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The Legendary Life of Bee Ho Gray, by Clark Gray, John M. Hardy Publishing Co., Houston, 2014, $19.95

Most old-timers know that among his other talents Will Rogers (1879–1935) was a trick roper from Oklahoma (born in what was then called Indian Territory). Well, so was Bee Ho Gray (1885–1951), the great-uncle of the author. “He is great with either hand and is the best one handling one rope over the other that I ever saw,” Rogers once said of Gray. The two trick ropers performed together at Colonel Cummins’ Wild West Indian Congress at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. They appeared together later in the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West show, even though Rogers was never officially employed by the 101 Ranch. “In many ways,” writes Clark Gray, “Bee Ho was viewed as following in Rogers’ footsteps, even though he is said to have taught Rogers many of his rope tricks.” Rogers, the author says, once told Bee Ho, “You have a $10,000 arm but a 10-cent mind.” Clark Gray explains that Rogers, in his own comical way, “was paying Bee Ho a compliment, suggesting that he wasn’t aware of the real value of his talent as an entertainer.”

Yes, Bee Ho Gray was far more than just a trick roper. He was also, among other things, a trick rider, knife thrower, whip artist, banjoist, silent film actor and comedian. Born Emberry Cannon Gray in Leon, Chickasaw Nation, to a mother who was one-quarter Chickasaw and a father who was once a Texas Ranger, the boy received his nickname from none other than Quanah Parker, who had once been a Comanche chief. Quanah called him Bee Ho (“Brother of the Cripple”) because his older brother had been disabled by polio and used a crutch. “Bee Ho’s childhood in Indian Territory planted the seed that would grow into his Western persona,” the author writes.

Bee Ho was about 17 when he first saw Pawnee Bill’s Wild West. He started performing his own rope tricks and soon joined Colonel Cummins’ Wild West. Clark Gray devotes 16 chapters to Bee Ho’s career in such shows and 12 chapters to Bee Ho’s vaudeville days and silent films. In 1934 Bee Ho was a bit down on his luck when he revived his career with a successful act in which his partner was a yodeling coyote named “Chink.” Bee Ho said, “A coyote is harder to tame than a red-headed woman,” but he was still working acts with Chink as late as 1942. Gray’s biography, enhanced by a gallery of photos, honors a man who was a cowboy entertainer for a half-century and achieved his share of fame but was overshadowed by Will Rogers and others.

Editor

Originally published in the June 2015 issue of Wild West.