A Trip To The Archives
If you are a history buff that loves to explore archives to learn a bit about how the human experience changes over time, this page is for you.
Join us as we visit the Nevada Historical Society to see how the most well-known advocate that fought for the protections afforded in the 1971 Act was viewed by the media and viewed her own crusade. We have chosen three articles; one before the Act was passed, one right after the Act passed and a journal entry by Velma Bronn Johnston reflected on the progress that had been made and what had been left undone.
In 1967, as Velma was pushing for new legislation to obtain federal jurisdiction over wild horses and burros on public lands, The Review Journal The Nevadan published an article titled “Wild Horse Annie, The Madonna to The Mustangs.” There was little enforcement of the “1959 Wild Horse Annie Act” and illegal roundups and sales to slaughter continued. Three men in eastern Nevada had just been caught illegally capturing mustangs. The case was set for hearing, a test of the 1959 law that was proving to be inadequate as enforcement was left to states and local Sheriffs. The article is a pivot on the life of Velma and the pending case.
Excerpts:
Paragraph 1: Announcement recently of the arrest of three eastern Nevada men for illegally trapping wild
mustangs brings to mind the unusual story of “Wild Horse Annie” - a story which actually started many
years ago on the Painted Rock Ranch about 26 miles from Reno where “Hobo” her own horse, was
friend, confidante, and constant companion. Also, her late father, Joe Bronn, was an old-time
mustanger.
Last paragraph: This incident may very well prove to be a test case. Wild Horse Annie and others who worked
tirelessly to secure federal and state legislation naturally hope for conviction, but no one can predict the
outcome of a legal matter.
You can read the entire article in the archives by clicking the bold text.
In 1972, after the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed, Esquire Magazine did a nine-page spread called “How the West Was Lost.” This was a profile piece that focused on mustangers, lawmakers and Velma Johnston. The writer, as many journalists still do today, pivoted off of the movie “The Misfits” as he wrote about mustanging, lawbreaking, death threats, Velma and wild horses. One could read the article by Christopher Ketcham, “All The Pretty Horses Must Die” today, and see uncanny similarities to the article written in 1972.
Last paragraph from How the West was Lost:
Which means that the government, on a lesser scale and more humanely, now will do what the horse
hunters did before. Management. Gardening. Zoo keeping, and cleaning. For there is really no solution.
Annie and her schoolchildren will have to contend with that.
This nine-page article is well worth the read. The old Xerox of the day makes all of the images hard to see. But we urge everyone who is serious about advocacy to take the time to glance through to see how the subject of wild horses and burros was perceived by the media right after the Act passed.
You can read the full article by clicking the bold text here.
The Fight To Save A Memory was written by Velma Bronn Johnston, “Wild Horse Annie,” less than five years before her death. In her own words she talks about the fight and what was left undone. (full text here, 12 pages)
Velma begins:
The Fight To Save A Memory by Velma B. Johnston (Wild Horse Annie)
Be it enacted by the Senate and House Of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That: Congress finds and declares that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living
symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms
within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people; and that these horses and burros are fast
disappearing from the American scene. It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and
burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this they
are to be considered the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the
public lands.
Pub. L. No. 92-195, 1, 85 Stat. 649 (Dec. 15, 1971)
On a memorable day in 1950, I came upon a truckload of mutilated horses as I was driving from our ranch into nearby Reno, where I work. I discovered that they were wild horses, captured in an airborne roundup. Their destination was a slaughter house, where the sole requirement was that the horses be ambulatory and plentiful. The captors received six and one-half cents per pound. Because net profit depended on the quantity rather than upon condition, injury to the animals was of minimal concern.
For many years I had heard about the capturing of wild horses by airplane. This practice concerned me, but because it had not touched my life directly, I pretended it didn’t exist, hoping it would go away. After that day in 1950, I could no longer “pretend it wasn’t there,” for it had now touched my life. In the decades to come, it would reach and change the lives of many others as well.
At that time, twenty-one years ago, the practice of harvesting wild horses for use in commercial products had reached its peak. Their numbers had been reduced from two million to 25,000 in half a century, and the methods of gathering were ruthless and indiscriminate. If the exploitation had continued, these horses – so dramatically linked with our pioneer past – would literally have been wiped from the face of the earth. Burros, though not commercially exploited, fared no better than horses. Claims of overpopulation and possible competition with native desert bighorn sheep led to systematic extermination programs.
The pet food industry had created a ready market for all the horses that could be caught, and exploiters were quick to take advantage of it. Since the old method of running the horses by mounted horsemen was much too slow, cowboys took to the air. Low-flying airplanes drove the wild horses by the thousands at breakneck speed from their meager shelters in the rim rocks and canyons into the dry and barren flats below. To force the horses to turn or run faster, the airborne cowboys blasted them with sawed-off shotguns – never fatally, but sufficiently to terrify and maim. Injured and exhausted by their flight through the rugged terrain, the horses were no match for the fast trucks that continued the chase, and ropers, lashed to the cabs of the trucks, easily lassoed them. Tied to the other end of the short ropes were heavy truck tires, which the exhausted and frightened horses would drag around attempting to escape, until they could fight no longer. Finally, thrown and tied by the feet, they were dragged up rough board ramps onto trucks where they were prodded to their feet and packed in tightly, their weight against each other often being all that held them on their feet. On the way to processing centers they were rarely, if ever, fed or watered. Because they weighed less, colts were often left to die from starvation or to become victims of predators. The movie The Misfits was based on an actual roundup by this method. Other methods of capture were conceived – all cruel. The operation was big business.
Velma ends her memoir:
IV. Unfinished Business
Although the passage of Public Law 92-195 signals a momentous advance, much was left undone. Although supporters of the Act sought civil as well as criminal sanctions, the former were omitted from the final version of the bill. Furthermore, the statute does not adequately immunize the Secretary from the influence of state wildlife agencies and other local governmental bodies with whom he is authorized to make cooperative agreements. Local pressure groups in areas where domestic livestock and target animal interests traditionally prevail can jeopardize the execution of the legislative purpose – to benefit wild horses and burros.
Unfortunately, the recommendation to prohibit release of domestic horses on the open range was not included in the legislation. In the light of this omission, careful consideration should be given to forage supply where permits for grazing domestic horses are sought. Permits should not be granted if the survival of wild horses and burros would be jeopardized, and strict regulations should be instituted to keep the number of domestic horses within the limit authorized by the Bureau of Land Management.
The most serious gap in Public Law 92-195 was the elimination of the authorization for appropriation of funds to carry out the provisions of the Act. The additional obligation to protect, manage, and control wild horses and burros on public lands throughout the eleven Western states has increased tremendously the Bureau of Land Managements responsibility; the Bureau is now faced with the impossible task of fulfilling that responsibility on a budget already stretched to the breaking point. Experienced conversationists know that conservation always costs something; if efforts to obtain an emergency appropriation fail, the long-awaited program for wild horses and burros may come to nothing.
Legislation to protect and manage wild horses and burros by placing them under federal jurisdiction has followed a tenuous path, with public interest and action finally prevailing. Those of us in the forefront of the battle only showed the way. We did not achieve all that we set out to achieve, and we are not yet sure that what has been gained will provide an adequate program; we must wait and watch. The people of America have fought hard to save this colorful remnant of two animal species that so uniquely represent the American spirit – freedom, pride, independence, endurance, and the ability to survive against unbelievable odds. Should the future of these animals remain in doubt, the fight will go on.
The future of these animals remains in doubt. The fight led by Velma goes on.
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