Draggin' S Ranch Cowpokes

by Ace Reid

Another book of classic 'Cowpoke' humor, based on cartoonist Ace Reid's experiences growing up on a Texas ranch.

66 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Asa Elmer “Ace” Reid Jr. was born in the Texas Panhandle [on March 10] 1925, near Clarendon. When he was 3 months old, his family moved to Electra, where they owned a 10,000-acre cattle ranch.

Young Ace Reid grew up around cattle, horses and cowboys. He was familiar with what it was like to be a cowboy — the hard-scrabble life they led, their outlook on life and sense of humor.

Reid graduated from high school in time to serve in the Navy at the end of World War II. He was a machinist’s mate aboard the USS Lanier, and it was aboard the ship that his cartooning career began. Reid developed a cartoon for the ship’s newspaper titled “The Sorry Salt.” After the war, the “Sorry Salt” in those early drawings evolved and became “Jake,” the main character in the “Cowpokes” cartoons.

Ace died on Nov. 10, 1991, at the age of 66. At the time of his death, he was the largest self-syndicated cartoonist in the world with 350 newspapers and periodicals running his Cowpokes cartoon.

Biography courtesy of The Daily Cartoonist