Much Ado About Mutton - Meg Mims

I confess. I stole the clever title for this blog post. The original was used for a conference workshop about mutton-eating in Detroit's old days. But it certainly fits the history of the cattle-sheep wars in the old West from 1870 to the 1920s. I also confess I had to do some quick research about the topic, since I haven’t read enough Western history of the cattle barons, trails, stockyards, open range and the like.

Cattle vs. sheep wars were not like the big, bad Johnson County cattle range wars -- not that I'm up on that history either. I discovered the most common states experiencing cattle vs. sheep troubles were Arizona, Texas, Wyoming and Colorado. Were murders and the slaughter of animals really rampant? Numbers prove it – over fifty men murdered and between 50,000 and 100,000 sheep slaughtered. Serious enough! 

Remember I’m an eastern greenhorn, born and raised in Michigan. Land of trees, the Great Lakes, lighthouses, beaches and cars. Yes, the automobile – which replaced horses after the turn of the 20^th century. And yes, prior to that, horses were common (along with horse dung) all across the country, whether for riding or pulling omnibuses, wagons and stagecoaches. So the “beef vs. mutton” dispute is news to me.

Let’s face it, cowboys (cow hands, really, since they were anything but boys) worked cattle drives on horseback. After the buffalo herds were slaughtered, the open range favored cattle driven northward on “trails” to stockyards where they were sent east to meat-packing plants in St. Louis and Chicago. Ranches could be small or huge, sprawling affairs, and disputes arose about rustling or branding mavericks to swell the herds. But sheep? Cowhands considered them an insult.

What factors played a role in the conflict between cattle and sheep men in the Old West? First, some believed that sheep with their smaller mouths grazed closer to the ground and ruined the range, and that cattle would not drink from water sources “polluted” by sheep. Second, ethnicity may have played a shadowy role – men of Spanish origin herded sheep, and herders worked the sheep on foot or burro, sometimes on horseback. The ratio of animals to men were far smaller with sheep than cattle. You can imagine how “outnumbered” the sheep and herders would be in a range dispute.

For example, Charles Goodnight’s cowhands drove over four hundred sheep into the Canadian River and drowned them after herders “invaded” their range along the Texas-New Mexico border in 1875. 2400 sheep were slaughtered in Oregon in 1903 by driving them off a cliff, or “rimrock,” and the survivors shot. Other sheep herds were stampeded or poisoned.

But some disputes turned into murder. The 1886-1887 Pleasant Valley war (not so pleasant, really) in Arizona between the Graham and Tewksbury feuding factions resulted in about thirty dead men. Plenty of books and movies, some factual and some far-fetched, were spawned out of these Old West range wars.

By 1920 disputes between cattle and sheep ranchers cooled down, since the “open range” had been fenced off by that time. I'm partial to beef burgers over mutton on my dinner plate, but I do enjoy gyros. That's about as close to a cow or sheep I'll ever get.

Here’s a few interesting books, blogs and movie resources.

Dane Coolidge, Hidden Water, 1910

Bill O'Neal, Cattlemen vs. Sheepherders: Five Decades of Violence in the West, 1880–1920, Eakin Press, 1989

http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/azs01

The Sheepmen – 1958 Glenn Ford film

Picture credits: 

Book cover and illustrations by Maynard Dixon, from the 1910 edition of Hidden Water – which I “rustled” from Ron Scheer’s BUDDIES IN THE SADDLE blog. Slaughtered sheep image from en.wikipedia.org

Meg Mims is the award-winning author of DOUBLE CROSSING (2012 Spur Award - Best First Novel, Finalist in Best Books of 2012 by USA Book News), available on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords, in e-book, trade paperback and hardcover. To the right is the cover for the HC large print edition from Center Point Publishing.

Meg is working on the sequel, DOUBLE OR NOTHING, and hopes to release it in early spring. Want a sneak peek? Check out her blog for The Next Big Thing!

Western Birthday Buddies

Today I’m sharing my birthday with two famous people – Davy Crockett and Maureen O’Hara.

Both were not born in the American West, like me, but ended up living in the west – Davy in Texas, Maureen in California (unlike me, but I might end up out there at some point!) Both were pretty famous, unlike me. My claim to fame is meeting famous people like the actor Wes Studi and novelists Nora Roberts (romance), David Morrell (Rambo action/adventures) and Loren Estleman (mystery/westerns).

Oldest first -- David Crockett. was born on August 17, 1786 (only 200+ years before me) in Greene County, Tennessee (only three states away from Michigan), the fifth of nine kids (I’m the 4^th of six kids). Parents John and Rebecca Hawkins Crockett no doubt had a log cabin and lived off the land. I’ve always been fascinated by log cabins, but enjoyed my parents’ suburban house.

David (not Davy -- Crockett was always known by his full Christian name) learned to shoot at eight years old and only attended school for four days. He was a born woodsman. He married at 20 years old, and Mary Finley gave him two sons and a daughter. After Mary’s death, David wed Elizabeth Patton, who gave him two more children. He then became a scout during the War of 1812, and participated in a massacre on the Cree Indians in retaliation for an attack on Fort Mims, Alabama. Whoa! We really *do* have a connection, even though it might be a branch of my husband's family.

Once he returned home to Tennessee, David served as a member of the State House of Representatives from 1821 until 1823. He also won a seat in the U.S. Congress in 1826. His reputation and folk legend status may have ballooned during elections due to his “backwoods oratory” style -- and comic illustrations portrayed him in that coonskin cap. After his defeat in 1833, David grew tired of politics and decided to join the fight for Texas independence. Crockett was killed on March 6, 1836, at the Alamo in San Antonio. I remember watching native Texan Fess Parker on the Disney channel and enjoyed the episodes, even if they were based on the legends. He sort of *looks* like legendary "Davy" Crockett. Sort of. 

Now let’s get to another birthday buddy of mine. Maureen FitzSimons was born on August 17, 1920 (eight years before my own mom) in Ranelagh, Ireland (I wish! I'd love to visit the Emerald Isle), the second of six children. Her father worked as a businessman and her mother was an actress and opera singer. Good genes clearly passed from mother to daughter (just like my mom’s artistic gene passed to me). After her debut as Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Maureen’s early career focused on swashbuckling films like Jamaica Inn, The Spanish Main, The Black Swan and Sinbad the Sailor, plus How Green Was My Valley and the holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street.

Maureen starred with John Wayne in The Quiet Man, set in Ireland (my favorite wanna-vacation-there-spot). She also appeared in the westerns Buffalo Bill, The Redhead From Wyoming, Rio Grande, McClintock! and Big Jake. Maureen was well-known for portraying a strong-willed heroine. Sound familiar? Yep, my heroine, Lily Granville of DoubleCrossing, is strong-willed but also independent. Lily may not have fiery red hair, green eyes, and a peaches and cream complexion, but Maureen O’Hara certainly had some influence on her characterization.

<------ To the left is the silent film actress Mary Miles Minter, whose ethereal look is perfect for Lily.  To the right is Duke (John Wayne) and Maureen O'Hara in the western film and comedy McClintock!  --------->

Ace Diamond might not take Lily over his knee, but she will definitely give him a run for his money in Double Crossing's sequel! Keep an eye out for Double or Nothing later this year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Maureen, and many more to you, too! I'll raise a cupcake in your honor.
--Check out a few of the 5-star reviews on Meg Mims' website!