A Texas Cowboy: or, Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of a Spanish Pony

After a nomadic childhood, Charles Siringo signed on as a teenage cowboy for the noted Texas cattle king, Shanghai Pierce, and began a life that embraced all the hard work, excitement, and adventure readers today associate with the cowboy era. He "rid the Chisholm trail," driving 2,500 heads of cattle from Austin to Kansas; knew Tascosa-now a historic monument-when it was home to raucous saloons, red light districts, and a fair share of violence; and led a posse of cowboys in pursuit of Billy the Kid and his gang.First published in 1885, Siringo's chronicle of his life as a itchy-footed boy, cowhand, range detective, and adventurer was one the first classics about the Old West and helped to romanticize the West and its myth of the American cowboy. Will Rogers declared, "That was the Cowboy's Bible when I was growing up." For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust theseries to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-datetranslations by award-winning translators.

Table of Contents:
Introduction by Richard W. Etulain Suggestions for Further Reading A Note on the Text A Texas Cowboy I. My Boyhood Days II. My Introduction to the late war III. My First Lesson in Cow Punching IV. My second experience in St. Louis V. A New experience VI. Adopted and sent to school VII. Back at last to the Lone Star State VIII. Learning to rope wild steers IX. Owning my first cattle X. A start up the Chisolm trail XI. Buys a boat and becomes a sailor XII. Back to my favorite occupation, that of a wild and woolly Cow Boy XIII. Mother and I meet at last XIV. On a tare in Wichita, Kansas XV. A lonely trip down the Cimeron XVI. My first experience roping a Buffalo XVII. An exciting trip after thieves XVIII. Seven weeks among Indians XIX. A lonely ride of eleven hundred miles XX. Another start up the Chisolm trail XXI. A trip which terminated in the capture of "Billy the Kid" XXII. Billy the Kid's capture XXIII. A trip to the Rio Grande on a mule XXIV. Waylaid by unknown parties XXV. Lost on the Staked Plains XXVI. A trip down the Reo Pecos XXVII. A true sketch of "Billy the Kid's" life XXVIII. Wrestling with a dose of Small Pox on the Llano Esticado XXIX. In love with a Mexican girl XXX. A sudden leap from Cow Boy to Merchant Addenda: Part I. - Cost of raising a three-year old steer Part II. - Driving young steers "up the trail." Part III. - What a young man can do in ten years with a start of 100 two-year-old heifers. Part IV. - The much abused cow-pony. Part V. - Cow-boys' wages - and cost of outfit. Part VI. - Losses on a cattle ranch from deaths, theft, etc. Part VII. - Raising cow-ponies on the range Explanatory Notes

About the Author :
Richard W. Etulain is professor emeritus of history and former director of the Center for the American West at the University of New Mexico. He has authored or edited more than forty books.