Born and raised on a small farm in the Basque region of France, Beltran Paris emigrated to the American West in 1912 at the age of twenty-three. Unable to speak a word of English, Paris made the long journey to join his cousins in Wyoming. Moving on to Nevada, Paris worked as a sheepherder and then a camptender in the deserts and mountains near Elko. He learned quickly and eventually purchased a ranch of his own, married, and started a family. --Page 4 of cover.