Tulk Writes: A Cowboy’s
Authenic Personal History
A Review by Joe Carter

The unvarnished image of early day bronc riding cowboys who were at home both on the range or in wild west shows emerges masterfully in John A. “Rusty” Tulk’s biography, Ride ‘Em As They Come. Tulk prefaces his book with the warning that “in truth, there were no gun-toting bad men, thieves or killers and no straight shooting heroes or heroines. Most always the cowboy was a hard working, underpaid, banged up honest man or boy who took advantage of no one.” Almost amazing as the revealing text are Deloris and Darrell Hawkins, a pair of multi-talented wild west circus performers whose careers followed Tulk’s generation. The Hawkins’ love of the true West compelled their searching then publishing Tulk’s unique script.  It is a candid, from the shoulder personal history masterfully edited by Nancy Johnson of Hobbs, New Mexico.  Tulk, 1886-1977, had become a ranch hand and cattle trail driver by age 12. He soon was breaking broncos in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. “I was practically reared on a horse,” wrote Tulk. By 1907, Tulk was at Bliss, Oklahoma to join the Miller Brothers’ 101 Wild West Show with Tom Mix, later a silent movie fast gun star, as chief cowboy.  Across the country and Europe, Tulk rode wild horses “as they come,” sometimes hitting the dirt hard even as the king and queen of England witnessed. During a stand at Brighton Beach, Tulk fondly recalled meeting fellow cowboy Will Rogers who had migrated to the New York stage as a comedian, trick roper and emerging Oklahoma philosopher.  Two years later, Tulk had migrated to performing in carnivals, circuses and the upstart Calgary Stampede.  His humor, revealed in the text, was practiced back stage or during campfire chatter. True to cinema tradition, at age 29 Tulk met and loved Mabelle. Tamed, he lived modestly as a farmer-rancher in Texas and New Mexico. Tulk’s script was finished by 1953. For half-a-century, it was in a dusty trunk until Hawkins, now 77 and active in the international Wild West Arts Club, found and published the diary.  Novelists, screen writers, historians and pulp fiction have tackled the period of time when the wild west was being tamed. Tulk tells his from the saddle story recanting the dust of the trail and blazing lights of the arena. The history, legacy and romance of the great American West are enriched by cowboy-bronc buster Tulk’s recounting of how he would “ride ‘em as they come.” Tulk also could write it. This new book with views on Will Rogers is available at the Will Rogers Museum gift shop or can be ordered by calling 918 343-8115.