Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle

Continuing our "skim-overs," here is Katie Lee's book, Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle, first published by Katydid Books and Records, Jerome, AZ, in 1976. This edition is a 6x9 paperback, third printing (revised) 1985, and is autographed by Katie Lee. The front cover says it is a history of the American cowboy in song, story and verse, and the back cover has a small photo of Katie Lee with a short bio and overview of the book.

Wikipedia also has a bio on Katie Lee, born 1919 in Tucson, resides in Jerome, has written two other books, Sandstone Seduction and All My Rivers Are Gone. It says that Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle is a study of the music, stories and poetry of the American Cowboy.

It's a book for the student of the West and anyone else who is interested in the cowboy's music and its origin among the cactus, sagebrush and cedar trees, trailing a herd of cattle and in the bunkhouse. The book contains a number of cowboy songs and verses with illustrations by William Moyers, and is extensively researched. Katie Lee's official website is KatyDoodit.com. Take a look at her flash presentation on the site.

A couple of articles appear in the Salt Lake Tribune (sltrib.com) this morning of interest to the western way of life:

1. Shaping the Western Tradition, which is about the history of a hatmaking store started by Brigham Young and his personal hatmaker in 1853and is still in use, being closed for a time in the 1980's.

2. Roundup: Only 'brave spirits' need apply: The annual roundup of the buffalo on Antelope Island.

3. Heber City Cowboy Poetry and Buckaroo Fair, Nov 3 to 8. Includes a series of documentaries on the vaqueros.