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

by Jane Clements Monday, Betty Bailey Colley, Stephen J. “Tio” Kleberg (Foreword)

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.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Cynda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could be rated 5 stars. It informs and is informed by other books by Jane Clements Monday. I have read a couple of others: Petra’s Legacy: The South Texas Ranching Empire of Petra Vela and Mifflin Kenedy and Dr. Arthur Spohn: Surgeon, Inventor, and Texas Medical Pioneer. There are other books as well that infirm understanding of the King Ranch and also of the Kenedy Ranch.



So why I did not rate 5 stars? Because I am close enough to the topic to have clarity of vision/perception. I lived and worked in Kingsville. The ranch informs the formation of the town, the curriculum at the university, the cultural life of the town. Also because this an overview about life of the vaquero on King Ranch. If I should also The Master Showmen of King Ranch: The Story of Beto and Librado Maldonado and Tales of the Wild Horse Desert, both also by Jane Clements Monday, I might better be able to judge.