Butch Cassidy Was Here [Paperback]

James Knipmeyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2002

"The content of these historic inscriptions, of course, varies. Most are a name and a date, though many are simply a name or initials, while some contain only a date. Occasionally additional information is given: where they were from, where they were going, what they were doing or had done. But all of them proclaim to the world in one form or another that ‘I was here. I am a part of history.’"
- from the Introduction to Butch Cassidy Was Here

From overpass walls to bathroom stalls, we humans can’t seem to pass up an opportunity to leave some evidence of our passing through. This urge is hardly a contemporary phenomenon and the beginnings of such activity surely date back beyond the beginnings of written language.

In 1960 James Knipmeyer took the first of many vacations to the Colorado Plateau region of southern Utah and northern Arizona. During his years of hiking and camping he grew fascinated with the names and dates carved on canyon walls and painted onto rock boulders. In 1976 he set himself the "modest" goal of locating and photographing all of the old, historic inscriptions to be found in the area dated prior to 1900—thinking there might be some two or three hundred which he could collect in four or five years. More than twenty-five years and almost 1,600 inscription images later, his work has resulted in Butch Cassidy Was Here.

Spanish missionaries and colonizers, Mormon pioneers, amateur archaeologists, outlaws, miners, and pack mail carriers all have left their mark on southwestern history—their names and dates scratched into rock with knives; carved with chisels; painted on with axle-grease from a wagon, a fire blackened stick, or even the lead of a bullet. Knipmeyer gathers them all together in a narrative survey of the West brought

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Knipmeyer’s collection of many thousands of inscription photographs sets him apart as the unchallenged authority in the field...[and] he knows how to tell a story."—Gary Topping, author of Glen Canyon and the San Juan Country

 

"Knipmeyer is a recognized authority on historic inscriptions found on the Colorado Plateau...he is known to many as ‘that inscription guy’...There is no other book that comes anywhere near the detail about these inscriptions."—Roy Webb, author of If We Had a Boat: Green River Explorers, Adventurers, and Runners

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From the Introduction:

The content of these historic inscriptions, of course, varies. Most are a name and a date, though many are simply a name or initials, while some contain only a date. Occasionally additional information is given: where they were from, where they were going, what they were doing or had done. But all of them proclaim to the world in one form or another that 'I was here. I am a part of history.'

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 175 pages
• Publisher: University of Utah Press; 1st Edition edition (August 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874807360
• ISBN-13: 978-0874807363
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,302,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's Not About Butch, March 28, 2004

By 

Lee A. Bennett (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Butch Cassidy Was Here (Paperback)

Knipmeyer's years of exploring and documenting historic inscriptions has produced a fascinating and informative catalog of western life on the Colorado Plateau. It is a great addition to any western history or culture library and a good coffee table piece. But the trite and overworked reference to Butch Cassidy is misleading -- a blatant and bad marketing ploy by the publisher. Knipmeyer's book contains numerous photos and historic snippets of folk more interesting and important in western history. Read it an enjoy a unique glimpse into the region's colorful stories!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Among my very favorite books about the West, September 28, 2005

By 

Mike Smith (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Butch Cassidy Was Here (Paperback)

This book seems to be just about the various names carved into the red rock and ruins of the American Southwest, but it is much, much more.
It is about inscriptions, true, and features great photos of alphabetical carvings ranging as far back as (maybe) 1500 B.C. But along the way, the author puts every one of those carvings within their proper (and fascinating) contexts. He places the carvings within the appropriate stories; he describes their characters, and he attempts to explain the various westward movements the inscribers were a part of.
This book is a treat for lovers of the West and of the Colorado Plateau; it's obsessively researched, beautifully written, and presents a terrific overview of the history of the West.
(One thing though: I realize the author had to decide on a scope for his book--the examined inscriptions, for the most part, stop at 1900--but I would like to have heard his opinion on modern inscriptions. For instance, if Lake Powell ever gets drained, won't it be interesting to see--one hundred years from now--the inane insrciptions of houseboaters, carved hundreds of feet above the river's water level on cliffs completely unreachable by foot? I think so. I think history's never stopped; I think it's still happening.)
Anyway, this book is excellent. Buy it, read it, love it, and use it to spark your own adventures in the West.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, April 6, 2009

By 

K. Struthers - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Butch Cassidy Was Here (Paperback)

I bought this book as a guide to check out Butch Cassidy marks and their history, as I live in the Four Corners region. It's a really great book to read about the history of Southern Utah and its outlaws. If you're interested in old western outlaws or just geographical history of Southern Utah, this is a great read.