Arthur Chapman (poet)

Arthur Chapman (June 25, 1873 – December 4, 1935) was an early twentieth century American poet and newspaper columnist.

Out Where the West Begins and Other Western Verses (1917)

 * Out where the handclasp’s a little stronger, Out where the smile dwells a little longer, That’s where the West begins.
 * Out Where the West Begins, st. 1.


 * We used to run a cow-ranch, In all that old term meant, But all our ancient glories In recent years have went; We’re takin’ summer boarders, And, puttin’ it quite rude, It’s now the cowboy’s province To herd the festive dude.
 * The Dude Ranch, st. 1.


 * The sheep are down at the water, a-drinkin' their bloomin' fill, An' me and the dog are dozin', as herders and collies will; The world may be movin' somewheres, but here it is standin' still.
 * The Herder's Reverie, st. 1.


 * It's hard to think that in cities there's men who are goin' to mad, Each strivin' to beat his fellows and get what the others had; And from this here peaceful viewpoint, such doin's look bad, plum bad.
 * The Herder's Reverie'', st. 3.


 * It was jest another instance of a flaw in work of man; A lefty never figgered in the gunman’s battle plan; There ain’t no scheme man thinks of that Dame Nature cannot beat — So his pupils are unlearnin’ that cute trick they got from Pete.
 * Pete's Error, st. 4.


 * He is the last of that old guard defending Cattle Land, Those knights who jousted for the cause — blood brothers of the brand; But now they’ve fenced the water-hole, they’re harrowing the plain, They’re changing all the sagebrush flats to fields of waving grain; The cowmen will be gone, they say, and there are no recruits — Good-bye, brave cattle-puncher in the high-heeled boots!
 * The High-Heeled Boots, st. 3.


 * Out among the big things — The mountains and the plains — An hour ain’t important, Nor are the hour’s gains; The feller in the city Is hurried night and day, But out among the big things He learns the calmer way.
 * Out Among the Big Things, st. 1.


 * Out among the big things — The heights that gleam afar — A feller gets to wonder What means each distant star; He may not get an answer, But somehow, every night He feels, among the big things, That everything’s all right.
 * Out Among the Big Things, st. 3.

Cactus Center (1921)

 * We welcome folks in Cactus Center if they've got an honest lay; If their game ain't too durn crooked, we never stop the play; But a get-rich-quicker blew in, with a game we did n't like, So we did n't waste the minutes in invitin' him to hike.
 * Discipline in Cactus Center, st. 1.


 * There ain't no leaves to turn to gold— There ain't a tree in sight— In other ways the herder's told October's come, all right.
 * October on the Sheep Range, st. 1.