William D. Berry
01
Comanche Summer
Texas in 1858 was a land in dispute. The influx of settlers from the United States had pushed the traditional boundaries of the Comanche nation to the very edge of the Staked Plains. The Comanche knew the white settlers could be stopped forever, but if they could stem the tide for that long. Especially bitter to the war chief of the Kwahadi, Horse Walking, was the fact that his most persistent enemy of many years Ranger and rancher Josh McKeeg, had built his home so that he was the protector of many settlers near him. If Horse Walking could destroy this enemy, he would buy more time for his people to live as they had for hundreds of years.
Josh McKeeg had spent years in the service of Texas as a soldier and Ranger. He fought with Sam Houston for the freedom of Texas and continued the service as a Ranger. He and his family built a strong and thriving ranch on the Brazos River utilizing his experience with horses and Indians. Both leaders understood them in the only way possible: one of them had to die. This is the story of that final confrontation.
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02
Scissortail Spring
The surrender at Appomattox Courthouse of the Confederate States of America resulted in financial collapse throughout the South. The northern army of occupation moved into the southern states, bringing with it a group of unscrupulous individuals known as carpetbaggers. The veterans of the Confederate Army lost the right to vote, resulting in elections decided by a few outsiders. Strangers moved into positions of power in the local governments, leaving the long-time citizens without a voice in county affairs.
The Confederate currency issued as payment for goods and services rendered to the Confederate government became worthless overnight. Josh McKeeg and his ranch in Texas were threatened by unfair taxes levied by the strangers. He must find a way to generate enough income to pay these taxes or lose his ranch. His bold plan sets in motion a drama reaching from the banks of the Brazos River in Texas to the mountains of Denver, Colorado.
03
Autumn of the Hawk
The settlers along the Brazos River in Texas in 1874 were again the targets of raids by Comanche war parties. Many homesteaders were killed and mutilated and nine children were stolen by raiders to be traded to Mexican Comancheros for guns and ammunition. After burying their dead, Josh McKeeg and his neighbors determined something must be done. The raids resulted in the United States Army at Fort Richardson, under the command of Randall "Bad Hand" Mackenzie and 666 troops under his command, along with Josh Mckeeg and a Troop of Ranger acting as scouts, moving to engage the Comanche Nation on the Staked Plains of Texas in what would later be called the Palo Duro Canyon wars.
Austin McKeeg and Ranger Troop C started in pursuit of the Comanche war party holding the stolen children. The chase began at the McKeeg ranch house, and extended south into the mountains of central Mexico.
The widespread fame of the wealth held in the McKeeg strongbox at the ranch house as well as the chuck wagon strongbox, caused separate attacks by desperate men determined to steal the McKeeg money.
04
Winter of the Cranes
Josh McKeeg is asked for help from his old friend Quanah Parker, the leader of the Comanche Nation. The Comanche Tribe had lived on the Reservation in The Oklahoma Territory for four years and were victims of the corrupt administrators. They were being shorted on the monthly payments of food and beef cattle. “Our people are hungry, and our babies cry at night,” Chief Quanah Parker said, when he spoke to the only white man he trusted. After years of bitter fighting, he asked for help from his old adversary Josh McKeeg. The long-disputed area south of San Antonio known as the Brushada was in turmoil. The absence of law during the Civil War, and the years following the war, had created widespread lawlessness. The citizens of South Texas had suffered for several years when theft of livestock, pillaging and murders became common. In 1879 Governor Roberts ordered selected Ranger Troops to the troubled area to stop the atrocities and regain control of the region. His instructions were simple: use any force necessary to stop the criminal acts. Austin and Troop C were among those sent, and the combined efforts of these determined men eventually stopped the lawlessness with a policy that would come be known as ‘Ranger Justice’.
05
Going Home
For the McKeegs, 1865 was a year of hope. The people of Texas were looking eastward for the return of their loved ones. The Brazos Valley, where the McKeeg Ranch headquarters was located, had been spared the destruction suffered in the eastern battlefield. The many battles fought in the Shenandoah Valley were in the area of Joshua McKeeg's family home. Josh and Emily's three oldest sons had served in a Cavalry unit attached to Robert E. Lee's headquarters. Major Travis McKeeg was with Robert E. Lee, and witnessed, firsthand, the surrender of the Southern Armies at Appomattox Courthouse. The Texas frontier was stripped of most of the men of fighting age and was left almost defenseless against the onslaught of the marauding Comanches, Kiowas, and unscrupulous white men intent on taking the lands for themselves. The McKeegs and their neighbors clung tenaciously to their homes along the Texas frontier. With the expected return of their friends and family from the war, they prayed for peaceful times, while continuing to guard against sudden attacks and land swindles. The men of the Army of the Confederacy were saddened by the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, but their mood was bittersweet, in that finally, after four long years, they were going home.
06
A New Beginning
With the relocation of the Comanche Nation to the Oklahoma territory, the McKeeg family settled into the everyday life of ranching along the Brazos River, only to have their lives interrupted once more by the murder of a local deputy sheriff. Josh, along with his Ranger troop and the County Sheriff, becomes involved in an extended chase of the murderous gang responsible for the deputy’s death. Later, Josh and his ranch hands begin a search for Spanish treasure that leads them to the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas. Josh’s daughter Lee and her husband Logan Stone travel to Central Texas where Logan helps to lead the investigation of bank robberies committed by a gang, who operate without a conscience.This is a story of Spanish treasure, murder, thieves, triumph and loss that fits nicely into the continuing saga of the McKeeg family and early life in Texas.
07
Coming Soon...
Be sure to check back as the final book is set to release soon!