The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 79, July 1975 - April, 1976 Page: 118

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

able once more to buy county histories. Ed Eakin of Quanah, owner of
Nortex Press, has become one of the more prolific publishers specializing
in town and county histories.
Most Texas counties now support historical societies. Such organizations
draw together a lot of talent as well as enthusiasm for the preservation of
local history. As a result books are frequently written as cooperative efforts
by several members of a society. What such a book may lack in continuity
is made up for by the vast number of pictures the committee turns up.
The old description "profusely illustrated" certainly applies to the publi-
cations from Quanah.
Every Texana collector is familiar with the Naylor Press. Some of the
greatest modern rarities have come from there. Naylor has now published
a revised and enlarged edition of Guido Ransleben's A Hundred Years of
Comfort in Texas. Ransleben has devoted a part of his life to the study of
Texas History and no one knows more about his town and country than he.
He writes with a thoroughness worthy of his immigrant German ancestors.
It is hoped that collectors, historians, and librarians will see the value
of these publications for their local history collections.
Texas A&M University FREDERICK S. WHITE
El Lobo and Spanish Gold: A Texas Maverick in Mexico. By C. E. (Rick)
Ricketts. (Austin: Madrona Press, 1974. Pp. vii+2o8. Drawings,
references. $8.50.)
This narrative consists of tales, or episodes, in the life of Richard Thomp-
son, who according to the author was the only son of a wealthy Southwest
Texas ranching family. Thompson was reared by an indulgent uncle, with
railroad and mining interests, in California and other western states. As a
result, he grew to manhood with an itchy foot, a passion for trains and
lost mines, and a devil-may-care attitude about life. Thompson built his
own airplane while still a young man, and taught himself to fly. Since he
considered schools a bore, having been thrown out of a number of good
ones, he decided to renounce his wealth and property and wing his way
south of the border.
A mechanical genius, Thompson turned his talents to flying and rail-
roading with Mexican revolutionaries, and to working old Spanish mines
in out-of-the-way places. It was during this period that he acquired his
sobriquet, "El Lobo." He was a commanding figure, more than six feet
tall, well muscled, with great strength and stamina. Whether armed or not,

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