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The Texas Longhorn made more history than any other breed of cattle the world has known. These wiry, intractable beasts were themselves pioneers in a harsh land, moving elementally with drouth, grass, Arctic blizzards, and burning winds. Their story is the bedrock on which the history of the cow country of America is founded.
J. Frank Dobie was a tale spinner who appreciated the proper place of legend and folklore in history. In The Longhorns, he tells of the Spanish conquistadors, who brought their cattle with them; of ranching in the turbulent colonial times; of the cowboy, whose abandon, energy, insolence, and pride epitomized the booming West. He writes of terrifying stampedes, titantic bull fights on the range, ghost steers, and encounters with Indians.
A tireless prospector of the history and legends of the Southwest, Dobie spent most of his life preparing to write this book. He was born in the Texas brush country where the Longhorns made their last stand; he back-trailed them into Mexico; he pursued the vivid lore of Texas cowboys and Mexican vaqueros. No historian or naturalist has ever so related an animal to the land, its people, and its history.
List of contents
- Introductory: Makers of History
- I. The First Spanish Cattle
- II. The Texas Breed
- III. Mavericks and Maverickers
- IV. On the Trail
- V. Stompedes
- VI The Way They Ran
- VII. Epitaph on the Lone Prairie
- VIII. Bulls and the Blood Call
- IX. Cows and Curiosity
- X. Smell and Thirst
- XI. Vitality, Drifts and Die-ups
- XII. Horns
- XIII. Rawhide
- XIV. Oxen and Tails
- XV. Sancho and Other Returners
- XVI. Lead Steers and Neck Oxen
- XVII. Outlaws of the Brush
- XVIII. Hidden in the Thickets
- XIX. Molded by Horn and Thorn
- XX. Sundown
- Photographic Record of the Longhorns
- Notes
- Index
About the author
By J. Frank Dobie
Summary
The Texas Longhorn made more history than any other breed of cattle the world has known. These wiry, intractable beasts were themselves pioneers in a harsh land, moving elementally with drouth, grass, Arctic blizzards, and burning winds. This title tells of the Spanish conquistadors, who brought their cattle with them.
