Dac Crossley's Western Blog

The Bird is on the Wing

A delicate evening breeze, stars poke at me through the trees, and I enjoy summer on my deck here in Georgia. But if I close my eyes I’m transported back to south Texas, to the shore of Baffin Bay, a part of the Laguna Madre. Night-fishing in the surf with boyhood friends. We gather to spend the entire night, laughing, casting our lures, late teenagers still, but with one foot already off into adulthood.

Don’t go back into the brush! The hordes of salt-marsh mosquitoes will follow you right back onto the beach, breeze or no. Lay down in the gentle surf, the salty waters will protect you.

I ask myself – did Alvar Cabeza de Vaca, the old Spanish castaway – did he walk these very shores on his way down to Mexico? Did he also lay down in these very waters to avoid mosquitoes? Did he gaze upwards, as I have, at the southern skies. My grandmother took pleasure in showing me the constellation Scorpio. Did his grandmother do the same? “Alvaro, mira! El Alacrón.” Always I search for red Antares in Scorpio. Did Cabaza de Vaca look for that star?

We hurry into life until it casts us aside. We cannot return to yesterday, fish in
Baffin Bay, not as we one did. My fellow fishermen have had their victories and struggles. Like me, they now count their smaller successes. Some have passed through the veil; we others wait our turn.

But tonight I’m impressed with those celestial markers, the constellations we view on long nights. They remind us of other ages, the continuum of struggles we all must share, and that relentless march of eternity. Cabeza de Vaca's long trek; our own uncertain paths.

The constellations take me back to Baffin Bay, if only for a moment. Baffin Bay has changed, for certain. New developments, perhaps some windmills. Fishermen, their tackle, those are different too. Yet I can count on Scorpio to guard my moments for me on the beach of Baffin Bay.

In June it’s a bit early to search for Scorpio. This coming August, on a clear evening, join me in searching it out. Wherever we are, in whatever exile we find ourselves, we can share the moment and the memory.

Dac Crossley
June 26, 2015.

“The bird of time has but a little way to fly. And Lo! The bird is on the wing.” – Omar the Tent-maker.

Texas Really Rising

Several friends asked – “What’s a good source to read about the Texas war?” We keep telling people that The History Channel novel was so far from accurate. So, what really happened?

Here are two books I'm happy to recommend, that tell the story of the Texas Revolution. There are a bunch of others out there, some good, some not so good. These two are my favorites. For now.

“The Blood of Heroes,” by James Donovan. A recently-published book with an unfortunate title, but well written. Donovan has previously written extensively about Custer and the Little Big Horn. His writing is animated and swift-moving. I was a bit surprised by his take on some of the areas of controversy. He explains his reasoning in extensive Notes. The book is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions.

“Texian Iliad,” by Stephen L. Hardin. He is my favorite Texas historian. His history is very readable and carefully documented. I appreciate his descriptions of the ordinary solders and camp life, with accurate illustrations by Gary S. Zaboly. Those drawings alone are worth the price of admission. They gave me a much better appreciation of the men on both sides of the war. Hardin analyzes the conflicting motives behind the sequence of actions. As with Donovan’s book, the notes are extensive and useful. “Texian Iliad” is also available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions.

I wish you could all hear my mother tell her version of the Texas Revolution, the story I heard in my childhood. That strange conflict, lasting but a few months, has become ingrained in the spirits of so many of us Texans in exile.

We remember!

Dac Crossley
June 19, 2015

“It has been our fate as a nation not to have ideologies, but to be one.” – Richard Hofstadter.

Insects in Danger

In today’s newspaper, the Athens Banner-Herald, I found an article entitled “State wildlife plan adds dozens of insects to protected species list.” Insects?? And I thought of the so-called “war on science.” Are we feeding the flames here?

It’s no secret that our biological diversity is in a severe decline. Bird numbers. Frogs, toads, salamander populations are dropping off. Organizations such as The Nature Conservancy have helped to pull some species back from the brink. Brown Pelicans and wood storks, Rafinesque’s big-eared bat, for example. (Perhaps in the bat’s case, we now know where they’re hiding, thanks to the field work of my colleague, Matt C.).

But insects? We worry about declines in honey bees and in native bees because of their importance as pollinators. Not, usually, moths or butterflies. Except maybe the Monarch.

I’ve always been intrigued by the complex relationship between insects and flowering plants. Insects feed upon plants, but at the same time they pollinate plants. Flowering plants arose during the Cretaceous epoch (remember your geology?). Insects and plants grew up together. Yes, plants need insects. We need plants. Get it?

I recall that a few years back, we had a National Biological Survey which was charged to do a survey of our biological resources. It was unpopular in Congress. Do we really want to know what endangered species might be living in our back yards? Congressmen would rather not know. Back to the war on science.

Hooray for the Nature Conservancy.

Dac Crossley
June 8, 2015

“We all know what to do, but we don’t know how to get re-elected once we have done it.” – Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Paul Juncker.

Texas Rising?

The Texas Rangers have their roots in small volunteer companies hastily organized to pursue Indian raiders. From such beginnings came more permanent troops stationed on the Texas frontier. And finally, a Ranger force became attached to the governor’s office.

Stephen L. Moore has documented the rise of the Texas Rangers in his just-published volume of history, Texas Rising. His story is set in the context of the Texas Revolution. It includes the contributions of Anglo Texans, Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) and Indians such as the Lipan Apaches who feared the Comanches as much as the settlers did. Indian raiders were relentless in their efforts to dislodge settlers. East Texas was a battleground during the early years and during the Republic of Texas. Moore describes the evolution of the Texas Rangers in the context of Indian battles and the Texas Revolution.

Moore is a well-grounded historian. He’s the author of a four-volume series, Savage Frontier: Rangers, Riflemen and Indian Wars in Texas. And he gives us detailed accounts of each of the Ranger companies in those early years. Also, he’s published a thorough account of the Battle of San Jacinto – a volume entitled Eighteen Minutes. It’s all carefully researched history.

Not so the History Channel’s version of "Texas Rising." That program is not factual. It takes real Texas characters such as Sam Houston, Deaf Smith, Emily West and puts them into absurd situations. It's all fiction. Sorry.

Is Stephen Moore embarrassed? His new book Texas Rising has the History Channel logo on its cover. And it’s advertised as the “official nonfiction companion to History’s dramatic series.” But I would bet that Stephen Moore cringed while that production was aired. I did.

What aggravates me is the fact that it was the History Channel that aired it. History it is not. Will my eastern friends watch that show and think, “That’s the way it was?” I hope not.

I’ll never look at the “History Channel” the same way. I’ll always wonder – what they're showing me - is it really history?

Dac Crossley
June 4, 2015

“Expressing anger is a form of public littering.” – Willard Gaylin.

Texas Rising?

The Texas Rangers have their roots in small volunteer companies hastily organized to pursue Indian raiders. From such beginnings came more permanent troops stationed on the Texas frontier. And finally, a Ranger force became attached to the governor’s office.

Stephen L. Moore has documented the rise of the Texas Rangers in his just-published volume of history, Texas Rising. His story is set in the context of the Texas Revolution. It includes the contributions of Anglo Texans, Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) and Indians such as the Lipan Apaches who feared the Comanches as much as the settlers did. Indian raiders were relentless in their efforts to dislodge settlers. East Texas was a battleground during the early years and during the Republic of Texas. Moore describes the evolution of the Texas Rangers in the context of Indian battles and the Texas Revolution.

Moore is a well-grounded historian. He’s the author of a four-volume series, Savage Frontier: Rangers, Riflemen and Indian Wars in Texas. And he gives us detailed accounts of each of the Ranger companies in those early years. Also, he’s published a thorough account of the Battle of San Jacinto – a volume entitled Eighteen Minutes. It’s all carefully researched history.

Not so the History Channel’s version of "Texas Rising." That program is not factual. It takes real Texas characters such as Sam Houston, Deaf Smith, Emily West and puts them into absurd situations. It's all fiction. Sorry.

Is Stephen Moore embarrassed? His new book Texas Rising has the History Channel logo on its cover. And it’s advertised as the “official nonfiction companion to History’s dramatic series.” But I would bet that Stephen Moore cringed while that production was aired. I did.

What aggravates me is the fact that it was the History Channel that aired it. History it is not. Will my eastern friends watch that show and think, “That’s the way it was?” I hope not.

I’ll never look at the “History Channel” the same way. I’ll always wonder – what they're showing me - is it really history?

Dac Crossley
June 4, 2015

“Expressing anger is a form of public littering.” – Willard Gaylin.