~ Western Spirit ~

The Cowboy Code

During the 1940’s and 1950’s, actors in radio shows and the silver screen became Cowboy heros to a generation and culture by living out exemplary lives, following a code of conduct known generically as the Code of the West. We remember the names of Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, the Texas Rangers, Matt Dillon, and others. But Gene Autry was the first of these movie stars to capture the heart of America, and in response to his young radio listeners aspiring to emulate him, he created the Cowboy Code, or Cowboy Commandments.

The code — or commandments — were really a re-tooling of the Christian Ten Commandments and a morality governed by Judeo-Christian values.

Under this code the Cowboy:

1. must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.
2. must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.
3. must always tell the truth.
4. must be gentle with children, the elderly and animals.
5. must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
6. must help people in distress.
7. must be a good worker.
8. must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action and personal habits.
9. must respect women, parents and his nation’s laws.
10. is a patriot.

Sharp Iron Land & Cattle Company is undeniably linked to Western culture and the historic past of the country. It is a rich mixture of nostalgia, old-fashioned family values of hard work and integrity, and a mind-set of simple guarantees of trustworthiness and honesty.

A cowboy is nothing if not unpretentious. The work they do is hard but rewarding. Like Gene Autry’s Cowboy Commandments, Sharp Iron Land and Cattle is all about a simple guarantee of genuine quality delivered with the spirit of the West.