Pearl Biddlecome Baker (1907-1992) grew up on a cattle ranch in the heart of Robbers Roost in Southeastern Utah. Her experiences on the ranch and her association with the region's folklore suited her to write about the adventurers in the region. Her writings have become essential works for students of the American West.

Pearl's father, Joseph Cornelius Biddlecome (Joe), had a small herd of cattle when he married Hanner Amelia May Scharf (Millie) in 1904. The couple set up a cattle ranch on Piñon Mesa in Southeastern Utah. Pearl was born 5 August 1907 in Ferron, Utah. When Joe's cattle grew to over one hundred and fifty head, his neighbors made it clear that they wanted Joe to ranch elsewhere. Joe moved his young family to the Robbers Roost region in 1909.

Joe and Millie's daughters, Hazel and Pearl, learned the hard work of cattle ranching. When Joe passed away 16 June 1928, the ranch went to Millie, Hazel, and Pearl, but Pearl took over ownership of the ranch in July 1929 with her husband of three years, Mel Marsing. Mel had suffered a leg injury when he was hit by a knot in a rope from the horse he was leading; two months after the Marsings took over the ranch, Mel passed away from blood poisoning caused by the injury. Pearl was left alone to manage the ranch and raise two boys under age 3: Joe and Alex (Jack).

Pearl ran the ranch through the Depression. After Pearl married Frank James (Slim) Baker, she sold the ranch to her sister Hazel and her husband, A. C. Ekker. Pearl moved to Oregon, gave birth to a son, Noel, and later separated from her husband. Pearl had many vocations throughout her life. She taught school at Hite and across the Colorado River at White Canyon, ran the White Canyon Trading Post and Post Office, and worked as a clerk-receptionist at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge near Socorro, New Mexico.

Pearl's experience growing up in Robbers Roost acquainted her with the stories of the outlaws who holed up in the area to escape the authorities. Robbers Roost is in the general Canyonlands area in Wayne County, Utah. Its distance and space is daunting, and it is difficult to navigate. For the Wild Bunch during the 1890s, the area was perfect for hiding from the law, but by 1906, Robbers Roost no longer eased an outlaw's escape, as additional roads made it easier for lawmen to navigate the area. Pearl's acquaintance with the lore of the region made her prime to write her critically-acclaimed work on the Wild Bunch.

Pearl launched her writing career with (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1965, 1971, 1989). Baker's popularity rose when Paul Newman and Robert Redford made the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" in 1969. The film was widely popular and garnered much attention, including four Academy Awards in 1970, and interested journalists sought Pearl Baker's expertise for sound bites.

Baker wrote other materials, including a biography of Bert Loper entitled (Boulder, CO: Pruett Publishing Company, ca. 1969). Pearl knew Loper her whole life, and her acquaintance with him enabled her to include photographs and added a personal touch about a man who spent his life charting the Colorado, San Juan, Green, and Yampa rivers. In the first half of the 20th Century, Loper saw river running transition from a rare feat to a sport based on the techniques he had established. The collection includes those materials that informed Baker's storytelling and drafts of the book.

Pearl's last project was a memoir about her experience growing up on her family's ranch entitled (Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 1976, 1991). Pearl passed away in a nursing home in Price, Utah in 1992.