The Texana Review

Characters and Critters by Skipper Duncan

Anyone who has spent any time in West Texas (and even those who haven’t) know that West Texans are famous for telling stories, some true, some not-so-true. Of those that tell the stories, some are good at it, others aren’t. Skipper Duncan, in his “Characters and Critters,” is one of the good ones. Mr. Duncan pulls from a lifetime of first-hand experience and observation to create a collection of short stories that not only brings a deep belly-laugh and snicker but also insights into some of West Texas history. Especially interesting is how he tells of his personal transition from struggling rancher to successful hunting outfitter and the cast of characters and events that tickled his fancy along the way, all of which he now shares with us in “Characters and Critters.” When I spoke with him the other day to set up an interview for The Texana Review, he said he was working on a follow-up collection of more stories. I anticipate it will be at least as entertaining as this one. As a storyteller myself, I highly recommend this book.

 

You can buy it at Amazon.com.  Click HERE

 

© Copyright 2012 Edward Blackburn. All rights reserved.

Leasel Bobo Harris

It has been told that Leasel Bobo Harris stood on the rough wood planking of a buckboard wagon amidst all his family’s worldly belongings as Sam Houston’s army attacked Santa Anna’s Mexican army at San Jacinto, Texas that pivotal, sunny but sultry day, April 21, 1836. He was nine years old.

For weeks, he, his family and hundreds of others had endured a grueling eastward journey across Texas that has come to be called the Runaway Scrape.

Sam Houston, as the general of the army of the newly declared independent State of Texas, calculatedly retreated before a greatly superior Mexican army led by the ruthless and dictatorial Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

And there, that day, my great-, great-grandfather witnessed a battle that lasted less than 20 minutes and resulted in the creation of a new nation and eventually the proud State of Texas.

Later, L.B Harris, as he was to be known, carved out a life in Texas as a freighter, Texas Ranger, real estate speculator, and eventually, respected cattleman.

L.B Harris was but one of many who shaped Texas in the 19^th century but his character, innovations and legacy are still alive.

If you’d like to know more about L.B. Harris and his accomplishments, click “Like.” I’ll spin you a tale, or two, and maybe a bit of Texas history.

 

© Copyright 2012 Edward Blackburn. All rights reserved.

From the Sam Houston Project, An Interview with historian James Haley

Back in the days before Texas was a state, a fellow by the name of Sam Houston rode over from Tennessee.  As a result, he came to be, along with others, legendary as Texas fought and gained its independence from Mexico, survived as its own nation for a while and eventually joined the United States of America as a state.

Sam Houston has been called many things, some good, some bad.  But all said and done, Sam Houston reflected a unique spirit that permeated many men and women in that era when the United States was expanding – vision, desire, frontiersman ship, a “can-do” attitude and leadership.

Several years ago, I was contacted by Denton Florian who was working on The Sam Houston Project (which evolved into The Sam Houston Movie) and asked to contribute, in a small way, to his effort.  Being an amateur Texas historian of sorts (thanks to my mother’s and father’s almost insatiable love of history in general and Texas history in particular), I readily agreed.

With a target audience of Texas history educators, Denton asked if I’d “podcast” several interviews with Texas history academics for the Project.

I did and here’s one of them – “Honor and Integrity.” 

 

Listen…and include your children

   <- Click here

 

For more on the Sam Houston Project and the Sam Houston Movie, visit this website…The Sam Houston Movie

Leave a Comment

Texas Tales Illustrated

Drawing upon the increasing popularity of graphic or illustrated novels among young readers, Texas Tales Illustrated: The Revolution is an innovative retelling of the Texas revolution for independence and is sure to become an invaluable classroom resource. Author Mike Kearby and illustrator Mack White designed the book for use in seventh-grade Texas history courses in response to a need for more interactive textbooks, which will appeal to the learning styles of students in today’s overwhelmingly visual media culture.

White’s detailed line drawings recall classic comic book style and capture the dramatic tension of the battle, while Kearby’s narration is enticing, full of intriguing historical detail. The comic pages are supplemented with traditional text, including excerpts of historical documents and visual materials such as maps and battlefield schematics.

Students at three North Texas middle schools found the graphic format “easy to read,” the illustrations “exciting” and well executed. Many responded that they would check out the book from their school libraries—even if the text were not required reading.

 

MIKE KEARBY, a retired high school reading and English teacher, is the author of seven novels. The Road to a Hanging, Ride the Desperate Trail, and Ambush at Mustang Canyon completed his Young Adult trilogy published by Dorchester Publishing (NY). Ambush at Mustang Canyon was honored as a Spur Award Finalist from the Western Writers of America. Dorchester Publishing will publish The Taken in November 2010, and Dead Man’s Saddle in 2011.

More on Mike Kearby HERE

 

Native Texan MACK WHITE is an illustrator and comics creator who has been publishing professionally for twenty years. His artwork and stories have appeared in numerous publications throughout the world, including Heavy Metal, Details, Old West Journal, Zero Zero, Hotwire, Top Shelf, El Vibora, and Strapazin. In 2004, he co-edited the political comics anthology. Most recently, his work was featured in the Yale Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories. He currently resides in Austin, Texas.

More on Mack White HERE

TCU Press titles are available at your local bookstore or by calling 800.826.8911

or at Amazon.com

HERE

 

Technorati Tags: Texana Review,Ed Blackburn,Mike Kearby,Mack White,Texas,Texas history

Devils River: Treacherous Twin to the Pecos

Patrick Dearen has a new book.  It’s title is Devils River: Treacherous Twin to the Pecos, 1535-1900, from TCU Press.  It examines the history of a notorious river in southwestern Texas: the Devils River.

He starts by describing the Spanish explorers and other settlers from the Americas who encountered the Devils River, then known as Rio San Pedro (Saint Peter’s River), and their difficulties in traversing the region. He relates a multitude of different hardships, ranging from Indian attacks, impassable fords, unpredictable weather, and long routes with little water. The advancement of the railroad into Devils River territory brought its own share of troubles—train robberies became more common, and outlaws often passed through the area on their way to Mexico. Military outposts were built and abandoned at various points along the river, and companies of Texas Rangers patrolled the area in an attempt to keep the peace. Yet despite all their effort, the Devils River and the surrounding regions were a law unto themselves, and it would take hundreds of years and much bloodshed to civilize the area.

Devils River is at heart a scholarly work, but it is also much more. Dearen takes the time to engage readers in the events by introducing the characters involved and showing not only their actions but their words and thoughts as well. His retellings of each occurrence make readers feel as if they are actually present at that exact moment in history. It is a fascinating read, for scholars and non-historians alike.

 

Patrick Dearen is the author of nine nonfiction books and nine novels and is a recognized authority on the lower Pecos River country. He grew up in Sterling City, Texas, and earned a bachelor of journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. His nonfiction works include Castle Gap and the Pecos Frontier, Portraits of the Pecos Frontier, Crossing Rio Pecos, A Cowboy of the Pecos, and Halff of Texas. Through his books The Last of the Old-Time Cowboys and Saddling Up Anyway, Dearen has also preserved the stories of the last generation of cowhands who plied their trade before mechanization. His novels include Perseverance, set along the rails in Depression-era Texas.

More on Patrick Dearen HERE.

TCU Press titles are available at your local bookstore or by calling 800.826.8911

or

at Amazon.com

HERE

 

Technorati Tags: Texana Review,Ed Blackburn,Patrick Dearen,Pecos,Pecos River,history Texas history

The Far Canyon by Elmer Kelton

The Far Canyon, the sequel to Slaughter, was published in 1994 and won Elmer Kelton his sixth esteemed Spur Award from the Western Writers of America. With such accomplishments, it is easy to understand why, in 1995, the Western Writers of America voted Elmer Kelton the greatest western writer of all time.

In The Far Canyon, Kelton masterfully unveils for his reader the finality of the buffalo’s demise, the beginning of a time when cattle would replace the American bison on the southern plains and ultimately end the Plains Indian culture. The novel reveals the history of the period, up close and personal, so his readership can judge the impact of the period upon his characters.

The novel’s first chapter introduces Comanche warrior Crow Feather, whose situation is emblematic of a common recurring theme in all of Kelton’s works . . . change. Protagonist Jeff Layne is faced with the very same dramatic problem, the devastating threat to one’s self-concept inherent in change. Layne, the hide hunter from Slaughter, is weary of killing and death. He decides to return to South Texas, determined to earn his living with the newest resource on the plains, cattle. And the cultures collide.

Kelton eloquently reveals the impact of hide hunters on Plains Indian culture. Crow Feather realizes that no matter how many whites the Comanche kill, there will always be more “coming back.” Crow Feather also understands that his life and the lives of his wives and children will never be easy again. Are Layne and Crow Feather of a character that will allow them to escape a predetermined fate by reaching that far canyon, or will they simply perish under the cultural dictate of their historical time?

Elmer Kelton was voted All-Time Greatest Western Author by Western Writers of America. He received seven Spur Awards, four Wrangler Awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Museum, and lifetime achievement awards from WWA, Western American Literature Association, and the Texas Institute of Letters. He was the author of more than fifty novels.

TCU Press titles are available at your local bookstore or by calling 800.826.8911.

Time of the Rangers by Mike Cox - an interview

Normally, I like to keep these podcast interviews limited to 10 to 15 minutes.  However, I was compelled by so much of what Mike Cox had to say about the Texas Rangers, his new book (and the previous volume "Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso"), and his own life experience that I stretched this to about 29 minutes. 

Regardless, Mike Cox knows his stuff, is articulate and is a joy to be around (I always enjoy spending time with west Texans!).

Accompanying music by Ocean Alexander used under the Creative Commons License from MusicAlley.

Click HERE to listen...

Technorati Tags: Texana Review,Ed Blackburn,Texas Rangers,Texas,history

 

ONE OF THE BEST

 

 

My boyhood friend, Bill Wagner, passed over to the other side several days ago, a victim of cancer.

As was his character, he fought the “good fight” for a year and a half, and was surrounded by close friends and an adoring family, who cheered him on as he battled the insidious adversary.

Although we were boyhood friends, Bill and I drifted apart when I left Houston to attend parochial school, later to attend college, work in real estate and soon thereafter, wander around about a bit.

He married an incredibly wonderful woman, Carter Baber, and had, with her, two beautiful children.

As things go in this American generation, he and Carter later dissolved their relationship and went their separate ways.

Both eventually remarried, happily, as I understand.

Bill remarried Susan, whom I met once, and was stricken by her depth of character and that their closeness wasn’t only physical but spiritual as well.

I remember Bill as working in the financial business but also remember him as an avid outdoorsman.

Once upon a time, as teenagers, I remember driving my father’s open-sided Jeep into a laguna in south Texas (too fast for sure) and spotting a group of Javelina, which fled immediately.

“Catch up! Catch up!” Bill shouted.

I did.

And as I gained upon the fleeing throng (about 30 miles-per-hour), Bill launched himself from the Jeep onto a lagging pig like a bull-dogger at the rodeo.

I didn’t see it all because I was driving; braking immediately when I realized my buddy wasn’t sitting beside me.

When I looked back, Bill was sitting on his rear in the short grass wrestling with this wild pig which, in short order, got the better of him and split for the woods.

Whereupon, Bill flopped onto his back and guffawed at the heavens, bloodied, clothing torn and covered in dirt and Javelina hair.

It’s something I’ll never forget.

That was Bill Wagner.

When my wanderings brought me back to Houston in 2005, Bill embraced me as though nothing had changed over the 30 years we hadn’t seen one another.

We lunched occasionally, and he told me his stories and I told him mine. Many not to repeated, don’t you know.

Such is the testimony to the man, his spirit and his love of life.

Though a distant friend now, I will miss you, Bill Wagner, as much as your family does.

Rest in peace, my friend.

A tea party in San Angelo, Texas...

I've been curious about the divisiveness that this nation has been experiencing since the election last year.

A divisiveness, I have observed, that began during the previous Administration.

On April 15th last week, people organized "tea parties" across the nation to express their concern over the direction the new Administration is taking on spending, taxation and a slew of other issues. 

I live in San Angelo, Texas.

We had a "tea party" here.

Attendees seemed to be divided along the two traditional party lines - Republican and Democrat (although there was at least one avowed Libertarian in the group).

I took some pictures of the gathering.

Here they are.

 

Technorati Tags: Texana Review,Ed Blackburn,tea party,taxes

Texas History Tidbit: Fort Worth Stock Yards

When the Texas and Pacific Railway finally reached Fort Worth in 1876, leaders in Fort Worth had already decided that making Fort Worth a leading livestock market was the thing to do.

So, they went about it.  Building stock pens and attracting meat packers.

Fort Worth for many decades was one of the nation's largest livestock markets.

Here's another Texas History Tidbit that might shed a bit more light on the subject.

Listen...

Three minutes, thirty-three seconds

Music by Aff The Cuff
under Creative Commons License
Podshow Podsafe Music Network

 

Technorati Tags: Texana Review,Ed Blackburn,cattle,Fort Worth,Texas,history