It's An Old Wild West Custom

This book captures the colorful spirit of the American West in its history and quirks. Included are songs and stories, charts of brands used to mark cattle, and sketches of the boom and bust of the Old West. In one chapter, the author informs us that the Westerner left his names casually and naturally on the land and on each other, without ostentation. This led to names like Jerked Beef Butte or Rattlesnake Basin in Arizona, or nicknames for fellow cowboys like Crooked-Nose Pete and Three-Fingered Smith. 

Duncan Emrich was a professor and collector of American folklore, once a ranch hand and historian in the military. The American Art & Portrait Gallery copy of this book is signed by the author, and inscribed under his portrait as "old bag eyes, the Monday morning folklorist."