Series:

M. K. Brown Range Life

2 total works

Cover of Vaqueros, Cowboys, and Buckaroos

Herding cattle from horseback has been a tradition in northern Mexico and the American West since the Spanish colonial era. The first mounted herders were the Mexican vaqueros, expert horsemen who developed the skills to work cattle in the brush country and deserts of the Southwestern borderlands. From them, Texas cowboys learned the trade, evolving their own unique culture that spread across the Southwest and Great Plains. The buckaroos of the Great Basin west of the Rockies trace their origin to the vaqueros, with influence along the way from the cowboys, though they, too, have ways and customs distinctly their own.

In this book, three long-time students of the American West describe the history, working practices, and folk culture of vaqueros, cowboys, and buckaroos. They draw on historical records, contemporary interviews, and numerous photographs to show what makes each group of mounted herders distinctive in terms of working methods, gear, dress, customs, and speech. They also highlight the many common traits of all three groups.

This comparative look at vaqueros, cowboys, and buckaroos brings the mythical image of the American cowboy into focus and detail and honors the regional and national variations. It will be an essential resource for anyone who would know or portray the cowboy—readers, writers, songwriters, and actors among them.

Cover of Contemporary Ranches of Texas
Ranching and Texas remain synonymous for people around the world, although our knowledge of ranch life more often comes from the movies than from herding cattle on the Panhandle Plains. Yet, there still are Texans for whom ranching is a daily way of life, and this book tells their stories. Through Lawrence Clayton's words and Wyman Meinzer's evocative black-and-white photographs, you will visit sixteen working ranches across Texas: Alta Vista, Canales, Catarina, O'Connor, and Ray in South Texas; R. A. Brown, Chimney Creek, Goodnight, J A, Moorhouse, Nail, and Renderbrook Spade in the Panhandle and Northwest Texas; and Henderson Cove, Hudspeth River, Long X, and Hoskins 101 in the Trans-Pecos.Many of these ranches trace their beginnings to the open range, and all of them are known today for running a quality 'outfit'. Clayton recounts the history and current operation of each ranch, often drawing on stories handed down over generations. Quotes from ranch owners and employees give a feel for the challenges and rewards of modern-day ranching and also underscore how much ranching varies across the different regions of Texas.
Meinzer's photographs capture the endless prairies and the weather-worn faces of the men and women who work the cattle, as well as the tools of their trade. For everyone fascinated by Texas ranching, this book offers enjoyable reading and viewing of this proud and increasingly rare way of life. The late Lawrence Clayton was Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. Wyman Meinzer, of Benjamin, is one of today's foremost portrayers of the Texas landscape.