Voices from the Wild Horse Desert: The Vaquero Families of the King and Kenedy Ranches - Softcover

Monday, Jane Clements; Colley, Betty Bailey

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0292752059 ISBN 13: 9780292752054

Publisher: University of Texas Press, 1997

Synopsis

Founded before the Civil War, the King and Kenedy Ranches have become legendary for their size, their wealth, and their endless herds of cattle. A major factor in the longevity of these ranches has always been the loyal workforce of vaqueros (Mexican and Mexican American cowboys) and their families. Some of the vaquero families have worked on the ranches through five or six generations.

In this book, Jane Clements Monday and Betty Bailey Colley bring together the voices of these men and women who make ranching possible in the Wild Horse Desert. From 1989 to 1995, the authors interviewed more than sixty members of vaquero families, ranging in age from 20 to 93. Their words provide a panoramic view of ranch work and life that spans most of the twentieth century.

The vaqueros and their families describe all aspects of life on the ranches, from working cattle and doing many kinds of ranch maintenance to the home chores of raising children, cooking, and cleaning. The elders recall a life of endless manual labor that nonetheless afforded the satisfaction of jobs done with skill and pride. The younger people describe how modernization has affected the ranches and changed the lifeways of the people who work there.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

In this book, Jane Clements Monday and Betty Bailey Colley bring together the voices of men and women who make ranching possible in the Wild Horse Desert. From 1989 to 1995, the authors interviewed more than sixty members of vaquero families, ranging in age from 20 to 93. Taken together, their words provide a panoramic view of ranch work and life that spans most of the twentieth century. The vaqueros and their families describe all aspects of life on the ranches, from working cattle and doing many kinds of ranch maintenance to the home chores of raising children, cooking, and cleaning. The elders recall a life of endless manual labor that nonetheless afforded the satisfaction of jobs done with skill and pride. The younger people describe how modernization has affected the ranches - from the use of helicopters at roundup to computers that track data on cattle - and how it has changed the lifeways of the people who work there.

About the Author:

Jane Clements Monday of Huntsville, Texas is a freelance historian and writer.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0292752059
• ISBN 13: 9780292752054
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 303