Bill Nye's Cordwood

A lively, tongue‑in‑cheek essay opens this vintage collection, where the author turns his keen eye to the booming cattle world of the late nineteenth‑century West. He paints the sweeping Montana range as both a paradise for sleek Texas steers and a precarious arena where overgrazing threatens the “golden egg” of prosperity. With a mix of earnest warning and wry observation, he sketches the daily realities of ranchers, the allure of free‑grass fortunes, and the quirks of branding that turn each steer into a walking puzzle.

From that vivid portrait sprouts a whimsical proposal: a college devoted to training the next generation of cowboys. The writer imagines classrooms where rope tricks, brand‑reading, and range management become academic subjects, backed by the hopeful generosity of wealthy patrons. The piece balances satire with genuine admiration for frontier life, offering listeners a snapshot of an era when ambition and humor rode side by side across the open plains.