It was the first such book ever published, containing the words to only 23 songs, including the now-classic "The Streets of Laredo" and "Little Joe the Wrangler".
Today, Thorp is credited with being the first person to take a serious interest in collecting and preserving the homespun ballads of the American West.
[1][2] Nathan Howard Thorp was the youngest of three sons of a New York City lawyer and real estate investor.
His later publications included Tales of the Chuck Wagon (1926) and Pardner of the Wind: Story of the Southwestern Cowboy (published posthumously in 1941 with Neil M. Clark).
Cowland, a book-length story targeted towards a younger audience, remains unpublished.