Life Has Its Ups and Downs

Life Has Its Ups and Downs. . At age 22, after spending time in Mexico, Badger returned to the Lead-Deadwood area. He thrived on the notion of returning home and starting a new life in the Black Hills. He worked as a reporter for the Lead Daily Call. He also met and became engaged to his true love Helen Fowler. , Badger and "His Love” , With his rugged charm and unique style, women often swooned over him. But the woman who won his heart was Helen Fowler. They became engaged on two occasions, but the Fowler parents did not approve of the writer's meager income and lack of full-time employment. The romance ended when Helen returned the engagement ring by mail. , Badger always referred to Helen as "his love" and a "delicate beauty" and never spoke ill of Helen or her parents. However, Badger's life was shattered with a diagnosis of tuberculosis. With no cure, Badger headed to the Southwest for a drier climate. He found refuge at a cattle ranch near Tombstone, Arizona. He forgot about his illness and became intrigued by the cowboy lifestyle. , Without the convenience of phones, Badger described his Southwest surroundings through words. In one letter to his step-mother, he included a poem entitled "Ridin'." She sent the poem to The Pacific Monthly, a regional, general interest magazine that published the work. The magazine sent Badger a check for ten dollars. This was how he discovered his passion for writing could earn an income. , Ridin' , There is some that like the city- Grass that's curried smooth and green, Theatres and stranglin collars, Wagons run by gasoline- But for me it's hawse and saddle Every day without a change, And a desert sun a blazin On a hundred miles of range. Just a ridin, a ridin- Desert ripplin in the sun, Mountains blue along the skyline- I don't envy anyone When I'm ridin. When my feet is in the stirrups And my hawse is on the bust, with his hoofs a-flashin' lightnin From a cloud of golden dust, And the bawlin of the cattle Is a-comin "down the wind Then a finer life than ridin Would be mightly hard to find. Just a-ridin; a-ridin'- Splittin long cracks through the air, Stirrin' up a baby cyclone, Rippin' up the prickly pear As I'm ridin I don't need no art exhibits When the sunset does her best, Paintin' everlastin' glory On the mountains to the west And your opery looks foolish When the night-bird starts his tune And the desert's silver mounted By the touches of the moon. Just a-ridin; a-ridin;, who kin enry kings and czars When the coyotes down the valley Are a-singin to the stars, If he's ridin? when my earthly trail is ended And my final bacon curled And the last great roundup's finished At the Home Ranch of the world I don't want no harps nor haloes, Robes nor other dressed up things- Let me ride the starry ranges On a pinto hawse with wings! Just a-ridin;, a-ridin'- Nothin' I'd like half so well As a-roundin up the sinners That have wandered out of Hell, And a-ridin. , Captions: , Badger joined the Cross I Quarter Circle Ranch and was paced in charge of a small herd of cattle It was in the Southwest that he touted the mustache, goatee, riding boots, and breeches. , Badger's father remarried in 1001 a Dachal Anna Morris, who would prove to be the strongest influence in Badger's literary career.