Earnest Cook, born in 1881, was 56 years old when he was interviewed in Tarrant County, Texas, by Sheldon F. Gauthier as part of the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940. The entire interview can be found at the Library of Congress.

Cook was born on the Tarleton Ranch in Erath County, Texas, where his father was the ranch foreman. "I guess my father started teaching me to ride by tying me on a hoss with a rope, because I don't remember when I could not ride," Cook told Gauthier. "When I was 7 years old, I was able to ride good enough to be used as a cowhand, and was used as a rider. Now you can understand me when I say I actually grew up in the saddle."

After working for several ranches in New Mexico and Texas, Cook returned to his home area to start his own ranch. He ended up wiuth 1,500 acres where the old Tarleton Ranch once stood, he said.

"Of course, on a large ranch, we lived in the open practically all the time. Our bunk was, "The green below, and the blue above," if it wasn't raining. We rolled ourselves in tarpaulins, and used our saddles for pillows. Our chuck ran strong to beans, besides meat. We had all the beef we wanted because we could kill a choice yearling whenever we wanted beef, eat the choice cuts, and throw the balance away. Antelope then ran in herds of hundreds and it was a simple matter to kill one when it was wanted for meat. We ate a great quantity of antelope because it is tender and excellently flavored meat," he said.

"Black coffee was our drink with the meals, and our bread was of the best. It was called sourdough bread. The cookys knew how to make it right. I have seen rise to the cover of the camp oven. The camp oven was made of steel. To bake with it, hot embers were placed under, and on top of it," he said. "All the food was hauled in a wagon called the "Chuck Wagon," also the tarpaulins and such other supplies that were necessary. I belive that covers the method of handling the cowhand's chuck."

Cook said he was often asked how the cowboys knew which brand to burn into the hide of a calf, since the calves were rounded up with the rest of the herds running free on the range.

"As soon an a calf has been roped," he said, "it will begin to bawl and start to pitching. While it is elevating, a hand grabs its forefront hoof, and flips the critter on its back, then folds the doubled leg back against its side. In that manner, the calf is held until the hot branding iron is applied. The roundup, as you know, refers to the gathering together of the cattle. The cattle may be owned by several people. The process of cutting out the critters wanted is the next step to the roundup. Cutting out means riding into the herd, and roping the critter wanted. When branding calves, of course, those are the critters roped.

"Each owner has their brands ready, and the owner of the calf would be ready to place his brand. The question of ownership was determined by the calf's mother who knows the voice and bawl of her calf. The calf begins to bawl as soon as it is roped, then the mother goes to it. Since the mother cow has her owner's brand on her, the proper brand is easy to determine," he said.

"It requires practice to become proficient in flipping a calf as well as to rope. Both are an art. I was very good at roping. We changed hosses every hour because the best cow-hoss couldn't stand cutting out for a much longer period. A roper usually had six or seven hosses for his use. Generally, the kind used were the Spanish and Steeldust breeds mixed. The Steeldust breed is a racing stock and made the best cow-hoss. The Spanish blood gave durability, and the racing stock gave speed. A Spanish pony never became completely broke. A rider can expect it to pitch at any time but the animal understood his cow job," Cook said.