Texas Ranger Memoir

[Coal Creek Griff]

Some years ago I discovered that you can download a number of out of print books for free.  I bought an e-reader just for that purpose and I've now read a number of memoirs (and other books) that have been excellent.

I wanted to mention one that I just finished (with a wonderfully 19th Century title): "Twelve Years in the Saddle for Law and Order on the Frontiers of Texas" by Sgt. W.J.L. Sullivan, Co. B Frontier Battalion.  As is typical for these memoirs, they mush be read with some skepticism (or more than a grain of salt).  It was written from memory many years later through the rosy tint of hindsight, but it is still definitely worth reading.  Sullivan was a Texas Ranger and involved in other law enforcement activities, like range detective and deputy sheriff at various times during the 1880's into the early 1900's.

In addition, some of these books are available as free audio books.  The free audio books are read by volunteer readers who are often not very good--certainly not up to the level of professional readers.  In this case, the reader I listened to didn't do too badly, although his "Texas" accent seems to come and go and he stumbles on a few words (there is also the occasional background noise like a cat meowing or a truck driving past; it wasn't recorded in a studio).

Here are the links to download this particular book in case you're interested:

Ebook: https://archive.org/details/GR_4027
Audio Book: https://archive.org/details/twelveyearssaddle_1707_librivox

There are also a lot of other books from a number of online sources like archive.or, librivox.org, Project Gutenberg, the Texas Ranger museum (http://www.texasranger.org/texas-ranger-museum/history/ebooks/) and more.

Hopefully someone finds this to be helpful.

CC Griff