Arizona State Parks - Feature Story

The Ranch in Mexico

by Joe S. Graham

The ranch originated in Spain beginning in the 11th Century and came to Mexico in the early 1500's. Ranching spread from Mexico into the American Southwest, and has had a major impact on our culture. The Spaniards brought cattle to Cape Haitian, Haiti, and these cattle spread to modern-day Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Cuba, and other islands of the West Indies.

When Hernan Cortez arrived in Mexico in 1519, he brought with him sixteen Andalusian horses; eleven stallions and five mares. These horses played a key role in Cortez' conquering the Indians. In 1521, the first shipload of cattle arrived in Mexico, and cattle ranching began to develop on a grand scale in this country. There were at least three breeds of cattle imported into Mexico: (1) the Barrenda, or piebald, which had a white body with black markings on the neck and ears; (2) the Retinto, a tan and reddish colored animal with a long, narrow head; and, (3) the ancient ganado prieto, a black animal commonly known as the Andalusian fighting bull. These cattle interbred and eventually produced what would become the Texas Longhorn, an animal with long legs and a narrow body for covering large distance with ease, and with a mean disposition which, coupled with its weapon-like horns, could insure survival in spite of any number of enemies - man or beast.

The Mexican vaquero, who was either a mestizo or an Indian (some with African American blood), developed the methods of working cattle, the equipment used to work cattle, and the costume - all of which would affect the traditions of the cowboys of the Southwest.

Slowly, ranching haciendas began to replace the government as focal points of social, economic, and political life. As the hacendados (ranch owners) became more powerful, the system took a step backward toward the feudal system of Europe, since the hacendados basically ruled over everyone within the boundaries of the hacienda. The largest Mexican haciendas were on the northern frontier, particularly in the regions of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Le6n and Durango, where land was too poor to cultivate but was well suited for grazing, even though it required many acres per head of cattle. The numbers of cattle began to increase again, probably because the trade in hides and tallow had significantly declined. Hacendados attempted to cut expenses by lowering wages for the vaqueros and enforcing a system of credit at the hacienda store, through which many vaqueros became "bonded" servants to the hacienda. Some vaqueros were even born into a life of debt incurred by their fathers, and many went through life never seeing their wages, which were simply credited to their store accounts.

In herding cattle, the vaqueros used and iron-tipped lance, or garrocha, similar to the one still used by vaqueros and cattlemen in Spain and by mounted horsemen in the bullfight rings in Mexico. During the middle of the sixteenth century, the rodeo, or round-up, became a common method of herding cattle. Using the lances, vaqueros would drive cattle from various ranches toward a specific location, where they would be sorted among the various owners.

As cattle became very numerous and at the same time more valuable for their hide and tallow than their meat, the hocking knife (desjarretadera, or media luna) became an important instrument. It consisted of a half-moon shaped blade, sharpened on the inner curve, attached to a stout pole from ten to twelve feet long. the vaquero would mount his horse, place the handle of the hocking knife under his arm to steady it and, holding the blade a couple of feet from the ground, urge his horse in pursuit of the animal he chose to slaughter. The sharp blade would cut the animal's hamstring, making it fall to the ground, unable to rise again. The vaquero struck the fallen animal behind the head with his hocking knife, severing the spinal cord. He would then skin the animal and stake the hide on the ground to dry. In 1594, for example, 75,000 hides were shipped to Seville, Spain, and it 1598 a fleet of ships bound for Europe carried some 150,000 cattle hides. In 1574, the hocking knife was banned by the mesta, even though it continued to be used for some time after that. Anyone found with a hocking knife was fined 20 pesos or was given a hundred lashes in public. This banning of the hocking knife led to the development of the lariat.

The vaqueros also developed the process of long cattle drives with large herds of cattle. These cattle drives were necessary to transport the cattle to the major markets throughout Mexico. They originated early in the cattle industry in Mexico and were brought into the Southwest when it still belonged to Mexico. Long cattle drives from South Texas to Louisiana into Mexico were common during the last half of the 1700's and the early 1800's.

In essence, the vaquero developed the ranching skills necessary to manage cattle on ranches and were great experts in taking care of cattle on ranches without fences. They were extraordinarily skilled in many ways, and these traditions were brought into what is now the Southwest of the United States long before the first Anglos arrived in the region. These skills were used on the privately owned ranches as well as the mission ranches of the Catholic Church. The Mexican vaquero has played a major role in the development of the ranching industry in Mexico as well as the United States.