"The Brazos Connection"

By Bob Balch

Jim Bob Justice is a fourth generation Texan who has spent most of his life along the Brazos River in Texas. Using an old map that was given to his grandfather, Judge Judd Justice, by his client, a Comanche Indian woman, and a tapestry map from the Vatican on loan for an exhibition which Jim Bob visits in Lubbock, Texas, he makes an archeological discovery inside a great rock mound on the Brazos upriver from his home place which shocks the world. This story which spans several centuries is historical fiction which will both entertain and educate the reader and can be read in about two hours making it excellent reading while traveling or for a quiet evening at home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 20, 2004
• ISBN: 9781414065533

Bob Balch

Bob is a native of Seymour, Baylor County, Texas, where he was born in 1947. Being a baby boomer and growing up in the post World War II era, he enjoyed the slow pace of small town America. He spent many leisurely days roaming the areas around his hometown with his friends. This included frequent trips to the Brazos River to hike, swim, seine for minnows, hunt, and trap game. Lake Kemp was another favorite spot for boating, swimming, water skiing, fishing, duck hunting, camping, and for just hanging out with friends. Between Seymour and Lake Kemp he enjoyed outings with his scouting buddies, and two of their favorite spots were the Craddock Ranch and the old George Place. It was on the Craddock Ranch that the famous Permian era bone bed was first discovered in the late 1800s which has attracted much attention from the scientific community down through the years. As a Boy Scout, Bob learned about these discoveries and even did some fossil hunting himself. He earned the Eagle Scout award along side his friends, Bill Whitley and Ken George, the current owners of the Craddock Ranch and the George Place, respectively. Bob graduated from Seymour High School in 1965 and went on to Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he earned a BBA and JD degrees in 1971. He took a geology course as an undergraduate, and the field trips during that course brought back memories of his experiences on the Craddock Ranch and the old George Place. Now over forty years later serving as a director of the Whiteside Museum of Natural History in Seymour, his interest in this bone bed has been renewed. This eighth book, D-Don Lives! is his tribute to his hometown and the people who have made this story come to life. Bob has lived in Wichita Falls, Texas, since 1974 with his wife, Deborah Ann, where they raised two sons, Trey and Josh, both of whom are doctors who practice medicine in both Texas and Alaska in the fields of physiatry (physical medicine and rehabilitation) and interventional pain management. Bob practices law in Wichita Falls but maintains close contacts with his hometown about an hour away where his mother still resides at the age of 97. He hopes the readers of this book learn some history of the area and enjoy this tale of dimetrodons. A lot has transpired since I first started writing this book in 2014 and completing in 2015 with revisions through 2017. Many new specimens have been found and assembled for research, education of the public and study. New dig sites are opening up for study including the Ross Place owned by Joe Clay Ross. We appreciate the opportunities provided by all of the landowners in allowing us access to these sites. The future is bright for the Whiteside Museum of Natural History that has become a world class museum in the City of Seymour, Baylor County, Texas, my hometown which I am proud to say I grew up in and continue to visit regularly.

Book preview

"THE BRAZOS

CONNECTION"

BY

BOB BALCH

This book is a work of fiction. Places, events, and

situations in this story are purely fictional. Any

resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is

coincidental.

© 2003, 2004 by Bob Balch. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, or transmitted by any means,

electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or

otherwise, without written permission from the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 04/13/04

ISBN: 1-4140-6553-1 (e-book)

ISBN: 1-4184-3234-2 (Paperback)

ISBN 13: 978-1-4140-6553-3 (ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2004091202

Bloomington, IN

Contents

DEDICATION

I. INTRODUCTION

THE ARMS OF GOD

II. THE EXPEDITION

III. THE DISCOVERY

IV. THE PLOT

V. THE MAPS

VI. THE COMANCHES

VII. THE JUDGE

VIII. THE COUPLE

IX. "THE PRIEST

X. THE PUZZLE

XI. MENDOC

XII. THE SOLDIERS

XIII. THE SOLUTION

XIV. TREASURE TROVE

XV. THE CONCLUSION

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

THIS IS AN ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT. IT IS A WORK OF FICTION. REFERENCES ARE MADE IN THIS DOCUMENT TO ACTUAL HISTORICAL EVENTS AND SOME CHARACTERS ARE ACTUAL PEOPLE WHO EXISTED ON THIS EARTH. OTHERWISE, THE STORY IS PURELY FICTIONAL AND CERTAIN EDITORIAL LICENSE IS TAKEN IN REFERRING TO THESE HISTORICAL EVENTS, FIGURES, PLACES AND PERSONS.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the memory of my good friend and neighbor, Miller Harwell, who lost his courageous fight against cancer shortly before I finished this book. Miller was an avid fisherman who was right at home along the banks of the Brazos River and its many lakes such as Possum Kingdom in search of the big one. Miller was a great story teller and was always the center of attention at any party he attended where his friends gathered round listening and laughing at his many exploits. After Miller retired he spent much of his spare time reading books which he and I would discuss when we got together. Often we would exchange books we had read to get the other’s opinion. I’m sorry that I didn’t finish this book in time for Miller’s critique. I think he would have enjoyed it.

So Miller, my friend this one’s for you. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not also dedicate this book to the memory of my dad, the Honorable R. J. Balch, who was a brilliant lawyer and a wise judge but was even a better man and father, and my granddad, the Reverend J. R. Balch, who was a great preacher but more importantly a beloved pastor and friend to all that knew him and an inspiration to me during my younger years. Thank you Miller, dad, and granddad for all that you have meant to me. Rest in peace.

Bob Balch/Wichita Falls, Texas/02-13-04

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, institutions, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or institutions or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Various people who had actual lives in history appear through this fictional story, and their fates in this story are entirely invented.

I. INTRODUCTION

THE ARMS OF GOD

It was a cool morning in early October as the sun showed its splendor in the eastern sky just above the cut bank of the river. Jim Bob crept low along the ridge line just below the cut bank and into position in his portable blind. He slowly raised the binoculars from around his neck and looked in a southeasterly direction toward the trap he had set the night before when he had stumbled onto the tracks of the big cat. In the distance Jim Bob could see the big rock mound at the edge of the river. That mound held a significant place and was considered almost holy ground by the Indians who had roamed this area in earlier times. The

markings on the mound bore evidence of this where Indians had drawn various odd symbols and even a stick man wearing a funny hat that looked like a Spanish conquistador of the 1500’s who reportedly had been in this area. Jim Bob’s granddad, Judge Judd Justice, had told him many stories about the Indians and their contact with the Spanish explorers during that time. Jim Bob loved to close his eyes and listen to his granddad tell these stories and imagine himself living during that period and interacting with the Indians.

Suddenly, the day dreaming Jim Bob is brought back to the here and now when he sees movement in the area of his trap. The trap had been baited with a dead rabbit which he had shot the night before as he came up river in his airboat. From his position in the portable blind some two hundred feet away, Jim Bob gets a glimpse of the great cougar as it creeps toward the area of the trap. This beautiful animal must weigh over 150 pounds, and its coat glistens a golden brown color in the morning sun. Jim Bob watches through his binoculars as the critter looks around and then moves closer. In these parts some folks call them mountain lions or panthers or cougars, but by whatever name they are a beautiful sight. Then quickly the cat stops in its tracks, raises its head, and quietly slips away into the salt cedar lining the river bank. Disappointed, Jim Bob climbs out of his blind and walks slowly toward the trap. As he gets closer it is apparent something is already caught in the teeth of the trap. It’s a badger in a foul mood. The badger is chewing at its right rear leg which is caught in the trap. Before Jim Bob can get close enough to shoot the animal with his rifle, the badger frees itself from the trap and scampers into the brush. There in the trap is the gnawed off right foot of the badger. The critter had chewed off its own lower leg to escape the trap. Jim Bob can only smile at the savage toughness of this creature of the wild and marvel at its will to survive. Jim Bob reset the trap