Hrothgar:

Hadn't thought of the Indian Nation. Neat, but I don't think it fits the context.

***

Nigel:

"
Clearly "The Nation" does not refer to Texas, as 'the relations' live there, so presumably 'the boy' lived there before he 'first came to Texas'. You only come from A to B, not from A to A
"

Exactly -- so (assuming this isn't over-interpreting) the dying cowboy was born in the (then) 27 States, moved to Laredo in Texas to work for a ranchman, and got shot outside Tom Sherman's bar-room.

Dying in a small Texas town, he +seems+ to refer to the 27 States, that he'd earlier left, as "the Nation".

But I've been challenged on this by two Texans, neither of whom had ever come across this.

Currently, it's driving me out of my skull, I have to say.

Thanks, both.

Robin

*** Actually, bugger me rigid, but now I come to think of it, that actually +is+ a possibility, that the Dying Cowboy is a Native American. Would make sense ...

But one problem is that in the entire sweep of the Rake tradition, from the Buck/soldier/sailor/bad girl in England to the cowboys, linesmen, skiers, teachers, and dockers, there doesn't seem to be a Native American featured. The closest I can think of (among the parodies), is Johnny Wu, who got turned-down for Phi Beta Kapa.

A reading that would make the cowboy a Native American would fit the locution of "live in the Nation" perfectly, and add something new to the strand.

Except there's absolutely +nothing+ else in the version to suggest this -- mostly, it's standard Rake-to-Laredo stuff.

Going to have to think on this ...

Thanks again, Hrothgar.

R2

(In a kind of grisly addendum, unless someome comes up with with a better gloss on "the Nation", I'm going to go with this version having the cowboy as a Native American. If I ever get round to publishing it, I'll footnote Hrothagar.

Honest.

[g]

CP30