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Cattle Kate
Ella Watson is the only woman to be lynched in the nation as a cattle rustler. She and her husband were hanged on July 20, 1889, by prominent cattlemen. History portrays the lynching as a case of “range land justice,” with “Cattle Kate” tarred as both a notorious rustler and a filthy whore. Is this sordid story true?
It was all a lie. She wasn't a rustler. She wasn't a whore. She was a 28-year-old immigrant homesteader murdered by her rich and powerful Wyoming cattle-baron neighbors who wanted the land and its precious water rights she’d refused to sell. She was never called “Cattle Kate” until she was dead and they needed an excuse to cover up their crime.
Some people knew the truth from the start. Their voices were drowned out by the all-powerful Wyoming Stock Growers Association. And those who dared speak out—including the eye witnesses to the hangings—either disappeared or mysteriously died. There was no one left to testify against the vigilantes when the case eventually came to trial, so it was dismissed. Her six killers walked away scot-free.
Dozens of books, movies, too, spread her ugly legacy. Now, on the 125th anniversary of her murder, Ella comes alive again in the novel Cattle Kate to tell her heartbreaking story, one central to the western experience.
It was all a lie. She wasn't a rustler. She wasn't a whore. She was a 28-year-old immigrant homesteader murdered by her rich and powerful Wyoming cattle-baron neighbors who wanted the land and its precious water rights she’d refused to sell. She was never called “Cattle Kate” until she was dead and they needed an excuse to cover up their crime.
Some people knew the truth from the start. Their voices were drowned out by the all-powerful Wyoming Stock Growers Association. And those who dared speak out—including the eye witnesses to the hangings—either disappeared or mysteriously died. There was no one left to testify against the vigilantes when the case eventually came to trial, so it was dismissed. Her six killers walked away scot-free.
Dozens of books, movies, too, spread her ugly legacy. Now, on the 125th anniversary of her murder, Ella comes alive again in the novel Cattle Kate to tell her heartbreaking story, one central to the western experience.
342 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2014
12 people are currently reading
136 people want to read
About the author
Jana Bommersbach
16 books24 followersOne of the Grand Canyon State’s most acclaimed journalists and authors, Jana Bommersbach has been a fixture in Arizona media since the early 1970s, making an indelible mark in both broadcast and print journalism. Raised in a large extended family in North Dakota, she attended graduate school at the University of Michigan before moving to the Southwest in 1972. Named Arizona’s "Journalist of the Year," she has also been honored with two lifetime achievement awards along with multiple local, regional and national accolades. Her first book, The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd, was a national bestseller and was named Arizona’s ONEBOOKAZ selection in 2010.
Always an obedient child, Jana ventured into children’s literature because her mother told her to! Living in a historic neighborhood in the heart of downtown Phoenix, she entertains the children in her life each Christmas with the annual Hoover Street Children’s Party. With the introduction of A Squirrel’s Story—A True Tale, she looks forward to entering the children's book market with gusto!
Always an obedient child, Jana ventured into children’s literature because her mother told her to! Living in a historic neighborhood in the heart of downtown Phoenix, she entertains the children in her life each Christmas with the annual Hoover Street Children’s Party. With the introduction of A Squirrel’s Story—A True Tale, she looks forward to entering the children's book market with gusto!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
July 24, 2016
There was a lot to like about this book so I will start there. I love to read about the pioneers. I find that time in American history fascinating. So that was all 5 stars for me.....moving west, cattle rustling, homesteading...I thought I was in heaven.
I liked the MC....she was strong, which vividly illustrated the pioneer spirit. Her character was based on a real life person who left her family in Kansas and settled in the Wyoming Territory. I also liked the other characters. They were well drawn and I was completely pulled into the story by all of them. The history of the time and the attention to the details were researched thoroughly. The dreams of the ranchers vs. the settlers were portrayed well. That was all appreciated.
Where it started unraveling for me was the ending. It was SOOOOOOOOOO long. The last third, if not more, was the ending. There was also so much repetition in there, it was driving me insane. I wish I could have skimmed that, but it is hard to do that with my mp3 player. It felt like the author didn't want to leave out a single story she located about the topic, so she threw them all in there. So I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars. I was really so disappointed with the ending, when I loved everything else.
I liked the MC....she was strong, which vividly illustrated the pioneer spirit. Her character was based on a real life person who left her family in Kansas and settled in the Wyoming Territory. I also liked the other characters. They were well drawn and I was completely pulled into the story by all of them. The history of the time and the attention to the details were researched thoroughly. The dreams of the ranchers vs. the settlers were portrayed well. That was all appreciated.
Where it started unraveling for me was the ending. It was SOOOOOOOOOO long. The last third, if not more, was the ending. There was also so much repetition in there, it was driving me insane. I wish I could have skimmed that, but it is hard to do that with my mp3 player. It felt like the author didn't want to leave out a single story she located about the topic, so she threw them all in there. So I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars. I was really so disappointed with the ending, when I loved everything else.
January 26, 2020
This was a fascinating look at an appalling act of violence in the Wyoming Territory in 1889. Phoenix author Jana Bommersbach has written a thorough novel about an unknown piece of western history involving the lynching of two homesteaders. The book grabbed me in the opening paragraphs:
“I never thought I’d die like this. There’s a bucketful of ways I could go. Snake bite. Thrown by a horse. Shot by a cowboy. Trampled by a steer. Freeze to death. Drown in the river. Come down sick. Maybe an Indian attack, but this is already 1889 and I think the fight has been beat out of them.
I never thought I’d be hanging here at the end of a rope.”
“I never thought I’d die like this. There’s a bucketful of ways I could go. Snake bite. Thrown by a horse. Shot by a cowboy. Trampled by a steer. Freeze to death. Drown in the river. Come down sick. Maybe an Indian attack, but this is already 1889 and I think the fight has been beat out of them.
I never thought I’d be hanging here at the end of a rope.”
October 9, 2014
Bommersbach literally grabs readers by the throat on the very first page. Ella Watson is slowly strangling to death. Trying to grab the rope. Kicking out furiously for some sort of purchase in order to free herself. Certain that the men who are watching will realize it's time for the joke to end. Determined that this is not her time to die. This is an amazing opening to the book, and an unforgettable one. It's an opening that immediately puts the reader in Ella's shoes and on Ella's side.
What follows is Ella's account of her life. Moving with her parents and all her brothers and sisters from Canada to Kansas to start life anew. It's a story of heartbreak, of hard work, of sacrifice, and of sheer determination. Ella moves on to Wyoming Territory, intent on filing a homestead claim and working hard to own her own property. She's known for her sewing, her cooking, and her kindness. But as her story progresses, a strong feeling of dread begins to creep in. Ella and her husband Jimmy are honest, forthright people who believe in doing what's right and in speaking their mind. Being homesteaders in the middle of cattle country... well, speaking your mind isn't always a wise thing to do. At least it wasn't back then, and Ella and her husband paid a terrible price.
Bommersbach's narrative is powerful. Ella is an extremely likable woman, and knowing what's going to happen doesn't make it any easier to read. Actually Ella's character makes it more difficult because the reader wants desperately to prevent the lynching from happening. But the very least this woman deserves is justice, and the author has given it to her. If there's any drawback to Cattle Kate, it's the fact that a sizable portion of the book is taken up by historical notes that prove how diligently Bommersbach did her research. These notes are important, but the author's writing is so visceral that I wanted more Ella, more story-- not pages of research.
Having already read this author's previous non-fiction Bones in the Desert and The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd, I just knew that she would also be able to write incredible fiction. I was right, and I hope to read more.
What follows is Ella's account of her life. Moving with her parents and all her brothers and sisters from Canada to Kansas to start life anew. It's a story of heartbreak, of hard work, of sacrifice, and of sheer determination. Ella moves on to Wyoming Territory, intent on filing a homestead claim and working hard to own her own property. She's known for her sewing, her cooking, and her kindness. But as her story progresses, a strong feeling of dread begins to creep in. Ella and her husband Jimmy are honest, forthright people who believe in doing what's right and in speaking their mind. Being homesteaders in the middle of cattle country... well, speaking your mind isn't always a wise thing to do. At least it wasn't back then, and Ella and her husband paid a terrible price.
Bommersbach's narrative is powerful. Ella is an extremely likable woman, and knowing what's going to happen doesn't make it any easier to read. Actually Ella's character makes it more difficult because the reader wants desperately to prevent the lynching from happening. But the very least this woman deserves is justice, and the author has given it to her. If there's any drawback to Cattle Kate, it's the fact that a sizable portion of the book is taken up by historical notes that prove how diligently Bommersbach did her research. These notes are important, but the author's writing is so visceral that I wanted more Ella, more story-- not pages of research.
Having already read this author's previous non-fiction Bones in the Desert and The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd, I just knew that she would also be able to write incredible fiction. I was right, and I hope to read more.
September 25, 2014
A surprising enjoyable read about an unknown character (at least in my part of the world). I have a fascination for the Old West, the true one, not the Hollywood version. The hardships, trials, tribulations, ingenuity and invention, that's what I want to read about. In a day of reality TV where people debase themselves knowingly for fame or money we sometimes don't think about that sensationalism has always been around. Previously, it was the dime novel and newspaper writers who created larger than life people and events to boost readership or create interest in a certain town or place. This is one of those sensational stories that was built so strongly that it obscured the tragedy underneath. Unwitting participants in a power struggle and ratings bid.
This book is broken into two halves. The first half provides the true story of the main characters and their lost place in history. While they provided some local color, they would have never been vaulted to the national stage or international infamy without the embellishment of newspaper and cattlemen. At the end of the first half, you are compelled to drop the book and read no further, because you know the story now, the rest is fuel for your anger.
The second half is that tinder and it stokes the fire of bitterness you'll feel. This is a powerful story of true events so horribly skewed as to be unrecognizable to the original events. Broken people and corruption are left in it's wake. A lie so grand it persisted for a century.
This deserves to be a weather beaten novel folded lovingly in each saddle bag across the big sky country.
This book is broken into two halves. The first half provides the true story of the main characters and their lost place in history. While they provided some local color, they would have never been vaulted to the national stage or international infamy without the embellishment of newspaper and cattlemen. At the end of the first half, you are compelled to drop the book and read no further, because you know the story now, the rest is fuel for your anger.
The second half is that tinder and it stokes the fire of bitterness you'll feel. This is a powerful story of true events so horribly skewed as to be unrecognizable to the original events. Broken people and corruption are left in it's wake. A lie so grand it persisted for a century.
This deserves to be a weather beaten novel folded lovingly in each saddle bag across the big sky country.
October 24, 2014
Westward Ho!!
Cattle Kate was a delicately raised rule follower, but she had to break away, and break away she did.
Ella Watson's story is creatively told and keeps your interest from the first page. "Taming" the west really wasn't for women was it? Even though it may not have been for women, homesteading is what Ella did, and what left Ella hanging from a rope at the ripe old age of 29.
I really did enjoy CATTLE KATE. Ms. Bommersbach did a great deal of research and turned her research into quite a fascinating, splendid book. The ending pages document dates and times, and these are even categorized in an organized, unique way with wonderful detail.
Learning about the West and how the Wyoming Territory became settled will keep you turning the pages and wanting to find out how Ellla actually lived and what turned people against her and her husband.
If you like fiction at its best, don't miss reading CATTLE KATE. You will get a little bit of everything to appreciate and delight in. 4/5
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review
October 2, 2014
I started this book thinking it was a biography or a history of the events surrounding the notorious Cattle Kate. I hadn't heard of her before, but it sounded like an interesting story of murder in the Wyoming Territory in the 1880s. Then I realized I had stumbled on a work of fiction. This book is a historical novel based on the life of a real person known as Cattle Kate.
My inclination was to toss it and move on to some non-fiction, but I got caught up in the story and read on, thinking I'd look up this Cattle Kate later and find out what the facts were.
Jana Bommersbach based her novel on solid research, about the woman who became known after her death as Cattle Kate, and about the times and conditions she lived in. While the details (thoughts, conversations, day-to-day activities) about Ella Watson's life are made up, Bommersbach has followed the facts that are known about Watson and about how frontier women lived in the late 19th century.
I was surprised to learn that Wyoming Territory encouraged single women to settle there by being the first U.S. territory to allow women the vote, and by allowing unmarried women to become homesteaders, awarding them the land they settled as long as they improved it by building a house on it and living on it for five years. It was a way to get people to settle the vast western lands.
Ella Watson was one of the women who became a homesteader, but it was still the Wild West, and the law was not always as respected as was force, so when some cattle ranchers wanted her land, they refused to take no for an answer.
Following the fictionalized story of the short (29 years) life of Ella Watson, Bommersbach has included what in a work of non-fiction would be end notes, detailing what we know about Watson and what is disputed. In addition, there's a lengthy bibliography that will satisfy anyone wanting to do additional research.
Recommended! (Thanks to NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for a digital review copy.)
My inclination was to toss it and move on to some non-fiction, but I got caught up in the story and read on, thinking I'd look up this Cattle Kate later and find out what the facts were.
Jana Bommersbach based her novel on solid research, about the woman who became known after her death as Cattle Kate, and about the times and conditions she lived in. While the details (thoughts, conversations, day-to-day activities) about Ella Watson's life are made up, Bommersbach has followed the facts that are known about Watson and about how frontier women lived in the late 19th century.
I was surprised to learn that Wyoming Territory encouraged single women to settle there by being the first U.S. territory to allow women the vote, and by allowing unmarried women to become homesteaders, awarding them the land they settled as long as they improved it by building a house on it and living on it for five years. It was a way to get people to settle the vast western lands.
Ella Watson was one of the women who became a homesteader, but it was still the Wild West, and the law was not always as respected as was force, so when some cattle ranchers wanted her land, they refused to take no for an answer.
Following the fictionalized story of the short (29 years) life of Ella Watson, Bommersbach has included what in a work of non-fiction would be end notes, detailing what we know about Watson and what is disputed. In addition, there's a lengthy bibliography that will satisfy anyone wanting to do additional research.
Recommended! (Thanks to NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for a digital review copy.)
October 9, 2014
I probably would not have picked up this book had it not been sent to me and I would have missed out on an exceptional work of historical fiction about a very strong women known as Cattle Kate who lived in the late 19th century west. I was fascinated immediately and thoroughly enjoyed this book. I highly recommend others on the fence about reading a historical fiction western to check out other reviews, Cattle Kate by Janna Bommersbach is a wonderful work of historical fiction filled with strong women, the rough west, and a murder tossed in for good measure.
January 11, 2015
2014 278 pages plus
this is a well documented book about the first woman hung for cattle rustling. Documents prove Kate did have a legal branding iron, the land barons wanted her out so they stole her small herd, rebanded, accused. The author spent a lot of time researching this book with the documentation filling numerous pages after the story was read.
I liked the book, her writing style and will look for more from this author.
this is a well documented book about the first woman hung for cattle rustling. Documents prove Kate did have a legal branding iron, the land barons wanted her out so they stole her small herd, rebanded, accused. The author spent a lot of time researching this book with the documentation filling numerous pages after the story was read.
I liked the book, her writing style and will look for more from this author.
March 26, 2019
Award-winning journalist and author, Bommersbach brings to this moving thoughtful novel, years of careful research, good writing and yes, a jaundiced eye. Those attributes are particularly important for this project because the author is directly confronting long-standing scurrilous myth about the subject of the novel, a woman named Ella Watson, and about the mythology of the settlement of the west.
Every child alive in America today as well as previous generations grew up on stories of the men who settled the western plains of North America in the years following the Civil War. There were strong mountain men, trappers, taciturn cowboys, sodbusters and cattlemen. Mostly missing from the narrative are the stories of the strong women who proved up on land grants, herded cattle and made homes for the men in their lives.
This is the story of once such strong woman, secretly married, who owned land in Wyoming Territory and was murdered, along with her husband on a July day in 1889. The couple was murdered by several landowners who claimed, along with help from local newspapers, that she was a pimp and a prostitute and a cattle rustler. Her attackers simply wanted her land and water rights.
The author meticulously tells the story of Ella Watson from her early life in Canada and Kansas to her death. Bommersbach’s canvas is broad and richly colored with the times, the trials and the triumphs of so many women on the frontier. The characters are clever and vividly portrayed. The pace at times slows to a thoughtful meander, but never loses focus. Here is a novel of the true old west to be read, savored and read again.
Every child alive in America today as well as previous generations grew up on stories of the men who settled the western plains of North America in the years following the Civil War. There were strong mountain men, trappers, taciturn cowboys, sodbusters and cattlemen. Mostly missing from the narrative are the stories of the strong women who proved up on land grants, herded cattle and made homes for the men in their lives.
This is the story of once such strong woman, secretly married, who owned land in Wyoming Territory and was murdered, along with her husband on a July day in 1889. The couple was murdered by several landowners who claimed, along with help from local newspapers, that she was a pimp and a prostitute and a cattle rustler. Her attackers simply wanted her land and water rights.
The author meticulously tells the story of Ella Watson from her early life in Canada and Kansas to her death. Bommersbach’s canvas is broad and richly colored with the times, the trials and the triumphs of so many women on the frontier. The characters are clever and vividly portrayed. The pace at times slows to a thoughtful meander, but never loses focus. Here is a novel of the true old west to be read, savored and read again.
June 3, 2018
I had never heard of Cattle Kate and picked up a copy of this book because the cover said she was the only woman ever lynched as a cattle rustler.
I knew it was a historical novel, but I have found that the author's research the facts of these stories so I always look forward to reading about what is actually known facts.
What I learned was that Ella Watson moved to Wyoming territory to homestead and to own property. She was lynched along with her secret husband because some rich cattlemen did not want her to have cattle and they did not like it because she fenced her property with barbed wire among other things.
I must admit that what happened to Ella Watson made me so angry that I could not help but compare how the lack of justice in this case reminded me very much of how those with deep pockets seldom are held to the same standard of justice that those of lesser means are.
Her murderers got off scot free and successfully smeared her character and good name that lasted for more than a century.
There is so much more interesting material in this book, like the history of her family, how she divorced her first husband who was abusive, how she took her maiden name back, and what she really did when she arrived in Wyoming.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical novels.
I knew it was a historical novel, but I have found that the author's research the facts of these stories so I always look forward to reading about what is actually known facts.
What I learned was that Ella Watson moved to Wyoming territory to homestead and to own property. She was lynched along with her secret husband because some rich cattlemen did not want her to have cattle and they did not like it because she fenced her property with barbed wire among other things.
I must admit that what happened to Ella Watson made me so angry that I could not help but compare how the lack of justice in this case reminded me very much of how those with deep pockets seldom are held to the same standard of justice that those of lesser means are.
Her murderers got off scot free and successfully smeared her character and good name that lasted for more than a century.
There is so much more interesting material in this book, like the history of her family, how she divorced her first husband who was abusive, how she took her maiden name back, and what she really did when she arrived in Wyoming.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical novels.
September 4, 2018
Rock Springs Wyoming is not a destination. It's a place you may stop along the way to somewhere else for a meal, gas or spend the night, then move along. I've been planted here for 15 days through no fault or desire of my own. Through my "incarceration" I've learned a little bit of the history of this area. One of the stories involved Ellen Watson and James Averell. This historical novel was based on well researched true events that happened in the late 1800's. Fascinating story, and it made me laugh and cry. I wish this story (and others like it) were taught in our US History classes.
November 17, 2018
Challenge: Reading Women 2018 - Local Author (22). Not only written by a highly-acclaimed local author, but published by a renowned local independent press. The story of slander, misrepresentation and murder perpetrated on two innocent and upstanding citizens. Although this book is categorized as fiction, the author's creative license acts to humanize an historical account that is richly and tirelessly researched.
February 10, 2018
Having just moved from Wyoming, I was really interested in reading this book. It did not disappoint! It is novel based on the life and lynching of Ella Watson. The author made the story come alive!
August 15, 2018
I recorded this book for the Arizona Talking Book Library. It was an interesting read. I really appreciated learning some of the history of Wyoming Territory. I had never heard of Cattle Kate before, but this book made me outraged on her behalf.
June 12, 2021
I really wanted to read this book because it was recommended by our tour guide when we went to the Badlands and Yellowstone. It is a very tragic true story of a brave woman that wanted to homestead in Wyoming but was brutally murdered by cattlemen in 1889.
June 12, 2017
I loved this book. Historical fiction at it's best, because of all the research and truth to the story. Jana Bommersbach, you did a fantastic job with this one.
September 21, 2019
Tremendous book debunking all the myths about Cattle Kate.
November 18, 2019
True story of Ella Watson who was falsely accused of rustling and hanged by cattlemen in 1889.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2024
i truly enjoyed this book and i can’t wait to make “chop chop” this summer. I would have preferred to read this book with a more fictional ending.
November 11, 2014
People all over the world have a continuing fascination with the uniquely American phenomenon of the Wild West. The idea of cowboys on the open range stirs images of freedom and the wide open range. There was also a lawlessness that has, to some extent, been romanticized. The book Cattle Kate takes a look at the true story behind a terrible crime that was never punished.
Ella Watson, posthumously dubbed "Cattle Kate," was a young woman who moved to Wyoming in 1885. She had been born in Canada to Scotch-Irish parents, but the family emigrated to Kansas when she was young, lured by the promise of free land. Her family prospered and she eventually married William Pickell, a neighbor who was initially kind but soon turned out to be an abusive spouse. She fled back to her parents and filed for divorce.
Many people had been lured to Kansas by the Homestead Act, which provided 160 acres of government land to people who would move there, cultivate the land, build a house, and stay for at least 5 years. By the time Ella and her siblings grew into adulthood, most of the Kansas land had already been claimed. Eager to get away from her ex-husband, Ella set out alone for the territory of Wyoming, which was offering a similar free-land program.
Ella began her life in Wyoming working as a cook in a boarding house. She saved money to pay the filing fee for her land claim, as well as to invest in building materials for her house. She soon meets James Averell who owns a roadhouse on a busy crossroads. They begin a romantic relationship, but decide to hold off on getting married. That way, they could each apply for the 160 acre homestead. Otherwise, as a family, they would only be eligible for one plot of land.
Unfortunately, the site Ella chose had been used as grazing land by a powerful cattleman, A.J. Bothwell. Even though the land was not owned by him, he felt entitled to continue using it and tried everything he could to discourage Ella from building a cabin and run her off the land. Undeterred, she continues clearing the property and even demands that Bothwell pay her a fee for allowing his cattle to access the stream that runs through her land.
Bothwell and his powerful friends try other means to block Ella's plans. She applies for a brand to mark the cattle she hopes to buy, but she's denied. When a neighbor decides to leave the area, he sells his brand to her. She buys a small herd of cattle and duly brands them with her new marker. Bothwell and his friends, enraged at being thwarted, ride up to Ella's farm one day and accuse her and James of rustling the cattle. She denies the charges, but the cattlemen lynch her and James. She had just turned 29 years old. This isn't really a spoiler, since the book starts out with Ella and James being hanged and expecting to be saved at any moment.
News of the lynchings reaches the authorities, who begin to investigate. Since the story is newsworthy, the local newspaper also gets involved. The journalists are dependent on the good will of the powerful cattlemen, so they publish their version of events -- that Ella (now given the nickname "Cattle Kate") and James Averell were killed for stealing cattle. Anyone who had witnessed the "crime" and might have come to the defense of the couple mysteriously disappeared.
This story was written based on a great deal of research into the life of Ella Watson. The book has a very extensive list of endnotes that give the outline and background of Ella's life. There is some follow-up on what happened to the evildoers in the story, and sadly, the answer is: not much. Still, it was fascinating to read this story and get the facts behind the myth. Ella deserves to have her name cleared and not to go down in history as she was painted in news reports of the incident, as a cattle thief and prostitute.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of Cattle Kate from Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for this review.
Ella Watson, posthumously dubbed "Cattle Kate," was a young woman who moved to Wyoming in 1885. She had been born in Canada to Scotch-Irish parents, but the family emigrated to Kansas when she was young, lured by the promise of free land. Her family prospered and she eventually married William Pickell, a neighbor who was initially kind but soon turned out to be an abusive spouse. She fled back to her parents and filed for divorce.
Many people had been lured to Kansas by the Homestead Act, which provided 160 acres of government land to people who would move there, cultivate the land, build a house, and stay for at least 5 years. By the time Ella and her siblings grew into adulthood, most of the Kansas land had already been claimed. Eager to get away from her ex-husband, Ella set out alone for the territory of Wyoming, which was offering a similar free-land program.
Ella began her life in Wyoming working as a cook in a boarding house. She saved money to pay the filing fee for her land claim, as well as to invest in building materials for her house. She soon meets James Averell who owns a roadhouse on a busy crossroads. They begin a romantic relationship, but decide to hold off on getting married. That way, they could each apply for the 160 acre homestead. Otherwise, as a family, they would only be eligible for one plot of land.
Unfortunately, the site Ella chose had been used as grazing land by a powerful cattleman, A.J. Bothwell. Even though the land was not owned by him, he felt entitled to continue using it and tried everything he could to discourage Ella from building a cabin and run her off the land. Undeterred, she continues clearing the property and even demands that Bothwell pay her a fee for allowing his cattle to access the stream that runs through her land.
Bothwell and his powerful friends try other means to block Ella's plans. She applies for a brand to mark the cattle she hopes to buy, but she's denied. When a neighbor decides to leave the area, he sells his brand to her. She buys a small herd of cattle and duly brands them with her new marker. Bothwell and his friends, enraged at being thwarted, ride up to Ella's farm one day and accuse her and James of rustling the cattle. She denies the charges, but the cattlemen lynch her and James. She had just turned 29 years old. This isn't really a spoiler, since the book starts out with Ella and James being hanged and expecting to be saved at any moment.
News of the lynchings reaches the authorities, who begin to investigate. Since the story is newsworthy, the local newspaper also gets involved. The journalists are dependent on the good will of the powerful cattlemen, so they publish their version of events -- that Ella (now given the nickname "Cattle Kate") and James Averell were killed for stealing cattle. Anyone who had witnessed the "crime" and might have come to the defense of the couple mysteriously disappeared.
This story was written based on a great deal of research into the life of Ella Watson. The book has a very extensive list of endnotes that give the outline and background of Ella's life. There is some follow-up on what happened to the evildoers in the story, and sadly, the answer is: not much. Still, it was fascinating to read this story and get the facts behind the myth. Ella deserves to have her name cleared and not to go down in history as she was painted in news reports of the incident, as a cattle thief and prostitute.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of Cattle Kate from Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for this review.
December 6, 2014
First a little background...Cattle Kate was a real woman. She immigrated with her family from Canada to Kansas and then left her family to strike out on her own in WY Territory where she became the first female homesteader and cattle owner. She merely wanted to have land and raise cows, but back in those days, the cattle barons, though already filthy rich, couldn't get enough and when Kate refused to sell her land for their grazing purposes, they saw to it she was lynched.
She was then labeled an outlaw and whore.
This novel corrects that misconception, shows us the real Kate, who while not necessarily squeaky clean (keeping her marriage to Jimmy a secret in order to double their land is a bit sneaky), does not deserve the outlaw label. The novel follows her life from Canada to Kansas to WY, from childhood to abused married woman, to cattlewoman and pie-maker. We meet a woman with big dreams who is a bit naive. (I'm not all that certain Jimmy really loved her. I think he wanted to use her to double his land all along, but at least he was nice about it.)
I became very wrapped up in this woman's life in the wild west. I also learned an amazing amount about cattle laws, about grazing, about the "war" between the cattle people and the homesteaders, about the fights over water, about Cheyenne and WY history, even about the different cattle brands and how to read them. I wish I'd read this book before driving through Rawlins many years ago. I'd have appreciated where I was at a lot more and perhaps would have looked for a museum or something, and most def would have visited Independence Rock.
I also picked up things like the town of Oskaloose being run by women and was inspired to look up more about Esther Hobart Morris, the first female justice of the peace and WY's mother of the suffragette movement. (Someone, write a novel about this gal, please!)
And I suppose you're wondering how I got any rip-roaring laughs out of such a tragic tale... There is humor all over in this story. From her ranchhand telling jokes (the cowboy from Texas who had to walk) to just bits in the narrative told in a funny way: That wrangler stood there with a mouth so open, flies thought they'd found themselves a hotel. I love how the author did this, kept us smiling and laughing despite the tragedy we knew was coming.
Read my full review, final thoughts, and favorite quote here: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2014/...
She was then labeled an outlaw and whore.
This novel corrects that misconception, shows us the real Kate, who while not necessarily squeaky clean (keeping her marriage to Jimmy a secret in order to double their land is a bit sneaky), does not deserve the outlaw label. The novel follows her life from Canada to Kansas to WY, from childhood to abused married woman, to cattlewoman and pie-maker. We meet a woman with big dreams who is a bit naive. (I'm not all that certain Jimmy really loved her. I think he wanted to use her to double his land all along, but at least he was nice about it.)
I became very wrapped up in this woman's life in the wild west. I also learned an amazing amount about cattle laws, about grazing, about the "war" between the cattle people and the homesteaders, about the fights over water, about Cheyenne and WY history, even about the different cattle brands and how to read them. I wish I'd read this book before driving through Rawlins many years ago. I'd have appreciated where I was at a lot more and perhaps would have looked for a museum or something, and most def would have visited Independence Rock.
I also picked up things like the town of Oskaloose being run by women and was inspired to look up more about Esther Hobart Morris, the first female justice of the peace and WY's mother of the suffragette movement. (Someone, write a novel about this gal, please!)
And I suppose you're wondering how I got any rip-roaring laughs out of such a tragic tale... There is humor all over in this story. From her ranchhand telling jokes (the cowboy from Texas who had to walk) to just bits in the narrative told in a funny way: That wrangler stood there with a mouth so open, flies thought they'd found themselves a hotel. I love how the author did this, kept us smiling and laughing despite the tragedy we knew was coming.
Read my full review, final thoughts, and favorite quote here: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2014/...
October 28, 2014
Lonely land, Wyoming toward the end of the 1800s, lonely and rough. It's a land full of stories. There are the ranchers claiming mile after mile to hold their ever-growing herds. Brave, wild men, almost always astride their almost-as-wild horses. And then there are the lonely homesteaders, not seeking miles but scant acres to build a home and raise a crop. There are not, however, many women.
Journalist Jana Bommersbach tells of two. There's the mild but stalwart Emma Watson, who leaves behind her Kansas family to seek her own land in Wyoming Territory. Plain and forthright, she works in a boarding house, making her legendary pies and saving and planning. Diligence pays off, she finally claims her 160 acres on Horse Creek. A good woman.
Then there's Cattle Kate. She's the opposite of Emma Watson—a floozy, and worse, she's a cattle thief. She's only getting what's coming to her when they string her up. A bad, bad woman.
But wait. These aren't two women—no, they are the same one. Emma sank into oblivion while Cattle Kate, who never really existed, entered the lore of the Territory until journalist Bommersbach, through meticulous research, made her discovery. Indeed, Emma was hanged; the charge was cattle rustling but the truth is that she refused to yield her few acres to the mighty ranchers. They wanted the water in Horse Creek. They would have the water in Horse Creek, no matter what it took to get it.
Bommersbach determined to tell the story as just that—a story, and has turned her research into a novel told mostly in the first person by Emma herself. While not interrupting the tale's flow, the extensive research shows through. Toward the end of the book are careful notes on each chapter, almost as fascinating as the story itself. The author also offers an extensive bibliography. Someone less interested in history and research can gallop through the book without their intrusion. For a history buff, the notes are as enticing as the novel.
This is a fine and well-told story. American history, western history needs more heroines, and Emma Watson certainly qualifies. Cattle Kate? I'm glad she's not exactly real.
by Trilla Pando
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
Journalist Jana Bommersbach tells of two. There's the mild but stalwart Emma Watson, who leaves behind her Kansas family to seek her own land in Wyoming Territory. Plain and forthright, she works in a boarding house, making her legendary pies and saving and planning. Diligence pays off, she finally claims her 160 acres on Horse Creek. A good woman.
Then there's Cattle Kate. She's the opposite of Emma Watson—a floozy, and worse, she's a cattle thief. She's only getting what's coming to her when they string her up. A bad, bad woman.
But wait. These aren't two women—no, they are the same one. Emma sank into oblivion while Cattle Kate, who never really existed, entered the lore of the Territory until journalist Bommersbach, through meticulous research, made her discovery. Indeed, Emma was hanged; the charge was cattle rustling but the truth is that she refused to yield her few acres to the mighty ranchers. They wanted the water in Horse Creek. They would have the water in Horse Creek, no matter what it took to get it.
Bommersbach determined to tell the story as just that—a story, and has turned her research into a novel told mostly in the first person by Emma herself. While not interrupting the tale's flow, the extensive research shows through. Toward the end of the book are careful notes on each chapter, almost as fascinating as the story itself. The author also offers an extensive bibliography. Someone less interested in history and research can gallop through the book without their intrusion. For a history buff, the notes are as enticing as the novel.
This is a fine and well-told story. American history, western history needs more heroines, and Emma Watson certainly qualifies. Cattle Kate? I'm glad she's not exactly real.
by Trilla Pando
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
September 30, 2014
I received an egalley of this book from the publisher in exchange for review consideration. It does not change how I review a book and the review is still my honest opinion.
Quick Facts
-Strong female character
-Historical fiction
-Based on a real person
-I did not like it
Review
I wanted to love this book. The description alone had me intrigued even though this kind of book is not my usual fare. This is a historical fiction with suspense. Kate was a kick-ass women, who got pushed around and her reputation is not what it seems. Jana did thorough research as is very evident from the section at the end of the book.
The things I did like were that it is was well researched and gave us a strong female character who is based on a real life woman. The very beginning of the book starts out with Cattle Kate’s impending death scene and I loved that. Then, we work towards that moment throughout the book.
However, the rest of the novel just did not do anything for me. The parts that were about Kate’s childhood were written in a child’s voice, which I didn’t like at all because then as she got older the voice was an adult. A lot of boring things happen during her childhood. Some sections just seemed to go on and on, while I was just waiting for the action.
Overall, this book was just not for me. I would have been better off reading an article about the true story of Cattle Kate. I am very glad that Jana is getting the true story of Cattle Kate out there; however, I just did not enjoy the book. I encourage you to learn more about Cattle Kate if you are like me and did not know who she was, and even if you do know about her what you do know may be false. I do hope this book gets the true story of Cattle Kate out to more people.
http://lostbraincell.com
Quick Facts
-Strong female character
-Historical fiction
-Based on a real person
-I did not like it
Review
I wanted to love this book. The description alone had me intrigued even though this kind of book is not my usual fare. This is a historical fiction with suspense. Kate was a kick-ass women, who got pushed around and her reputation is not what it seems. Jana did thorough research as is very evident from the section at the end of the book.
The things I did like were that it is was well researched and gave us a strong female character who is based on a real life woman. The very beginning of the book starts out with Cattle Kate’s impending death scene and I loved that. Then, we work towards that moment throughout the book.
However, the rest of the novel just did not do anything for me. The parts that were about Kate’s childhood were written in a child’s voice, which I didn’t like at all because then as she got older the voice was an adult. A lot of boring things happen during her childhood. Some sections just seemed to go on and on, while I was just waiting for the action.
Overall, this book was just not for me. I would have been better off reading an article about the true story of Cattle Kate. I am very glad that Jana is getting the true story of Cattle Kate out there; however, I just did not enjoy the book. I encourage you to learn more about Cattle Kate if you are like me and did not know who she was, and even if you do know about her what you do know may be false. I do hope this book gets the true story of Cattle Kate out to more people.
http://lostbraincell.com
January 8, 2015
This is a fictional biography of Ella Watson, a homesteader, who was lynched in Wyoming in 1889 with her husband, James Averill, by a band of big cattlemen who wanted their land and water. To cover up their crime, they gave phoney stories to pro-cattlemen newsmen who added their own embellishments.
Even though there were witnesses to their abduction and the actual hanging, many delays in the trial allowed the cattlemen to exact revenge on the witnesses--some disappeared and were most likely murdered. This includes rumors of one, an 11-year-old boy being fed to the cattlemen's ringleader's "pet" wolves. The cattlemen stopped at nothing to get rid of homesteaders who were breaking up "their" ( the cattlemen's) "free range" for their cattle. When the witnesses could not be found again for the trial, the men went free and the falsehoods about Ella and James grew: They were cattle rustlers, Ella had poisoned her husband and was a whore. James' roadhouse was actually a whorehouse. Hidden were the threats that the cattlemen made, or the fact that James was a justice of the peace, postmaster ( the roadhouse was the PO), that just a couple days before the lynching the roadhouse had been a polling place for the issue of Wyoming statehood, that the roadhouse was a restaurant known for the best pies in the territory ( baked by Ella), that they fed and clothed those in need...All trumped up stories to vindicate the real criminals. Ella was called Cattle Kate because of this, but decades later the truth was ferreted out by several researchers and authors and Ella and James have been vindicated. Despite this, you will still find the tales of NOTORIOUS CATTLE KATE being hanged in SWEETWATER, WY and a few movies. So sad that a courageous and hardworking female HOMESTEADER was treated this way because of an all-consuming greed of the cattlemen.
Even though there were witnesses to their abduction and the actual hanging, many delays in the trial allowed the cattlemen to exact revenge on the witnesses--some disappeared and were most likely murdered. This includes rumors of one, an 11-year-old boy being fed to the cattlemen's ringleader's "pet" wolves. The cattlemen stopped at nothing to get rid of homesteaders who were breaking up "their" ( the cattlemen's) "free range" for their cattle. When the witnesses could not be found again for the trial, the men went free and the falsehoods about Ella and James grew: They were cattle rustlers, Ella had poisoned her husband and was a whore. James' roadhouse was actually a whorehouse. Hidden were the threats that the cattlemen made, or the fact that James was a justice of the peace, postmaster ( the roadhouse was the PO), that just a couple days before the lynching the roadhouse had been a polling place for the issue of Wyoming statehood, that the roadhouse was a restaurant known for the best pies in the territory ( baked by Ella), that they fed and clothed those in need...All trumped up stories to vindicate the real criminals. Ella was called Cattle Kate because of this, but decades later the truth was ferreted out by several researchers and authors and Ella and James have been vindicated. Despite this, you will still find the tales of NOTORIOUS CATTLE KATE being hanged in SWEETWATER, WY and a few movies. So sad that a courageous and hardworking female HOMESTEADER was treated this way because of an all-consuming greed of the cattlemen.
November 14, 2014
I received an advanced reader's copy of Catte Kate from Poisoned Pen Press in return for an honest review.
This book was really interesting! It tells the story of Ella Watson, the first woman to get hanged for cattle rustling in the United States (although she lived in Wyoming Territory at the time, before it was a legal state). It describes her life from childhood through the day she dies and is incredibly detailed and riveting.
The story reads like an old woman is telling her life story. It is told with gentle words and a reminiscing tone that gives the "olden days" vibe that is associated with grandparents telling stories. It isn't all in exact chronological order -- within each chapter, there are jumps forward and backward through time to describe different related events. In a way, it makes the story better because it seems more personal than the typical third person point of view of most historical fiction.
The book goes a little downhill after Ella (spoiler alert?) dies, in my opinion. For obvious reasons, it can't continue in first person from Ella, so the author shifts to third person to describe the following court case, visit from family, and estate sales that occurred after Ella's death. It loses a bit of the personal touch that was present throughout the rest of the story and gets a little out of order as the confusion among journalists writing about her story is described.
This book is an excellent example of historical fiction. I don't know why it is advertised as a mystery, because I don't see it as one at all. It is a well-informed, well-written, engaging book. I liked it a lot, and recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction or is interested in stories of developing western America.
This book was really interesting! It tells the story of Ella Watson, the first woman to get hanged for cattle rustling in the United States (although she lived in Wyoming Territory at the time, before it was a legal state). It describes her life from childhood through the day she dies and is incredibly detailed and riveting.
The story reads like an old woman is telling her life story. It is told with gentle words and a reminiscing tone that gives the "olden days" vibe that is associated with grandparents telling stories. It isn't all in exact chronological order -- within each chapter, there are jumps forward and backward through time to describe different related events. In a way, it makes the story better because it seems more personal than the typical third person point of view of most historical fiction.
The book goes a little downhill after Ella (spoiler alert?) dies, in my opinion. For obvious reasons, it can't continue in first person from Ella, so the author shifts to third person to describe the following court case, visit from family, and estate sales that occurred after Ella's death. It loses a bit of the personal touch that was present throughout the rest of the story and gets a little out of order as the confusion among journalists writing about her story is described.
This book is an excellent example of historical fiction. I don't know why it is advertised as a mystery, because I don't see it as one at all. It is a well-informed, well-written, engaging book. I liked it a lot, and recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction or is interested in stories of developing western America.
September 14, 2015
Cattle Kate is a novel based on the legend of the lynching of Cattle Kate as a cattle rustler on July 20, 1889, in Wyoming Territory. In reality, the woman lynched never heard the name Cattle Kate; she was never referred to by that name until she was dead.
The book puts the reader in Ella's (later known as Cattle Kate's) shoes to set the record straight, telling her story in her words. It reads like an autobiography because Ella's story begins when she was a child in Canada. It follows her family's travels to Kansas and finally, her own travel to Wyoming Territory. Ella's voice comes across like she is writing a letter to the reader, which fits in the "this is the real story" theme. The dialogue is true to life, at least it's how I imagine those in the West spoke in the 1880s. There were a few typos but nothing too distracting and they didn't significantly pull me out of the story.
Part I of Cattle Kate is told in first person from Ella Watson's point of view; there isn't really a traditionally character/story arc, but it is interesting and kept me reading. Cattle Kate is part fictional story and part history lesson. If you enjoy reading autobiographies or biographies, you will enjoy Part I, which ends violently and graphically.
Part II is told in the third person and Part III contains notes pertaining to each chapter, which I enjoyed greatly. My own historical research has been based in the Midwest so I'd never heard of the Cattle Kate legend. I liked reading Ella's story in her own words, the story of how the myth came to be, and where all of the facts the author used to pull it all together came from.
The book puts the reader in Ella's (later known as Cattle Kate's) shoes to set the record straight, telling her story in her words. It reads like an autobiography because Ella's story begins when she was a child in Canada. It follows her family's travels to Kansas and finally, her own travel to Wyoming Territory. Ella's voice comes across like she is writing a letter to the reader, which fits in the "this is the real story" theme. The dialogue is true to life, at least it's how I imagine those in the West spoke in the 1880s. There were a few typos but nothing too distracting and they didn't significantly pull me out of the story.
Part I of Cattle Kate is told in first person from Ella Watson's point of view; there isn't really a traditionally character/story arc, but it is interesting and kept me reading. Cattle Kate is part fictional story and part history lesson. If you enjoy reading autobiographies or biographies, you will enjoy Part I, which ends violently and graphically.
Part II is told in the third person and Part III contains notes pertaining to each chapter, which I enjoyed greatly. My own historical research has been based in the Midwest so I'd never heard of the Cattle Kate legend. I liked reading Ella's story in her own words, the story of how the myth came to be, and where all of the facts the author used to pull it all together came from.
September 24, 2014
Book Review & Giveaway: When I read the publisher’s description of Cattle Kate by award-winning journalist and author Jana Bommersbach, it hit several chords with me: 1), it’s historical fiction about a strong woman; 2), it’s about the Old West, which I always want to learn more about; 3), and it’s written by an author who’s well respected for her in-depth research and non-fiction work about the West. The only concern I had about #3 was that it might mean a lot of exposition to wade through but, thankfully, that was not the case. Ms. Bommersbach has taken the adage about victors writing history and has dug beneath the surface lies to get to the truth behind what really happened. Who was Cattle Kate and what led to her become the only woman lynched for cattle rustling in the Old West? It’s a story as timely 125 years later as it was when it happened, and I think it just might fascinate you as much as it did me. Learn more & enter to win a copy at http://popcornreads.com/?p=7740.
May 8, 2016
Jana Bommersbach brings to light a horrible miscarriage of justice in the fictionalized tale of a double lynching in Wyoming Territory. Homesteader Ella Watson wanted a simple life on her own land but history (and the wealthy cattle barons who robbed her of her life, love, and land) made her into "Cattle Kate," a cattle rustler who deserved to be hanged to death. After more than 100 years Bommersbach reveals the truth. At times the author veers into history lessons but it's all interesting and heartbreaking too. Ella Watson comes alive in this deft author's hands. The reader wishes desperately for a different end but knows from Ella's first words, "I never thought I'd die like this" that their heroine is destined for the grave. Compelling, infuriating, and well written historical fiction.
September 29, 2014
Cattle Kate is a well-written, absorbing fictional account of the life and terrible death of Ella Watson. Ella and her secret husband, Jim Averell, by prominent cattle-ranchers and covered up by the Wyoming Cattle Growers Association.
An excellent book and a must-read for all history buffs and for those of you who love stories of the Old West. This book should be on school bookshelves and hopefully gain the recognition it justly deserves.
An excellent book and a must-read for all history buffs and for those of you who love stories of the Old West. This book should be on school bookshelves and hopefully gain the recognition it justly deserves.
December 3, 2014
Interesting material in this fictionalized account of the only woman lynched for cattle rustling in the Wyoming Territory and the complete distortion of her character and the actual events.
The first person narration, however leaves something to be desired. Bommersbach gives her a voice straight out of Little House on the Prarie, and after all how many times do we have to hear about how she makes the best pies anyone has ever eaten.
The first person narration, however leaves something to be desired. Bommersbach gives her a voice straight out of Little House on the Prarie, and after all how many times do we have to hear about how she makes the best pies anyone has ever eaten.
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