Frontier Cowboys And The Great Divide

Despite being neighbouring provinces with long ranching histories, British Columbia and Alberta saw their ranching techniques develop quite differently. As most ranching styles were based on one of the two dominant styles in use south of the border, BC ranchers tended to adopt the California style whereas Alberta took its lead from Texas. But the different practices actually go back much further. Cattle cultures in southwestern Spain, sub-Saharan Africa and the British highlands all shaped the basis of North American ranching. Digging deep into the origins of cowboy culture, Ken Mather tells the stories of men and women on the ranching frontiers of British Columbia and Alberta and reveals little-known details that help us understand the beginnings of ranching in these two provinces.

An entertaining, fast-paced look at early ranching in British Columbia. Frontier historian Ken Mather is known for his fascinating, in-depth profiles of the men and women who established a distinctive ranching culture in Western Canada over a hundred years ago. Now, in this concise collection of stories--based on Mather's column in the Vernon Morning Star--readers will meet even more colourful characters, gain insightful tidbits on cowboy culture, and read about little-known cattle drives that stagger the imagination. Ranch Tales highlights the achievements, hardships, and exploits of Newman "King of the Range" Squires, "lady rancher" Elizabeth Greenbow, cow boss Joe Coutlee, the gold-seeking Jeffries brothers who came all the way from Alabama, and many more. This delightful book is a perfect companion to Mather's other ranching histories and will appeal to anyone interested in the early days of the western frontier.

A visually rich, historically epic tale of cattle ranching in southern Alberta, focusing on multi-generational family-owned ranches that are still in existence today. In the 1880s, a group of fledgling cattle ranchers descended on the plains of southern Alberta. They were drawn by the promise of the West, where the grass seemed endless and they could ranch under the arch of the Chinook-the warm Pacific wind that swooped down the eastern slopes of the Rockies to melt the snow and clear the land for year-round grazing. They came with wild optimism, but their ambition was soon tempered by the brutal reality of a frontier land. Ranching under the Arch is a tale of survival, perseverance, and prosperity in the face of struggle, loss, and loneliness. Following over a dozen ranches still in operation that have roots dating to the late nineteenth century, historian D. Larraine Andrews recounts the culture that developed around this unique vocation. These ranches have endured as vibrant enterprises, sometimes into the fifth generation of the same family, sometimes with new faces and dreams to change the focus of the narrative. Drawing from historical archives, diaries, and personal accounts, and illustrated by informative maps, fascinating archival imagery, and stunning contemporary photography, Ranching under the Arch is an epic portrait of the "Cattle Kingdom" and its place in Alberta history.

Bronc Busters and Hay Sloops tells the story of ranching in the West from the beginning of the Great War until 1960. Cowboy soldiers, bronc busters, First Nations, upper-crust Englishmen and the strong, capable women of ranching country . . . theirs are the stories told in this book. Some of these characters are larger than life, such as: Joe Coutlee, cow boss of the Douglas Lake Ranch, whose booming voice gave him the nickname "Roaring Bill"; Grover Hance, who roped one of his men and tied him to a tree until he sobered up; Florence "Bunch" Trudeau, whose pet moose got a little too big for comfort; Ollie Matheson, one of the only women to ride in the Williams Lake Stampede's death-defying Mountain Race; Anne Paxton, who tended cattle, guided big-game hunters, ran pack horses and a ranch; Bill Arnold, who could ride "anything that wore hide." Ken takes readers inside sprawling ranches, which were self-contained communities in themselves, and small family-run homesteads scratched out of the wilderness. Like his first book on ranching history, Buckaroos and Mudpups, this is an engaging look at fascinating times and the people who made them so.

The Black Prairie Archives: An Anthology recovers a new regional archive of “black prairie” literature, and includes writing that ranges from work by nineteenth-century black fur traders and pioneers, all of it published here for the first time, to contemporary writing of the twenty-first century. This anthology establishes a new black prairie literary tradition and transforms inherited understandings of what prairie literature looks and sounds like. It collects varied and unique work by writers who were both conscious and unconscious of themselves as black writers or as “prairie” people. Their letters, recipes, oral literature, autobiographies, rap, and poetry- provide vivid glimpses into the reality of their lived experiences and give meaning to them. The book includes introductory notes for each writer in non-specialist language, and notes to assist readers in their engagement with the literature. This archive and its supporting text offer new scholarly and pedagogical possibilities by expanding the nation’s and the region’s archives. They enrich our understanding of black Canada by bringing to light the prairies' black histories, cultures, and presences.

Remarkable cattle drives, famous ranches and legendary characters are at the heart of Ken Mather's account of the early days of ranching in British Columbia. These are stories about drovers, ranchers, cowboys and "mud pups" (the remittance men of the ranching industry). You'll meet such people as the flamboyant Harper brothers, drovers who went on to become the biggest landowners in BC, with interests in the Harper, Perry, Hat Creek and famous Gang ranches Johnny Wilson, one of the most successful ranchers in the industry, who became known as the "BC Cattle King" Jim Madden--nicknamed "Big Kid" for his exuberant personality and childish innocence and whose simple lifestyle and colourful adventures made him famous in the Nicola and surrounding valleys Coutts Marjoribanks, a mud pup whose skills as a cowboy--and his exploits, such as riding his horse up the steep steps and into the Kalamalka Hotel bar--far outshone his talents as the ranch manager his rich family forced him to be. The story begins at the time of BC's first gold rush, and the start of a decade that would see more than 22,000 head of cattle brought into the colony. The author takes readers through to 1914, by which time ranching in the BC Interior had become big business. Complete with informative tidbits about the cowboy's tools of the trade, Buckaroos and Mud Pups is an entertaining look at fascinating times and the men who made them so.

Using a wide variety of primary sources, describes the life and work of the nineteenth-century cowboy, who became such a popular folk hero that his influence is still felt in American life.

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