TRAIL FEVER: The Life off a Texas Cowboy

George Saunders participated in many great cattle drives from 1871 to 1886; later, he spent years collecting and setting down his aging comrades' reminiscences. His career makes a thrilling tale, full of danger and hardship, stampedes, hostile Native Americans, rough country, and bad weather. Lightfoot also depicts Saunders's life between drives as a rancher and businessman, a solid citizen who rode with a vigilante group but also once stepped forward to prevent a local massacre of Mexicans, at a time when racial tensions ran high. Though his last 47 years pass in a few lines here and there's little about his work as author, readers will get a clear idea of a cowhand's work, and of Saunders's important role in preserving the lore of a vanished era. Illustrations not seen. Bibliography.