The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 90, July 1986 - April, 1987 Page: 317
492 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
reports. He also wrote articles (letters actually), describing his ranger
experiences, stories eagerly sought by Austin's two largest newspapers,
the Daily Democratic Statesman and the State Gazette. The ranger had elo-
quence, wit, charm, insight, and an uncommon amount of good sense.
His prose sparkled with numerous references to the Bible, to Shake-
speare and other classic writers. How Parsons identified and explained
those obscure phrases would be an interesting book in itself. Obviously
he relied on his impressive background as an educator.
Pidge served during a period of dramatic happenings in Texas, spe-
cifically the Sutton-Taylor feud in DeWitt County. Through his news-
paper letters, which Parsons has located and which form the backbone
of this book, Pidge provided extensive insight and fresh information
about John Wesley Hardin and other feudists. Did you know, for in-
stance, that Hardin was sometimes referred to as a "noted devine"?
A caustic newspaper reference, no doubt, to his being the son of a
Methodist minister.
After leaving DeWitt County, Pidge and McNelly rode to new adven-
tures along the lower Rio Grande Valley, intervening in the raging
Texas/Mexican cattle-rustling wars. On one occasion, rangers crossed
the river to attack Las Cuevas, a Mexican outlaw stronghold, and the
U.S. Army had to save them.
Oddly enough, after surviving the brutality and bloodshed of Texas
and the Mexican border, Pidge returned to Virginia intent on settling
accounts with an old enemy. The two shot each other to death in a
senseless gun duel.
While doing extensive research for the Capture of John Wesley Hardin,
the only new Hardin material to be published in book-length form in
years, Parsons encountered these overlooked newspaper articles by
Pidge. The result was this fifth Parsons book, a narrative with numer-
ous unpublished photos and 147 pages. Unfortunately it is limited to
500 numbered copies. They won't last long.
El Paso LEON C. METZ
Alamo Images: Changing Perceptions of a Texas Experience. by Susan Pren-
dergast Schoelwer with Tom W. Glaser. (Dallas: Southern Method-
ist University Press, 1985. Pp. xii+223. Introduction, foreword,
photographs, illustrations, color plates, notes, selected bibliogra-
phy, index. $75.00, limited cloth edition; $24.95, paper.)
Here is another fruit of the Sesquicentennial-a compilation of es-
says and illustrations inspired by an exhibit of Alamo materials at the
DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, from November,
1985, to March, 1986. Alamo Images brings together work by diverse317
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 90, July 1986 - April, 1987, periodical, 1986/1987; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117152/m1/370/?rotate=270: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.