Recalling Louisiana cowboys
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Southwest Louisiana’s marshes and grasslands provided the opportunity for a thriving cattle industry, and with it, Louisiana’s very own cowboys.
Bill Jones, former state senator from 2000-2004 and lifelong cowboy from Ruston, wrote “Louisiana Cowboys” to preserve the stories of real people who made long and dangerous cattle drives in search of green grass and instant wealth.
“In those days it was instant wealth if you could capture a cow and brand it and bring it to market,” Jones said.
Jones was the featured speaker last week at the West Baton Rouge Parish Library as part of “Celebrating Louisiana Writers 2008.” The talk was followed by a book signing.
The book with its photographs and maps covers the start of the industry by early Louisiana settlers in the 1750s through the status of ranchers in the 1970s.
“If we don’t know where we’ve come from, we’ll never know where we’re going,” Jones said.
Growing up in Lincoln Parish, Jones’ family owned a few cows. He got his bachelor’s degree in animal science from Louisiana Tech.
During college, Jones spent his summers in Montana and Ohio raising yearlings, branding cattle and breaking colts.
He went on to work cattle in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana. Jones attended law school at LSU, but never stopped “cowboying.’
His interest and experience led him to write the historical account of cattle ranching and cowboy work in south Louisiana.
He spent five months at the Gray Ranch in Ged, south of Vinton, back in 1999, completing research and interviewing cowboys.
“There’s nothing wrong with recognizing and admiring the passion of the lives of these cowboys,” Jones said. “It’s a mark to shoot for.
“They found something out there on that grass that attracted them and strengthened them and made them want to continue doing it,” he added.
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