Tales of the Wild Horse Desert (Jack and Doris Smothers Series in Texas History, Life, and Culture) - Softcover

Colley, Betty Bailey; Monday, Jane Clements

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0292712413 ISBN 13: 9780292712416

Publisher: University of Texas Press, 2001

Synopsis

Highly skilled, hard-working, and loyal to each other and to the ranches that employ them, the Mexican and Mexican American vaqueros who work on the famous King and Kenedy Ranches of South Texas' Wild Horse Desert are some of America's best cowboys. Many of them come from families who have lived and worked on the ranches for over a hundred years. They preserve the memories of ranch life handed down by their grandparents and great-grandparents, even as they use modern technologies to keep the ranches running smoothly in the twenty-first century.

This book tells the stories of the vaqueros of the Wild Horse Desert for fourth- through eighth-grade students. It begins with a brief history of the vaqueros and the King and Kenedy Ranches. Then, using in the words of today's vaqueros and their families, it describes many aspects of past and present life on the ranches. Young readers will learn what it's like to grow up on the ranches and how vaqueros learn their work. They'll also discover how much goes into being a vaquero, from using all the different ropes and equipment, to working a round-up, to showing prize-winning cattle and horses. Teachers and parents will appreciate all the supplemental material in the appendix, including a glossary, lists of related books and websites, hands-on learning activities, and even range and camp house recipes.

About this title

About the Author:

Betty Bailey Colley, of Texarkana, is a freelance historian and writer.

From Booklist:

Gr. 7-10. Adapted for young adults from the adult title Voices from the Wild Horse Desert (1997), this book, recommended for regional collections, relates the history and culture of the Mexican cowboys, or vaqueros, who worked the land in southern Texas. The history begins in the mid-1850s, when novice ranchers King and Kenedy hired workers from northern Mexican haciendas to help establish new cattle spreads. Although the writing is flat and the organization sometimes murky, the text is packed with delicious details that report writers will love--from descriptions of roping skills and the contents of a chuck wagon to wedding customs and herbal medicines. The picture that ultimately emerges is a rosy one, emphasizing values of hard work, family unity, and mutual respect between landowner and vaquero that kept families working the ranches for generations. There's a wealth of information, but students will need to use the appendixes and the index to make sense of it all. For another, more accessible perspective, give them Russell Freedman's In the Days of the Vaqueros [BKL N 15 01]. Randy Meyer
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About this edition

• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0292712413
• ISBN 13: 9780292712416
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 138