Title: Cattle Drives, Moose Hunts, Blizzards, and Such: A Northern Canadian Cowboy
Author: Lloyd Byra
Publisher: Xlibris US
ISBN: ‎ 1664110194
Pages: 182 pages
Genre: Autobiography
Reviewed By: Dan MacIntosh

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Many consider cowboys to be the ultimate American icon. Quite a few of us watched western movies as kids, which took place in, of course, the American west. As is clear from Lloyd Byra’s book title, Cattle Drives, Moose Hunts, Blizzards, and Such: A Northern Canadian Cowboy, Canada had more than its share of absolutely legitimate cowboys. Byra was one of these cowboys, and he tells his Canadian cowboy stories in this action-packed autobiography. Byra also dispels the myth that cowboy life disappeared a long time ago. Although you don’t hear much about them, there are still working cowboys today. However, some of Byra’s recollections date back to the early Sixties, which wasn’t at all that long ago. This book finds Byra fondly recalling his rough and tumble cowboy tales, which are told with great detail.

Although Byra doesn’t come right out and say it, he was quite the precocious young man. He was hunting moose and performing semi-spontaneous surgery on cows at an age when many of us were still throwing rocks at our neighbor’s house or playing with some toy or other. In fact, Byra doesn’t really write about his early childhood playtime. Instead, his book is about the hardscrabble outdoor life was pretty much all work, no play. With that said, though, the reader is never given any instances where Byra complains about his life. He was raised ranching, and seemingly has no regrets about this unique upbringing.

Some of Byra’s stories may make a city dweller shiver and shake. You get the impression Byra was facing possible hypothermia, for example, when he led cattle across a chilly river. Something that might have necessitated a strong shot of courage for most of us to carry out, was all part of the job for Byra. We don’t get the sense there was an ounce of hesitation in Byra’s mind when it came to doing whatever needed to be done.

There’s a point in the book where neighbors move close to Byra’s family. This is a godsend, as one of their new neighbors is a skilled welder, who teaches Byra some of these new skills. Then it strikes you that, up until this point, Byra and his family basically had to fend for themselves. Presumably, these hard-working folks didn’t have time for loneliness. There was just too much work to be done.

This family history is told as an action story. If it were made into a movie, it would be a kind of action film. Therefore, there isn’t a whole lot of Byra’s thoughts and opinions about this lifestyle. If you’re hoping to read what it felt like to be a cowboy during this time period, you’ll get many of these types of answers from Cattle Drives, Moose Hunts, Blizzards, and Such: A Northern Canadian Cowboy.

Lloyd Byra wrote this book because his daughters often asked him what it was like for him growing up. Young people today might have trouble comprehending what it was like to live so, well, primitively. Contemporary generations are raised on advanced technology. Life is lived through social media photos and commentary. Back during Byra’s time, though, there was no time to document what was going on. No, Byra had to live in the moment. It’s sad that many today don’t have this same ‘in the moment living’ opportunity. Thankfully, Byra took the time to put into writing some of his incredible life stories. He is clearly one of the last of his kind. Now we can read all about it with utter amazement.