to our time. he had scripture from the bible and all things in the world exist from a devine origin, clothed with such forms in nature as enable them to exist there and peefect their use and correspond to higher things. however it came to be, by god's hand or nothing more than a cosmic accident, and by whatever label one comes to the challenge, creation care, evangelical, green, planetary survivalist, this whirling globe as ours has to be loved better, and in life, johnny appleseed is out there even now at the line between present and future, man and myth, the real and the imagined ready to lead the way. >> you can watch this and other programs online at booktv.org.

>> thank you so much. it's great to be with you. it's wonderful to come into a city where there's rain. [laughter] i live in -- my wife suzanne, who is with me and you'll meet later, we have lived for some years in tulsa, oklahoma where there's plenty of water and wood. it's a very green place, but like the rest of this nation, it's been stricken, and temperatures and triple digits for many, many days, and that's the way it's been for us most of the summer because we're now in the last leg of this national book tour, and we've been all over the country. deep in the eastern united

states on the other side of the mississippi where i sometimes go, and all over the southwest and the west where i prefer to be, being a missourian, innative of missouri, i always looked west, down the santa fe trail, the native trails, the route 66, the beloved road, so this is the part of the country i do like the best, and when i declared my major, if you will, as a writer, it was about the american west, not just cowboys and indians, not just the west that many people think about or conjure up when they hear that word, but the contemporary west as well, the pop culture west, the contemporary west. so tonight, i'm delighted to be

here as always. i've always had a great experience at tattered cover, this location or the other, and i was just saying to someone before the event started, on this particular tour, we've had 40 some odd book signings and events, and only one of them has been in a chain bookstore, and i'm very happy about that, very happy. [applause] chains are important to me, but independent bookstores are more important to me. the up dependent bookstores are like my route 66. the chain bookstores are like those monotonous turnpikes and interstate highways. i have to take them, but i prefer to be on the old road. the jen knew win, the --

genuine, the authentic, the personal. tonight, i'm in an unusual to present three books, two of them brand new books, not just david crockett from norton, but also the wild west 365 by abrams, a new book, and then the reissue, the rascal son right in the center, "pretty boy: charles author floyd". the pretty boy was originally published years ago, but it's been out of print until now, until now meaning the original editor robert wiehle, probably the best nonfirst editor in the country moved to norton, a great house, by the way, norton, and he brought pretty boy back, and it's important to me because was

the second of my three pulitzer prize winning nominations, and it's a book that definitely needs to be back in print, and it has been optioned as for major motion picture, as has my more recent biography of billy the kid. billy the kid, the endless ride, another norton title. i'd be remiss if i wouldn't share with you at least a spoonful from this rascal son, from charlie floyd who hated to be called pretty boy. this is really a social history. where this book ends, the grape of wrath begins. you go from nonfiction to fiction, and if you read "the grapes of wrath, which i i soup you have once -- i assume you have once, and plan to reread, you know they talk

about charlie floyd in the book because they came from sequoya county, little dixie and oklahoma where floyd resided. they also, of course, charlie, also a subject of a wonderful song, the ballot of pretty boy floyd, written by an oklahoman, that all of you will probably remember from some of his great songs, and i'm talking about woody guthrie, and his ballot, he gave to joan biaz and bob dylan. there's a great line that fits the book from the bat lot. some men rob you with a six gun, and some with a fountain pen. now, floyd liked to focus on those if the pen thieves, on

those bankers who were fore closing on the jodes and others. he truly was, i came to find to my surprise and glee, he was a sage brush robin hood. very interesting young man. let me give you a spoonful, if i can, from pretty boy, the life and times of charles arthur floyd, and it is the prologue to the book. it's short. it's a little bittersweet. the conkol farm, october 22, 1934, alongside every outlaw hummers this nameless legion whom the law does not know or may not touch. call them his protective angels, if you like, and that's a quote from when the daltons road by

emmett dalton. charlie floyd ran for the trees and the freedom that lay beyond. if he could just get across the field of corn stubble to the tree line, he would be safe. the weeds and wild grape vines, the honey suckle and brame les would grant him yet another reprieve. he would race into the woods and down the slopes, up the steep hills, and across the crumbly ma son ri of an abandon canal ox filled with water from the recent autumn rain. he was known as the sage brush robin hood, to others as the terror, but he was called pretty boy floyd, public enemy number one. he was invincible, and he always got away. the weather was warm on this october afternoon, charlie's white shirt and silk underwear was soiled and sweaty. he needed a shave and bath. his dark blue suit was stained

and covered with hundreds of tiny thistles that ran the length of his sleeves and trousers. he was a country boy dressed in a city slicker's clothes. a farmer's wife gave him ginger cookies and apples that morning and he stuffed them in his suit coat pockets. he grasped the .45 pistol in one hand and the other hand tucked into the trousers. moments before, he was with stuart dyke and wife florence. they had agreed to give him a lift up the road aways in their automobile, away from the farm owned by dyke's sister. charlie had passed an hour with mrs. conkal. she fed him a hot meal. she still held the dollar bill the stranger insisted she take

for the plate of spare ribs. he sat in a chair on her porch and ate in silence. after, she saw him pacing around, waiting for stuart and his wife to finish with their corn husking. he finnerred the fees and the car's ignition, deciding not to steal the machine. he waited for the farmer to come along. just before the dyke's walked out of the fields, charlie pulled out his pocket watch. it was almost four o'clock in the afternoon. sunset was about an hour and a half away. hoe stared at the -- he staredded at the 50 sent piece attached, and ellen recalled he smiled when he rubbed dirt off the cameo ring he wore. no one knows, but perhaps he thought about ruby, or dempsey or the cotton fields of oklahoma and the times before he went on

the scout. an airplane, an unusual sight in those parts in 1934 droned overhead. charlie turned his face towards the cloudy sky. the rains of the past few days had disappeared, and even though it was deep in autumn, there was smells of new life in the woods where the maples showed their true colors. soon killing frost would give way to snow that would enrich the land. ellen watched as the stranger climbed into the backseat. her sister-in-law got up front as eel help's brother started his automobile. they waved good-bye, and she went back to the kitchen chores. suddenly she heard machines driving up to the front of her house, and the sound of car doors slamming shut. when she looked out the window again, she saw a band of men in suits carrying guns. they begin fanning out over her property. the strainer jumped from her brother's car, behind the corn

crib and began his run across the field towards the trees. the run only lasted a few seconds. it must have seemed forever to charlie. maybe it was like one of those dreams filled with monsters that seemed to last forever in slow motion. many years later, a federal agent remembered that charlie ran like an athlete, that he cut and dodged in a broken field sprint, apples fell from his pockets and bounced on the ground. someone yelled for him to halt, then gunfire erupted and the bullets bounced up puffs of dust around his feet. he ran on towards the trees. he gulped in mouthfuls of freedom as he ran. chester smith, a policeman from east liverpoole, and a sharp shooter who fought in france and belgium, knew the man running

away was charlie. there was no doubt in his mind. it was now 10 minutes past 4. smith shouldered his 3220 winchester rifle. he took aim at the man running in zigzags across the field. when he was in his sights, smith wrapped his finger around the trigger, took a breath and held it. he slowly squeezed. mr. floyd. [applause] this, my friends, is my latest son, also a bit of a rascal, although, he did not meet his end in an ohio corn field as you all know. this crockett biography, i have to say, i was talking to a friend at dinner tonight, is off

to a great start. we have incredibly good reviews from the "wall street journal" to "texas monthly," and the texasans endorsed this book because i'm hard in texas on this book as i should be, and am, but their reviews that my late mother could have written, and i'm pleased with that. [laughter] now, my first exposure to mr. crockett, this inevitable american icon came, and i, for one, and i bet some of you looking around this room or in that same boat, can vividly recall perhaps even the exact date. it was a frosty night for me, december the 15th, 1954, and in my hometown. st. louis.

an abc television just aired david crockett, indian fighter, the first of three episodes produced by wallet disney for his studios then new series that premiered only two months earlier, and it was called simply disneyland like the park that would soon appear in anaheim. it was called that for quite a while. this anthology, series, but there's a variety of other names including the one you most remember commonly, the wonderful world of disney, which would become one of the longest showing prime time programs in american television history. now, that evening, i, myself, was 9 years old, but i could have predicted the show's success. i was hooked, myself, only moments after hearing the theme music, and if you want to hum

along, you can. when you wish upon a star, sung by the cartoon insect jim cricket from the sound track movie, pinnochio. dick wesson introduced host disney and a flittering tinklebell, uncle walt unleashed this frontier character, davey,. i was sitting indian style in the living room, my parents behind me, and all the sudden as if like a run away train, crockett came crashing out of that 12-inch screen tv of our 1950 table model rca victor set. [laughter] as they say, i was a goner. with only moments after this

larger than life buckskin and coon skin cap, i was won over, and in my fickle 9-year-old heart pounded. i must tell you, that was an incredible year. that past summer, just months before, and two separate occasions, down at famous and barr, at the mother's store, famous and barr, and now long defunct retail store in st. louis. my mother brought me to the parking lot, and there i was at 10 in the morning, there's hop-a-long cassidy with that fine horse of his. i really thought he was top drawer, hoppy.

he never lost the black hat in a fight. he always kept it on. i just liked him very much. it was a one-two punch because next week i went, and there's the cisco kid with diablo with tact and bridles and great smile. i didn't wash my hands for two weeks. [laughter] now, on that december night, both of those men were instantly demoted to lower rungs on my list of heros. even, i'm here to admit, and i am st. louis all the way. i bleed st. louis cardinal red to this very moment -- [laughter] but even stan, number six swinging stan the man, the legendary cardinal outfielder, whose name was literally etched in granite at the top of that

hero's list, even the man was in jeopardy of being toppled. by the time that first episode ended, this image of crockett portrayed by that gangly 29-year-old,set -- seth parker, was in my mind. i department stay up for strike it rich or i got a secret. i forgot about the good snow. instead, i made a beeline to the room where i poured over the world book encyclopedia entry for crockett, and i dreamed of this man with a proclivity for dangerous behavior which, of course, as a red-blooded american kid, i found this to be a most commendable quality. as i would learn, that next morning, out in the snow when i

ran into the brothers and then my good pal johnny hofer, i was not alone. they saw it too. all of you had. more than 40 million people turned into disneyland that wednesday night, and by the time the second episode, davey, goes to congress in 1955 followed by february 23, davey crockett at the alamo, i, and across the nation and the growing ranks of the boomer generation was swept up in the crockett frenzy, and we wanted more and more, and it came big time in the form of really an unprecedented merchandising whirlwind in which crockett was commercialized in ways that would have been unthinkable to the man himself, although he would have liked it very much. [laughter] every kid, of course, had to have a coon skin cap like

daveys. overnight, the pelts sored up to $6 a pound results in the sale of 10 million furry caps and causing ike eisenhower to almost put those beasts on the endangered species list. [laughter] just a few months of that premier, more than $100 million, $100 million in 1955 dollars, was shelled out not just for caps, but for more than 3,000 different crockett items. if some of you would step up, i'm sure you'd admit you still have some of these items tucked away because that includes pajamas and lunchboxes, and i know someone back there has davey crockett underpants, comics, moccasins, toothbrushes, games, clothing, toy rifles,

sleds, curtains. it goes on and on, and then there's the song, that catchy theme song. the ballot of davey crockett, sold 4 million copies, number one on the list for 13 weeks, and on my 7th, 1955, back on the floor sitting indian style with my gray cap on and out comes on the screen, jezelle who sings the top tune hit of the week on your hit parade, and like every one of my pals, i knew, by god, those words were all true. and, of course, they weren't. [laughter] but we sang crockett's ballot at the top of our lungs as we built forts from old trees and card board boxes and transformed the school ground into our own version of crockett country. crockett became our obsession.

now, i realize it's hard for anyone to say born after 1958 to recall this crockett frenzy that swept america in the 50s. so profound was crockett's cultural innone dation that no baby boomer can fail to recall this charismatic american hero's name, and this recognition to my way of thinking is a good thing, but the flood of misinformation about crockett's life that resulted, something i became very much aware of later in my life and certainly proved up while researching this book, which, in part, motivated me to write this book, created a crockett mythology that continues to this day. so, my good friends, this is not another straightforward chronological biography of crockett cradle to grave nor

just focus on the one slice of pie, the alamo. there's more to crockett than just the last few weeks of his life, and it's not a regurgitation of the myths and total lies per pitch waited by crockett over the years. this is a book for people interested in learning the truth, or at least as much as can be uncovered about both the historical and the fictional crockett and how the two often became one. hopefully, readers gain new historical insights into the actual man and how he captured the imagination of his generation and later ones as well. so, now, a few spoonfuls from crockett, the lion of the west.

the first is just a graph or two from my preface. the authentic david crockett was first and foremost a three dimensional human being, a person with somewhat exaggerated hopes and well checked fears, a man who had, as we all do, both good points and bad points. he was somewhat idiosyncratic, possessed of often unusual views, prejudiceses, and opinions that goferred how he chose to -- governed how he chose to live his life. he could be as value yent and resourceful as anyone who roamed the american frontier. as a man, he was both authentic and contrived, wise in the ways of the wilderness, and most comfortable when deep in the woods on a hunt, yet also could hold his own in the halls a congress, a fact that distinguished him from so many

other frontiersman. remarkably, he enjoyed fraternizing with men of power and prestige in the fancy parlors of philadelphia and new york. crockett was like none other, a 19th century enigma. he fought under andrew jackson in the indian wars to become jackson's bitter foe later on the issue of indian re-- the removal of indian tribes from their homelands. his contradictions exb tnded beyond politics. he had a few months of formal education, but he read. he was neither a monkey or a great intellect, but a man always evolving on the stage of a nation in adolescence, a pioneer whose dream reflected a nation with a gaze pointed towards the west. perhaps more than any one of his time, david crockett was

arguably a first celebrity hero. inspiring people of his own time as well as a 20th century generation. the man, david crockett, may have perished mar 6, 1886, but the mythical davey crockett, in the american psyche, lives powerfully on. in this way, his story, then, becomes far more than a one note walt disney legend while his life continues to shed light on the meaning of america's national character. spoonful from a chapter een titled "kilt him abar." [laughter] david crockett believed in the wind and in the stars. this son of tennessee could read

the sun, shadows, and wild clouds full of thunder. he was comfortable among the thicketed -- thickets and hunted in the sweet gum forest that never felt an ax blade. he was familiar with all the smells, the odor ever decaying animal flesh, the aroma of the air after a rain and the pun pungent smell of the forest, knew the forrests lined with willow that breached the mountains in gorges with names of indian influences like the french broad, the pigeon, the teloco, the south houston, the wataga, the wolf, the elk, and the obiyon. he sought the dimensions of lakes and streams studded with ancient cyprus and learned that

dog days arrive not with the heat of august, but in early july when the dog star rises and sets with the sun. he carried his compass and maps in his head, traversed the land when it was lush in the warm times, and when it was covered with the frost that the cherokees described as clouds frozen on the trees. the wilderness was, indeed, crockett's cay cathedral. now i'll jump way ahead. sort of towards the end. crockett lived to be 49 years old. this is early in the last year of his life. he did become total lagger heads with jackson, old hickory, who the creeks and cherokees knew as sharp knife. crockett had fought under

jackson in the ruin yows creek wars, so he didn't like what he experienced, the atrocities, the killing, the mayhem, and he vowed never to do that again, although he didn't keep the pledge with the poor black bears killing 105 bears in one season. he was a professional hunter of bears, but not of men, and when jackson, who had no use for any native american, came up with the indian removal law to take the five tribes on a various trails of tears, from their homelands in the southeast united states to what is now oklahoma, indian territory, crockett stood up against it. the only member of the tennessee delegation to vote against it, and it cost him his job. jackson and the others found a candidate to run against him, and they took his seat.

as crockett explained, he was beat by a one-legged man, but he also came up with his famous quote, which he said many, many times. "you all can go to hell, and i'm going to texas." now, he didn't go to texas out of a fit of some sort of patriotic honor or something for the rascals down there. anglos had come into the republic of texas and settling with permission of the government for some years, starting with moe sus austin, but then they kept coming, and they were not always abiding by the laws. the laws means to speak the language, spanish, to join the mother church, and eventually, not bring slaves. slavery was abolished in mexico long before we got around to that, but these gentlemen and ladies, southerners, land

speculators, and slave traders like two of the largest slave traders in the country, kept bringing their slaves in. this is what crockett faced when he went down there. crockett had owned a few slaves, but he was not a big land owner, and slavery was not a big part of his life or an issue. he wanted to rebuild his life. he was gypsy footed. he liked to hunt, and he thought he could get back into politics. he went there, found land he liked, taking his own sweet time, took a long time to get to texas, and he was not there very long. in fact, a lot of people thought he was killed. there was newspaper stories. where is the great crockett? what happened to him? was he killed? well, he was chasing bison on the red river, hunting, honey trees, talking to friends, telling stories. he loved to tell stories. he was having some whiskey, but finally he got down there, and

this spoonful is from a chapter calledded "time of the comet." finally in early 1836, crockett and his original three companions reigned up the horses in the oldest town in texas. he was reluctant to leave the good hunting grounds, but he had also heard stories about the successes of sam houston, his old tennessee friend, steven austin, and other land agents who established land agencies and were on their way to becoming wealthy men. crockett believed that at last he could gain his own fortune, and in a place where he could hunt almost every day of the year. as one noted, crockett was in a state of euphoria. throughout crockett's long ride from tennessee to texas, haley's comet, the most famous of all the celestial nomads was clearly

visible like it is every 76 years. they were in awe as they saw the object go through the night sky. for centuries, people believed a comet was a harbor for chaos and fear. one pope excommunicated it and declared it an instrument of the devil. the appearance of the comet in 1835 was blamed for catastrophes around the world including the hoer risk fire in new york city that raged for several days and nights. the massacre of 280 people in africa by zulu warriors and wars in latin america. the seminal indians in florida saw the tail as a sign of the tragedy that soon descended on them as they lost their homes and were exiled to indian

territory. among many americans, haley's comet signaled the impending fall of the alamo, but for the people of mexican blood living in texas, the comet was a portent of the mexican's army defeat. haley's comet was rediscovered in august 1835, about the time of crockett's defeat for another term in congress. it was visible for an extended period and could still be seen long enough for enterprising promoters to issue the comet almanac for 1836. it sold well, but not nearly as well at the davey crockett almanac of that year with a picture of him wading the mississippi river on a pair of stilts. [laughter] stories made the rounds in newspaper and future almanacs claiming that crockett and his nemesis, andrew jackson, forged

a truth, and that old hickory commissioned crockett to scale the alagaines and ring the tail off the comet before it would char the earth. before the comet advantagished in may -- vanished in may 1836 not to be seen again in 1910, the alamo of his life were long cold and scattered. finally from crockett, a piece from el alamo. to those who claim god made texas, some say figuratively crockett invented texas. his blood and the blood of all who died with him transformed the alamo into an american cultural icon affecting economic and political conditions in texas and beyond. the off views battle cry remember the alamo employed weeks later by sam houston to inspire his force when they

captured general santa anna and defeated the army still reverberates through history and culture. for many anglo-texasans and others, that conjures images of patriotic heros, sacrifice, and love of liberty. the alamo remains the most instantly recognized battle in american history with the possible exception of gettysberg. it's said not until the battle of the little big horn and the death of george armstrong customer, 40 years after the alamo, would americans have a more vain, glorious event to rally around. texas also used the alamo in the revolt against mexico to establish a republican, later a state, that they believed unique and more special than any other. in 1845 when the republic of texas gave up its sovereignty to become the biggest state in the union and did so with a caveat

depending on whose interpretation of the texas constitution is followed, that it could succeed at any time and split into five entities thus creating four new states. the strong belief among many texasans was their independence and loan star status was -- lone star status was bought and paid for at the alamo. crockett's death sums up the most single important aspect of his brief stay in texas. the contribution to the lone star state resulted not so much from how he lived, but how he died. his impact on texas derives precisely from his death in that battered spanish mission, and death he turned into an even more marketedble comity than he had been in life, and this would be the state's biggest tourist attraction and one of the most popular historic sites in the

nation. his death fueled the flame of rebellion against mexico and made him a celebrated martyr for the cause contributing to the creation of the prideful, sometimes bellicose stereotypical image of swaggering boastful texasans bursting with pride when describing the land they love. it turned the alamo into the cradle of texas liberty, and a monument to anglo western expansion. there was the david crockett of historic fact, and there is the davey crockett of our collective imagination. first was a man leading a most interesting and colorful life. the other is the american myth featuring crockett as a symbolic figure with superhuman powers in this serges crockett is frequently used by others to promote their own interest of

the both crockett and the alamo remain ensnared in clouds of myth. in the end, crockett was uniquely american character, and a formidable hero in his own right and should not be judged by his death, but rather by his life including the good, the bad, and the shades of gray. consider him a legend and a hero, but always bear in mind that he was a man willing to take a risk. that was what he symbolized, and that is how he should be remembered. mr. crockett. [applause] last but not least, this other new book, and this book is filled with all kinds of rascal sons and daughters. there are no white hats. there were no black hats. they were all gray hats.

as you'll come to find out. i co-authored this with my good wife, suzanne fitzgerald wallis, and we acquired the services from our pal down in the hills of santa fe who has my favorite research library, 12,000 books in the american west in that old adobe. rare books, one of a kind books, and it's just intoxicating to go into that library, and hundreds of thousands of images, the biggest collection of western photography anywhere. he supplied all the photos for the billy the kid book, and 700 of them grace the paces, several never seen before of all kinds of people. it's about the size of an adobe brick -- [laughter] a little smaller, and 23 you don't like it, you can use it as a doorstop. [laughter] i will tell you this, don't be

intimidated by it. there's old jim himself, bloody buoy, because you can open it anywhere. what we do here, 365 days, by every date, every day of the year is something that happened on that date, but these entries, the main entries in the photos and illustrations just move cron chronologically in the century i chose, 1830-1930, so it begins with crockett, and it ends with pretty boy. through that 100 years. i think it would be good to give you a few spoonfuls from this book but i would be remiss if i didn't summon up to the podium my partner in life and literature, suzanne fitzgerald-wallis to talk about the two remarkable women to give

you in this tone. ms. wallis? [applause] >> lola montes -- just after the california gold rush peaked, the exotic beauty, attracted by the abundance of newfound wealth captivated san fransisco dandies, shocked their prim ladies, and een dured towpts of miner,. her name was eliza gill bert, but the irish adopted lola, was a dancer, had trysts with victor hugo, frederick chonin, and was the in a relationship that

contributed to the abdication and also sent the banished lola packing. during the tour of the united states, lola arrived in california in 1853, and she stayed for two years. she quickly became known for performing her famously suggestive turatula dance where she pretended to be entangled in the spiders web and discovered spiders hiding in her flowing gown. as she waved the arms, leaped in the air and shook her clothing, the audiences were spell bound. lola through lavish parties, gave dance lessons to a miner's daughter who went on to be a celebrated star on the stage, and was seen in the company of her pet cinnamon bear. at the dock of 1855, she broke

into tears as she left fries. an editorial praised her as a noble hearted and generous lady whose many good acts so won the esteem of our citizens. whatever lola wants, lola gets. ..

john became a warrior to target several rates will soon be a list of nietzsche comanche for him is years. she eventually married chief pat dakota and 42 sons and a daughter. firstborns tae kwon do became the last great war chief of the comanche. in 1860, texas rangers led by captain soul rot slept on the comanche village, killing many inhabitants and taking others captive, including the long lost us into amateur-year-old daughter, prairie flower. they were returned to family members, but her many years living with the tribe has changed cynthia irrevocably. she had nothing in common with her white relatives as big a return to indian family. her escape attempt failed and what her daughter died of influenza in 1864, cynthia and

lost all hope. or it can in spirit and bitter at her enforced captivity, she start herself to death. it was not until 46 years later that quanah parker was able to bring the remains of his beloved mother and his baby sister from texas to oklahoma. he dedicated a great feast to copy the memory of her mother who lived and died as the comanche. [applause] >> lola did inspire that line by the way. i thought you might enjoy this entry since there is a little bit of cowboy and cowgirl in all of us. it is called cowboys and there's two great portraits of these charts right off the trail,

probably an abilene, texas cowboys to a been while scrubs, had a bit of a run on them, maybe a little paw made. they've gotten their favorite that cowboys wanted to get in a long furniture outcome trail, either chop suey worsened eggs. and they probably had a tumble or two the hague and some good hard whiskey. this is cowboys. some historians claim the word cowboy was first used in medieval ireland to describe who is who tended cattle. others say the name was bandied about in early america when youngsters such as database and later david crockett herded cows. even so, only after the civil war to determine cowboy come into common use. the heyday of the genuine cowboys is briefed. it began in 1865 in texas returned home after serving the

confederacy pouring cash, by richard rangeland teeming with ubiquitous longhorns. prior to the war, those who had trailed usually renowned as croakers in the early 1860s, texas ranchers use the term cowboy as they gathered unbranded while roundups had first called cow hunts. by 1870, ranchers higher youngsters who genuinely referred to as cowboys to herd cattle trails to let the the markets. some of them are only 12 to 16 years old and barely big enough to climb into a saddle. not everyone approved of such work. parents do not allow your boys to let themselves down with mexican spurs, six shooters and pipes, warned a reporter for texas debt motter. keep them off the prairies as professional cow hunters.

they may forget that there is a distinguishing between mine and thine. send them to school. teach them the trade or keep them home. that was written a long time before willie nelson. i think there's one more spoonful very near the end of that century that we chronicle. it is called simply, adios wyatt. wyatt earp and josephine sir marcus coming across from a prominent jewish family in san francisco lived as husband and wife for nearly 50 years. the couple was a classic case of opposite temperaments complement each other. earp was quiet and reserved while his wife was fiery. still josie and wyatt remained devoted to each other to the

end. for earp, that and came in los angeles a few minutes past 8:00 in the morning at january 13, 1929. the cool comments i quietly as he later wrote in her published recollections, my darling had breathed his last, dying peacefully without a struggle like a baby going to sleep. i don't know how long i continue to hold him in irons. i would let him go. and finally had to drag me away. i had gone with him on every trail he had overtaken since those days at tombstone so long ago. included among the honorary pallbearers were cowboy movie heroes, william s. hart and tom mix. wife's ashes were buried in a jewish cemetery south of san francisco when josie died in 1944, she was laid to rest with her husband peered cowboys often come to pay their respects.

they tossed their hats and stand on the manicured grass around the tombstones, topped with menorahs and stars of david. a world away from the blood and smoke at the okay corral. thank you. [applause] thank you very much. and now we will entertain questions, comments and/or concerns. in all we ask for is if you have a question to let the boom mic and employees. and i am anticipating good questions from the spray denver audience. >> i just wanted to thank you for the wonderful reading and i hope the publishers when they do an audio book will select you to reach your own work. it was terrific and i enjoyed hearing it this morning on the

radio and peter boyle show and i'm looking forward to tomorrow. i understand shall speak again. >> welcome he convinced me to stay. i really like this chap. he is i think a popular talk show fellow here in denver. it behooves me to stay for a little bit to go in the studio tomorrow. we were very simpatico. appreciate that. >> we are waiting for the mic. >> -- at june 15 to the packer club and i wonder if you could make any comments. would you want to read a passage open to the right page with the code is of his county and all that? you want me to bring it to you?

>> sure. are you familiar with the story? >> now, but i die you could help us all understand. >> this is an entry called the cannibal has one goalie about alfred packer who earned a very sinister place in the folklore of the american west is a holds of acquired taste for human flesh. to be having any cannibals in the audience? [laughter] yeah, good. there's usually one or two. i'll cut to the chase. the illustration for this is a wonderful kind of down-home piece and it was called the packer club. and there is an image of how packer and it's written in sort of this down-home language. there were seven democrats and hence the county, but you

voracious man eating some of the itchy wave five of them. [laughter] i agrees to eliminate five new deal democrats which makes me a member of the packer club of colorado. charter members ralph carr, gene fowler, herndon davis and fred missoula. there you go, the packer club. [applause] >> coming over here tonight, there was an announcement on the radio about the birth certificate of davy crockett that the court had said that the women who had it had to give it back to the county where he lived. >> i hadn't heard that, but there was no birth certificate. i'm sure they are talking about that wedding license. and that's true. he received a wedding license in

dandridge, tennessee at the county seat in the old courthouse. and unfortunately, so many years ago they pitched it out with a bunch of papers and this woman who lives in florida got a hold of it. so while they've had for all those years is a facsimile of it. and of course i talk about the whole marriage license business in the book. but this doesn't surprise me because i know they've been trying to get it back. i am not sure what kind of legal maneuvering went on to get that because, you know, it is their own fault they threw the thing out, right? but i would imagine they played upon our sense of history and perhaps there was some money involved i would think, right? which always helps. speaking of money, did any of

you put a bid in on the billy the kid picture here and to never? [laughter] faq is $2.4 million. william coakley won the america's cup body. a lot of big dealing going on. yes. let's let this lady come over here. >> sera come he did say something about a thoughtful question. i hope i can ask one. you and i come from nearly the same place. i was born in east st. louis about five years before you were. i very much appreciate your presentation. the question comments combination. i have been a listener for some time and i heard him this morning and heard you as his guest. you seem to apply your talents

to some pretty real people do you despair somewhat i think rightly the hollywood fictionalizing of some of these people. i am a person who's very depressed with the way our country is going. i just wondered if you could throw your astute observation about people and our politicians and economy in the situation we are facing today. if you were to say 50 or 100 years from now, how would you reflect on the mess that we are in today? [laughter] pingback wow, it's interesting because some of the reviewers of the crockett book have actually gotten into contemporary issues and talked about and in reference to some of the folks that are involved in politics today. i mean, they have even used his name with people like sarah

palin and folks like that. and i can understand that to a certain extent, but not really. it is kind of what i said to him today. and i am not sure i even understand what i said there because it just came to my head. but he said what about crockett today, politics -- he said he would be like a liberal t. bakker, which doesn't make much sense i know. but not really. he actually would be considered very liberal today. and he became a week, which was the beginning of the republican party solely not out of any desire to really become a way, but really because of his problems jackson. who of course is a