PLATONIA, THE PRIDE OF THE PLAINS
Powder River Jack Lee, 1938

You gaze on that picture with wondering pride,
And then at the arrow that hangs by my side,
You say tell a story you know there is one,
Of the beautiful creature with eyes like the sun.
That name ever haunts me where ever I go,
I'll tell you a story, 'Twill thrill you I know
Of the famous cow pony I rode on the range,
And they called him Platonia, the Pride of the Range

2
He was swift as an antelope, black as a crow-
With a spot on his forehead whiter than snow.
His hair, like a lady's, was glossy and fine;
He was restless and proud yet was gentle and kind.
But the flame in his eyes smouldered fiery and deep.
He would always graze by me where I lay asleep,
With arched neck so graceful, and dark flowing mane,
And I called him Platonia, the Pride of the Plains.
3
Our country was new and settlers were scarce,
The Indians blood-thirsty, savage and fierce.
Our scouts rode away and we got no report,
They were lost, for they never came back to the fort.
The captain spoke up and said someone must go
And get help on the borders of New Mexico.
A dozen brave cowboys at once answered "Here,"
But the captain saw me- I was standin' right near.
4
Platonia beside me with nose in my hand,
The cap knew my horse was the best in the land.
He says if there's any one soul can go through
And out-ride the redskins, my boy, it is you.
Proudly I looked at my pony- I know
Platonia and I are both ready to go.
They all shook my hand, as I leaped he dashed forth,
I rode down the dark trail and swung his head North.
5
The black strikes a trot and he keeps it all night
And just as the horizon started to light,
Not very far back there arose up a wail
And we knowed the red devils wuz hot on our trail.
I stroked his black neck and I called him by name,
He answered the petting by tossing his mane;
His dark body lengthened and faster he sped
And my rifle kept popping as onward we fled.
6
The redskins surround us- I turn his head West,
The arrows keep falling- a blow in the chest.
I speak to my pony- the best on the range-
Steady, Platonia, the Pride of the Plains.
Bloody the froth flowing down o'er his bit
And arrows all marking where he has been hit;
Platonia, poor feller- I knowed he wuz hurt
But he dashes right onward and up to the fort.
7
I gave them the messages, there's a dull haze around,
My cow-pony stumbles and then he goes down.
Though wounded and weak I'm a feelin' right bad
For the best pony comrade that man ever had.
But before very long we are both pulling through,
Of his death, years later, I'll not tell to you.
I have rode many ponies, I've held many reins,
But there's none like Platonia- the Pride of the Plains.

pp. 72-73, with musical score. Powder River Jack H. Lee, Deer Lodge, Montana, 1938, "Cowboy Songs," McKee Printing Company, Butte, Montana.

Austin E. and Alta S. Fife, 1969, "Cowboy and Western Songs," called the song "Pattonio," pp. 184-185, with musical score, 11 four line stanzas; a somewhat different version.

Larkin, 1931, "Singing Cowboy," was the first to print a version, "Plantonio," which she got from "a girl in Taos, New Mexico.
The song was fairly widespread- New Mexico, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, Montana.
The origin is unknown.