Alexander Oscar Babel played piano at the Solo Saloon on Congress Street in Houston, Texas, where he married Emma Rumpel in 1880. When he went on the road, the cowboy pianist was joined by a cowgirl cornetist, Miss Mattie Babel. Her identity is not clear, but the most likely candidate is Oscar’s wife, Emma.
–Courtesy Herb Peck Jr. Collection –
In frontier days, women were few and far between, particularly on ranches, so men would two-step and waltz with each other at dances. “Heifer branded men,” who danced the woman’s role, sometimes wore handkerchiefs tied around one arm, like the gentleman at right in the above photo. Such cowboy stag dances were mainly a source of humor and reflected good times.
– True West Archives –
This late 19th-century cowboy is likely playing his fiddle for his bunkhouse mates after a hard day of ranch work. Out on the trail, cowboy tunes and songs helped calm the cattle to avoid stampedes. Trail cowboys usually carried a harmonica for accompaniment, but sometimes a fiddle fit in a bedroll or on the chuckwagon.
– True West Archives –
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