Crossing Rio Pecos by Patrick Dearen
The Pecos River flows snake-like out of New Mexico and across West Texas before striking the Rio Grande. In frontier Texas, the Pecos was more moat than river, a deadly barrier of quicksand, treacherous currents, and impossibly steep banks. Only at its crossings - with such legendary names as Horsehead and Pontoon - could travelers hope to gain passage. Even if the river proved obliging, its Indian raiders and outlaws often did not. Its banks echoed with the sounds of the mythic Old West - the war cry of the Indian, the blast of the cowboy's six-shooter, the crack of the stage-driver's whip, the thunder of the stampeding longhorn. While documented history was painting dreary lives for pioneers in many other locations, the Pecos stirred with color and drama and nurtured the stuff of legend. Long after irrigation and dams rendered the river a polluted trickle, Patrick Dearen went seeking out the crossings and the stories behind them. In Crossing Rio Pecos, a follow-up to his Castle Gap and the Pecos Frontier, he draws upon years of research and relates the history and folklore of all the crossings: Horsehead, Pontoon, Pope's, Emigrant, Salt, Spanish Dam, Adobe, S, and Lancaster. Meticulously documented, Crossing Rio Pecos is the definitive study of these gateways which were so vital to the opening of the western frontier.
Dearen, Patrick: - The author of twenty-three books, Patrick Dearen is a former award-winning reporter for two West Texas newspapers. Dearen has produced nonfiction books such as A Cowboy of the Pecos and Bitter Waters: The Struggles of the Pecos River. His research has led to thirteen novels, including The Big Drift, winner of the Spur Award of Western Writers of America, the Peacemaker Award of Western Fictioneers, the Fiction Book of the Year Award from Academy of Western Artists, and the Elmer Kelton Award from West Texas Historical Association. His other novels include When Cowboys Die, The Illegal Man, Perseverance, and To Hell or the Pecos. Dearen lives in Midland, Texas, and has backpacked the Guadalupe Mountains extensively. See patrickdearen.com for more information.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780875651590 |
| ISBN 10 | 0875651593 |
| Title | Crossing Rio Pecos |
| Author | Patrick Dearen |
| Series | Chisholm Trail Ser |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Texas Christian University Press |
| Year published | 1996-06-01 |
| Number of pages | 208 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |