A Cowboy's Life
Memories of a Western Cowboy in an Empire Of Grass
by Mack Bryson

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“Either the whisky goes or I go.” These words were uttered by the author’s great grandmother after a harrowing trip by riverboat and stagecoach to her new husband’s ranch on the raw frontier of British Columbia’s Cariboo country. This is a memoir about her great grandson’s adventures and the hazards of herding cattle over unfamiliar territory into the huge alpine back-country of Empire Valley—BC’s third largest ranch. Mack Bryson’s entertaining stories of life as a cowboy and rancher provide a vivid portrait of the Canadian West as he moved from using horse-drawn equipment, to diesel tractors, to airplanes to get the challenging job done. A Cowboy’s Life recounts one man’s journey across a rapidly vanishing landscape. From crossing roaring rivers with cattle and horses, to getting bucked off into the rocks and knocked unconscious two weeks before his wedding, to forest fires burning up camping supplies, to fights with poachers who want him out of their way so they can hunt on private land, Mack tells the colourful story of his family, their beloved dogs and horses, and the ranching life. This is an amazing story, told with humour and grace, about a young man’s adventures that saw him achieve success in an industry where one misstep could ruin him and his family.

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Mack Bryson was raised on a variety of ranches in the interior of British Columbia during the 1930’s and 40’s. At the age of 23 he became the Cow Boss of one of the largest ranches in Canada. He is the great grandson of BC ranching pioneer Robert Carson who had the Carson Ranch on Pavillion Mountain outside Lillooet BC. Mack’s father Clarence Bryson managed some of the most famous and prolific ranches in BC history. Mack grew up on these ranches during a time of horse driven ranching and started working in the industry at the age of 12. In 1956 his family purchased the massive Empire Valley Cattle Company which was west of the Fraser River and next door to the world famous Gang Ranch (the largest ranch by area in the Western Hemisphere.) He participated in the mechanized revolution which saw the Empire Ranch move to modern ranching methods including bulldozers and airplanes. The Brysons were also steward to the largest herd of Mule Deer in the BC. His adventures on the Empire Valley Ranch form the basis of this book, A Cowboy’s life: Memories of a Western Cowboy in an Empire of Grass.

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Contributors

Author

Mack Bryson

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