A Saddletrip Across Texas

Although Texas was spared much of the devastation of the Civil War, Texans lived with shortages and impressment of livestock and cotton for the Confederate for the war effort. The lawless element from outside the state brought an increase in crime. The existing trouble between Texans and Native Americans increased after the Federal military closed Texas forts. Despite these problems, Texans sent their youth to war and tried to maintain normal life on the home front. Into this turmoil came a British subject who had served in the Confederacy but left in disgust at the carnage. Emsy Scott came to Texas to meet a shipment belonging to his family business coming through Rio Grand that skirted the Federal blockade of the Gulf of Mexico. As Emsy waits, he goes on a Confederate patrol where he gains control of a shipment of cotton that the Confederate government believes to be theirs. Seeking to avoid trouble with the government, Emsy hires a guide to take him to the Llano Estacado, what Emsy calls the Texas Wilderness. There is a buffalo hunt and Emsy and companion meet both Comanches and Texas Rangers on the plain and there is a deadly skirmish. Emsy returns with a reputation. The novel ends with Emsy and a young woman he met in Texas sharing conversation and the obligatory Texas glass of water on her porch. The author is a native Texan who grew up hunting and fishing. He has loved reading history his whole life, particularly Texas history. He has two children, both of whom have given him grandchildren. He served as an Army medic in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968.