Two Cottons and Uncle Brother
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009I love Guthrie, and drive through the small Texas town often. Large cattle outfits such as the Four Sixes, Pitchfork and Tongue River give the town a unique, ranching flavor. Most residents are closely tied to ranching and have a deep respect for cowboys and traditional values.
It also might be the only place where you’ll meet two men named Cotton and learn about a beloved “Uncle Brother.”
While photographing Ashley Daniel at the Sixes, I met Cotton Leathers, one of the ranch’s hired hands. Daniel is featured in the December issue of Western Horseman, and Cotton helped us with cattle during our photo shoot. Later, eating DiGiorno pizza (it’s most certainly not delivery in Guthrie, America) in Daniel’s house, I talked to Sheriff Cotton Elliot, a longtime cowboy who just took up public service.
That same day, I heard stories about “Uncle Brother,” and I couldn’t help but think of an uncomfortable case of linebreeding. Daniel laughed and assured me that wasn’t the case at all. Her father’s brother, Daniel’s uncle, earned the nickname “Brother” years ago.
Scheeeuww.