who is less aware of his own importance than any national figure one can name. More than his skill as a cartoonist he treasures the friendships he has made along life's paths, particularly in the cow country of the Southwest.

The key to Jim's outlook on life lies in the fact that he isn't aware of his own success. He considers those men successful who have been able to follow cattle as a livelihood and spend their lives in the open with others of their kind. He is in reality a slave to the well-known daily news-paper deadline, a penalty he pays constantly for having exceptional talent as a humorist with the rare ability to interpret it with pen and ink.

The one thing that impresses most is the man's modesty in everything he does. He'll insist that he was not a successful cowman nor even a top cowhand. "While I spent about 17 years in the cattle country I was never as good a roper as some of the men I worked with," argues Jim, "and as a cowboy I was less like my character Curly and more like Soda-a willing hand but not too smart. When I was ranching for myself I soon found out that I was not shrewd enough to be a top cattleman. The only thing you could say about my work is that I did the best I could. I worked with some of the best cowboys and cattlemen in the Southwest and I loved every minute of it."

This phenomenon finds parallel expression among others who worked as cowhands in their youth and attained fame later in other fields. The late Eugene Manlove Rhodes, for example, was prouder of his early fame as a bronc rider than of his later acceptance as the leading novelist of the cattle country. Charles M. Russell in his life's work brought pleasure to millions through his painting of the West. Yet in a personal sketch of his life Russell laboriously assures his readers that he was not a top rider or roper. He was proud of the fact that he had been privileged to work with some of the best and that he had been able to hold down a job as wrangler or night herder on some of the biggest outfits in early-day Montana.

The fact is that men who put in an entire lifetime with cattle are not as a rule articulate, and it required a Rhodes, a Russell and a Jim Williams to preserve true pictures of range life. The work of these men, in their different mediums, has been faithful in detail, honest in purpose and wrought with loving hands. Jim will insist he does not belong in the company of the other two men, yet in his own field he has done a masterful job in depicting western life in a homey, honest and understanding way. "I never

became a civilian employee at Fort Sill. Mainly he worked as a muleskinner but each fall, when the Apache Indians on the reservation gathered their cattle, Jim was assigned to help in the work of gathering, cutting and branding them. While at the fort he saw a good many cavalrymen and being attracted by their colorful uniforms and horsemanship he signed up in the U. S. Cavalry. From then until his three-year hitch was up he served at various military posts. It was during this time when Jim's artistic urge first began to assert itself-by tattooing his fellow troopers! Life in the cavalry further developed the deep patriotism that is part of his character. "Old Glory gives me a real lift," he says. "When you are in the service, saluting the flag, standing at attention as it is raised and lowered each day, you can't help but meditate a little on the great goodness of this country of ours, symbolized by the flag." "I had a good time in the army," he recalls, "although I mustered out just a year before my outfit went to the Mexican border and took part in Pershing's expedition after Pancho Villa. While in the army I used to make a few drawings and paintings which the boys would raffle off for various shindigs, and did a little football playing and boxing for recreation. One of our lieutenants was George Patton, who coached and played on the same team of my outfit."