02927cam a2200421 i 4500 623761030 TxAuBib 20160607120000.0 050324s2006||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2005043938 9780806137186 alkaline paper 0806137185 alkaline paper 9780806140445 paperback 0806140445 paperback TXKPL eng rda TXKPL TxAuBib rda Pettit, Michael. Riding for the brand : 150 years of Cowden Ranching : being an account of the adventures and growth in Texas and New Mexico of the Cowden Land & Cattle Company / Michael Pettit. Norman, OK : University of Oklahoma Press, 2006. xiv, 306 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-295) and index. Folks all over West Texas and eastern New Mexico will tell you: Cowdens have been ranching here for as long as anyone can remember. The Cowdens, in fact, have been at the forefront of the cattle business for 150 years. Arriving in Texas in the 1850s, Cowden men and women raised and trailed cattle, sought out water and better grazing land, tangled with Comanches--and helped extend the western line of Anglo settlement as they raised their families. They eventually moved to New Mexico, where they established the renowned JAL Ranch. Award-winning writer Michael Pettit, a Cowden descendant and former rancher, offers a compelling portrait of this genuine American ranching family. Riding for the Brand spans six generations and two states to serve up a real slice of the Old West, complete with cowboys and Indians, cattle and buffalo, open range and barbed wire. Pettit skillfully blends family saga with an urbanite's firsthand look at life on today's 50,000-acre Cowden Ranch, where the one dependable factor is the constant wind. Riding for the Brand traces the evolution of the Texas and New Mexico cattle business from the era of intimate ranching communities to today's oil-enriched or corporate operations. But it's also the story of one man's search for identity through his connections to a family, a place, and a way of life. 20160607. Cowden family. Cowden Cattle Company History. Ranchers Texas Biography. Ranchers New Mexico Biography. Ranch life Texas History. Ranch life New Mexico History. Ranching Texas History. Ranching New Mexico History. Texas Social life and customs. New Mexico Social life and customs. Biographies. TXKPL