Stampede Mesa and “Ghost Riders in the Sky”

Stanley Davis “Stan” Jones (1914 – 1963) wrote “Ghost Riders in the Sky” about 1948 or 1949. This tune is probably his best remembered composition. He was born in Arizona and moved with his family to California after his father died. Jones had a varied background that included earning a degree in zoology from the Berkeley campus of University of California, service in the United States Navy, writing songs for Disney Studios and for his own account, and serving as a Death Valley park ranger. He also did a bit of film acting and other jobs. Of “Ghost Riders,” Jones would tell of hearing stories from old cowboys back in Arizona when he was a boy. Before one old cowboy died he told Stan an old yarn about a ghost herd of cattle in the sky being pursued by ghost riders.

Jones later recalled the old tale and wove it into one of his songs. The lyrics of Jones’ famous song begin with an old cowboy riding out on a dark and windy day. He sees a mighty herd of red eyed cows in the sky. He could also see their flaming brands, hooves of steel and black and shiny horns. In addition, he sees mounted riders which he described that were chasing the cows, knowing that they have not caught them and would ride forever. The eight bar chorus read “Yippie-yi-o; Yippie-yi-yay; Ghost riders in the sky.”

Stan continued to add to his musical repertoire and eventually was encouraged to take his portfolio of tunes to California where someone referred him to singer/actor Burl Ives. Jones signed with Mayfair Music Publishers and later singer Vaughn Monroe had a number one single with Stan’s cowboy song. This led to a long career for Jones as a songwriter with many of his compositions being recorded. “Ghost Riders in the Sky” was recorded by many other artists over the years, including Ives, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Frankie Lane and Bing Crosby.

---

Everyone loves a good campfire story. Texas has its own ghost rider legend as well, a tale about a place called Stampede Mesa. The event leading to the Texas story supposedly dates back to the late 1800s and took place in West Texas: Blanco Canyon, about eighteen miles southeast of Crosbyton near the border that divides Dickens and Crosby counties. It has been private property for many years. There is a two hundred acre mesa in Blanco or White River Canyon that has a one hundred foot drop off. It lies between the county line to the east and the edge of the caprock to the west.

Texas journalist and author Ed Syers (1914 – 1987) wrote about this legend. Syers’ columns are very entertaining. Several were published in book form. Some of the titles are “Supernatural Texas,” “Ghost Stories of Texas” and several volumes that were comprised of his columns. Syers was drawn to Texas folklore, old stories and legends and he told them well. He referred to this particular story in his August 30, 1964 “OBT” (Off the Beaten Trail) column in the San Antonio Express. In his column entitled “Ghost Riders Haunt the Caprock,” Syers attributes this version of the story to cowboy folklorist John R. Craddock, who was drawn to cowboy songs. Craddock wrote articles such as “Songs the Cowboys Sing” and “The Cowboy Dance.”

Syer’s retelling of the story mentions other similar sites, a Stampede Creek near Gatesville (the location of a horse stampede in 1839), another Stampede Creek location near Belton, a stampede that damaged Stephenville and one at Doan’s Crossing north of Vernon. The stampede of 33,000 cattle at Doan’s occurred when a nighttime thunderstorm startled the herd and caused them to scatter for many miles. They were so spread out that it took six days to round up them up. Syers also refers to the millions of head of cattle driven across Texas to markets during the few decades of the open range in which it was possible.

It did not take much to spook a herd and cause a stampede. It could be triggered by a random sound, the sudden appearance of other animals, a gunshot, a lightning strike or a clap of thunder. In the Stampede Mesa version of the tale, an unnamed drover was driving a thousand head of cattle from Texas to Kansas, heading for a place to bed the herd down for the night. On the two hundred acre mesa, they could take advantage of the water supply and use the cliffs to confine the cattle. A “nester” (a derogatory term used by cattlemen to farmers and small ranchers who attempted to settle on the range) came out of the brush with a few dozen steers that quickly got mixed up with the herd. The nester wanted to cut his cattle out right then, and perhaps “accidentally” add a few from the big herd. The trail boss preferred to bed down his herd and wait until morning to cut out the other steers and told the nester to go away. Somehow in the middle of the night a stampede began causing the cattle to head over the cliff to the rocks below. Two cowboys and a majority of the herd was lost over the cliff of the mesa. The cowboys blamed the nester, chased him down, tied him to his horse blindfolded and sent him over the cliff as well.

Since then, the ghost riders of Stampede Mesa and the ghost herd supposedly have appeared on dark nights. The earth rumbles and the sound of cattle can be heard. Shadowy images of cattle and cowboys can sometimes be seen. Syers closed by saying that the grass is still good, the trail is still there. The water source is also still there at Stampede Mesa, but no one uses the mesa anymore. He adds that old cowboys in the Crosbyton to Spur area know the story but if asked for directions, they are “just not sure they could find the place,” and he added that he did not blame them.

© 2023, all rights reserved.