High Country Cowboys A History of Ranching in Western Colorado

Life was tough for the western Colorado Cowboy. He faced a set of challenges that were totally different from his counterpart in Texas or even those brave men who worked on the open plains of eastern Colorado. Deep snows made it necessary to keep the cattle at lower elevations in the winter yet drought required they be driven back to the high country in the summer. A variety of predators could quickly disappear into the rugged countryside. Newborn calves might never be found.

High water from spring runoffs or sudden mountain cloudbursts were also a problem. But the largest challenge came from the terrain-steep mountain gullies and high mountain peaks could not only kill a cow but often kept them from being found.

Ken Reyher has done a marvelous job of bringing this dangerous and unique life to light. He comes by it naturally, having been raised by a ranching family. He has worked as a history teacher and a crop duster pilot. Besides history, he loves to write cowboy poetry. His work has appeared in many national and local publications. He has written two other books published by Western Reflections-Antoine Robidoux and Fort Uncompahgre and Silver and Sawdust.

Ken Reyher's family came to Colorado just after the Civil War. He grew up listening to stories from his grandfather Bill Reyher who, as a boy, had worked cattle with veterans of the Texas longhorn trails. Grandfather Henry Weimer, a former cavalryman, shared in the story telling. After a seven-year tour in the military, Reyher returned to Colorado where he taught high school history for twenty years, operated a flying service and engaged in farming. Stories about the early days of the state continue to play a role in his life. His articles about the old west have appeared in several magazines, and he writes regularly for two western Colorado newspapers, one of which he is the history editor. He also writes wonderful cowboy poetry.