True Stories of the Great Northwest

                            Best Friend

Riley Lincoln

West Palm Beach

December 2011

I was holding a pair of eights

  And a pair of Aces, "Dead Man's Hand"

The man across laid down three jacks

  He raked the pot into a big sack

I never will forget the grin on his face

  He laughed at my disgrace

I was left with not

  A cent in my poke

All I had left was "Old Rounder"

  My best and only friend, a horse

Me and Rounder have been 

  Together over many of year

Having a horse as your

  Best friend is very dear

We go caught in the

  "Great Winter of The North"

I had no money to feed my horse

  "Old Rounder", my only friend

There was no one to get a lend

  Times looked bad for

Old Rounder and me

  It was snowing so hard we couldn't see

I ran into a stranger

  Who said take your horse

To the auction man, sell him

  And they will feed him

Catch the train over the mountains

  And down to the valley

And there will be lots of green

  It's hard tto sell your best friend

But I didn't want to see him dead

  I handed a man the reins

Turned and walked away in shame

  Then another man hollered t me

He said the man who bought your horse

  Was the worst

Of any man around

  He won't feed your horse

He will let him freeze on the ground

  The train whistle blew

The conductor said "Last Call"

  "Last train out. Come all"

I got on board

  My tears froze as they

Slid down my face

  Through the snowflakes

I thought I saw Old Rounder

  Jump the fence

With my eyes half frozen

  I didn't know

So I just wished

  Wind and snow began to harder blow

I stood on the back of the train

  Looking back

Down the track

  Not a thing did I see

It seemed like a delerious dream to me

  It took three days and three nights

With the wind blurring our sight

  We finally reached the top

Of the frozen mountain

  The old train shuddered and shook

Started down the other side

  The speed was too great

I knew our fate

  It was too late

The train jumped the track

  It tumbled down the mountainside

Landed in the deep snow

  By the frozen river bank

I thought I had died

  I landed on my back

My legs I could not move

  I was getting ready to say

My "sinner's prayer"

  I couldn't believe what I seen

It was Old Rounder looking down at me

  He looked like a skeleton

He had hurt his knee

  He grabbed the sleeve of my coat

Started dragging me

  Down the frozen slope

Old Rounder slipped and fell

  But got up and ignored the hell

The icy wind kept blowing

  And it kept on snowing

I couldn't take any more

  I couldn't take it anymore

I passed out while being dragged

  Through the ice and snow

When I awoke I was

  In a field of flowers and grass

There were apple trees

  With the biggest apples

I ever did see

  And next to me was Old Rounder

He was eating a big apple

  And Old Rounder was plump

As he could be

  Most beautiful thing

I ever did see

  And he wanted to play

We ran through the flowers

  We ran through the valley of green

And played, ate big apples

  Ran through the stream

We stayed in the valley of green

  Ate apples, took dips in the stream

Me and Old Rounder

  Are living our dream

I hope you read all my words

  But most of all read between the lines

"Never leave a friend behind"

Note:  Read more true stories of the "Great Northwest" by Riley Lincoln.