“James H. Monahan’s son, Earl, was born on the ranch in 1899. Again, ingenuity and determination reigned in that generation of Monahans. The winter of 1913 wreaked havoc on all the nearby ranches when a series of malicious blizzards buried the plains in so much snow that thousands of livestock froze to death. Earl and a high school friend hired out to the neighbors to uncover the frozen, dead cattle and collect the hides. They engineered a unique skinning process. The boys looped a rope from a horse to the head of the cow carcass, and then used a second horse to attach another rope to the cow’s hide. The frozen hide peeled off as the horses pulled in opposite directions. Over several weeks of the big freeze, Earl and his partner brought in hides by the wagonload, enough so that the railroad actually left a car positioned near town so the boys could stack their hides in it.”
– Jim Keen, Great Ranches of the West Author & Photographer
This beautiful award-winning 12×11 fine art, hard bound, coffee table book featuring over 30 ranches in 17 states with nearly 600 photographs will make a wonderful addition to any home or office, and be a showing of your support for America’s struggling farm and ranch families.
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