 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Pioneers on the Emigrant Trail were the first to recognize Nevada's value for raising livestock. The desert's grasses proved nutricious to their animals as they followed the Humboldt River across Nevada. While they quickly exxhausted forage along the trail, hundreds of meadows throughout the state were filled with Indian rice grass, wild rye and wheat grasses that could support cattle and sheep. By the 1870s, ranching outfits had cropped up throughout northern Nevada and the state had an estimated 400,000 sheep and cattle. Sadly, because few understood the fragility of deserts, this led to overgrazing which damaged much of the range. A severe winter in 1879-80 killed much livestock, and by the end of that season many ranchers chose to depart Nevada for more hospitable territory. Perhaps not unexpectedly, this shrinkage in numbers of ranches coincided with the beginnings of giant cattle and sheep empires, which sprawled over much of Northern Nevada by the turn of the century. Among the largest were the Miller and Lux outfit, the holdings of John Sparks (who would become Nevada's Governor in 1903), and Pedro Altube's Spanish Ranch. For several decades John G. Taylor would have the biggest spread, owning some 60,000 sheep, 8,000 cattle, 130,000 acres of land and leasing another half million acres. Although most of the ranching empires eventually splintered and faded, ranching continues to be an important part of Nevada's economy. The rural landscape particularly in the valleys outside of the towns, is dotted with large and small ranch houses. Much of Nevada is still open range and drivers have to be careful, on a pitch-black evening, not to purchase an expensive quantity of beef. The law requires you to pay a rancher should you kill his cow. Cowboys are part of what defines Nevada and the West. Despite having been overly romanticized in movies, books, songs and television shows, there really is something appealing about cowboy life. Perhaps it is the perceived freedom of living out under the stars, or the way the cowboy myth neatly parallels traditional American beliefs in self-determination and hard work. For whatever reasons, cowboys fascinate us. Of course, the real life of a cowboy can be backbreaking, tedious and lonely. The day begins early and, depending on the time of year, can involve everything from feeding cows, to repairing barbed wire fences, to fixing corrals, to searching out lost calves, birthing them, castrating them, and branding them. The cows are stupid and stink. Cowboy hours dwarf the standard 40-hour workweek. The pay is awful. Yet some choose to do it. A bard's beginning Bruce Mitchell truly believed in Roy, Hoppy, Lash and Gene. As a young boy he sat in the darkened theater in smalltown Elko and watched his cinema heroes rescue damsels, slug it out with bad guys and, sometimes, sing a song before riding off into the sunset. Unlike most boys, who could only fantasize about roping, riding and round-ups when Bruce left the movie house he went home to the real thing on the ranch where he grew up. And he didn't mind the realities that movies never showed, like mucking out rising early to feed cows or riding for hours in the rain, checking for breaks in the barbed wire fences. All he ever wanted to do was cowboy. The stories he heard while doing it were as good as the movies. Older ranch hands, grubline cowboys and his father would tell of buckaroos and horses and coyotes and rattlesnakes and wide-open ranges. Frequently, the stories were told in rhyme, which made them easier to remember and certainly easier on the ears when you heard them over and over. Bruce was a smart boy and found he was pretty good at memorizing those poems. He could always attract an audience when he told of The Strawberry Roan, The Bunkhouse Orchestra and The Flying Outlaw. Pretty soon, the buckaroos started calling him "Waddie," -slang for a common cowboy. "They called me Waddie because I was my Dad's little 'waddie'," he says. "I hated that name but it stuck. Of course, now I don 't mind." Waddie worked on his dad's spread and at other outfits until Uncle Sam sent greetings. Expecting a tour of Vietnam, Waddie was shipped to Colorado instead. He spent his military career breaking horses on a ranch that provided mounts for military parades and honor guards. Back in civilian life, he became ranch manager on a small spread in the tiny northeastern Nevada community of Jiggs. And he continued to recite cowboy poems. Why poetry? Cowboy poetry is believed to have its roots in the fact that cowboying is a lonely life and buckaroos must find ways to pass the time on horseback while watching cows. Some simply made up stories, but others put their stories to song or rhyme, probably to make it easier to remember the exact, best order to repeat it. Later, when cowboys reconvened at meal times, a few screwed up the courage to share their songs and poems. Mostly, the poems were about breaking a spirited horse, chasing off pesky coyotes and bears or, in a more philosophical vein, the meaning of the cowboy life. Some would be humorous, even downright crude, while others were sentimental and, occasionally, maudlin. Always, they were heartfelt and genuine - a lot like the men who were reciting them. In January 1985, Waddie Mitchell and a few dozen other cowboy poets from around the west met in Elko, Nevada, for the first Cowboy Poetry Gathering. The event was organized by folklorists of the Western Folklife Center which is dedicated to preserving Western arts, crafts and traditions. Despite the fact that cowboy poetry has existed a long time and several books of it had been published about 1900, many of its modern practitioners were unaware others shared their avocation. Their gathering attracted national media attention and more than 700 devotees. The poets and their friends had such a good time they decided to try it one more time the following year. Now an annual occurrence, the gathering has grown almost geometrically in interest and stature. Similar events are now held in every Western state. An entire industry of cowboy lore has bloomed, producing poetry books, videos, posters, tapes, CDs, and even a cookbook. A few poets even make their livings by performing. Icon of the art. Waddie is one of the most famous, and looks the part. In an earlier era he could have been taken for one of those movie cowboys, with his twinkly eyes and handlebar mustache. A Wester n-cut long-sleeve shirt, trademark round-crowned black cowboy hat with white trim, neatly cuffed Wranglers, high-heeled laced boots and knotted "wild-rag" wrapped around his neck, also look theatrical, but they're authentic and practical Northeastern Nevada buckaroo duds. It's clear to anyone who has ever met Waddie Mitchell that he enjoys being a professional buckaroo bard. But he's not too far removed from his days as a cowboy and rancher - and you get the feeling he'd return to either in a minute if reciting poetry didn't pay so well. In addition to reciting almost annually at the Elko Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Mitchell has appeared on numerous TV shows, been the subject of a PBS documentary, cut several poetry albums, and written a handful of books. He regularly tours with Western musicians, including Michael Martin Murphy, who is largely responsible for rekindling popular interest in cowboy music. Yet, despite his fame, one of the other things you notice about Mitchell is his infernal politeness. He's still one of those "Yes sir, no ma'am," buckaroos - like you used to see in the movies. Roy, Hoppy, Lash and Gene would be proud. |
