(02-25-2015 11:06 AM)cotton1991 Wrote:  

(02-24-2015 11:14 PM)Side Show Joe Wrote:  My family is from Zapata County. Spain granted my 8th great grandfather about 7,000 acres there in 1767. He had been ranching that land since 1748, when he got to Texas. The ranch was originally called "Santa Domingo". My family raised cattle and sheep on that land for almost 200 years. Our cattle came from Monterrey by way of Spain, as cattle are not indigenous to North America. The breed we raised were lean and hardy, perfect for the environment of the south Texas region. There real value was in their hides. My family ate the beef and sold it to locals when we slaughtered cows. We have been barbecuing and grilling for a very long time. My grandfather would tell me stories of the ranch.

There's a book I read awhile back that you might be interested in--"Two Years Before the Mast" by Richard Dana. It's a memoir by a wealthy Bostonian who when he was a kid chucked his background and worked as a deckhand for 2 yrs on a Cape Horn schooner trading in cattle hides from the rancheros in California. It gives a good take on the whole Spanish/Mexican cattle and ranching business which I suspect was similar to your ancestors in Texas. And of course, the hides not the meat was where the money was. Plus, it's a really good read.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Years_Before_the_Mast

Another, about the Commanches--"Empire of the Summer Moon"--about Quanah Parker, the last great Commanche chief who terrorized Texas in the 1870s, as well as a history of the Commanches in Texas.

http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Summer-Moon...1416591060

Thanks. I'll look for that book too.

I've read some of Empire of the Summer Moon. My wife is a card carrying Comanche from Oklahoma. Her grandmother is 100% Indian, half Kiowa, and half Comanche. Her (the wife's) 3rd great-grandfather was named Big Bow. He was a Kiowa war-chief. He attacked a teamster wagon train outside Fort Richardson, raided settlements, and was one of the few chiefs that refused to sign the Medicine Lodge Treaty. He was quite ruthless. Her 2nd great-grandfather was a Comanche warrior named White Wolf. He fought with Quanah Parker at Adobe Walls. There are several descendants of Quanah Parker still live around the Anadarko area of Oklahoma.

If you are interested in Indian history, this is a link to the Handbook of Texas Online article about Big Bow. The article is just okay. It doesn't provide very detailed accounts.

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/onlin...cles/fbi39

i know that it's probably a joke, but i'm not terribly picky. we're going to be in southwest virginia near memorial day and was wondering your thoughts on virginia 'que