Yerington Monday: The Basque (Part One): The Basque In Smith & Mason Valley

Yerington Monday:  The Basque (Part One): The Basque In Smith & Mason Valley

This is Part One of a series on the Basque in Northern Nevada.  Part Two will be “The Basque Hotels and Restaurants in Northern Nevada.”  Part Three will be “The Basque Cuisine and Festivals in Northern Nevada”  Although Yerington did not have a large Basque population, Yeringtonites enjoyed their culture and food and would drive miles for a family style meal at one of their hotel-restaurants when I was a kid, particularly in Gardnerville, which was 55 miles away.  (click on pictures for more information)

The Basque homeland is a tiny slice of the world, occupying about 100 miles across the Pyrenees in Spain and France.

In much of the rest of the state, though, the Basque presence looms large, reflected by prominent names such as Anacabe, Ascuaga, Echeverria, Erquiaga, Ernaut, Goicoechea, Laxalt and Parraguirre, and celebrated at festivals and restaurants that dot central and Northern Nevada.

According to “The Basques in Nevada,” a project by students at the University of Nevada, Reno, early Basques were explorers who reportedly accompanied Christopher Columbus on his famous 1492 voyage. This adventurous spirit seemed to be cultural, and when the Gold Rush hit, many young Basque men set out for the American West.

Those early settlers may have come to pursue their fortunes in gold mining, but before long they turned to sheep herding. At the peak of the Basques’ shepherding period, it’s estimated that 2 million of the animals grazed the Sierra Nevada, according to the project.

Sheep Camp of a sheepherder, 1943  

The ability to succeed in such a solitary occupation seemed to be a facet of the Basque spirit.
They could be out there alone for days, weeks, months on end. They do seem to have the aptitude to spend those long days. They all started in livestock at some point. They seemed to have an understanding of livestock and animal husbandry.  This is the reason there are so many Basques here is they used the public lands for grazing.

Sheep corrals in Mason Valley,  1920’s

Sheep and the people who tended them have played a major, and sometimes-overlooked, role in Nevada history. Sheep were first brought in to feed and clothe miners — and then, under ideal conditions for grazing sheep, the state's production of mutton, lambs and wool exploded. The large amount of public lands in Nevada available for grazing kept startup costs low, and attracted nomadic operations. Sheep were durable in harsh winter conditions, and with proper herding, they could cover vast distances in order to find feed.

Basques were involved with Nevada sheep almost from the beginning, as sheepherders and sometimes owners. The industry had its ups and downs. Overgrazing became a problem in Nevada as in other parts of the West.

Water was always scarce, and conflicts between ranchers, homesteaders, and nomadic sheepmen led to regulations which ultimately curtailed open grazing.

Although the nature of the business had changed, sheep ranching continued, with grazing still permitted on some public lands under certain conditions. Sheep still graze in Nevada mountains in the summer and Nevada deserts in the winter. But sheepherders are a vanishing breed, and the days of the Basque sheepherders, once the masters of Western sheep, are over.

Much of the progress was forged by Basque women. While the men were off herding sheep, it was the women who ran the restaurants, hotels or other businesses and served as ambassadors to the community.

The real watershed moment for Basques in Nevada, Saitua maintains, came in 1959, when the first Basque festival was held at John Ascuaga’s Nugget Casino in Sparks.

Basque Shepherd

The eleven foot monument was sculpted for John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks, Nevada, as a tribute to the Basque people who pioneered Nevada, displayed with a plaque which pays special tribute to John Ascuaga’s parents.

Sheep field meeting with Fred Fulstone about wool covering sheep’s belly and its length, 1950, Fulstone Ranch, Smith Valley. Belly covering and length. Density and fineness of wool found there is emphasized as adding pounds to the fleece weight. Fred Fulstone, owner, is assisting. He was very interested throughout the demonstration.

Sheep Field Meeting. Dr. J.F. Wilson [UC Davis] starting his discussion regarding desirable fleeces for range ewes. He emphasizes length,density, and fitness in that order. 1950, Fulstone Ranch, Smith Valley

At 84, Fred Fulstone's family had at least 70 years experience grazing his allotments.

Vernon Wyatt and his son Ed Wyatt shearing sheep, ca. 1900-1920, Carson Valley, NV