Gone But Not Forgotten
On July 29, 1862, the cowboy "poet laureate," Lysius Gough, was born in Lamar County. He was a man of diverse talents and interests.
In 1876, at the age of 14, he ran away from home and got his first job as a cowboy for B.L. Murphy, who ran cattle in Hopkins and Hunt counties. Then he punched cattle on several drives and earned the nickname "Parson" at the T Anchor Ranch because he never swore.
In the mid-1880s Gough obtained his teaching certificate and became principal of Pilot Point Institute, Pilot Point, Texas. During this time he also published his first book of cowboy verse,
Western Travels and Other Rhymes
and in 1935 he published
Spur Jingles and Saddle Songs
.
The last poem by Gough was still scrolled in the typewriter when he was found dead in his home in 1940. It was entitled "Gone."
The Old T-Anchor Ranch is gone, and with it the open range,
No more we’ll ride the plains alone, there’s been a mighty change.
No more we’ll round the circle wide, in early Spring and Fall,
Or stamp T-Anchor on the hide and hear the yearlin’s bawl.
No more we’ll trail T-Anchor herds to Fort Reno and “Montan,”
or hear the drawling campfire words, nor wear the trail brown-tan.
We’ve seen cowboys in the their prime, and the ranch in all its glory,
Now some have crossed the line and others bald and hoary.
May the T-Anchor Ranch in memory live through all the coming years,
And our deeds strong courage give to future youth and steers.
