New Mexico’s Spanish Livestock Heritage: Four Centuries of Animals, Land, and People by William W. Dunmire (review)

How did the northern New Spanish (and, later, northern Mexican) frontier become an area rich in possibilities for those looking to raise sheep and cattle? Regarding the present-day state of New Mexico, one answer is presented in William W. Dunmire’s book, New Mexico’s Spanish Livestock Heritage: Four Centuries of Animals, Land, and People. Dunmire, a natural history specialist at the University of New Mexico and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque, argues that “all livestock [in New Mexico and elsewhere] has a Spanish heritage” (x).

The chronological scope of Dunmire’s book runs from 1598 through 2011 in eleven chapters. Dunmire notes in “The Background” that environmental and health-related concerns notwithstanding, American Indians benefited from the introduction of Spanish livestock in New Mexico in the areas of travel and nourishment. Topics include a 1598 attempt at a cattle drive by Don Juan de Oñate, the establishment and growth of the rodeo in and outside of New Mexico, and the growth and decline of cattle ranches in New Mexico, including the introduction of barbed wire and the Big Die-Up of 1886–87. Dunmire’s final chapter, “New Mexico’s Place in the American Scene,” only discusses New Mexico’s role in the growth of Texas’s and, to a lesser extent, Arizona’s cattle industry. An epilogue summarizes his interviews with several individuals, including Linda Davis of the CS Cattle Company’s eastern New Mexico ranch. In doing so, he gives his arguments a human element.

Although the book is masterful blend of a solid narrative and gentle analysis, it contains some weaknesses. The organization is somewhat confusing and awkward: the first eleven chapters are organized chronologically, while the succeeding chapters are topical. The research is limited to a few published primary sources, a few standards on the history of the cattle industry, and issues of the New Mexico Historical Review. Dunmire should have examined unpublished archival sources and case-study histories of various ranches to broaden his book.

Overall, William W. Dunmire’s book is a fascinating read on the New Mexico stock-raising industry for laypersons, agricultural theorists and practitioners, and those looking to gain introductory knowledge of ranching history in the West. Unfortunately, historians of southwestern ranching will be disappointed by the methodological and organizational weaknesses. Still, New Mexico’s Spanish Livestock Heritage: Four Centuries of Animals, Land, and People is a valuable contribution to western ranching history scholarship.