Stock Saddle history

[Delmonico]

Was just lookin' this site over http://www.oldwestsaddles.com/  it is well worth checkin' out, the last time I tried it it was not complete.  Roger is a good friend, sadly (to me) he has finished his schoolin' and has moved back home to Utah and I don't get to see him much any more.

This site is his Masters Thesis on the Old West Saddle, I find it very interesting, have been wanting to read it but never had the chance till now.

Roger is also a saddle maker, if anyone is lookin' for a proper period "Old West" saddle check out his saddlemakin' web site,  http://www.deseretsaddlery.com/ 

[Noah Mercy]

That's a good read, Del. Bein' as how I live in Sheridan, I get to see a lot of the old saddles of which he writes. And if anyone ever wants to see one of the most extensive and comprehensive displays of Old West saddlery, come visit the Kings Saddlery Museum downtown. There's also about a thousand old firearms (some with serious history) as well as tons of other neat cowboy stuff. Any CAS'er who drives within a hundred miles of Sheridan and doesn't stop there should be hosswhipped.

Oh yeah, something that tickled me about the paper your friend wrote was when he talked about moving from Big Horn City to Sheridan. Big Horn is only about 5 miles up the road from me, and many of the original buildings are still there. However it is a tiny place (about 250 people) and sure doesn't qualifies as a city these days. But talking to a 94 year-old lady who's spent her entire life here, it appears that it did used to be the big population center hereabouts and Sheridan was a just a little 'burg. You see, the railroad ran through Big Horn. Then, some sharp speculator managed to get the railroad shifted over to run through Sheridan. Next thing, Sheridan grew dramatically and Big Horn withered.