Cows are the craze these days, and you can find their image on everything from calendars to refrigerators magnets. But to the cow drover of the Old West, cows were an essential commodity, and the range was a place where danger and hard work were as daily as the need for bread. Russell Clint Goodwin has rounded up these good ole days in Tight Cinches and Short Grass, a collection of fascinating and humorous stories depicting the lives and experiences of cow drovers, both on and off the job. Goodwin had herded together a cast of unforgettable characters, including a city slicker nephew who gets in the way of ranch operations; a dull-witted deputy who finds himself duped by an outlaw with a sense of humor; and Chief Fleetwood, whose idea of a celebration is not what the drovers expect. The twenty-two stories in Tight Cinches and Short Grass, which can be read from beginning to end or at random, are a choice selection for fans of the Old West who crave a stampede of down-home, old-fashioned fun.