Tales from the Bloated Goat

Herman A. Hoover’s account of the early days of the Mogollon mining camp — named for its saloon.

Context: Texas Western Press, 1958, with an introduction by Francis L. Fugate; reprinted by High-Lonesome Books. Debbie Lee’s post gives the title as Tales of the Bloated Goat.

Why it’s on the list: The mining camp as a social world rather than an industry — saloons, characters, disorder. The register the Shack Simmonds material would sit in.

Where I saw it: Named in Part 2 of Debbie Lee’s four-part Catron County Centennial History, posted publicly by the Catron County Historical Society in April 2022. It is part of the Catron County reading list assembled for the Luna novel research — the county Kyle’s family town sits in.

Connections

• Shack Simmonds — the county’s colourful-character tradition
• Ranches of Catron County — Mogollon