More digression-
Part of Wyoming was sheep country, complete with Basque herders, as I remember it in the 1960's. I also remember a rancher (Herefords) who maintained Scotch habits, not far from Laramie, whom I met when I was looking for fossils in those red beds.
Proulx set her story in the 1960-1980 period; it does not concern either of these groups of people, but it does involve the marginals with little education that one could find on the street in the towns.

The story won the O. Henry Award for short stories when it first appeared in the "New Yorker" magazine.

Collectors Note: "Close Range, Wyoming Stories," 1999, is much sought after and the price is rising; a near-perfect copy of the first edition with the superb watercolors by William Matthews brings $250 plus; a signature by Proulx doubles that and the limited first in slip case sells for about $2000.