The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 56, July 1952 - April, 1953 Page: 572
641 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
tonnage on the northbound shipments. A fact not so well known,
however, is the one recorded by Mr. Masterson, that as early as
1874 three trainloads of beef carcasses dressed in Denison, Texas,
were shipped to the East and "reached Washington Market, where
competent judges pronounced the beef as sweet and perfect as
if just killed." Whiskey shipments made up a considerable por-
tion of the southbound traffic. A typical shipment to Atoka,
Oklahoma, showed eighteen cases bitters, seven and one-half
barrels whiskey, twenty-two cases gin, three barrels brandy, ten
cases wine, one keg axeheads, one box drugs, four boxes hard-
ware, and one case of matches. Hardy souls were the early builders
and users of the Katy Railroad.
Mr. Masterson is quite objective in telling the history of the
M. K. & T. He gives credit where credit is due, but he makes
no attempt to cover up the wrongdoings of his actors. The
meticulous historian may raise an eyebrow at some of the con-
versational passages, but these add to the interest of the story
and are fairly well documented for authenticity.
The book fills a definite need for those who want to know
more about the history of the great Southwest. What Mr. Master-
son describes in this book could be similarly told concerning the
building of every railroad in this area. Not many persons can or
will take the time to do the detailed research necessary to tell
the full history of a railroad. The author of this book is an
exception. Before the reader reads very far, he realizes he is
getting a full and authoritative story of the M. K. & T. It is so
interestingly written that there is never a good place to lay the
book down. Anyone with a feel for southwestern history will be
glad he read this book.
The five pages of bibliography listed at the end of the book
contain many references not found in other historical studies of
the Southwest. This book could never have been written by Mr.
Masterson, or anyone else, if full access to the official records of
the Katy itself, as well as to the vast bibliographical material
which the author lists, had not been available.
SAM B. McALISTER
North Texas State College572
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 56, July 1952 - April, 1953, periodical, 1953; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101145/m1/676/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.