By 1900 Remington was given to mourning the passing of his West and, in this mood, he painted his stirring black-and-white study, The Cow Puncher. Horse and rider make a blatant bid for the viewer’s attention as they come to a skidding halt in a cloud of dust. When Collier’s Weekly reproduced the painting on its September 14, 1901 cover, it was accompanied by an Owen Wister eulogistic verse which was later modified, as follows, to become a tribute to the cowboy’s enduring appeal: He rides the earth with hoofs of might, His is the song the eagle sings; Strong as the eagle’s, his delight, For like his rope, his heart hath wings.