Pinto Beans and Ham Bone

While writing this book, I looked at a number of books about the chuck-wagon cooks of the Old West, looking for recipes and ways of cooking salt pork, cured bacon, and so on. I didn’t find much information of culinary value, but I did find some good stories. Just the titles of the books were interesting, such as Shoot Me a Biscuit. On the trail, of course, the cowboys ate mostly beans, coffee, biscuits, fresh beef, and cured meats. Beans were a