Jerry R. Cox grew up among ranchers.  He went to college among ranchers.  His work experiences were among ranchers.  Through it all, he heard the constant lament of how life was better in the ”Good Old Days” before government controls took the initiative out of the livestock industry.

Then, an event occurred that launched Dr. Cox on an intellectual quest to document the ecological, economic and social history of a largely ignored area within Southern New Mexico, the Guadalupe Mountains.  Cox found a small metal box filled with 3 by 5 index cards which contained ownership and grazing records for the allotments within the U.S. Forest Service-Guadalupe Ranger District from 1905 to 1955. He used this skeleton and developed the book, “Ghosts of the Guadalupes”.  This book documents the history of hard work, hard times and violence over the first half of the 20th century in and around the Guadalupe Mountains.

Cox sought out descendants.  He pored over old newspaper files and court cases.  Over six years, he fleshed out the stories behind the “dry” agricultural statistics, illustrated the difficulties associated with survival, and brought it to life.  His presentation is similar to family accounts in the Old Testament: he documented marriages, children, succession of land ownership, and the difficulties associated with trying to scratch out a living from the dry uplands within Southern New Mexico and the Northern Chihuahuan Desert.

He organized “Ghosts of the Guadalupes” in a readable style of factual history on the left side of the page, and provided colorful insights on the right side.  The Burleson Allotment chapter’s insights starts with “The Burleson-Knott War.”  I won’t slow you down with the details, but it was a shooting skirmish that left one participant blind in one eye (good thing his attacker was only firing .22 shorts).  Unfortunately some of the documented “Wars” did not end positively for one or more of the participants.

Many residents of New Mexico and citizens of the United States will see their fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers, family members and friends come to life on the pages of this book.  Students of New Mexico history will find an in-depth look at the life and times of rural New Mexicans under great adversity (death, murder, bank closures, depressions, bank robberies, physical intimidation, drought, flooding, declining livestock markets and foreclosures).

But, there’s more.  Cox follows his educational background (a Ph. D. in Rangeland Management) in chronicling by text and comparative photographs the ecological changes during the past 100 years.  Nature, and the depredation of man were not good to the Guadalupe Mountains and the surrounding area.  According to Dr. Cox the “Good Old Days” for ranchers in the Guadalupe Mountains were between 1905 and 1940, then the natural resources went downhill.

The author expresses his opinions on what might be done to restore the ecology of the area--pointing out that simply the removal of livestock from the land will not quickly impact restoration.  He cites the removal of livestock from the Carlsbad Caverns and the Guadalupe Mountains National Parks, and adds that ecological recovery on these areas has not occurred in the past 60 and 40 years, respectively.

“Ghosts of the Guadalupes” is several distinct works wrapped into one volume: ecological history, regional social history, a 100-year snapshot of the livestock industry, and the drama of the hardscrabble homestead-ranch life.  It will become a staple on the history shelves for Southern New Mexico and West Texas.