Beschrijving

Britishers were not uncommon on the frontier of the American Southwest. Most of them, well-financed, came to acquire land and purchase cattle, intending to make their fortunes at ranching. But almost all were lured to America’s Wild West as much by its romantic image as by the opportunity to grow rich. One of the younger members of that breed of Englishmen was Richard Baxter Townshend, hungry for adventure and prosperity, who landed at the foot of the Colorado Rockies in 1869, just four years after the end of the Civil War. Townshend, born in 1846, was then 23 years old and was captivated by cowboys and Indians. He would rub shoulders with innumerable examples of both during his time in Colorado and New Mexico. Over his years in the West he gained some seasoning and became a rancher and a successful merchant. Once when Townshend and his men were making a harrowing cattle drive, they narrowly missed having the valuable livestock stolen by Billy the Kid and his outlaw pals. Later in his life, back in England, Townshend pulled together his first book, \