Texas Tales

By Joe Bob Newman

Six blazing hot stories of Texans and Texas. From cowboys to high tech who dun-it’s, these stories cover the entire gambit of Texas from early nineteen hundred to the turn of the century.

The Last American Cowboy – The year was 1924, Henry Ford was making cars and trucks in mass production. John Burris was a hero, home from WW-I, Texas had changed, gone were cattle drives, outhouses and horse-drawn wagons. The new thing was everyone having a car, electricity, in-door plumbing and telephones. John couldn’t change, or could he?

It Started - November 1963 – He watched the assassination of JFK, then he met Trish. Life changed for Billy; in Viet Nam, he is trapped in a tunnel by a cave-in. With no way out, he must find where the tunnels ends, it is full of booby traps which he knows nothing about. Can Billy survive and get back home to Trish?
Vanished – The Search for Rachael – Four-year-old Rachael disappeared April 3, 1967, the search for her was like nothing ever seen in Texas. Police, Texas Rangers and Private Investigators searched for her. The problem was, there were so few leads. A bullet, a boot print and a long gray hair. Who would take her and why?

Sally and Danny - A Love Story – Danny first saw her Saturday afternoon in September 1967, she was walking, no, strutting through the park. She was a goddess and Danny decided to follow her. He wound up meeting her at a hot dog stand; his problem was, she made him tongue tied and she already had a boy friend. What chance did Danny have with a goddess?

Legend of Boggy Creek – The first time the Boggy Creek Man was seen was in 1839 in Leon County, Texas. He has been seen through the years, but in 2018, a local man captured the creature on his game camera. Is he real? Seems to be!

The Mysteries of Tex Roundtree – Tex was married 25 years when his wife suddenly divorced him and wouldn’t tell him why, Why wouldn’t she? Then his business was shot up and three of his employees were killed, who did it and why was Tex shot too? When Tex wakes up with a dead woman in bed with him, he wants answers, but the police already have theirs!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joe Bob Newman
• Release date: Apr 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463626207

Joe Bob Newman

I have been writing mystery and fiction books since 1982. I have never considered having any published until now. My career has been in writing technical documents for the defense industry. By profession I am a mechanical engineer, P.E. I have six grand children.. During the summer months, I spend a lot of time in the mountains of New Mexico. Watching wildlife and observing the ecology. i also enjoy riding my 4-wheeler. I built a cabin by myself, just above a stream filled with trout, perhaps i should say am building, I have been working on it for twenty years and it is still not finished, but it is livable, it has electricity, running water and a septic system. With that, I am happy to live there in the summer months and for a week or two in the winter, but I have found that I am not much of a "snow" person.I do hope you read and enjoy my books as much as I enjoyed writing them! Thanks for visiting my page.Joe Bob Newman

Book preview

Texas Tales

JOE BOB NEWMAN

Texas Tales

Copyright 2020 © Joe Bob Newman

Cover Design by: Laura Shinn

Published by: Smashwords.com

License Notes:

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above copyright owner.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Texas Tales

Other Books by Joe Bob Newman:

The Craft (Science Fiction)

When Time Stood Still (Science Fiction)

Phantom Canyon (Western)

The Executive (Action/Romance)

The Rig (Action/Romance)

Cabin Fever (Action/Romance)

Cabin Cruiser (Action/Romance)

One for the heart (Action/Romance)

Lady Texas Ranger (History/Action)

Mystic Moon Man (Action/Adventure)

The Alamo (History)

Texas Football: The Lone Star of Texas (Sports)

In The Dark of The Night (Suspense)

Bad Decision (Action/Suspense)

The Old Bull (Action/Romance)

CIA The Slave Traders (Action)

A Really Bad Day (Mystery)

Tennessee Kyle (Western)

When the Reaper Calls (Suspense)

The Craft II - A New Beginning (Science Fiction)

The Cravings of an Old Man (Fiction)

Lost Highway (Science Fiction)

After the Reaper Calls (Suspense)

The Boys of Texas (Historical/Fiction)

Lady in the Lake (Murder Mystery)

Rags to Riches (Drama)

These books are available as e-Books at:

Smashwords.com

Texas Tales

This book is dedicated to my late uncle:

William Lowell Bilbrey

1924 - 2000

Lowell was a good son, husband, father, and grandfather!

During his life, he was a Mechanic, Policeman, and a Judge!"

My uncle Lowell was a great Story Teller!

He was a wonderful Man!

We all miss him!

Texas Tales

Table of Contents

Other Books by Joe Bob Newman

Authors Note

The Last American Cowboy

It Started - November 1963

Vanished – The Search for Rachael

Sally and Danny - A Love Story

Legend of Boggy Creek

The Mysteries of Tex Roundtree

About The Author

Texas Tales

Authors Note

Stories in this book are all fictional. They are each based on incidents that I was either involved in or knew about. My desire is that you enjoy each of these stories. Please realize that each person referenced in the stories are fictional and bear no resemblance to living individuals.

I have thoroughly enjoyed writing these stories and would like to share them with you. One by one, my tales are told! I come from a long line of story tellers and tall-tale tellers. Sometimes it is difficult to tell which is which. I sincerely hope that you enjoy these stories, and if you’re a mind to, try some of my other books out!

THE LAST AMERICAN COWBOY

John looked over the top of his saddle at his cows. Many of them were bawling, something had spooked them. Maybe it was a wolf, John had seen them at a distance. What ever it was he woud have to deal with it fairly soon. He looked for help, but no one else was up this early, not even his wife Sandy. He was accustomed to working alone, it was no big deal.

John Burris was one of the last of the real, old-time, American cowboy’s. John was a big man among big men. He stood six-foot-six in his stocking feet and weighed almost two-hundred and seventy-five pounds. His family would say that there wasn’t an ounce of fat on him. John was forty-two but looked closer to fifty. He was a rugged, tough-looking man, but had a heart as tender as gold for his family. He had lived a hard life but was happy with his life. John believed that hard work would make a man successful, so he worked hard from sun up until well after sundown.

The year was 1924, it was an ever-changing America. Henry Ford was making cars and trucks in mass production. America was in the midst of an industrial revolution. Allied forces had just won a world war and were about to enter an even greater one. America still had the great depression to deal with, but for now, times were good. It seemed that everyone was getting into the roaring twenties. Factories were being built in all the major cities. Once built, they ran twenty-four hours a day, six to seven days a week. Streets were being paved with bricks, and bridges across streams and rivers were rapidly being constructed. Dams were being built that were providing hydroelectric power. Electricity was or was about to be available to every household. America was bursting at the seams. Clean water and septic systems were available in most cities, towns, and even small villages. Sanitary conditions now existed in most communities. There were now forty-eight states in the union, New Mexico and Arizona had been added in 1912.

American men poured back into America, fresh from the war. The war to end all wars would also be known as World War I. Many returning soldiers did not have places to live nor jobs to work at. Upon the unexpected death of President Warren G. Harding in nineteen-twenty-three, John Calvin Coolidge had ascended to the Presidency. He had inherited an administration mired in scandal, including the Teapot Dome Scandal, in which federal oil reserves had been secretly leased by the secretary of the interior. Cautiously, quietly, and skillfully, Coolidge rooted out the perpetrators and restored integrity to the executive branch, convincing the American people that the Presidency was once again in the hands of someone they could trust. In the nineteen-twenty-four election, incumbent President, Republican Calvin Coolidge defeated Democrat John W. Davis. America was now a world dominant power.

Radios were now receiving broadcasts daily; families would huddle around the radios to get current news. Some stations even broadcast music. It was the beginning of Big News. Criminals and lawmen alike were becoming famous and were in the news every day. News that had once taken months to spread across America was now known in days, if not hours.

America was booming, and American’s were making unheard-of progress. Wages were at an all-time high, but not all Americans were happy. The Army troops that had come home had seen living hell in Europe. The Germans had been thoroughly beaten. German leaders had signed a surrender agreement with American and other European forces. The American soldiers who had accomplished this almost impossible task were looked upon as living heroes, and this would continue for years. Most were honest, hard-working men. But as is always the case, a few wanted shortcuts to success.

Crimes may not have been up over years past, but they were now being reported on local news. Many people kept up with the progress of catching the criminals; it seemed like daily entertainment. The country was about to hear immediately about criminals such as Bonnie and Clyde as they ran rampant through the countryside. Other criminals such as Al Capone would confirm that the mafia was, in fact, in America and doing well. J. Edgar Hoover would soon be appointed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the FBI to combat such criminals. It was all played out on the news portrayed by local newscasters.

Sometimes, it would seem that you had to be a criminal or a lawman to get your name on the news or in everyday conversation. That was true, but the real news was rarely reported. The real news was that America was Great! She had proven herself as a world leader, and clearly, the President was the most powerful man in the world. The country and its people were flying high, at least for a while. It would only be another five years before the economy would collapse, and the Great Depression would begin. America had and was changing at an incredible rate. Life on farms and ranches was also changing.

Herding cattle by cowboys on horses was being replaced by moving the cows in large trucks. Not everyone approved of this! The old ways were rapidly fading, and new ways were encroaching on what many people thought was, the right way! Most people were reluctant to change!

John rode a horse with easy grace and usually carried a Colt forty-five pistol. Generally, you would say that John was not a man to mess with, nor take lightly. Folks who drove by his place would point and wave, and comment on the Burris family not having any vehicles to drive. John was used to riding horses, and being a Marine in the Navy had done little to change his opinions on the way the world was changing. It is not changing for the better, he would often say to his wife.

John had his own spread, about 3,500 acres. His father, George Burris, had left the place to John, as John was an only child. John cherished the ranch, almost as much as he did his family. His father had died while John was off fighting in the war, and John had come home to the ranch, completely his. The ranch was, however, completely in disrepair. Fences were down; weeds were taking over, the well was dry, and to make matters worse, a year later, his mother Maggie had died of consumption. Consumption would soon be known as pulmonary tuberculosis.

Currently, John ran about one to two cows per acre on his ranch for the year, and this was going to be his biggest sale ever. He planned to sell half his herd or nearly 3,000 head of beef. He was hoping to get eight dollars per head; after costs, he should clear around 200,000 dollars. That would pay off the lien on his place and give himself and Sandy some serious spending money. He would need to go to town and put out the word that he was looking for a buyer. Since the Army had stopped buying beef, buyers had been scarce, and the price per cow had dropped. He had waited as long as he could for the price of beef to go up, but he had to sell now. He could not wait any longer, and the word was that the price was going to keep falling. The beef market was unpredictable, and all the men that were coming home from the war had not helped any. There had been a constant flux of men coming by, looking for work. John had felt bad for them, but he had no money to pay them with.

That year, a new car cost 265 dollars and a loaf of bread went for ten cents. A sirloin steak cost thirty-nine cents. The average life expectancy was fifty-six years.

John didn’t like to talk about it, but he was one of the 320,000 casualties of the war, which was to later be known as, World War One. In a bloody battle with the Germans, he had been shot in the left shoulder. John had continued to fight all day, while continuously bleeding, he only stopping for treatment when he collapsed at dark. He spent five days at a rear camp. Then he went back to the front lines and helped other Marines dig foxholes while under fire. He was awarded a purple heart and a bronze star, among other medals.

Three days later, John was in a foxhole with three other Marines. They were overrun by Germans, and in hand to hand fighting, the other three men were killed. John was credited with killing fourteen Germans with his rifle and bayonet. While still alone, he acted as a sniper, killing countless Germans saving many other Marines.

When the war was over, John traveled on a steamship back to America. He got to celebrate in New York City with thousands of other troops. However, he couldn’t wait to get home to his family, who he hadn’t seen in three years.

He was home now and doing what he wanted. He would rarely talk about the horrors of war or all the friends that he had lost!

The Burris's lived about twelve miles north of Weatherford, Texas. With a long frontage area along the main route or road, they had prime property. Most folks thought they were well to do, just that the Burris family still lived in the eighteen-hundreds.

They had electricity installed last year, and this year they were going to get indoor plumbing. Their house was of the ranch house construction with a porch that went around all four sides of the house. John did not want a car or truck, though Sandy did. She no longer enjoyed the buck wagon rides into town. John knew that he would please Sandy and buy a vehicle; he just did not know which kind. There were so many selections; it was mind-boggling. John had seen the first automobile drive through the area and was certain that it would fail. You really needed a horse with it, to pull it out of the mud holes. There was also the problem of the cars always seeming to get flat tires continuously. John knew how to fix that problem, just install solid rubber tires, as they had on the wagons. Most roads were dirt, sand, or mud, and the new cars were always getting stuck. Horse-drawn wagons almost never got stuck. John failed to see the convenience of having one of the new-fangled cars or trucks.

The sun had just come up; it was going to be a beautiful day. But something was nagging John; the cows weren't acting normal. It wasn't fear the cows sensed, and the weather wasn’t about to change. It was something else. John mounted up and began to slowly ride the fence line by the road. He knew there was a problem, so John took off again, riding hard along the fence line. Perhaps there was a break in the fence, and some of the herd had gotten out, spooking the remaining cows. He had to find out what was going on, and then deal with it. The cows ran from him, which was normal when one rode hard like he was. However, they kept looking back to their left.

After he had ridden almost a mile, he saw them. Four men were herding his Rocking B branded cows into the back of a truck. Suddenly he wished that he had his oldest son with him, but this was a matter he would just have to handle himself. Four to one odds were not bad, and he did have his Winchester with him. He did not fear any man, but he did not want to shoot these men if he did not have to. John decided to confront the men,

Without really thinking, John yelled, Stop, those are my cows, put them back. Later, he would feel stupid for shouting such a ridiculous command. In a flash, one of the men drew his sidearm and fired at John, bad mistake, he missed. John jerked back on the reins of his horse and slid off in one easy movement. He even had the good sense to pull his rifle from his scabbard. John had never shot a man, except in the war, but in one fluid motion, he came to a spread-eagle stance and fired his rifle directly at the man's chest. The cow thief flew backwards and went down hard. John had seen enough dead men to know this guy was dead when he hit the ground. The man did not move. John turned his attention to the other three men.

The other three men ran for their truck, jumped in and took off, with the tail-gate down, one cow fell out, but the rest spread their front legs and stood their ground in the back of the big truck. Sparks flew as the truck pulled the loading ramp down the road; the ramp bounced and flew off the truck into the grass on the side of the road. Fortunately, the red-hot metal did not start a grass fire. John aimed his rifle at the vehicle but did not fire. Later, he would regret not shooting the truck. He should have tried to shoot the tires out. At the time, he had worried about hitting one of his cows.

Not quite sure what to do, John mounted his horse and gave chase. But his horse was no match for the truck. The distance was too far, they had a head start, and his horse was already lathered up. They just got away, John mumbled. It was a small loss, and he could deal with it. He herded the cows back away from the knocked down fence area. He took his rope and tied it across the break to keep the rest of his cows from getting out.

Now there was nothing to do but ride back to the ranch house and get his sons busy fixing the fence. He completely forgot about the man that he had shot. He would get his boys and have them do a herd count; then, he would have to check with the neighbors to see if anyone had seen a green and black tandem truck around the area. Chances were slim, but it couldn't hurt to check. And, oh yeah, there was the problem of the dead man lying in the field. Someone had to notify that useless Sheriff of that matter. John would have to visit with the Sheriff whether he liked it or not.

There was no sense in telling the Sheriff of the cow theft. He was probably in on it anyway. Obviously, John did not care for the Sheriff. He did not have any reason to dislike the guy; he just didn't. The Sheriff had been a Navy man. Marines and Navy men did not always get along. It was a friendly rivalry, but a rivalry none the less.

John had a big family, a lot to feed. There was his wife Sandy, four boys and two girls. The oldest was John junior, who was seventeen, Rachael was fifteen, William was fourteen, but everyone called him Willy. Then there was Tim who was thirteen, Millie was eleven, and last was baby Nathan who had just turned five, who wasn't a baby anymore.

Sandy was a tall woman, thirty-seven years old, blonde hair and blue eyes, and even after six children, she still had a young girls figure. She was what you would call a worker. She was up and at ‘em at sun up, worked all day, even late after sunset, she continued her chores with a smile on her face. She had a good life, a wonderful family, including a real man for a husband. Sandy had grown up in New Mexico and was one/eighth Cherokee Indian. She had met John at a barn dance and had immediately fallen in love with him. They had courted for three years before he asked her to marry him. He had been like a little boy when he proposed to her, and in her eyes, he still acted like one.

Once John had seen Sandy, there had been no other woman in his life. He had loved her dearly from that first night at the dance. He had courted her carefully and had proposed just as soon as he could get the words out of his mouth. The problem at first was, he was tongue-tied around her. She had many men courting her, but she always had her eyes on John Burris.

She had held the family together while John was in the Navy during the war. She loved the way he would follow her around while she did her chores; he was like a little puppy. Even though John was tough as nails, she had found his soft side and always felt safe when he was around.

John junior went by many names. His mother called him Junior, but his brothers and sisters called him JR. His dad called him either John or Junior. John junior loved his parents, especially his dad fiercely. He was following precisely in his dad’s footsteps. Junior got his name honestly; he was just a smaller version of his dad; he was already just over six feet tall.

Normally he would have ridden out with his dad in the morning, but last night he had been honky-tonkin’ in Weatherford and had gotten home very late that night. He and his friends had attended a party and had snuck some liquor in. He hoped that his dad did not find out. He had not been aware that his dad had sat up and waited for him to get home. John senior had gotten very little sleep but had gone out for the morning ride anyway. He had let Junior sleep in. Junior would never forget that he wasn't there when his dad needed him the most. He was thankful that his dad had not been shot. He also harbored some guilt at not being there when his mother would need him.

At fifteen, Rachael was already becoming a beautiful young woman. As Junior cared for his dad, Rachael idolized her mother. She loved it when Junior brought his friends over. She would strut her stuff, and sure enough, they all noticed her, to Junior's chagrin. He was not impressed. Rachael didn't care what her older brother thought, she was interested in boys, and he brought a steady flow of them by. Her dad would not let her date just yet, but soon she would be sweet sixteen, and he would have to relent. She was a young lady about to bloom, and she knew it. She was happy that she was tall, and looked a lot like her mother.

William or Willy, as most people, except his dad, called him; was a year younger than Rachael. He had not yet developed an interest in girls, but his older sister's fascination with boys had not gone unnoticed. Also, he had noticed how the older boys reacted when she was around. Willy's most fun was following his older brother around. Junior was popular with both the girls and boys, and that fascinated Willy. He didn't understand that his older brother was quite the handsome young man. His next favorite thing was going hunting with his dad.

Next was Tim, at thirteen, he was as big as Willy, but his interests were in animals. His favorite animal was the horse. He could ride a horse like no one else his age and had won several awards at local rodeos. Tim resembled his mother; he had her high cheekbones and double dimples, actually he had an Indian look about him. He would one day become a much-celebrated Marine, just like his father.

Millie was a cute little ten-year-old girl, who had her daddy wrapped around her little finger. She had reddish-brown hair, green eyes, and a pixie face. Her favorite thing to do was to curl up in her dad's lap. She still played with dolls and also spent time spying on her older sister, having no clue why Rachael did what she did. Millie liked playing doctor and would one day be the first in her family to become a medical doctor.

Even though five-year-old Nathan wasn't a baby anymore, his older brothers and sisters treated him like one. This made him fiercely independent. He would fight anyone, anytime, anywhere. He was definitely going to be the fighter in the family. Nathan was cute as a bug, and the older girls would love on him until he got into his fighting mode. His favorite thing to do was to follow any of his older brothers around. Nathan was clearly the brightest of the bunch, even before attending school, he could read and write and do complicated arithmetic problems. Nathan would one day, graduate college with an engineering degree, and would design a new type road paving material and would design many of the Texas State Bridges. He would later be named Father of Texas’s Farm to Market Roads!

John had a lot to think about as he rode back to the ranch. Anger began to swell up inside him. He tried to control it, but fear caused him to slow the horse to a walk. He would take his anger out on someone, but he didn't want it to be his family. During the war, he had let his anger out, and the enemy had taken the brunt of it.

As soon as he got to the ranch, he told his family what had happened and started barking orders. Rachael, ride to the neighbors and use their telephone to call the Sheriff. Rachael was dependable and would get that idiot Sheriff out here on the double.

John told Junior, Get the horses hooked up to the wagon, and he added, William, get the fence tools, some barbed wire, posts, and some shovels. William was also dependable and would make sure to get hammers, pliers, and a stretcher. A stretcher was a device used to stretch barb wire tight between posts.

John told Millie, Get us some lunch; we're going to be busy today. John was barking orders right and left. He picked up Nathan and carried him around the yard. He went in and told Sandy what had happened. Sandy was horrified that John had been shot at, and especially that he had killed a man.

Within twenty minutes, all were saddled up or in the wagon and on the way to the fence break.

Sandy stayed behind, as she always did, dinner had to be prepared, and it was a large family, and they would be starving. For some reason, she did not come out in the yard and wave at them; she had chores to finish! Clothes to wash and hang out on the line, she also had peas to shell and blue lake beans to snap.

No one noticed a lone rider on the road riding toward the ranch. The rider was old man Norton. It was Norton who had moved the body of his son so that he would not be a spectacle. The only thing on Norton's mind was revenge. He had a plan, and since all the Burris’s were gone, it would be easy; he would burn down their barn and ranch house. He didn't know that one Burris, Sandy, had spotted him, and he had piqued her interest. She was tempted to open the door and invite him in, but something told her not to. So, she just watched him. There was something in the way he was acting, that made her