Correspondence, personal writings, reports, and reprints covering Allred's professional life and interests. The bulk of the material covers the topics of cattle, cattle trails, western livestock raising and western historical topics. The collection contains several items relating to Utah history, especially to San Juan County
Repository:
Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives Manuscript Collection
Merrill-Cazier Library Utah State University 3000 Old Main Hill Logan, UT 84322-3000 Phone: 435 797-2663 Fax: 435 797-2880 Email: scweb@usu.edu
Languages:
Material in English
Biographical Note
Berten Wendell Allred was a soil conservationist, a rancher and a historian and his papers reflect these interests. As a young man he worked and lived as a cowboy in Southern Utah. He later became a soil scientist and began to work for the federal government. Eventually he ended up in Washington, D. C. It was here, in the nation's capital, that he became more academically oriented towards western history. He became active in the Westerners and together with Jeff Dykes and Fred Renner formed the Buckaroos. The purpose of this group was to review western Americana books for Westerners' publications.
Content Description
The collection has been divided into there main series--personal material, professional and consultant work and western history subject files and reprints.
Allred's personal files are comprised of correspondence, biographical material, and his own essays and articles. The correspondence has been processed alphabetically by correspondent. Worthy of note are the correspondence files relating to western artist and author, Ross Santee. Allred and Santee were friends and upon Santee's death, Allred began to work on a biography of the late author. While involved in this project, Allred wrote to, and received letters from, Santee's friends and relatives concerning the author. This material is found in Santee correspondence files. Included in this material are two letters from Santee to Allred that are illustrated with water colors.
In addition to the correspondence and biographical files are a series of articles and essays written by Allred. These articles reflect his interests in cattle breeds, rangeland, cattle trails, Mormons, outlaws and general western history topics. Several of his essays relate his experiences while a young man "punchin cows" in southern Utah.
The collection contains a small amount of Allred's professional work. After he retired in the late 1960s he continued to do range work. Pertinent to this area are his notes and the federal reports on a study done on the Bear River Basin Drainage system. Also in the section are reports from work that Allred did in Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Mali.
Finally, the collection houses subject files and a series of reprints relating to western history topics. These articles have been arranged alphabetically by author.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
Restrictions on Use :
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Berten Wendell Allred Papers must
be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections
Department Head.
Preferred Citation :
Initial Citation:
Berten Wendell Allred Papers USU_COLL MSS 118,
Box [ ]. Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.
Following Citations:USU_COLL MSS 118,
USUSCA.
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
Organized into three series -- I. Personal, II. Professional, III. Western history subject files and reprints.
Processing Note :
Processed in May of 2006
Acquisition Information :
Acquisition information is unknown.
Separated Materials :
Photographs have been removed from the collection and can be found in the Historical A-Board Photograph Collection
Detailed Description of the Collection
Series I: Personal
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Personal materials - Correspondence, Biographical Material and Personal Writings
Box
Folder
1
1
Incoming Correspondence
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent, A-L
Undated
1
2
Incoming Correspondence
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent, M-Z
Undated
1
3
Outgoing Correspondence
Undated
1
4
Correspondence with J. Evetts Haley
Undated
1
5
Correspondence with Louis P. Merrill
Undated
1
6-11
Correspondence with and about, Ross Santee
Undated
1
12-13
Biographical Material
Undated
1
14
Jeff Dykes' appraisal of Allred's book and art collection
Undated
1
15
Book catalogues offered by Allred
Undated
1
16
"A Personal History
Folders 16-29 are articles and essays written by Allred that cover the topics of cattle breeds and rangeland issues.
Undated
1
17
"The Beefmaster Breed"
Undated
1
18
"Brahman or Zebu"
Undated
1
19-20
Chapters on various cattle breeds
Undated
1
21
"Charbray"
Undated
1
22
"Herefords"
Undated
1
23
"Perfection Breeding and Feeding a Spring Valley Hereford Farms"
Undated
1
24
"Conservation of Argentina's Natural Pasture"
Undated
1
25
"Fat Cows and Good Grass or Lean Cows and Gullies"
Undated
1
26
"How to Develop G.P. Conservation Program Contracts Where Either Public Lands or Unsecured Leased Lands are Used by a Producer"
Undated
1
27
"The Place of Grazing Lands In the World Economy"
Undated
1
28
"Utah Natural Resources - Wildlife"
Undated
1
29
"Utah Ranges are a Vast Multiple Purpose Renewable Resource Little Understood."
Undated
Essays and articles written by Allred
Covers topics of cattle trails and general western history
Box
Folder
2
1
"American Cattle Trails"
Undated
2
2
"The Chisholm Trail"
Undated
2
3
"Colonial Seaboard Cattle Trails"
Undated
2
4
"Colonial Settlement and Cattle Origins"
Undated
2
5
"First Texas Longhorn Beefsteaks in New York, 1854"
Undated
2
6
"A Stand Up Shoot-Out"
Undated
2
7
"Broomtails"
Undated
2
8
"Chasing Mavericks in the Cedars"
Undated
2
9
"Cowboy Miser"
Undated
2
10
"The Cross H Ranch"
Undated
2
11
"Danites - The Mormons' Secret Service. Porter Rockwell, Bill Hickman, John D. Lee"
Undated
2
12
"Environmental Quality"
Undated
2
13
"Erosion On the Chisholm Trail"
Undated
2
14
"The First Western Rendezvous"
Undated
2
15
"Flat Top Ranch"
Undated
2
16
"History Grazing on Tonto National Forests as told to Allred by Rangers Fred W. Croxen and Joe H. Hand""
Undated
2
17
"History of the American Cowboy and Cattle Ranching"
(Handwritten manuscript)
Undated
2
18
"Horse Thief Trail"
Undated
2
19
"I Cut My Teeth on a Saddlehorn"
Undated
2
20
"Injun Medicine"
Undated
2
21
"The Life of a Horse and Buggy Stageline Operator"
Undated
2
22
"Nick Wilson Story, Granstville, Utah"
Undated
2
23
"Joseph Nimmo's Scarce Report of the Early Range Cattle Trade"
Undated
2
24
Joseph Nimo, Jr. correspondence and notes to an introduction about Nimmo
Undated
2
25
"Mercur"
Undated
2
26
"The Pleasant Valley Feud"
Undated
2
27
"Punchin Cows"
Undated
2
28
Sheepherders Song
Undated
2
29
"To Zion in a Handcart"
Undated
2
30
"The Green: Rendezvous River"
Undated
2
31
"Rivers that Feed America's Dead Sea
Undated
2
32
"The Sacramento: Nile of the West"
Undated
2
33
"The Utah War - 1857-1858 or Buchanan's Blunder"
Undated
2
34
"West Desert"
Undated
Articles and essays written by Allred
Box
Folder
3
1
"Rivers that Feed Old Lake Bonneville"
Undated
3
2-3
"Miscellaneous Essays by Allred"
Undated
3
4
Biographical Sketches - Jeff Dykes, John Ross Browne, Tom Horn, Oury Brothers, Burton Mossman, William Wolfskill, and Mary Hunter Austin
Undated
3
5-9
Notes
Undated
3
10
Articles by Allred in the Sheep and Goat Raiser magazine
Undated
3
11
Notes from Saudi Arabian work.
Undated
3
12-13
Oral interview of Allred conducted by Charles Peterson
Undated
3
14-16
"Grand and San Juan County Reminiscences About William Eugene Gordon,"
The remainder of the box contains six spiral notebooks with notes about various topics that were of interest to Allred.
