| OCR Text |
Show A ccording to Joseph T Wilson, Director of the National Council for 4LM the Traditional Arts, "cowboys appear to be the only occupational JL JL group in the United States with a high percentage of members who write and recite poetry." Although Utah is not a range cattle state and has never been particularly famous for the production of beef cattle, ranching and cowboy-ing have always been an important component in the state's economy. Since the arrival of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers in 1847, most Utah farmers have raised beef and dairy cattle in conjunction with their agricultural pursuits, and in several areas of the state where the landscape encourages it, ranching operations have thrived. Understandably then, Utah has not only a tradition of cowboying and cowboy culture, but consequently a tradition of cowboy art which includes both the composition and recitation of cowboy poetry. CATTLE RANCHING IN UTAH In July 1847, a hand-picked group of Mormon pioneers led by their leader, Brigham Young, entered northern Utah's Salt Lake Valley. This advance party of 200 and the main body of 1540 that followed, were the first of many companies who would complete a carefully organized and planned 1000 mile journey that began on the banks of the Missouri River in Iowa. Anticipating their needs in establishing a settlement in this virgin territory, they carried with them the tools that would be necessary to provide food and shelter for themselves and to prepare for the thousands who would follow. Among the resources which they brought were 2,213 oxen that had pulled them across the plains, 887 milch cows that had nourished them on their journey as well as 3,100 head of beef cattle. With that auspicious beginning, Utah's cattle industry was born. As subsequent companies of pioneers arrived, each with the cattle that had accompanied them on their westward journey, the livestock population continued to grow. The Mormons soon found themselves in the path of the California-bound goldminers and before long they entered into a brisk business, trading Cowboy Poetry From Utah 1 |
