She walked out one night after taking a beating
and went into town to a mid-week prayer meeting.
As she listened real close to the low talking Parson
she decided just what she must do.
Spent the last of her savings on a stud named Voltaire.
He was red as her locks and as strong as a bear.
She pointed him west and gave him his head
and they disappeared quickly from view.
Crossed the Big Muddy, then up through Kansas that Spring.
She would wait a few tables and that sort of thing .
When a few months had passed with a heavier purse
she’d be headed West, back on the trail.
She did laundry in Ellsworth, in Cheyenne she taught school.
When it came to finances, she was nobody’s fool
Ever West the two traveled with one purpose in mind.
Had a plan that she knew could not fail.
Across that broad prairie with the Big Sky above
till she found a new place that she knew they’d both love.
It was three hundred acres and it took most her cash.
It was worth it. She knew she was home.
The first years were hard as she knew they would be.
But she stayed strong and happy, independent and free.
Voltaire was a poet of pure equine love.
In the pastures a fine herd soon roamed.
Bit by bit, she succeeded where others had not.
Through cold Montana winters and summers so hot
that it seemed the parched earth would defeat them at last.
But she stood strong and always prevailed
An ex Cavalry Captain came calling one day.
Looking for work and some meals but no pay.
Had long hair, a smile, and could sure make her laugh.
He was born to raise horses it seemed
So the ranch grew and prospered under their loving hands.
And they married and built a fine house on that land.
The years flew like falcons in a warm canyon breeze .
It was more than she ever had dreamed.
Seems the West is just full of big stories like hers.
Sometimes perseverance and hard work ensures
that a life which began in such sorrow and pain,
can blossom if given a chance .
Well that’s some of the story but there’s no time to tell
Of all of the struggles and triumphs and Hell
of a lady who rose up and took her life back
That’s the story of the Strong Woman Ranch.
The Strong Woman Ranch
