The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 67, July 1963 - April, 1964 Page: 157
672 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
Personal reminiscences and family histories frequently prove
dull and tedious to the general reader. Not so with Home on the
Double Bayou. Between its covers, the book presents a happy
parade of colorful characters, and each member of the Jackson
and Briggs families will probably remind a reader of a branch
or two of his own family tree.
Home on the Double Bayou makes no pretense of being a
great literary work or a definitive history of Gulf Coast ranches;
it was never intended to be. Rather it honestly describes the sights
and sensations of a happy childhood--a refreshing story of people
and the land they love. Many old customs and institutions live
again within the pages. What rural youngster of that day could
forget the country store and its candy treats awaiting a small
boy's purchase? Jackson will not let him forget it, for the de-
scription of the old store is preserved along with sketches of
hunting and fishing trips ("Winter was for hunting; summer
was for fishing"), the seasons, and South Texas weather.
Winter was always ushered in by a blue norther. Since there were
no radios, and newspapers were about a week late in arriving, it
was necessary to anticipate bad weather from natural signs .
The most reliable predictors of weather were the pigs.
Other events such as old-fashioned Christmases, family reunions,
and roundups are chronicled. Jackson recalls playing in the attic
and barn on the ranch, his school days ("Sometimes our educa-
tion was advanced by painful experience, including contact with
the peachtree switch"). The railroad, too, received its share
of copy.
In the middle of the morning and afternoon the engineer would
pull the train to a creaking halt opposite some lonely ranch house
for a leisurely cup of coffee and a neighborly visit with the ranch
family. ...
An experienced passenger on this railroad always came prepared
with a cold lunch and an abundance of reading material.
One of the most charming chapters concerns playing with the
tumble bugs and trips to the bayou for swimming or alligator
hunting.
Sometimes we would test the bayou for hungry 'gators by first
throwing a dog into the water. If the dog made it back to the157
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 67, July 1963 - April, 1964, periodical, 1964; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101197/m1/179/: accessed April 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.