Plaids & Bandanas: From Highland Drover to Wildwest Cowboy [Paperback]

Rob Gibson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003

From droving to driving, reivers to rustlers, heilan kye to long horns, Plaids and Bandanas explores the links between the two cattle cultures in music, song and dance, and folklore. The vast number of Scots who emigrated to North America has been well documented, whether through forcible eviction during the clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries or voluntarily in the hope of a better life. With them they took their culture, their language, their music and their skills. Cattle droving in Scotland was an established profession from the 16th century, and many such migrants took cowboy jobs in the American West. The medium of music paints a vivid picture of their social and personal lives and the exchange was not all one way. The music crossed and re-crossed the Atlantic creating strong links between the old culture and the new. Lonely men in strange surroundings found comfort in songs that reminded them of home.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rob Gibson, himself a musician, knows the power of song. Rob has researched the roots of the songs and the routes of the drovers, and established clear and coherent links between the Wild West and the no-less-wild Highlands. The medium of music paints a vivid picture of their social and personal lives.

Product Details

• Paperback: 187 pages
• Publisher: Luath Press Limited (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 094648788X
• ISBN-13: 978-0946487882
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #736,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A cowboy overlooked, August 17, 2004

By 

cèile (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Plaids & Bandanas: From Highland Drover to Wildwest Cowboy (Paperback)

I found this book a good read. There are few accounts which consider the European roots of the cowboy phenomenon. The cattle business was the basis of the economy in the north of Scotland for centuries; sheep weren't important until the late 18th century.

The author deals with the background of Amercian cowboys, but he left out one notable cowboy whose family emigrated to Canada from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.

Donald Morrison is well known to Canadians as the Megantic Outlaw. As a cowboy he drove cattle from Texas to Saskatchewan. He was outlawed after returning to Quebec to help his father save the family farm. He killed a special constable in a fair gunfight, according to witness' accounts, and was hidden by Highland families in the Megantic area for about a year. Those interested can read Clarke Wallace's 'Wanted: Donald Morrison' for all the details.