Cowboys delve into drovers' history

Two music-making USA cowboys made a special detour to Sutherland as part of their research for a documentary on drovers.

New Mexico rancher Randy Huston, a singer and songwriter, and Jim Jones, one of the three-strong group The Cowboy Way, were in Scotland on a musical tour which included performing at Belladrum.

The musicians are making a documentary telling the story of Scottish drovers who were forced out of their homes and went to the American West where they became cowboys.

Randy and Jim interviewed Jacquie Aitken, heritage officer at Helmsdale’s Timespan Museum and Arts Centre.

They visited Croick Church and saw the etchings on its window panes made by people displaced in the Clearances. and stood on the footings of the old longhouses in Kildonan.

Now back home, Jim posted on social media: “We gathered video, pictures and interviews with folks who are experts on the history of the Scottish drovers and the Clearances. We got a sense of what it might be like to be forced to leave your home and country to travel across an ocean and start a new life.”

The cowboys would welcome donations to fund the documentary. Visit The Cowboy Way Trio on Facebook.

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