A Cowboy's Christmas Prayer

BY S. OMAR BARKER This is not the first appearance of "A Cowboy's Christmas Prayer" in ARIZONA HIGHWAYS Magazine. So long as men and horses relate to cows and cow country, we feel that the spiritual appeal of Omar Barker's classic deserves an encore appearance.

I ain't much good at prayin', and You may not know me, Lord - I ain't much seen in churches where they preach Thy Holy Word. But You may have observed me out here on the lonely plains, A-lookin' after cattle, feelin' thankful when it rains, Admirin' Thy great handiwork, the miracle of grass, Aware of Thy kind spirit in the way it comes to pass That hired men on horseback and the livestock that we tend Can look up at the stars at night and know we've got a Friend.

So here's ol' Christmas comin' on, remindin' us again Of Him whose coming brought good will into the hearts of men. A cowboy ain't no preacher, Lord, but if You'll hear my prayer, I'll ask as good as we have got for all men everywhere. Don't let no hearts be bitter, Lord. Don't let no child be cold.

LEFT: "The Last Gate," 30" x 40" oil painting by JAMES REYNOLDS, C.A.A. From the Cowboy Artists of America Exhibition, Phoenix Art Museum, 1974.

The scene is typical of the cow country from around Sedona way. Jim Reynolds knows the land. He lives there, rides it, loves it and paints it as it is in all its moods. "The Last Gate" is the 1974 winner of the coveted George Phippen Memorial Award in honor of one of the all time great cowboy artists. The Late George Phippen was also one of the founders of the Cowboy Artists of America. The award is based on the people's choice for the art which best depicts the life of the cowboy, his cattle, his horse and his way of living. "The Last Gate" also won the Silver Medal Award for cowboy artist James Reynolds, current vice-president of the distinguished C.А.А. group.

Make easy beds for them that's sick and them that's weak and old. Let kindness bless the trail we ride, no matter what we're after, And sorter keep us on Your side, in tears as well as laughter. I've seen ol' cows a-starvin', and it ain't no happy sight: Please don't leave no one hungry, Lord, on Thy good Christmas night - No man, no child, no woman, and no critter on four feet. I'll do my doggone best to help you find 'em chuck to eat.

I'm just a sinful cowpoke, Lord - ain't got no business prayin' - But still I hope you'll ketch a word or two of what I'm sayin': We speak of Merry Christmas, Lord - I reckon You'll agree There ain't no Merry Christmas for nobody that ain't free! So one thing more I'll ask You, Lord: just help us what You can To save some seeds of freedom for the future sons of man!

One does not have to travel far off the trails to see how the world was made.

No Christmas card collection is complete without greetings from Utah, our neighbor state north of the Grand Canyon and Navajo land. The rugged individual form of Delicate Arch, left, contrasts with the frosted landscape of Bryce Canyon, below.

Chimayo, on the site of an old Tewa pueblo, lies between Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico. The road, winding through the village, is lined with lilac hedges and adobe houses and patio walls that are covered, in June, with the yellow rose of Castile. In the fall when the shimmering gold of the cottonwoods contrasts with strings of scarlet chili that drape the houses, the harvesting of the crops is carried on, the grain is threshed on primitive threshing floors with goats and horses tramping on it. Here are the homes of generations of weavers whose gaily colored Chimayo blankets have been called the link between the Navajo Blankets of New Mexico and the Saltillo of Mexico. Every other house contains a hand loom with father, mother, and sometimes children operating it. Weaving in New Mexico had so deteriorated by the beginning of the nineteenth century that the Spanish authorities sent to Mexico for expert craftsmen to teach the colonists; in the spring of 1805 the brothers Bazan, Don Ignacio and Don Juan, certified master weavers, came to Santa Fe under a six-year contract to teach the youth. At the capital they found conditions not to their liking so moved to Chimayo, which was established as a weaving center, a position it holds today though there have been periods of inactivity followed by revivals.

This is Clark Hulings' second appearance in an ARIZONA HIGHWAYS special edition. His oil painting "The Grand Canyon – Kaibab Trail" enhanced our December 1973 issue. The spectacular masterpiece won the "Prix de West" Grand Award at the First National Academy of Western Art in Oklahoma City, June 1973.

Clark Hulings and John Clymer are genuises in their field, using their medium to portray the history and romance of our western heritage. Clark Hulings resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico. John Clymer lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

LEFT: "Alouette," oil on canvas by JOHN CLYMER, from the National Academy of Western Art Exhibition, 1974, National Cowboy Hall of Fame.

"Alouette" is a scene of a trapper's encampment. The trappers have gone into winter quarters to remain until spring. This is the time when the mountain man had more time to enjoy life, a time when he could sit around the campfire in the evening, eat and drink, sing and dance.

In the picture a couple of French trappers dance together in the firelight to the tune of "Alouette."

Men making merry together in good cheer. Reflections of high ideals from lofty peaks. Man and beast content with the simple bounty of earth. All are part of the harmony of race, circumstance and environment.