J. W. Williams’s classic survey of the big ranches of the Southwest reaches deep into the stories of key players in American ranching history. Colorful tales of the finest cutting horse, the meanest cow thief, the most princely cowman of them all--even the hair-raising details of gunplay with a badman whose name cannot be revealed--are told in bare-knuckle fashion that leaves no cushion to soften the truth. This is an account of many journeys by car down roads that led to roundup grounds and to chuck with the cowboys; to the ranch homes of those who built the great cattle empires; to the Burnetts, the Spurs, the Pitchforks, and the Matadors; and to many points along the way where ranching history was made. A master storyteller, Williams connects these sites to living legends of the cattle and beef industry. He spent the night beneath the stars in Colonel Goodnight’s Palo Duro Canyon, drove across the state line near the original XIT fence northwest of Amarillo, and glided along the base of the impressive Sawtooth Mountain for out in the Reynolds’ Kingdom of the Long X, half a hundred miles west of Fort Davis. The Big Ranch Country reaches far up into the Texas Panhandle, deep into the Big Bend of Trans-Pecos Texas, and down south to the great ranch empires of the Texas coast. Williams was the first to publish maps of most of the great Texas ranches and tells many of little-known stories of the land that once was home to Boley Brown, the prince of good neighbors; Quakers who moved to the plains to escape the wicked world; and the Hank Smiths, whose famous old rock house was once the last “outpost of civilization.”
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
J. W. Williams chronicled the ranches of West Texas and the Panhandle as he encountered them in the 1940s and 1950s. The Big Ranch Country was first published in 1954 and was reissued by Texas Tech University Press in 1999.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ranching History,
By Red Raider Jones "R. Jones" (Brady, Texas) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Big Ranch Country (Double Mountain Books) (Paperback)
TTU press is to be commended for preserving our ranching history by
making this book available. Though it is but one man's documentation and does not cover every land owner or cowboy who settled the rolling plains of Texas, it does mention many of the well known brands. I would recommend this book to those who value and are searching for ranching history. I wish more of the old timers could have put their stories in print.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Big Ranch Country,
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This review is from: The big ranch country (Hardcover)
I purchased this for my husband's birthday. He was born and raised on the Waggoner Ranch at Vernon, Tx. I received the book in good condition as described and within about a week. Great service. Hope he enjoys it.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Two men in a car pulling a horse trailer stopped at the cattle pens a few blocks from down-town Paducah, Texas. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
big ranch country, greatest ranches, grass leases, outlaw steer, moon brand, cattle history, county tax records, cowboy reunion, wagon boss, county ranch, ranching venture, great ranches, cattle world, cattle brands, branded cattle, beef supply, cow country, wolf hunt, sixteen counties, big ranches, tax rolls, cow business, several ranches, free grass, modern ranch Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Burk Burnett, King County, Wichita Falls, United States, New Mexico, Red River, Fort Griffin, King Ranch, Blanco Canyon, Wichita County, Pitchfork Ranch, Fort Worth, Texas Cattle Brands, Pecos River, Texas Panhandle, Waggoner Estate, Tom Burnett, South Plains, Texas Almanac, Two Circle Bar, Spur Ranch, Brewster County, Canadian River, Post City, Sam Graves New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Two men in a car pulling a horse trailer stopped at the cattle pens a few blocks from down-town Paducah, Texas. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
big ranch country, greatest ranches, grass leases, outlaw steer, moon brand, cattle history, county tax records, cowboy reunion, wagon boss, county ranch, ranching venture, great ranches, cattle world, cattle brands, branded cattle, beef supply, cow country, wolf hunt, sixteen counties, big ranches, tax rolls, cow business, several ranches, free grass, modern ranch Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Burk Burnett, King County, Wichita Falls, United States, New Mexico, Red River, Fort Griffin, King Ranch, Blanco Canyon, Wichita County, Pitchfork Ranch, Fort Worth, Texas Cattle Brands, Pecos River, Texas Panhandle, Waggoner Estate, Tom Burnett, South Plains, Texas Almanac, Two Circle Bar, Spur Ranch, Brewster County, Canadian River, Post City, Sam Graves New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 16
books:
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15
books
cite this book:
See all 15 books citing this book
- Cattle Kings of Texas by C. L. Douglas on 4 pages
- The Border and the Buffalo: An Untold Story of Southwest Plains : A Story of Mountain and Plain by John R. Cook on page 37, and page 69
- Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman by J. Evetts Haley on page 119, and page 212
- Alkali Trails: Social and Economic Movements of the Texas Frontier, 1846-1900 (Double Mountain Books) by William Curry Holden in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- John Steinbeck (Life & Works) by A.Susan Williams in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
See all 16 books this book cites
- Katy Northwest: The Story of a Branch Line Railroad by Donovan L. Hofsommer in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Black Cowboys of Texas (Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students Texas A & M University) by Sara R. Massey on page 16, and Back Matter
- Built in Texas (Publications of the Texas Folklore Society) by Francis Edward Abernethy on page 223
- Fearless Dave Allison: Border Lawman by Bob Alexander in Back Matter
- Kings of Texas: The 150-Year Saga of an American Ranching Empire by Don Graham in Back Matter
See all 15 books citing this book
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