Old Time Cattlemen and Other Pioneers of the Anza-Borrego
Area.
By Lester Reed. 3rd Edition. Borrego Springs, Ca.: Anza-Borrego Desert
Natural History Association, 1986. Illustrations. Fold-out Map. Index. 146
Pages. $7.95 Paperback.
The Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association has just
published a new edition of Old Time Cattlemen by Lester Reed. The new
edition features a new title page, preface by Joe Stone, a biography of Lester
Reed, table of contents, new index and a very handy fold-out map of the region.
The text and illustrations are the same as they were in the 1963 original
edition. The book contains the reminiscences of long time Anza-Borrego resident,
Lester Reed. It is replete with good stories, descriptions of many of the
people, the sites and events of the Anza-Borrego region from the 1860s to the
1960s. Reading Old Time Cattlemen is much like listening to an old timer
reminisce; the tales are sometimes rambling, not too well organized, and often
not as well devleoped as they could be. At the same time, the stories are full
of first hand information about the region and are one of the basic sources for
the history of Anza-Borrego. The sections on cattle ranching in the area and cattle drives across the desert to and from Arizona are by far the best. It is
nice to have this useful source for the historian and entertaining introduction
to the region for the general reader back in print again.
