John B. Armstrong, Texas Ranger and Pioneer Ranchman

College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 2007. Y5 - A first edition (stated) hardcover book SIGNED and inscribed by Chuck Parsons to previous owner on the half-title page in good condition in fair dust jacket. Dust jacket has large soiled patches with some chipping and peeling on the bottom, some wrinkling, chipping, and crease with soiled patch on the edges and corners, some scattered scratches, rubbing and scuffing, light discoloration and shelf wear. Book has some bumped corners, light soiled patch on lower part of the cover, large soiled patch with some residue on the lower left of the front fixed endpaper, some chipping/bug damage and soiled patches on the page edges, some scattered soiled patches on the endpapers and some edges, sides and corners of some inside pages, light discoloration and shelf wear. Forewrord by Tobin Armstrogn, Afterword by Elmer Kelton, Number Ten: Canseco-Keck History Series, Jerry Thompson, General Editor. 9.5"x6.5", 150 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. "Texas, by God!" cried notorious killer John Wesley Hardin when he saw a Colt .45 pointed at him on a train in Florida. . . . . . At the other end of the pistol stood Texas Ranger John B. Armstrong. Hardin's arrest assured Armstrong a place in history, but his story is larger, fuller, and even more important. And until now it has never been told. Serving in the Rangers' famed Frontier Battalion from 1875 to 1878, Armstrong rode with Captain L. H. McNelly in the capture of King Fisher, was called to Round Rock when Sam Bass was cornered, and helped patrol the region caught in the Taylor-Sutton Feud. His more lasting legacy, though, was as founder of the Armstrong Ranch, an operation that remains active and important to this day. From this family base he helped change ranching techniques and was an important sponsor for bringing the railroads to South Texas. In the 1890s he joined a special Ranger division that supplemented the force's efforts, especially in pursuit and apprehension of gunmen and cattle rustlers in the region. As Elmer Kelton notes in his afterword to this book, "Chuck Parsons' biography is a long-delayed and much-justified tribute to Armstrong's service to Texas." Parsons fills in the missing details of a Ranger and rancher's life, correcting some common misconceptions and adding to the record of a legendary group of lawmen and pioneers.. Signed by Author. First Edition. Hardcover. Good/Fair. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.