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Sheep and Cattle Wars

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, cattlemen and sheepherders battled over the range lands of Idaho and the West.

Ketchum vicinity, Idaho. Sheep heading for the summer range in the Sawtooth national forest. Idaho Idaho. United States, None. Between 1935 and 1945. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017872284/.

Books

  • Filby, Evan E. (Evan Everett). Before the spud : Indians, buckaroos, and sheephearders in pioneer Idaho. Idaho Falls, Idaho: Sourdough Publishing; Charleston, S.C.: CreateSpace, 2012.
  • Foss, Phillip O. Politics and grass; the administration of grazing on the public domain. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1960.
  • Grover, David H. Diamondfield Jack : a study in frontier justice. Caldwell, ID: Caxton Press, 2008.
  • Hart, Arthur A. Idaho’s Rangelands: a history. [Boise, Idaho]: Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission, 2009. – This 46 page book provides a great introduction to Idaho rangeland history and issues.
  • Yensen, Dana. A grazing history of southwestern Idaho with emphasis on the Birds of Prey Study Area. Boise, Idaho: USDI-BLM Snake River Birds of Prey Research Project, Boise District, 1982.

Newspaper Articles

  • “A Negro Shepherd Shot in Idaho.” Idaho Daily Statesman. February 16, 1886, page 3.
  • “Diamondfield Jack to Hang for His Crimes.” Idaho Daily Statesman. June 16, 1898, pages 1 and 4.
  • “Report Oregon Basques Feeding Sheep Over Line.” Idaho Daily Statesman. June 28, 1919, page 10.
  • “Man is Shot in Range War Near Mackay.” Idaho Daily Statesman. September 1, 1919, page 1.
  • “Cattleman Hints of Herders’ War: Owyhee County Residents Oppose Invasion by Foreign Sheep Growers.” Idaho Daily Statesman. January 7, 1923, page 14.
  • “New Bill Cuts State Grazing Land Acreage.” Idaho Daily Statesman. July 4, 1934. page 2.

Legal Cases

Rothstein, Arthur, photographer. Pile of bleached bones of horses and cattle that have died on the overgrazed land in resettlement development area. Idaho. Idaho Idaho. United States, 1936. May. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017760563/.

Taylor Grazing Act of 1934

  • An Act To stop injury to the public grazing lands by preventing overgrazing and soil deterioration, to provide for their orderly use, improvement, and development, to stabilize the livestock industry dependent upon the public range, and for other purposes. June 28, 1934. https://www.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/73rd-congress/session-2/c73s2ch865.pdf. Accessed November 27, 2018.
  • The Taylor Grazing Act: 50 years of progress, 1934-1984. [Boise, Idaho]: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, 1984.

Additional Information

 

This page updated by Ronnie Joiner on March 14, 2019.