HISTORY OF GRAZING
A circular offering suggestions on
a technique for compiling data,
writing, and editing material
for a History of Grazing
£
W.P.A, ^Technical Series
Community Service Circula,r Number 4
■p Writers' Program No. 2
June 6, 1940
JEDSEAL WORKS AGENCY
JLork Projects Administration
Division of Professional and Service Projects
Washington, D, C.
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CONTENTS
Pages
Introduction • 1
Objectives 2
Tentative Outline of History of Grazing ••■•••• 3
Sources and Materials • •••••••••«••••* 13
Editorial Suggestions ••••••••••••••*« 15
- Divisions of Work • ••»»••••».•••• 15
~ Treatment •■••••••••••••••••• 15
- Wordage Q,uotas • ••••••••••••••• 16
- Accuracy and Comprehensiveness of Copy • . • • 16
- Piles .............. 17
- Deadlines 17
- Personnel ••••••••••••••••••• 17
Maps and Illustrations ..•••••••••••••• 19
Chronologies ••••••••••••••••••••• 20
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P0RE70ED
This circulr.r offers suggestions on a technique for com¬
piling data, writing and editing material for a History of Grazing
which is "being undertaken in cooperation with the Grazing Service,
United States Department of the Interior.
The procedure presented herein is not mandatory. Local
conditions and special requirements may necessitate some changes.
It is "believed, however, that this procedure is adequate to ac¬
complish the desired objective of this activity.
This circular relates only to the technique of project
operation. Nothing in this circular is to be construed as affect¬
ing or modifying in any way administrative procedures of the Uork
Projects Administration.
Commissioner of Work Projects
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I
INTRODUCTION
The History of Grazing, as tentatively entitled, has been
•undertaken at the suggestion and with the cooperation of the
Grazing Service, IT. S. Department of the Interior. Mr. P-« H.
Rutledge, director of the Service, has already instructed his re¬
gional and field staffs to cooperate in every way with the several
State writers' projects in forwarding the work.
This history of the range and the livestock industry will
incorporate material from ea.ch of the following seventeen states:
North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico,
Colorado, Wj/oming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Nevada,, California,
Oregon, and Washington. Work is already under way in many of them.
The character and scope of the work will necessarily vary from
State to Stale. The history and problems of grazing in Texas, for
example, differ considerably from those in Oregon. But whatever the
local differences, a general pattern is discernible in all Staler,
where the range has been a vital influence in shaping economic, social
and even political development.
This manual is designed to suggest the broader outlines of thai
general pattern so thai all States compiling material for inclusion
in the history may have a common objective and pursue moro or less
similar methods of work, subject to such variations as circumstances
require•
A1141 II
OBJECTIVES
The primary objectives of this history are two:
1. To provide accurate, significant, and comprehensive
data on the western range country;
2. To present such data, in graphic a.nd readable form.
The History of Grazing, in other words, is not to ho one more technical
trea-tise on the subject. Rather, it will be designed to acquaint the .average
reader with the dramatic story of the western range - its past, its present,
and its probable future.
"The book should be descriptive," writes Mr. R. H. Rutledge, Director
of the Grazing Service; "it should contain the historical, human, land,
social, livestock, and economic factors, which, when woven together, will
complete the pattern of the story about grazing."
Informative, colorful, and dramatic, such a work will servo to acquaint
an increasing number of citizens with the problems of the range as these
affect not only the fortunes of those directly dependent upon the range for
a livelihood but also, and even more important, the welfare of the country
as a whole.
The western range is a primary national asset, and the projected history
can be a valuable a.nd distinctive contribution to the caus.e of conservation
and the intelligent use of our natural heritage.
Furthermore, the range has had a fascinating history. Some of the
most colorful phases of our national life are reflected in its songs and
stories. These should be gathered and preserved while many of the pioneers
who made history on the range are still alive and can tell their yet untold
stories.
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III
OUTLINE OF HISTORY
The following tentative outline, although not wholly applicable in all
States, should be followed as a general guide to ensure a clear and uniform
conception of
1. The aim of the work as a whole
2. The type and scope of the basic material required
3. The organization and treatment of such material
This outline, which incorporates many variable suggestions made by
Mr• R. H. Rutlcdge of the G-razing Service, will provide a bench mark against
which to measure the individual contributions of the several States.
A History of Grazing
1# The Range Today (a brief introductory sketch of the contem¬
porary scene in each State)
A. Extent of the range
1. Types of land - plains, mountain, forest, mesa, etc.
2. Area of each (approximate percentage)
3. Economic importance to
(a) Localities of concentration in each State
(b) The State itself
(c) The nation as a whole (i.e., its relative weight)
B. Summary view of range practices - handling of livestock
(cattle, sheep, etc.), size of herds, winter feeding, etc.
1. Today
2. Yesterday
(a) Effect of public land policies - H0mostcad Act,
Kinkaid Act, state laws, etc.
(b) Crisis on range after First World War
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(c) Growing recognition of the range problem, locally
and nationally (give sharp graphic picture of
local situation about 1932)
II. Early Background (concentrate on local characteristics and
peculiarities; do not spend tine on general backgrounds that
can easily be filled in from many authentic sources)
A. Western range before the coming of the whites
1. Wildlife - bison, antelope, deer, jack rabbits, etc.
2* Use of land by the Indians
3. Stability of range under "natural" conditions
B. Range in Colonial times (from earliest settlement to the
Mexican War, roughly) (this section applicable only in
Southwest)
1. Introduction of horses, cattle, and other stock
(a) Numbers
(b) Breeds
2. Spanish and Mexican ranchos
(a) Grazing practices
(b) Colorful life on great ranchos --and haciendas
(1) Dominant or interesting personalities
(2) The vaguero - his customs, traditions,
accouterments, and lingo (bronco, chaparejos,
lazo, riata, remuda, etc.)
3. Influence of early Spanish trails
III. The Westward Movement - First Phase (to end of Civil War, roughly)
A, Early explorations (briefly)
3. Trails (point influence on settlement)
1. Main trails
(a) Santa Fe
(b) Oregon
(c) Mormon
(d) California, etc.
2. Subsidiary trails (much valuable spade-work can be
done here)
(a) Smoky Hill Trail (Kansas-Colorado)
(b) Bozeman Trail (.Wyoming-Montana), etc.
C. First herds and ranches
1. Grazing practices
2. Size of herds and types of stock
3. Markets (local, for most part)
D. Conflicts with Indians for possession of prairies and plains
E. Effects of Civil War
1. Closing of Southern markets, etc.
Boom Days on Western Range (1866-86)
A. Economic factors
1. Accumulation of stock, unsaleable during Civil War
2. Food demands of rapidly growing industrial cities
3. Advent of railroads
(a) Kansas Pacific
(b) Santa, Fe
(c) Union Pacific
(a) Northern Pacific, etc.
4. Development of refrigerator car and tinned beef
process
B» Great ranches on open range (obtoun detailed information
for each Sta.te)
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A *
1. Handling of livestock (with emphasis on local
practices as conditioned "by local ranges; locate
and describe specific character of those ranges)
2. Size of herds of
(a) Typical large cow outfits
(b) Average small outfits
3. Capital investments (obtain estimates, at loe,st, for
each State)
(a) Local ownership
(b) Absentee ownership
(1) American
(2) European - English-Scottish, etc.
4. Profits (obtain figures, if possible, to show wide
fluctuations from year to year)
C. Life on the western range
1. Organization of typical large outfit
(a) Day-by-day duties and i-csponsibilities (give
detailed description of local practices) of
(1)
Foreman (wagon boss)
(2)
Straw boss
(3)
Cook
(4)
Horse wrangler
(5)
Plain cowhands, etc.
Rate
s of pay of each
2» Groat spring roundups (note local differences)
(a) Actual operations, step by step
(b) Territory covered
(c) Branding (melee sketch and give history of bettor
known brands in each State)
3. Cattle rustlers
(a) Uethods of operation
(b) Hideouts
(c) Laws against them
Great cattle drives
1. Organization of outfits along the trail (note local
differences)
(a) Chuc.'.: wagon (local stories, characters, etc.)
(b) Hoodlum wagon
(c) Remuda
(d) Line riders (local exploits, experiences, etc.)
(1) Pointers
(2) Swing men
(3) Drag men, etc.
2. Dangers along trail
(a) Stampedes, etc.
3. Successive trails used to railheads and northern
ranges (develop in detail only such portions of
trails as entered your State)
(a) Abilene Trail
(b) Chisholm Trail
(c) Dodge City Trail
(d) Goodnight Trail, etc.
4. Cow towns (describe one or two of more celebrated
in each State)
The cowboy, in fact and'in fiction
1. Origin and nationality (if estimate can be made)
(a) The Old South
(b) Midwest
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(c)
Spanish-Americans
(d)
British "remittance" men, etc.
2.
His
horse
3.
His
accouterments and shooting irons
4.
His
lingo (not local terms particularly)
5.
His
songs and stories
6.
The "moonshine" about him (use fictional accounts of
local scene)
F. Dominant or interesting personalities during boom clays *
Y. Growing Crisis on the Range (1836 to World War)
A. Enormous losses during severe winter of 1886-87 (assemble
specific data for each State)
B. Rapid utilization of barbed wire(as revolutionary an
invention as the cotton gin, making it possible for first
time to fence great tracts of prairie and plains, ter¬
minating era of open range)
1. Date of introduction (in each State)
2. Speed of adoption and extent of use
C. Introduction of sheep
1. Date of introduction (in each State)
(a) Numbers
(b) Breeds
2. Localities of concentration
3. Grazing practices
4. Pioneer sheepmen
5. The sheepherder (give material as for cowboy above)
D. Influx of homesteaders
1. Effects of national land policies (in each State)
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(a) Homestead. Law (1862)
(b) Kirkaid Act (1904)
(c) Enlarged. Home s t cad Act (1909)
(d) Grazing Homestead Act (1916)
2. State laws affecting farmers and homecteadcrs
3. Progressive redaction of open range in oach State
from decade to decade (1880, 1890, 190C, 1910, 1920)
E» Ruinous conflicts
1. Open-range cowmen vs. "big-pasture cowmen
2. Cowmen vs. "nestera" and Homesteaders
/
(a) Wire cutting wars, etc.
3. Cowmen vs. sheepmen
(a) Raids, feuds, destruction of livestock, etc.
P. Over-grazing
1. Damage of yoar-round grazing to once rich grasslands
2. Home past-ores and summer ranges overstocked, d.uc to
competition
(a) Within the industry
("b) With other interests - farming, etc.
3. Inability of stockmen's associations to solve acute
problems of industry without legislation and
assistance of public agencies
G. Temporary boom during World War
1. War "prosperity" of livestock industry (in each State)
2. Slump after war
VI. Steps toward Stability and Conservation
(a)Increased importance of blooded stock
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1. Date of introduction of such stock (in each State)
(a) Cattle
(t>) Sheep
(c) Horses, etc.
B. Changes in handling livestock
1. Shift to winter feeding
2. Scientific breeding
(a) Well-knov/n breeding ranches (in each State)
(b) Bull laws, etc.
3. Transportation by railroads, trucks, etc.
(a) Economic relationship between range country
and corn belt (specify for each State)
4. Growth of independent and branch packing houses in
(a) Omaha
(b) Denver, etc.
C. The modern ranch (give graphic picture of contemporary
ranch life and practices in each State)
1. Size of herds
2. Typical rancher
3. Typical modern cowboy, etc.
D. Contemporary cattlemen's and woolgrowcrs' associations
!• Preceding organizelions
2« History, program, and achievements of existing
organizations (in each State)
E* Conservation policies (as these affect grazing)
1. Eederal (point significance for each State)
(a) national forests
(b) Indian reservations
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(c) National parks
(d) Egclament ion withdrawals
(o) Power situs
2. State
(a) State forests, parks, game preserves, etc.
(b) Legislation affecting grazing and livestock
industry
3. Crusaders for Conservation (close-ups of leaders
in each State)
VII. The New Era
A. A New National Land Policy (local aspects only)
1. Taylor Grazing Act (1934) .(in each State)
(a) Amendment of 1936
(b) Amendment of 1939
2. Pierce Act (1938)
B. Establishment of Division of Grazing, now the Grazing
Service, U. S. Department of the Interior (for background)
1. Purposes and powers (to bo handled in Washington)
(a) "Homo rule" on the range, etc.
2. Organization, duties, and responsibilities of
(a) National office of Grazing Service (to be
handled in Washington)
(b) Regional -and local offices (specific data
for each State)
C. Operation of Taylor Act, etc. (for individual State only)
1. Granting of licenses for use of public range
2. Exchange of land
3. Lease of land
4. Exchange of use
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rr.
*— *
Dona
tion of laud to public range
6.
Cooo
ration with
(a)
I ndi vidual s t o clnn on
(b)
Stockmen's associations
(c)
Sto.te agencies
(d)
Federal agencies - CCC, Forest
Service, etc.
D» Public reaction to new policy (in each State)
1. Editorials, news reports, special articles, etc.
2. Reports, bulletins, etc., of stocjnat.n's associations
3. Opinions of individual sto ckr.icn (by oorson.a.1 intorview,
if possible, or by letter)
4. Reactions of other economic interests in State
VIII, Summary of Past, Present, and Probable Future of Grazing
in Each State.
IV
SODRCES AND MATERIALS
The value of this history will entirely depend upon the sources and
materials used in its compilation. The sources must he authentic, and all
material must he checked and recheckod. for accuracy to make sure that
1. All facts, dates, etc., are correct
2. Interpretations of fact are sound and judicious
Primary sources are of the utmost value, and a determined effort should
he made to discover as many as possible. The State supervisors of the
Historical Records Survey can he of great assistance here. Such primary
sources will include:
1. Old diaries and journals
2. Piles of early newspapers
3. Original records in town, county, and Stake archives
4. Manuscripts and printed materials gathered and published
by the various State historical societies
5. Personal interviews with early settlers, old stockmen,
contemporary ranchers, etc.
Data from primary sources will be supplemented with material from
secondary sources:
1. Town, city, county, and State histories (those, for the
most part, are to be used with caution)
2. State and regional studies, both of a general and tech¬
nical nature
3. Biographies, nagazine and spocie.l newspaper articles,
oral stories, etc., of local worthies
4. Bulletins, renorts, special publications, etc., of
State and Federal agencies
5. General studios of land problem as it affects the
western range, notably these:
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The Groat Plains, "by Walter Prescott Webb. Gina and
Company, 1931. (Contains an excellent bibliography
that should be carefully stilled in each state)
The Range Cattle Industry, by E. E. Dale. University
of Oklahoma Press, 1930.
The Day of the Cattleman, by E. 3. Osgood. University
of Minnesota Press, 1929.
(in every State, supervising editors and all workers en¬
gaged in the compilation and preparation of material
should thoroughly familiarize themselves with '.7cob1 s
classic on the great plains.)
Throughout, emphasis should be placed on the specific event, the concrete
illustration, rather than the sweeping generalization. Generalizations should
be formulated later in light of the facts unearthed by research#
The human elements in all material should bo sought and stressed#
Each State, of course, will wish to develop at considerable length the
particular aspect of the range that is locally most significant and interesting
in Texas, perhaps, the story of the longhorn; in Kansas, the cow towns; in
Colorado, tho Goodnight Trail; in Montana, the great blizzard of 1885 and
Charlie Russell1s famous cartoon letter to his ranch foreman picturing tho
Last of the Ten Thousand; in S0uth Dakota, the Last great bison hunt in 1882;
in Utah, the introduction of puro-bred Rambouillot sheep on the Sooly ranch
at Mt# Pleasant; etc., etc.
V
EDIT0EIA1 SUOGESTiaiS
At the request of the Grazing Service, TJ. W. Department of the Interior,
the History of Grazing will "be a comprehensive one-volume work. The final
manuscript will ho based upon material supplied by the seventeen partici¬
pating States.
Limitations of spa.ee will necessarily require considerable condensation
of the manuscripts submitted by the several States. It might therefore be
well for the various State writers' projects to consider at the proper time
whether the material submitted by them is of sufficient, importance and
interest to justify independent publication in detailed and comprehensive
form. Such publication would in no way conflict with the preparation of the
single large volume.'
To facilitate the compilation of the single master manuscript in the
national office of the Writers* Program, the following suggestions are offered
for the serious consideration of state supervisors, who will, of course, make
such modifications as circumstances warrant:
Divisions of Work The tentative outline above should govern the basic
.pattern of the history, which can best be developed in this way:
1. Each of the seven main heads or divisions in the outline
should bo regarded as a work unit
2. Those units should be under taken in the order given, so
far as this is practicable
3. Each unit, on being completed, should be sent in duplicate
(original and one clear carbon) to the national office.
This method of work will enable State supervisors to check on po.ee and
quality of performance, and will enable the Washington editor to proceed
with work on one unit while others are in process of completion.
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Treatment The material in each work unit should he thought Tally and
carefully organized; it should he accurate, relevant, and comprehensive. But
it is not necessary at this time to work the material into smooth narrative
form; purely verbal transitions may he omitted* The unit as a whole, however,
should he hinged together in an easily workable form; scattered cud unre¬
lated facts are of no value*
.Wordage Quotas in view of the great differences between the various
States, it does not seem advisable to establish any wordage quota for the several
work units or for any State's manuscript as a whole* The supervisor in charge
must exorcise his or her own judgment hero in light of each topic's im¬
portance in the local scene. Quotas should be large enough, however, to
allow incorporation of all relevant material in important and significant
detail*
Any important local materials not mentioned in the necessarily brief
outline should be incorporated in the appropriate work unit or should bo
sent in separately.
Accuracy and Comprehensiveness of Copy Each State, of course, will be
responsible for tho accuracy and comprehensiveness of its copy.
Local consultants should bo obtained immediately to pass upon all materia,!
within their several fields of knowledge. Each complete work unit should bco.r
tho names and positions of the consult,ants who have roa,d and approved the cony.
No copy should be forwarded to Washington until it Iras been approved by such
consultants*
All manuscripts should contain correct references to printed, mo,nuscript,
or oral sources of important or controversial material* When information has
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boon obtained by personal interview, the name of the informant, his address,
occupation, the date of interview, and other relevant do.ta should bo given
so that editors may judge the value of the material and the credibility of the
informant.
References to sources should be incorporated, in the running tent or at
the conclusion of every important topic in each work unit.
Such citations should include not merely the title and date of the volume
but the page so that state supervisors and the Washington editor can check
sources readily.
Files A separate file for this history should bo set up if this has not
already been done.
All relevant material in the present files - such as that collected for
the guide books, etc. - should be carefully checked before being transferred
to the now file.
No piece of ma.te.rial should be placed in the file unless it bears a
notation on its exact source and the dale of its preparation; otherwise, it is
valueless•
Deallines State supervisors, on reviewing the subject as a whole .and
their indivicaa.1 State's contribution to it, will sot deadlines for the comple¬
tion of ca.ch work unit. Somo will require much more time than others. The
schedule should bo such, however, that all material will bo completed and in the
Washington office by November 1, 1940.
Personnel The nature and importance of this history, as well as the
necessity of speed in its preparation, will require the concentrated attention
of a competent supervising editor and a small wcll-trainod staff of research
workers. Other things being equal, those with the broaxlcst historical knowledge
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18 ~
c;h .uj.ri "bo sgI'oc bod, for the choice of material will be of the utaost importance;
workers should have an eye for the significance of facts not hitherto appre¬
ciated, for much of this history will bo a pioneer exploration of local fields.
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VI
MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
All States should provide at least a sketch map of the more important
early trails that crossed their boundaries. As much erroneous information
is current in regard to these trails, a valuable contribution can bo made
by doing a. thorough research job here. The Now Mexico State ?ro joct, for
example, has completed an ambitious study of the old Spanish trails, which
will bo of use to all States in the Southwest.
The Washington office will welcome suggestions from the States on what
i
maps might be desirable and which of these could bo done with the means at
hand.
All States should start now to collect photographs and cuts of the range,
past and present (cf« Technical Manual #1; Picture Books, for sources, coverage,
etc.)
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VII
GJAOJuLOb-ISS
The suggestion has "boon made "by the hyoininr Pritcrs' Project, and it is
hereby recormendod for all, that a chronology should bo comoiled in each
State to list all
1. State legislation affecting the livestock industry
and the range (with brief notes on the more. important
laws)
2. Land laws, both Federal and local, successively in
force in each State.