The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 36, July 1932 - April, 1933 Page: 232
328 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Dove Creek fight is detailed, but does not conform to other ac-
counts, some of them contemporary. He makes the fight a draw,
whereas some accounts show that it was the occasion of brutal
conduct on the part of the whites before the battle and of
cowardice during it.
The story of reconstruction deals largely with the Indian
troubles which flared up after the war. One of the best chapters
is on "The Daily Life of a Texas Settler in the Fifties." Here
we have a description of stock raising, a discussion of the impor-
tance of such fast horses as Blue Dog who had both speed and
stamina. We are told how fences were made, the land plowed,
hogs killed and meat cured. Bee trees were hauled in on a
travois, horses were clogged rather than staked or hobbled. The
people loved church better than any other diversion because it
offered relief from a nerve racking existence. Church going did
not interfere with the stern duties of a citizen, and Barry tells
us that on Sunday after he and others hanged a horse thief, many
of the men gathered at his house to hear Reverend Montgomery
preach. Barry bought a two-volume history of Texas, evidently
Yoakum's history, subscribed for The Christian Advocate at $3.50
a year, and read the annual issue of The Texas Almanac. In
those days a saddle blanket sold for fifty-five cents, firedogs for
four dollars, bedsteads for ten, a bushel of potatoes for twenty-
five cents. The most expensive item was a five-shooter for thirty
dollars and a Mexican pony for the same price. Negro slaves
were hired out for twelve dollars a month, and in hard times a
negress was hired for $2.50. For experienced mid-wives for the
negroes the cost was ten dollars. Cattle averaged six dollars a
head.
One is convinced that Barry told an honest and straightfor-
ward story. His character emerges from the book without his
knowledge-strong but not stubborn, resourceful in a moderate
manner, frugal and farsighted enough to build a fair fortune on
the frontier. Broad enough in his views to lead in small things.
Not a great man in any sense, but a mighty good support for
those who were greater than he. There is no evidence of deceit
in him except his account of killing a buffalo with his knife. He
told his incredulous comrades he ran on to it when as a matter
of truth a strange dog was hanging to the buffalo's jaw, which232
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 36, July 1932 - April, 1933, periodical, 1933; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101093/m1/252/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.