Michener, James A. Read Free

valuable instruction on the citrus industry.
    Miscellaneous Interviews: Robert Nesbitt, Galveston; Hayden and Annie Blake Head, Corpus Christi; Nelson Franklin and Dean Cobb, Austin; Ed and Susan Auler, Tow; Tom Moore, Lajitas. Cactus Pryor and John Henry Faulk, Austin, provided caustic comment.
    Airplane Flights: It is obvious from the above listing that I had to visit all of Texas, not only the easy parts, and in doing so, I was dependent upon generous neighbors who allowed me to use their planes: Trammel Crow and John.
    This novel strives for an honest blend of fiction and historical fact, and the reader is entitled to know which is which.
    The Governor's Task Force: The Task Force is wholly fictional, as are all the participants, including the governor. At the end of each chapter the Task Force sessions are imaginary, as are the invited speakers.
    I. Land of Many Lands: The three great explorations, and all their incidents, were historical. Only the boy Garcilaco de Garza is fictional. For example, Cardenas and El Turco were real people.
    II. The Mission: Santa Teresa is fictional, but the other five San Antonio missions, which can be visited today, were historical. Of the principal characters, only juan Leal Goras was real.
    III. El Camino Real: Bejar and Saltillo are historical and are accurately reported. All characters are fictional. The Veramendi family of Saltillo and Bejar was real, and very important, but the specific members shown here are fictional.
    IV. The Settlers: Only Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston were historical. Victor Ripperda is fictional, but his famous uncle was real. The Quimper family is fictional, as is their ferry. Father Clooney and Reverend Harrison are fictional.
    V. The Trace: The Macnabs and all other characters are fictional, but the Glencoe Massacre was historical. The De Leons of Victoria had a real empre-sario grant.
    VI. Three Men, Three Battles: Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, William Travis, James Fannin, James Bonham, Galba Fuqua, Mirabeau Lamar and Sam Houston on the Texas side were historical, as were Santa Anna, Cos, Urrea and Filisola on the Mexican. Garza, Ripperda, Campbell, Marr, Quimper, Harrison and the Macnabs are fictional. Descriptions of the three battles, including the blizzard north of Monclova, strive to depict historical fact. Goliad especially, one of the focal events of Texas history, is accurately portrayed.
    VII. The Texians: The Allerkamps are fictional, as is their homeland Grenzler and their ship Sea Nymph. The founding of the Texas Rangers was historical, as were their major exploits in this chapter, specifically the expulsion of the Cherokee. Captain Sam Garner is fictional.
    VIII. The Ranger: Rangers Macnab, Komax and Garner are fictional. Harry Saxon and Colonel Cobb are fictional. Generals Taylor and Scott were real. Each of the significant actions of the Rangers was historical, but specific sites have sometimes been shifted. The murder of Ranger Allsens was real, as was the retaliation.
    IX. Loyalties: Edisto Island, Social Circle and Jefferson are real; the families occupying them are fictional. Events at the siege of Vicksburg are historical, as are the various behaviors of Sam Houston. The cotton trade to Bagdad was historical, as was the now-vanished Bagdad. The massacre of the Germans and the hangings along the Red River were historical.
    X. The Fort: Fort Sam Garner and its military' occupants are fictional. Visiting officers Sherman, Grierson, Miles, Mackenzie and Custer were historical. Chief Matark, Earnshaw Rusk and Emma Larkin are fictional, but each is based upon real prototypes. Quakers did administer the Comanche camps, but Camp Hope is fictional, as is Three Cairns. Rattlesnake Peavine is fictional.
    XI. The Frontier: All citizens in Fort Garner are fictional. The architect James Riely Gordon was real, and the famous carvings on his fictional Larkin County Courthouse can be found today on his real courthouse in Waxahachie. The Parmenteer-Bates