Powder River Jack Lee, in the book "Stampede," falsely claimed authorship of "Sierry Petes." In "Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle," (1976, p. 223) Katie Lee says "Jack Lee is deceased, or Gail would be tempted to 'dress him out' on the spot." In their songbook, Jack and Kitty Lee also claim to have written the music. He sang "Sierry Peaks" (a meaningless title, and claimed the locale was in the Bighorns) and changed the title to Tying Knots..." (from Glenn Ohrlin, 1973, "The Hell-Bound Train"). I am afraid I cannot recommend the Jack Lee recording.
John L. White, in "Git Along, Little Dogies," recounts Gail Gardner's life and on p. 124 defines words used in "Sierry Petes" (see original song which I posted in this thread earlier);
1. Sierry Petes- local nickname for a mountain range, the Sierra Prieta, southeast of Prescott, Arizona.
2. Rodeer camp- roundup camp, from the Spanish verb rodear, meaning "to surround."
3. Runnin' irons- curved strips of iron with which one could burn 'any' brand on an animal's hide. The opposite of the stamp iron, which makes only one design.
4. Bush up- hide in the bushes.
5. Seago- a "lass rope" made of fiber something like maguay. Says Gardner: "No Yavapai County cowboy would ever say 'lasso.' A steer breaks out and somebody yells 'lass him.' The cowboy's catch rope is his 'lass rope' or just his rope." (Gail Gardner in letter to White, 1966)
6. Sets up- pull up their hosses when going at a fast clip.
7. Taken his dallies- snubbed the end of his rope around the saddle horn, from the Spanish dar la vuelta, meaning "to take a turn."
8. Riata, gut-line- a "lass-rope" made of braided rawhide.
9. tailed him down- "In roping big cattle," Gardner says, "one cowboy 'heads' (ropes by the head or horns) and the other 'heels' (ropes the animal by one or both hind feet). A big, strong animal will sometimes brace both front feet wide apart and is stretched out but is not down, so one cowboy, usually the 'header,' after making sure his rope is secured to the saddle horn, gets off his horse, grabs the critter by the tail, and gives a heavy yank sideways, which lays him on his side" (letter from Gardner to White, 1973).
Swaller-forked- notched each ear so that it resembled the forked tail of a swallow. Gardner goes on to say the brand is the sign of legal ownership, but the earmark is easily spotted when a steer is approached.
11. Necked- tied by the neck.
Gardner also described the origin of the poem in "Orejana Bull for Cowboys Only," 1935. He and Bob Heckle were camped at the Bill Dearing ranch in the Sierra Prieta (Sierry Petes) west of Prescott. "One day we came into town for a little whizzer and on the way back to camp, one of us remarked that the devil got cowboys for doing what we had been doing. That was the germ of an idea that came to life on a Santa Fé train in 1917..." when he was going to Washington, DC to get into military service. "The gentle, broad-beamed cattle in the fields of Kansas were so different from the stock Bob and I had been working that I was inspired..." Gardner mailed the verses back to his sister. After the war, he showed them to a friend, Bill Simon, who composed a simple tune and began singing them. Gardner first sang "The Sierry Petes" for the cowboys attending one of the rodeos staged on the Z-Triangle ranch near Wagoner. This began his composing and singing career. He sold his Skull Valley ranch in 1960.
White reproduced an Out Our Way cartoon by J. R. Williams, Gardner's neighbor, with a take-off on "The Sierry Petes."