Cowboys, Gentlemen, and Cattle Thieves

Ranching on the Western Frontier

Par (auteur) Warren M. Elofson
Catégories: Histoire économique, Économie, Économie, finance et gestion
Éditeur: McGill-Queen's University Press
Hardcover : 9780773521001, 224 pages, Octobre 2000

La description

Prostitution, gunfights, barroom brawls and cattle rustling - while prevailing images from the American old West - have typically been absent from histories of the Canadian frontier. In Cowboys, Gentlemen, and Cattle Thieves Warren Elofson demonstrates that the Canadian frontier was less restrained, law-abiding, and insulated from death and violence than has been believed. He challenges traditional views that Canadian ranching society was a microcosm of the "Old World," arguing that the greatest influence on ranchers and settlers was the need to deal with the frontier environment.

Reviews

"The picture Elofson paints of the beef-raising era is gritty, sweaty, and comprehensive. His ideas are provocative and stimulating. His point, that small ranches adapted more effectively to southern Alberta's environment, is well taken and adds an important element to our understanding of the ranching era. " A. A. den Otter, Department of History, Memorial University of Newfoundland "Elofson offers a refreshing view of the subject. Of special interest and value is his analysis of the inevitability of the demise of 'pure' ranching, and its subsequent transition to mixed farming. " D. N. Sprague, Department of History, University of Manitoba