A Lone Star Cowboy

Charles Angelo Siringo (February 7, 1855--October 18, 1928), was an American lawman, detective, and agent for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in Matagorda County, Texas to an Irish immigrant mother and an Italian immigrant father. Siringo attended public school until reaching the age of 15, when he started working on local ranches as a cowboy. After taking part in several cattle drives, Siringo stopped herding to settle down, got married (1884), had a child, and open a merchant business in Caldwell, Kansas. He began writing a book, entitled "A Texas Cowboy: or Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of a Spanish Pony." A year later, it was published, to wide acclaim, and became one of the first true looks into life as a cowboy written by someone who had actually lived the life. Siringo explains that the copyright expired on "A Texas Cowboy," and "A Lone Star Cowboy" was intended to replace it. He added much information on cattle that was not in the first book. Siringo relates many harrowing experiences, such as buffalo hunting, and herding cattle up the Chisholm Trail. He met Billy The Kid and Pat Garrett, and tells the "true" story of Billy's death. This edition of the book contains all 14 of the original illustrations, rejuvenated.