Controlled Recklessness: Ed Lemmon and the Open Range

by Nathan Sanderson

As a cowboy, Ed Lemmon saddle-handled more cattle than any man in history. As a cattleman, he oversaw the largest fenced pasture in the world. Equally at home in both roles, Lemmon balanced reckless risk-taking and controlled management to shape the development of the cattle industry and become a central figure on the northern plains. Born in 1857 into a hardworking and resilient family, George Edward ( Ed ) Lemmon grew up learning how to bounce back from adversity. Despite several crippling accidents on horseback, he continued to pursue his passion. A full-time cowboy at twenty and a range manager at twenty-three, Lemmon finally achieved what few cowboys an ownership stake in one of the largest outfits on the plains, the Flying V. As the open range disappeared, Lemmon helped to transform the Northern Great Plains from a network of worn, dusty cattle trails to one of cattle towns linked by railroads. In Controlled Recklessness, author Nathan Sanderson explores the motivations that led one of the greatest cowmen on the plains to saddle up time and time again. Using Lemmon s own vibrant accounts, historical records, and corporate and government documents, Sanderson separates myth from reality. The result is a comprehensive look at Lemmon s colorful life and his perspective as both a cowboy and a cattleman at the end of the open-range era.

252 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 2015

Reviews

[Thomas Isern · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will be reviewing this work in my weekly feature, Plains Folk. A genuine contribution to regional and ranching history, inasmuch as it is the first scholarly biography of an important figure in the cattle industry of the northern plains. The title strikes me as less than apt. Ed Lemmon did lots of things that were just plain reckless. Also, I think there might have better attention to regional context, such as the circumstances of the Dakota and Lakota peoples with whom Lemmon interacted. Still, the work gets a valued place on my shelf.

[Kristi Thielen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and well written book about one of the most colorful characters of western South Dakota: Ed Lemmon.

Lemmon lived during a span of time that encompassed the arrival of white miners/cattlemen/settlers to western South Dakota and the less colorful but equally important history of the early to mid 20th century. The Open Range closed and town and business building were where the action was. Lemmon engaged in ranching and later, building - his town bears his name - and during it all, he made money, lost money, wrote about it and became a legend.

I wish there had been more information about Lemmon's interior life and his relationships (more accurately, lack of relationships) with the two wives who divorced him. But as Sanderson openly states, there is little material to go on with regard to Lemmon's personal interactions. Even those reflections Lemmon did leave behind are often unreliable, because of his desire to make every story as dramatic as possible.

Well worth reading if you want to know more about the character of the west and the people of western South Dakota.