Ranching was the dominant economic pursuit in southwest Louisiana for more than a century. Throughout the state’s history, the tallgrass prairies and the coastal marshes enabled people to make a living from the earth. While working on Gray Ranch in Ged, Louisiana, author Bill Jones gathered stories that link locals to the first settlers of the area and reveal the struggles and successes of Louisiana’s cowboys.
This illustrated account tells the history of migratory cattle ranching in Louisiana from colonial days up to the present, from the trail drives of the 1760s to the ranches of the 1970s. The Acadians’ love of horses begat their success as drovers, and they quickly became the largest ethnic group in ranch work. The firsthand accounts of the twentieth-century vachers who worked the grass reveals the last vestiges of the open range.
From the Back Cover
The story of the cowboys who drove cattle across bayous, marshes, and rivers through the vast, open grassland prairies and marshes of south Louisiana.
In a region known for its sugarcane, oil, and seafood resources, the thought of south Louisianians as cattle ranchers and cowpunchers seems foreign. Yet, many Louisiana residents have flourished in the cattle business, which prospered in the mid-eighteenth century and continues to be an economic powerhouse today. This book traces the history of the ranchers and drovers who settled the abundant grasslands with their horses and cattle. These stories of the last open-range vachers are accompanied by striking vintage and contemporary photographs, personal interviews, and richly detailed cultural, geographical, and historical descriptions. Author Bill Jones draws from firsthand experience ranching in the Louisiana prairies to tell the fascinating true story of one of the most unlikely and unknown ranching frontiers.
About the Author
An attorney, cattle runner, and former state senator from Ruston, Louisiana, Bill Jones comes from a long line of Louisiana cowboys. He learned to
