Over the years I have noticed that cowboys as a rule are pretty resourceful. Broken reins can be field-spliced with little more than a pocket knife but I have noticed that there is nothing as permanent as a temporary fix and often the opposite is a truism. The price a cowboy pays for his lifestyle is low pay, long hours and dangerous conditions. It is not a life for the weak of heart. Rodeo Cowboys fall into a subcategory. Their life is fairly dangerous and they are often far from home and short of cash. This often causes lapses of the Code of the West. It is not unusual for them to lower their normally high moral standards to succumb to a common-looking girl’s wiles if she continues to buy his drinks.

My friend Barney was at the Reno Rodeo and short of funds. I saw him talking to a girl and overheard him offer to buy her dinner and have a night on the town. Unfortunately Barney was short of cash and if she could cash a check for him he would then be in a position to show her a great time and a slice of cowboy life. She eagerly cashed a $150 check Barney wrote out and the party was on. The girl had a wonderful time on Barney’s cash, downed quite a few drinks and danced up a storm. Fortunately she failed to notice Barney retrieve the check he had written her from her purse and a few minutes later excuse himself to go to the restroom and never return.

My friend Jim also was resourceful and also capable of lapses in the Code. During a long drought of winning, both our resources were low. At a rodeo where nothing was going right we were celebrating in a less-than-charming bar. The last of the cash was expended on a final drink. Halfway through the drink I heard Jim ask the bartender to call a cab for us to get back to the motel. I mentioned to Jim that I was completely broke, and he maybe had 50 cents. His response was that it would be OK and he had the situation in hand. We downed our drinks and Jim said let’s go outside and wait for the cab. Outside, Jim suggested we wait down the street from the bar for the cab and I asked him what he was up to. His plan — and it worked — was that when the cab driver arrived he would double park, leaving the motor running, and go into the bar and ask who wanted the cab. That would be our opportunity to jump in the cab and head for the motel. We could make the hotel in about ten minutes and park the cab a couple of blocks away and leave the keys in it. Jim viewed this as more like borrowing than grand theft auto.

Another time out of town Jim’s horse coliced and things didn’t look good. We loaded the horse and got him to a veterinary hospital, where Jim checked the horse in and the vet went over the options. Jim opted to start with the less expensive treatments and operate only as a last resort. The next morning I overheard him calling to check on the horse’s condition and the name he gave was not his. I asked him why he had checked the horse in under someone else’s name and his explanation was that if the horse had died he wouldn’t have to pay the bill and if it recovered he could pay the bill and retrieve it.

Not everything I learned from these guys was worthwhile, but they were truly resourceful. I sometimes wonder why some ranchers don’t want their daughters to date rodeo cowboys.

Columnist Barrie Qualle is a working cowboy in Wallowa County.