The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 51, July 1947 - April, 1948 Page: 99
406 p. : ill., ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Book Reviews
history of the Clayton country. It will be found of interest to
West Texans and New Mexicans alike, as well as readers of the
vigorous American record.
Albert Thompson came from a boyhood background in Maine
to the High Plains of the West in 1885, seeking relief from
asthma, and finding it, as well as adventure in youth and indi-
vidually earned comfort in age. But this is not a success story
of the Victorian era, or a high shooting saga of western ways. It
is the simple and unadorned tale of life on the great, grassy
ranges where the whiz of tied-fast ropes and the languid drawl
of the men who handled them with matchless ease, told of their
origin in Texas.
There is a powerful relativity in this matter of history that
the casual reader may miss but not the discerning one. It was
known long before Wendell Willkie borrowed a plane from
Franklin D. Roosevelt and dramatically flew around the world,
somewhat to emphasize the foreign policy of one and formulate
a campaign document for the other. Long before either was
impelled by political ambition and wasting words about one
world, the powerful human impulses and traditions that make
it so had reached the frontiers of Texas. More than a century
ago they surged out of Western Europe and the British Isles in
vigorous tides of migration that helped to wash back the hinter-
lands of Texas.
Then this trickle of Western culture slowly crept up the river
valleys, hesitated for years, but only for one brief historical
moment, at the edge of the open country. Then it dammed up
again at the caprock of the Staked Plains, while its boldest and
most venturesome spirits funneled into the valley of the Main
Concho to cross the Plains to the Pecos, and take the Goodnight
Trail up that stream to overrun eastern New Mexico with their
longhorned herds. This movement was met, a generation later,
by another wave of cultivated men, with capital to invest, from
the East and abroad. There they met these bowlegged men from
Texas who were short on money but long on knowledge of cows.
And while neither the English gentleman nor the Texas cowboy
made or kept much money, each touched the land and the life
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 51, July 1947 - April, 1948, periodical, 1948; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101119/m1/117/?rotate=270: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.