Page "lore" Paragraph 948

A `` book count '' was the sellin' of cattle by the books, commonly resorted to in the early days, sometimes much to the profit of the seller.

This led to the famous sayin' in the Northwest of the `` books won't freeze ''.

This became a common byword durin' the boom days when Eastern and foreign capital were so eager to buy cattle interests.

The origin of this sayin' was credited to a saloonkeeper by the name of Luke Murrin.

His saloon was a meetin' place for influential Wyoming cattlemen, and one year durin' a severe blizzard, when his herd-owner customers were wearin' long faces, he said, `` Cheer up, boys, whatever happens, the books won't freeze ''.

In this carefree sentence he summed up the essence of the prevailin' custom of buyin' by book count, and created a sayin' which has survived through the years.

`` Range delivery '' meant that the buyer, after examinin' the seller's ranch records and considerin' his rep'tation for truthfulness, paid for what the seller claimed to own, then rode out and tried to find it.