Cattle Kate: A Novel
4/5
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About this ebook
"A fascinating and disturbing look at a very dark chapter in the annals of the American West."—C.J. BOX, New York Times bestselling author
Cattle Kate is the only woman ever lynched as a cattle rustler. History called it "range land justice" when she was strung up in Wyoming Territory on July 20, 1889, tarring her as a dirty thief and a filthy whore. But history was wrong. It was all a lie.
Her real name was Ella Watson. She wasn't a rustler. She wasn't a whore. And she'd never been called Cattle Kate until she was dead and they needed an excuse. She was really a 29-year-old immigrant homesteader, lynched with her husband by her rich and powerful cattle-baron neighbors who wanted her land and its precious water rights.
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 eyewitnesses 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. Her six killers walked away scot-free. But the legend was stronger than the truth. For over a century, newspapers, magazines, books—movies, too—spread her ugly legacy.
Now, on the 125th anniversary of her murder, the real Ella comes alive in Cattle Kate to tell her heartbreaking story. Jana Bommersbach's debut novel bares a legend central to the western experience.
Jana Bommersbach
Jana Bommersbach is an acclaimed Arizona journalist and author of The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd, which was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award and won Arizona's only literary prize. She has been Arizona's Journalist of the Year, won a Regional Emmy for her television writing and has been honored with two lifetime achievement awards for her newspaper and magazine reporting. She lives in Phoenix.
Read more from Jana Bommersbach
The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bones in the Desert: The True Story of a Mother's Murder and a Daughter's Search Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Funeral Hotdish: A Mystery Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
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Reviews for Cattle Kate
8 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A great read for anyone interested in the settling of the west, independant successful females, or even just an attention-holding page turning book. The life of Ella Watson encompasses all three factions.. She knew what she wanted and didn't want, she left her abusive husband to lead her own life on her own terms and she got hung for it! NOT that the murderers would ever admit to jealousy oh no....her lynching was blamed on the contrived excuse of cattle rustling... Read this book and learn why Cattle Kate is actually a misnomer...read this book and you'll be absorbed right into its pages...I promise.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bommersbach 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.