Dead Eagle Trail Jane Hilton
Jane Hilton
D e a d E a g l e Tr a i l
8|9
Carson City, Nevada
Since 2006 I have ‘collected’ this series of cowboy portraits,
and has strong associations in American history. I wasn’t
from the buckaroos of Nevada to the cowpunchers of Arizona
surprised to find the creature gone the following day, supposedly
and Texas. They have all been photographed in their own
taken back to the nearby Indian reservation for its feathers.
homes, which they have filled with western artefacts. The need
Despite taking several photographs of it whilst it lay there, the
to hold on to their heritage and culture is clearly visible:
results never matched up to the experience. Some things cannot,
stuffed animals, belt buckles, spurs, John Wayne memorabilia,
just as the cowboys treasure every sunrise and sunset.
guns, boots, and saddles, it’s all there. There’s a craving to collect and preserve their way of life as the ranches struggle
Growing up in suburban England, I would often spend Sunday
to survive in the face of new technology, and the rising costs
afternoons watching Westerns on the television with my
of feed and petrol. In the same way, I have felt a compulsion to
dad and siblings. I remember those afternoons as a magical
collect these photographs as a document to the cowboy
experience. The stories of gun-slinging cowboys, defending
of the twenty-first century.
their land and a moral code, were played out in spectacular scenery of the American West. These displays of heroism have
10 | 11
Dead Eagle Trail
Maybe I was a cowgirl in a former lifetime, I am not sure, but
been reinforced in films such as Victor Fleming’s The Virginian
America’s Twenty-First Century Cowboys
there is definitely a romanticism associated with the cowboy
(1929) with Gary Cooper, and John Ford’s Stagecoach (1939)
way of life. The enormous wide-open spaces, desert highways,
with John Wayne. Places like Monument Valley, Utah have
and vast skies are addictive; they make you feel alive and
since become tourist spots because of them. Hollywood has
liberated. Certainly a strong sense of spirituality pervades
immortalized the Wild West. American culture has been defined
amongst the cowboys I met. As one cowboy told me, ‘I don’t
by it, and the American Dream has been created out of it.
need to go to church. My horse is my church, I’m out with God every day.’
I have taken numerous road trips across the States whilst documenting the many facets of American culture. Driving
The title of this book, Dead Eagle Trail, refers to an experience
a 1966 Mustang along desert highways and under expansive
I had when I discovered a dead Golden Eagle on the side
skies is synonymous with the Hollywood movies I grew up with.
of a road, in southern Nevada. It was the size of an Alsatian
On one of these trips in March 2006, I was diverted up to
dog with giant wings, and absolutely beautiful. There were no
Cortez, Colorado, to photograph a story by Bella Pollen for
obvious reasons as to how it had ended up falling from the sky,
The Times. She had discovered a young cowboy called
but I found it an immensely emotional experience that seemed
Jeremiah Karsten who had taken 2 years to travel from Alaska
symbolic of my journey. It is a sacred bird for Native Americans,
to the Mexican border entirely on horseback. He was just 17
years old when he left. He epitomised the American Dream,
too much tumbleweed in their blood to settle down.’ Most
and the older cowboys loved him for that. In such a friendly
were brought up on ranches where it was always hard work
cowboy town, I was offered supper at one of the cowboys’
and never particularly profitable. Even today a cowboy can
abodes. I had no idea until that moment how much they
expect to earn only a few dollars an hour, but this is not what
cherished the lifestyle and was blown away by the interior of
drives them. They do it because they love the way of life and
his home. A few homes later, I discovered there were western
because they can’t imagine doing anything else. Some,
artefacts everywhere.
however, have had to diversify, offering dude-ranch holidays and leasing out land to hunters. The bigger ranches are
The paradox of photographing a cowboy at home, and
succumbing to the lure of developers; many have already
showing their obsession with the lifestyle was much more
been sub-divided and sold off because there is so much more
fascinating to me, than photographing them on a horse.
money in land than in beef. Real cowboys will not disappear,
I found it extraordinary that they seemed to bring the outside
but every generation produces fewer and fewer of them.
inside. But then, why not be surrounded by the things you love at all times? You can clearly see this in their portraits, where a
Real cowboys boast of never having met a stranger, most
Jane Hilton
window acts as a constant reminder to the outside world. All
can’t swim. All of them have a John Wayne story they love
February 2010
of them were shocked that I wanted to go inside their houses,
to share. This book is a celebration of The West as it is now.
and sometimes even their bedrooms where they spend the
Nobody can predict whether in a hundred years time the
least time. But it was much more interesting to see them in
cowboy will still be around.
less familiar territory, revealing their softer and possibly more
For me it’s been a very personal adventure, and a journey that
feminine side. They were always immaculate despite the
I don’t want to end. Driving my car across the huge expanse
harshness of their working environment. It is the contradictions
of Nevada desert on Highway 50 East (the loneliest road in
that are infinitely more enlightening.
America), listening to Johnny Cash – I feel alive and centred, just as they do. Cowboy Gail Steiger sums it up: ‘The best
You will never find a man who ‘used to be a cowboy.’
thing about punching cows is it keeps you out there in the
Johnny Green, who has been a cowboy all his life,
middle of life, the kind that grows up out of the ground.’
describes it as: ‘Working hard, doing what you want to do, being in the wide-open space, talking to your horse and cows, being your own boss, shooting the breeze with folks you run into. Freedom is a cowboy’s life, some cowboys got
12 | 13
Pate Meinzer, Cowboy, Benjamin, Texas 2009
22 | 23
Gail Steiger, Cowboy Musician and Film Maker, Prescott, Arizona 2008
32 | 33
Shiprock, New Mexico
50 | 51
Mike Lutch, Rancher, Aguila, Arizona 2008 ‘There were hundreds of rattlesnakes when we moved in five years ago. There aren’t too many now, just a couple I keep in the freezer.’
72 | 73
Chris Lawrence, Rancher, Seymour, Texas 2009
80 | 81