The Trail Drivers of Texas: Interesting Sketches of Early Cowboys... [Paperback]

J. Marvin Hunter (Compiler, Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1992

These are the chronicles of the trail drivers of Texas--those rugged men and, sometimes, women who drove cattle and horses up the trails from Texas to northern markets in the late 1800s. Gleaned from members of the Old Time Trail Drivers' Association, these hundreds of real-life stories--some humorous, some chilling, some rambling, all interesting--form an invaluable cornerstone to the literature, history, and folklore of Texas and the West. First published in the 1920s and reissued by the University of Texas Press in 1985, this classic work is now available in a handsome paperback edition that contains the full text, historical illustrations, and name index of the hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

For 60 years, The Trail Drivers of Texas has been considered the most monumental single source on the old-time Texas trail drives north to Kansas and beyond. . . . Because of its vast volume of raw material, expressed in the words of those who lived the life and rode the long miles, students of cattle industry history regard it with high respect, even awe. (Elmer Kelton Dallas Morning News )

Product Details

• Paperback: 1085 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press (1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292730764
• ISBN-13: 978-0292730762
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #430,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lives spent on the trail punching cattle, January 13, 2006

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Trail Drivers of Texas: Interesting Sketches of Early Cowboys... (Paperback)

This large book, in size (over a thousand pages) and in spirit, is a compilation of first-hand accounts of cowboys on the trail driving cattle. At annual Old Trail Drivers' conventions held in Texas during the nineteen-teens, vice-president George W. Saunders would try to "round up all of the old boys and girls and get their history in print so that the coming generations may read of the hardships and dangers they encountered and the splendid achievements of his comrades of the days gone by." Soon sketches and letters began trickling back until enough were gathered to publish them in a book. The book was a big success and a second volume was planned. Saunders bade out of editing the new volume and J. Marvin Hunter took over. Eventually both books were combined into one.

There are hundreds of sketches and accounts included here, all of them from the pens of the men who rode the range and the women who were right there with them. Their quality and length vary, of course, with some being only a paragraph or two long while others go on for many pages. Some have written what amounts to almost complete family histories, while others write of only a single incident.

With so many people writing reminiscences of basically the same experiences, certain commonalities are detected: the weather was on everyone's mind often, so was the coming of barbed-wire; nothing seemed harder than getting cattle to cross a river. Indians and the threat of Indians were everywhere; stampedes were a big concern. George W. Brock of Lockhart, TX, wrote a 7-page sketch with the fetching title "When Lightning Set the Grass on Fire," though this potentially exciting event is told in one sentence: "The lightning would strike the ground and set the grass on fire, then the rain would put it out." That's it. The rest of the account is all about Mr. Brock's countless adventures with cattle and horses, each one usually reduced to one sentence. So it goes. Some even submitted poetry.

There is a certain amount of "You had to be there" feeling about many of these sketches, but part of that is that there are just so many of them here. No one should (or probably could) read this book straight through; like eating chocolate truffles it's best to pick and choose in relatively small doses. But taken that way they can be quite enjoyable. The simplicity and robustness of the writing, so wonderfully nonacademic, can be downright refreshing. An interesting and charming book for anyone with a flair for those cowboy "days gone by."

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trail Drivers of Texas, April 20, 2005

By 

T. Broaddus (Magdalena, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Trail Drivers of Texas: Interesting Sketches of Early Cowboys... (Paperback)

Excellent. My father, 83 years old and a lifelong rancher in New Mexico, received a copy of this book from his sister for his birthday. He enjoyed it so much because of its true to life accounts of the trail driving days. Dad has been on some trail drives in the old days, and could relate to the writings in this book. I am reading this book now, and it is so fun ... true history, written by the men in their own styles ... some had little or no formal education, while others were highly educated. All are very interesting.