Book excerpt: Rodeo legend, actor and stuntman Yakima Canutt blazed a trail as a champion bronco buster and rode to fame as a collaborator with John Wayne, who claimed to borrow his on-screen persona from Canutt's real one. This memoir, as told to John Crawford, relates Canutt's years on the rodeo circuit, his roles in silent westerns, and his craftsmanship in movie stunts on such epics as Stagecoach and Ben-Hur, as well as his family life and friendships.