The Pastures of Beyond: An Old Cowboy Looks Back at the Old West

by Dayton O. Hyde

At age thirteen, Dayton Hyde, a spirited beanpole of a boy, ran away from home in Michigan to Yamsi, his uncle’s ranch in eastern Oregon. This was in the 1930s, and Yamsi was one of the last great cattle ranches of the West. Soon the boy, nicknamed “Hawk,” was riding a horse, soaking up ranch life from the hired hands, and winning the cowboys’ respect.A natural bronco buster, he eventually became a rodeo rider, bull fighter, clown, and photographer, working all over the West with the likes of Slim Pickens, Rex Allen, and Mel Lambert-all of whom went on to careers in Hollywood-and selling pictures to Life magazine. After the Second World War, he took over the reins at Yamsi, ensuring its survival in changing times. Now, half a century later, he gives us his valedictory ode to that last great period of the Old West. Full of humor, rollicking stories, and love of the land, Hyde pays homage to the cowboys, Indians, and great horses that made the West the legend it is today.

Genres: Westerns, Horses, Biography

213 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 2005

Reviews

[Rose Klix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dayton Hyde's love of the land, people (both red and white), horses (both wild and domestic) rings throughout this book. Two favorite anecdotes were the one of the brothers digging graves with dynamite and the one person hauling a deer in his new Cadillac.
But, the most beautiful and poetic was Chapter 22 when Hyde creates and manages the Wild Horse Sanctuary in South Dakota. This is a fun and beautiful story of a life well-lived.

[Savannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Pastures of Beyond begins when 13 year old Dayton O. Hyde jumped a train and fled to his uncles ranch due to an embarrassing moment containing a tree and some of the neighborhood ladies. From there Hyde writes about his life growing up on the ranch, rodeo circuit, and war. Sparing no details, and with writing so vivid that you could have been there with him yourself.

This book tells the stories of a culture that has been lost. No longer are there cowboys that can single handedly run a ranching outfit. Let alone off of the back of a horse, Dayton O. Hyde wrote this autobiography in a collection of anecdotes, often times they didn't transition smoothly into the following chapter. Therefore the book had a certain amount of charm and character that most books dont have. It was told in the way that you would tell a campfire story, with odd details, yet still strait to the point. Because of the details that set this novel apart from the others I would give it a star rating of 5. Not only because it was written beautifully but because the story's themselves are beautiful.

Another reason that I would give this book a good rating is because of substance. It is not a book of just "he breathed and then he died". Hyde lived a life full of adventure, the kind of life you want to read about. Hyde painted a portrait of his life, and those that influenced and surrounded him.

My personal favorite quote is "This is the story of a west that is almost gone". It tells the reader the true value of the book without going in depth. Hyde wrote about the past like it was the present, and yet he carried a reminiscent tone.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dayton O. Hyde was a Yooper who set off on a freight train west to avoid his mother's wrath (yes, you read that correctly), and never looked back. The Pastures of Beyond is his memoir of an adolescence and young adulthood spent on a sprawling Oregon cattle ranch.

Initially out of his element, but with an unquenchable desire to become a real cowboy, Hyde learned to break colts, rope steer, and even to fight bull. His life on the ranch spanned the years immediately before and after World War II, with the requisite service in Europe, where Hyde landed on Norman beaches just after D-Day. Hyde writes of knowing many of the last true cowboys and Indians, and the first of the true rodeo stars. There can be no question that his life has been a colorful one, or that the West he knew exists no more.

The Pastures of Beyond is an excellent corollary to books about an earlier West, most notably To Hell on a Fast Horse and The Colonel and Little Missie. It's also a fun memoir that has many of the qualities the best memoir writes, James Herriot, Edmund Love, and the Gilbreth siblings among them.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an autobiography by a man (1922-2018) who lived and worked as a cowboy on his uncle's ranch in what was really the wild west. He ran away from home at age of 13. Many vignettes probably had a tinge of truth to them. This would be entertaining to someone who loves horses, ranches and the west. His writing style was very elementary and I found the stories a tad tedious.

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An autobiography told in anecdotes by an old cowboy about his West. Having run away to Oregon to his uncle's ranch, he becomes a skilled horseman who ultimately founds a sanctuary for wild horses. Not a great work of western history but a fun read.

[Vince Pillig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories

Enjoyed reading about his life on the ranch. It was good to hear about the old cowboys of the late '40s and '50s. I grew up going those names and it was enjoyable reading about them.

[Daniel Braum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably Not a Great Book but a relaxing read that I wanted to finish

Good escape about a different time. Brought back memories of boyhood. Relaxing reminder of times less complex. Comfortable Reading about times past.

[Anne L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Memoir of the Old West

This is a rather romantic memoir - as so many are. And I thoroughly loved ready Mr. Hyde’s stories of ranching, serving in the Army during WWII, rodeoing and the singing cowboys. I was pleasantly surprised that there was a chapter on Rex Allen, a Hollywood cowboy. My husband was named after him as his Dad worked as an actor in Hollywood in the 1940-1950’s. A good read.

[Phillip E Maynard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book about the western life I have read in a long time. Dayton Hyde tells a story like the wisest of old Cowboy’s but with the artistic talent possessed by very few.

[james shinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!!

One of the best books of how the”old west “wasn’t so long ago. Great story of days of old with a touch of sadness of a time gone by.

[boundarycreek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

If you enjoy books about cowboy and the cowboy life this is the 1 for you It is a wonderful Story

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!

I've been in love with horses all my life. That love has brought me into contact with many wonderful people, cowboys chief among them. I met my first cowboy at age 15. That was Glenn Burks, founder of the original Willow Tree Farm in Woodside, CA. I rode with Jim Black, over at Skyline Ranch in Oakland back in the 50s and 60s. I knew Harry Conley and the Rose brothers of Hollister, CA. Cowboys (and women) are as different from the shopping crazed, mall crawlers that now dominate our society as astronauts are from marshmallows. Facing down a stud that would just as soon take off your arm does it, as does shepherding a herd of cattle in an impossible situation--and bringing them through. If you don't have cowboys in your life, this book is a good way to bring them into it. Here, you'll begin to understand a world that's slipped away. Courage, humor, fellowship, compassion: Dayton Hyde demonstrates them all in this wonderful memoir that can teach all of us the meaning of integrity.

[Sherrill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every once in a while I have to read a cowboy book, maybe a Zane Grey or something like it. It brings me back to the memory of my roots. I used to spend every summer on my grandpa and grandma's farm at Bear Lake Idaho. It was homesteaded by my great grandpa and it just got into my soul. My uncles and grandpa were always around. Uncle Lloyd who had once been a jockey and Uncle Don, my mom's brother who ran the farm. They were rough old guys who knew about hard work and probably hard drinking as well. They loved nothing better than to tell some old yarn. Somehow because I loved them and they loved their little city bred niece, it all seemed fine to me. I loved that old farm and those men and once in a while I like to be transported back to those good old days when everything seemed innocent. Like the author of this book, I like to hear a tall tale.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned about Dayton O. Hyde many years ago from another book he'd written. His life story had recently been brought to my attention through a strange coincidence and so I watched a documentary about him on Netflix, Running Wild. It was then that I did some internet research and found he'd written a lot of books. I got this one from a library loan and enjoyed reading it.

Lots of old cowboy tales that really put you in the past. This reminded me of my own grandfather, his stained cowboy hat, and how us kids would pull off his cowboy boots for him. My favorite days were riding a horse on his farm when I was little.

Great book for anyone who has lived, or wanted to live, the old cowboy life.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful, musing quasi-memoir of times gone by. He really IS like living history, even salty and rough around the edges. I had trouble getting into this the first time around, but it's much more interesting after reading Yamsi and getting a sense of who he is. I can't think of anything I've ever read quite like it.

[Harvey Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book! A very well written first person account of being a cowboy in the 1930-1940 era. A book that was hard to put down.

The author write about living in South Eastern/Southern Oregon, places I am familiar with. He also writes about people I have at least heard of as I was growing up.

Great read!

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little rough but some good old cowboy yarns.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly what I was expecting. After a while the story became a series of tales told by an old cowboy. Nice enough, but kind of tedious.

[Cathy Cason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading

Great book to curl up with and escape to yesteryear. Enjoyed the characters and stories about horses and people that seem to be based on reality.

[Dolly Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun author. Easy to read. Entertaining.

[Cindy Collar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well told true stories about real cowboys.