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Show Page 30 you don't wise up you'll be one of them old maids, sour as a pickle. I was set on you getting one of the good men around here. But it ain't no use. All you can see is cattle and horses." Slippery stopped to catch his breath. Ann, who had already formed her ideas of marriage, did not give him a chance to start up again. She promptly answered back, unpreturbed by Slippery's lecture. "And where do you get the idea that I want a husband?" she asked. "Being side-hobbled to any man doesn't seem a bit exciting to me. Men are sometimes fun, and they are handy to have around, but I like them better grazing in herds. I don't intend to cut one out to put my brand on. I have a purpose in life and it hasn't got anything to do with falling in love and getting married." With that Ann flounced off. "I tell you, that's a helluva idea you got!" Slippery shouted after her. "I give you up." He didn't. Slippery Jim continued to lecture Ann until he died at age ninety-six. Ann, however, apparently gave up on her idea to "go Indian." But she didn't give up the buckskin outfit which may have helped start it all, the one with the jacket, divided skirt and leggings. She was to own many similar outfits, outfits which are now thought of as a cowgirl costume and which earned Ann the title "The Original Cowgirl." When people think of cowgirls they are often reminded of Annie Oakley (1860-1926), who lived around the same time as Ann. |
