Perilous Trails of Texas

Perilous Trails of Texas CoverJ. B. (Red) Dunn’s “Perilous Trails of Texas” gives us a unique perspective of the lawless 1870s in the Nueces Strip. Dunn was a participant in bloody encounters between Anglo South Texans and Mexican-Americans in the rough times after the Civil War. It was a time when general lawlessness pervaded the land, darkening the days and threatening the nights. Dunn was a Texas Ranger and hard-riding vigilante. In Dunn’s time violence was ubiquitous. It was a time of undeclared warfare, a war of random encounter, with raids by bandits from across the border, with hide thieves roaming the cattle ranges and killing at will, followed by the punitive lynchings by minutemen vigilantes who were quick with the rope and the gun and left a trail of dead. In the wake of the most notorious outrages of the era, such as the robbery at Peñascal and the Nuecestown Raid, John Dunn was there, armed and in the saddle, pistols ready and rifle loaded and heart full of vengeance.

Perilous Trails of Texas is available in one edition:

FIRST EDITION

6″ x 9″ format

First Edition $44.95
Orders placed in Texas will be taxed. Shipping will add $6.00 per book.

“Perilous Trails of Texas” has been out of print for over eighty years. Murphy Givens, Jim Moloney and Nueces Press have brought the book back to print with an updated edition which includes explanatory footnotes, an index and extensive information on Dunn’s Museum. “Perilous Trails” provides a window into the lawless 1870s in South Texas. Bandit raids, cattle rustling and hide-peeling were prevalent. Texas ranger and vigilante retaliation followed. Red Dunn was a participant as a ranger and vigilante. His book brings this violent era to life.