Pointed Toe Boots

by George A. Garriott

Sometime ago, someone told me he liked my boots but he didn’t care for the pointed toes. I tried to explain the reason for the pointed toes was so one could get his feet into the stirrups of the saddle that much quicker. There can be times when that might be a very important issue. What would you do if two or three Indians took after you - get out of there man, fast - not fool around trying to get your feet into the stirrups wearing a pair of blunt toed shoes.

The Indians are probably the best horsemen in the world. They can ride forward or backward, on top or underneath, on the side of horse, on his neck or on the other end. While doing this they can shoot at you with bow and arrow, a Springfield rifle or hit you over the head with a tomahawk. They do all this while the horse is going at full speed and they seldom miss.

They don’t use saddles on their horses so don’t need pointed toe boots. In fact, they like to wear moccasins or go barefoot. When they get on the horse, they usually run and jump up from behind - the horse takes off and is a half mile down the road in nothing flat. Neither are bridles used on the horses. By using their knees and feet and applying varying amounts of pressure to the horse, he knows exactly where he is to go and at what speed. The horses are very well trained. I have always admired the Indian and his horsemanship ability.

I think my interest in Indians and their lifestyle began back at Jugwater. When I was learning to read, we had a story about Hiawatha. He was an Indian youth, straight and strong. He could start a fire by rubbing two sticks together, swim like a fish, climb like a squirrel, run like a deer and he always hit the target with his bow and arrow. Six moons after he could sit up, had his first riding lesson. He grew up riding his horse every day. He and his father Nitchagumi, were the good guys. Idols for any red-blooded American boy! They lived by the "shining big sea water." I used to think it would be neat and cool to live in a wigwam. It might just be a little too cool, unless it was in the Arizona desert.

But Cowboys and Indians don’t chase one another over the desert, or any place else, as they did in bygone days. Times have changed! I do think there are more "would be, make believe" Cowboys than ever. Many young men and women, too, like to fantasize that they belong to some big cattle spread somewhere. As they put on their "pointed toe" boots, they mentally see their horse standing at the hitching post, waiting patiently for its master.