David Milton McGowan

An integral part of who I am.  On the left a wild cow milking after the branding and on the right an iron horse collar used to ensure an exact fit when the horse shows signs of "galling" due to an inexact fit. Harness collars are usually made in "standard" sizes and not made to fit an individual horse. All those who have bought "Small" "Medium" or "Large" coat will understand that their coat fit just as well as the horse collar fit the horse. These are the only Penalty pics I have but there are many more in the collection below.             I’ve mentioned in several places that I spent some time repairing fence, putting up hay, herding cattle, stooking (grain) bundles, riding the range and other work associated with agriculture in Western Canada . The most memorable of those jobs was four months during the summer of 1964 on the Penalty Ranch. I herded 21 Hereford bulls the summer before on a neighboring ranch and have helped o...

Barkerville about 1865 Here is a rhyme covering some of the story that appears in the novel “Partners”. No, it is not about the current trend to marry members of the same gender. Wagon and three up on Cariboo Road I suppose it could be likened to some of the couples one sees, of all genders, who, at first glance one might suspect have no business uniting. Some do make a viable couple and some do not. This is a rhyme of six stanzas and therefore cannot cover all that is presented in a story of 246 pages which includes references to the wide Canadian Prairies, murder, genocide, renegades/outlaws, “manifest destiny”, Cree and Blackfoot, the early assassination of a policeman (murder again), vigilantes, gold mining, and self defense. It does give a fair idea of how I started the story; the unlikely joining of young and old, tenderfoot and “cheekako”, diplomat and attacker. Calvenos Claim on Lowhee Creek The video (not the best of those available but not the worst) ...