The Active Historian

Katherine “Kitty” Derre was born in New York on July 15, 1899. She was the daughter of Maryann and D.E. Derre.

Katherine was a talented bronc rider and had a knack for breaking horses. She would ride them to submission and if she was bucked off she’d hop right back on. She was also good at trick riding and relay racing. She wanted to ride the wildest horses out there!

Katherine married James Martin “Jim” Wilkes in 1912.

She was living in Miles City, Montana by 1916. In September, Katherine set out on the rodeo road appearing at Miles City first. She was new to the sport and entered numerous events as practice.

At Miles City, “in the ladies relay Mrs. Wilkes has her usual hard luck and on the first change would have got off first, but as her second horse was starting it ran into the horse that she had quit and this put her behind a second or two and on the third change she did not get her seat before she was off and it was nip and tuck whether she would make the grade or get dropped off along the road. She managed to gain the seat, however, and came in second in the race in which Mrs. Rodman was again a handy winner.” (“Trotting…” Miles City Weekly Star (Miles City, Montana), September 22, 1916.) Katherine ran a 3:07 and Mrs. Leo Rodman ran a 3:05 in the Ladies Relay.

At the 1916 Pendleton Round-Up in Oregon, she won the All-Around Champion Cowgirl title. It was here that she met Yakima Canutt and they eventually fell in love. They were married the following year in Kalispell, Montana on July 20, 1917. At some point, she took on the name “Kitty” and was known as “Kitty Canutt” while married to Yakima.

In October 1916, Katherine rode in front of a record-breaking crowd at the Albany Round-Up. She competed against Iris Smith, Bertha Blancett, and Adelphia Vernecil in the “lady bucking horse riding.” Katherine took first place, Bertha Blancett took second, and Iris Smith placed third.

Kitty rode at the Boise Round-Up in October 1917. She got on Coyote and the horse didn’t buck like it was supposed to. So, the judges made her ride a different horse. Her re-ride was on Sunfish Molly.

Kitty was a fierce competitor and had a temper if she thought she had wrongly lost a race. In 1918, she took a stick of wood and hit another rider in the mouth… She claimed Donna Card had crowded her into the fence on the third lap causing issues in the race.

“The other is Kitty Wilks Canutt, wife of a famous horseman who, however, is only a little more famous as a rider than she is herself. Mrs. Canutt weighs less than 100 pounds, but her lack of avoirdupois seems to make no difference in her ability, for she has won, on one occasion at least, the women’s bucking contest at the Pendleton Roundup. Mrs. Canutt does other stunts on horseback, too, and she will enter not only the bucking horse contest here, but also will ride in the relay race for women and will demonstrate her skill as a Roman rider.”

-“Polson Coming For Stampede.” The Missourian (Missoula, Montana), June 23, 1918.

At the 1918 Pendleton Round-Up, Kitty won the Ladies Relay event. In August 1919, Kitty rode in the Relay Race at the Pendleton Round-Up once again.

In November 1919, Kitty rode the famed bucking broncho Misky Mix at the Arizona State Fair.

Kitty had to have dental work done in 1920 and she had the dentist place a diamond in the tooth. According to author Chris Enss, Kitty would pawn the diamond occasionally to pay for her rodeo fees and then have it replaced.

By 1920, the Kitty and Yakima Canutt were living in Los Angeles, California, with listed occupations of ‘cow boy’ and ‘cow girl.’

Kitty competed at the 1921 Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming.

In early-September 1921, Kitty participated in a three-day “race meet” in Casper, Wyoming. She participated in the 1/2 mile Ladies’ Running Race. On Monday, she rode Lady Mac and took second place. On Tuesday, she rode Little Spider and took second again.

In late-September 1921, Yakima and Kitty Cannutt appeared at the Pendleton Round-Up. The couple filed for divorce at some point.

Kitty married Robert Clinton Long on December 24, 1923 in Benewah, Idaho and they eventually moved to Oklahoma. They lived there for several years.

At the age of 88, Katherine “Kitty” Long passed away on June 3, 1988. She is buried in Aline, Oklahoma in the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery.

Concluding Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed reading about Katherine “Kitty” Wilkes and learned something new today. Join me next time as we continue ‘breaking trail’ and uncovering stories from the American West.

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Sources

Secondary Sources

Books

Chris Enss. “Along Came A Cowgirl: Daring and Iconic Women of the Rodeo & Wild West Shows.”

Richard Rattenbury. “Arena Legacy: The Heritage of American Rodeo.”

Websites

“Kathleen E. ‘Kitty Wilks’ Derre Long.” Find A Grave.

Chris Enss. “COWGIRL Iconic: Kitty Canutt.” COWGIRL Magazine. October 9, 2020.

“Along Came A Cowgirl Kitty Canutt.” Chris Enss website blog. November 23, 2023.

Primary Sources

“Katherine Wilkes.” Marriage Records. Montana County Marriages. County courthouses, Montana. (Film number: 001902479. DGS: 004350527).

“Katherine Wilkes.” Montana State Historical Society; Helena, Montana; Montana, County Marriage Records, 1865-1950. (Certificate Number: 3500).

“Kathleen E Canutt.” Idaho, County Marriages, 1864-1950. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. (FHL Film Number: 1571607).

Census Records

“Catherine Cannuett.” 1920 United States Federal Census. 1920; Los Angeles Assembly District 63, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T625_106; Page: 26A; Enumeration District: 152. Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

“Katherine E Long.” 1930 United States Federal Census. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.

“Kathleen E Long.” 1940 United States Federal Census. Aline, Alfalfa, Oklahoma; Roll: m-t0627-03274; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 2-2.

“Kathleen E Long.” 1950 United States Federal Census. 1950; Aline, Alfalfa, Oklahoma; Roll: 1440; Page: 8; Enumeration District: 2-2.

Newspapers

“Trotting…” Miles City Weekly Star (Miles City, Montana), September 22, 1916.

“12,000 People See Round-Up.” Albany Daily Democrat (Albany, Oregon), October 14, 1916.

“Bucking Contest.” Lewiston Daily News (Lewiston, Montana), October 15, 1916.

“Wild West Show Performers Wed.” East Oregonian (Pendleton, Oregon), July 25, 1917.

“Thursday’s Round-Up.” Evening Capital News (Boise, Idaho), October 5, 1917.

“Polson Coming For Stampede.” The Missourian (Missoula, Montana), June 23, 1918.

“Woman Rider Is Disqualified.” The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), September 6, 1918.

“Daring Riders Ready For Initial Show.” The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, Utah), June 19, 1919.

“Rotarians Thoroughly Enjoy Wild West Exhibition.” The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, Utah), June 20, 1919.

Photo of Kitty Canutt. New-York Tribune (New York City, New York), August 10, 1919. (Page 4)

“Cowgirls Are Ready.” The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, OR), August 31, 1919.

“Relay and Pony Express Events Remarkably Fast.” Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona), November 6, 1919.

“Tex Smith is 1920 Champ of Buckaroos.” The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, OR), September 26, 1920.

“Kitty Canutt, Of Buckaroo Fame, Has Novel Jewel Idea.” East Oregonian (Pendleton, Oregon), October 30, 1920.

“Diamond Teeth For Rodeo Girl.” The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), November 3, 1920.

“World Champion Cowgirl Trains Like Fighter.” Omaha Daily Bee (Omaha, Nebraska), June 26, 1921.

“Tri-State Round-Up.” Rapid City Journal (Rapid City, South Dakota), July 3, 1921.

“Race Meet Draws Thousands On First Two Days, Closing Program Is Scheduled Today.” Casper Star-Tribune (Casper, Wyoming), September 6, 1921.

“Money Is Lost On Race Meet.” Casper Star-Tribune (Casper, Wyoming), September 7, 1921.

“Many Star Performers At Round-Up This Year.” The Gazette-Times (Heppner, Oregon), September 8, 1921.

*All newspaper clippings in this blog post were pulled from newspapers.com. All digitized primary sources were found on ancestry.com unless stated otherwise. I am not affiliated with either website. I just wanted to let you know where I found my digitized sources.

*Blog Cover Photo: Photo of Kitty Canutt. New-York Tribune (New York City, New York), August 10, 1919. (Page 4)