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book: Voices from the Wild Horse Desert
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Voices from the Wild Horse Desert

The Vaquero Families of the King and Kenedy Ranches
  • and
  • With contributions by: and
  • Preface by: and
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 1997

About this book

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.

Author / Editor information

Jane Clements Monday of Huntsville and Betty Bailey Colley of Texarkana are freelance historians and writers.

Reviews

This is the first major look at the lives of these ranch workers.... [It] will add greatly to the literature on ranch life in South Texas.
— Bruce S. Cheeseman, Consulting Archivist and Historian, King Ranch, Inc.

Topics

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    Frontmatter

    i
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    Contents

    v
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    Foreword

    vii
    Stephen J. Tio Kleberg
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    Preface

    ix
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    Introduction

    xv
    Ana Carolina Castillo Crimm
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    1. Round 'Em Up, Move 'Em Out

    1
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    2. From Longhorns to King Ranch Santa Cruz, Mustangs to Quarter Horses

    46
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    3. Growing Up on the Wild Horse Desert

    88
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    4. The Vaquero Family

    118
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    5. Into the Twenty-first Century

    161
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    Appendix A: Individuals Interviewed

    209
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    Appendix B: Individuals Referenced

    219
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    Glossary

    236
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    Bibliography

    241
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    Index

    247
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
January 19, 2022
eBook ISBN:
9780292747968
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
View content
https://doi.org/10.7560/752047
eBook ISBN: 9780292747968
Audience(s) for this book
For a non-specialist adult audience
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