The Pecos River flows snake-like out of New Mexico and across West Texas before striking the Rio Grande. In frontier Texas, the Pecos was more moat than river--a deadly barrier of quicksand, treacherous currents, and impossibly steep banks. Only at its crossings, with legendary names such as Horsehead and Pontoon, could travelers hope to gain passage. Even if the river proved obliging, Indian raiders and outlaws often did not.

Long after irrigation and dams rendered the river a polluted trickle, Patrick Dearen went seeking out the crossings and the stories behind them. In Crossing Rio Pecos--a follow-up to his Castle Gap and the Pecos Frontier--he draws upon years of research to relate the history and folklore of all the crossings--Horsehead, Pontoon, Pope's, Emigrant, Salt, Spanish Dam, Adobe, "S," and Lancaster. Meticulously documented, Crossing Rio Pecos emerges as the definitive study of these gateways which were so vital to the opening of the western frontier.

Author: Patrick Dearen
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Texas Christian University Press
Published: 06/01/1996
Series: Chisholm Trail #16
Pages: 208
Weight: 0.69lbs
Size: 8.95h x 5.97w x 0.56d
ISBN: 9780875651590

About the Author
Patrick Dearen is the author of six books, including Castle Gap and the Pecos Frontier, Portraits of the Pecos Frontier, and When Cowboys Die, a novel. Formerly an award-winning reporter for two West Texas daily newspapers, he lives in Midland with his wife and son.