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Cowboy Poetry and Western Verse
Half Moon Pass
Steve Dickson
We left at dawn with stock all packed
To hunt for elk and deer
Way up high near the half moon pass
Where mountain streams run clear
The sun was bright and it was warm
when we rode from the ranch
Stayed that way til we took the fork
Up where the rivers branch
We made our camp and settled in
Built us a little fire
Smell of the woods was mighty fine
As the moon rose higher
We told tales of days long gone by
Some might have been white lies
Me and Bill, just two good old friends
Under the western skies
The next day we went way up high
To a green meadow where
Sweet grass grows that draws in the herds
That come to feed up there
We stopped and left the horses tied
Right near the heavy brush
We crept up on our hands and knees
So quiet in no rush
Saw ten big muleys grazin' there
A big bull elk as well
As we stood up and raised our guns
Behind us on came hell
I heard my pack mule brayin' loud
Things happened all too fast
Big grizzly hammered Bill's old horse
She fell and breathed her last
The grizz stood up and looked at us
He was near ten foot tall
Must have run a good half a ton
We could not run at all
He must have been a trailin' us
We'd surely seen no signs
Of this mean and fearsome critter
Whilst ridin' through the pines
He came full bore at both of us
Seemed moments stood stock still
I took a shot but missed the mark
He came in for the kill
He knocked me down and chawed my head
I grabbed hold of my knife
Stuck it hard in his stinkin' neck
Mad fighting for my life
He tore off all of my left ear
But I still heard the blast
Of Bill's old fifty caliber
As hot lead whistled past
It took the bear some time to die
As I was layin' there
Starin' at the Montana sky
And wishin' you were there
Bill patched me up and got me out
To him I owe my life
The ride back home down that mountain
Was filled with pain and strife
We still go on hunts together
At this same time each year
Sometimes I find my eyes aground
Lookin' for that darned ear.
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