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i How the cattle business brought back prosperity to Texas is told in GOODNIGHTS DREAM, FROM HIDE AND HORN, SET TEXAS BACK ON HER FEET and THE HIDE AND TALLOW MEN.

ii The first occasion Belle “the Rebel Spy Boyd” and Horatio A. Darren worked together on an assignment is recorded in TO ARMS! TO ARMS! IN DIXIE!

iii Details of the family background and special qualifications possessed by Bette Boyd are given in APPENDIX ONE.

iv How the riding accident was sustained by General Jackson Baines “Ole Devil” Hardin is told in Part Three, “The Paint,” THE FASTEST GUN IN TEXAS.

v Another occasion when Belle Boyd pretended to be Elizabeth “Betty” Hardin is recorded in THE QUEST FOR BOWIE’S BLADE.

vi What the assignment in Texas was is told in SET-A-FOOT.

vii The comment made by Horatio A. Darren referred to the incident early in Belle Boyd’s career described in MISSISSIPPI RAIDER.

viii The association between Belle Boyd and Captain Dustine Edward Marsden “Dusty” Fog before and after his distinguished service with the Texas Light Cavalry in the War Between the States is explained in APPENDIX ONE.

ix Information regarding the connection between Belle Boyd and the earlier “Rache” is given in RENEGADE.

The “Rache” in question makes a “guest” appearance in MCGRAW’S INHERITANCE.

x Information about the murderous gang of outlaws to whom Belle Boyd refers is given in THE BAD BUNCH.

xi What happened when the European professional killer came to Texas is told in BEGUINAGE and BEGUINAGE IS DEAD.

xii How another American entrepreneur sought for a living example of the same kind of mythical creature is told in Chapter IX, “The Ki-Chu,” BOSAMBO OF THE RIVER, by Edgar Wallace.

xiii Details about one incident in the life of Pauline “the Scout of the Cumberland” Cushman, a spy for the United States Secret Service during the Civil War, is told in Chapter Four, “The Major,” THE TEXAN.

xiv Detail of the Ysabel Kid’s birth, upbringing, and later adventures can be found in APPENDIX TWO.

xv How the Ysabel Kid avenged the murder of his father is told in THE YSABEL KID.

xvi The periods when the Ysabel Kid and other members of General Hardin’s floating outfit were required to serve as peace officers are recorded in QUIET TOWN; THE MAKING OF A LAWMAN; THE TROUBLE BUSTERS; THE CODE OF DUSTY FOG and DIAMONDS, EMERALDS, CARDS AND COLTS.

xvii Where the Ysabel Kid first met Dude is told in TRAIL BOSS.

Dude makes “guest” appearances in WEDGE GOES TO ARIZONA, ARIZONA RANGE WAR, and ARIZONA GUN LAW.

xviii How the Ysabel Kid acquired the “One of a Thousand” Winchester Model of 1873 rifle is told in GUN WIZARD.

xix Information about an Englishman who appeared to have been sent to the United States in such a fashion is given in THE REMITTANCE KID and THE WHIP AND THE WAR LANCE.

xx A detailed description of how the Abbot & Downing type of stagecoach was constructed and the way in which its passengers and baggage were transported is given in CALAMITY SPELLS TROUBLE.

xxi The occasion is described in THE BAD BUNCH.

xxii How Belle Boyd was involved in a scheme that caused various “liberal” groups in a costly and nonproductive venture is told in CURE THE TEXAS FEVER.

xxiii A more complete description of Joseph “Pizen Joe” Leatherhead, although we did not know his full name at the time of writing and he had a different guard “riding shotgun,” is given in the title to which we refer in Footnote 1.

xxiv A more detailed account of the holdup is given in the volume for which this narrative is an “expansion”: Part Two, “The Quartet,” THE HALF-BREED.

xxv How the close relationship between Belle Starr and Mark Counter began, ran its course, and came to an, untimely end is recorded in various volumes of the Floating Outfit series.

The lady outlaw “stars” in her own right—no pun intended—in WANTED! BELLE STARR.

xxvi How John Wesley Hardin was driven to become a wanted man is told in THE HOODED RIDERS.

xxvii Some information regarding the female outlaws given the sobriquets Cattle Annie and Little Britches is given in Pan Three, “The Kidnappers,” TROUBLED RANGE.

xxviii Information regarding Freddie Woods is given in various volumes of the Floating Outfit series.

She also makes “guest” appearances under her married name, Mrs. Freddie Fog, in NO FINGER ON THE TRIGGER and CURE THE TEXAS FEVER.

xxix How the name of Bent’s Ford came into being and the legends about it were produced is told in Pan Two, “The Quartet,” THE HALF-BREED.

xxx Tehnep: an experienced and seasoned Comanche warrior.

xxxi Told in A TOWN CALLED YELLOWDOG.

xxxii We realize the locale given in this chapter differs from the description of how the two young outlaws were arrested in the incident from which the narrative is an “expansion,” but we are assured by our informants the version herein is what really took place.

xxxiii The identity of the man who gave Betty Hardin instruction in various methods of unarmed self-defense is given in various volumes of the Civil War and Floating Outfit series.

xxxiv Having been appointed to the Federal Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, the sentences inflicted by Isaac C. Parker were frequently of such severity that he had become known as the “Hanging Judge.”

xxxv When asked by the Ysabel Kid why he had saved the life of a lawman who might be considering arresting him, Sam Bass said his only motivation was there might not be another tenor available to help them sing in a quartet when they got back to Bent’s Ford.

xxxvi According to the world’s foremost fiction genealogist, Philip Jose Farmer, author of, among numerous other works, TARZAN ALIVE, The Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke and DOC SAVAGE, His Apocalyptic Life—with whom we have consulted, Belle Boyd was the maternal grand-aunt of Jane, Lady Greystoke, nee Porter, whose biography is recorded in the TARZAN OF THE APES series of biographies by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

xxxvii An épée de combat is used mainly for thrusting, and the saber was originally intended chiefly for slashing from the back of a horse.

xxxviii One incident in Rose Greenhow’s career is recorded in KILL DUSTY FOG!

xxxix Told in: THE COLT AND THE SABRE and THE REBEL SPY.

xl Told in: THE BLOODY BORDER.

Details of Captain Dustine Edward Marsden “Dusty” Fog’s and the Ysabel Kid’s careers are given in the Civil War and Floating Outfit series.

xli Told in BACK TO THE BLOODY BORDER.

xlii Told in THE HOODED RIDERS.

xliii Information regarding the career of Martha “Calamity Jane” Canary is to be found in the Calamity Jane series, and she makes “guest” appearances in Part One, “The Bounty on Belle Starr’s Scalp,” TROUBLED RANGE; its “expansion,” CALAMITY, MARK AND BELLE; Part One, “Better Than Calamity,” THE WILDCATS; THE BAD BUNCH; THE FORTUNE HUNTERS; Part Six, “Mrs. Wild Bill,” J.T.’S LADIES; Part Four, “Draw Poker’s Such A Simple Game,” J.T.’S LADIES RIDE AGAIN (“costarring with the lady outlaw, Belle Starr, q.v.); Part Seven, “Deadwood, August the 2nd, 1876,” J.T.’S HUNDRETH; Part Four, “A Wife For Dusty Fog,” THE SMALL TEXAN and GUNS IN THE NIGHT.

xliv Belle Starr makes “guest” appearances in RANGELAND HERCULES; THE BAD BUNCH; DIAMONDS, EMERALDS, CARDS AND COLTS; THE CODE OF DUSTY FOG; THE GENTLE GIANT; HELL IN THE PALO DURO; GO BACK TO HELL; Part Four, “A Lady Known as Belle,” THE HARD RIDERS; Part Two, “We Hang Horse Thieves High,” J.T.’S HUNDREDTH and Part Six, “Mrs. Wild Bill,” J.T.’S LADIES. The circumstances of her death are told in GUNS IN THE NIGHT.

The lady outlaw “stars,” no pun intended, in WANTED! BELLE STARR.

We are frequently asked why it is that the “Belle Starr” we describe is so different from a photograph that appears in various books. The researches of Philip Jose Farmer, q.v., have established that the lady for whom we are biographer is not the same person as another equally famous bearer of the name. However, the present-day members of the Counter family who supplied us with information respecting her have asked Mr. Farmer and us to keep her true identity a secret, and this we intend to do.

xlv Told in THE BAD BUNCH.

xlvi Told in TO ARMS! TO ARMS! IN DIXIE and THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN.

“Floating outfit”: a group of four to six cowhands employed by a large ranch to work the more distant sections of the property. Taking food in a chuck wagon, or a “greasy sack” on the back of a mule, they would be away from the ranch house for long periods and so were selected for their honesty, loyalty, reliability, and capability in all aspects of their work. Because the owner of the OD Connected ranch, General Jackson Baines “Ok Devil” Hardin, was prominent in the affairs of Texas, members of its floating outfit were frequently sent to assist such of his friends who found themselves in difficulties or endangered.

Details of the career of General Jackson Baines “Ole Devil” Hardin are given in the Ole Devil Hardin, Civil War and Floating Outfit series, and in Part Four, “Mr. Colt’s Revolving Cylinder Pistol,” J.T.’S HUNDREDTH. His death is reported in DOC LEROY, M.D.

xlvii Told in SET A-FOOT.

xlviii Told in THE QUEST FOR BOWIE’S BLADE.

xlix Told in THE REMITTANCE KID and THE WHIP AND THE WAR LANCE.

The researches of Philip Jose Farmer, q.v., have established that Captain Patrick Reeder (later Major General Sir, K.C.B, V.C., D.S.O., M.C., and Bar) was the uncle of the celebrated British detective Mr. Jeremiah Golden Reeder, whose biography appears in ROOM 13, THE MIND OF MR. J.G. REEDER, RED ACES, MR. J.G. REEDER RETURNS, THE GUVNOR, and TERROR KEEP, by Edgar Wallace.

Mr. Jeremiah Golden Reeder’s organization plays a prominent pan in the events we recorded as “CAP” FOG, TEXAS RANGER, MEET MR. J.G. REEDER; THE RETURN OF RAP-IDO CLINT AND MR. J.G. REEDER and RAPIDO GLINT STRIKES BACK.

l Told in Part Five, “The Butcher’s Fiery End,” J.T.’S LADIES.

Some other activities of the very competent British lady criminal Amelia Penelope Diana “Benkers” Benkinsop, during her visit to the United States in the mid-1870s, are recorded in BEGUINAGE IS DEAD! and Part Three, “Birds of a Feather,” WANTED! BELLE STARR.

The daughter of the “Benkers” referred to makes a “guest” appearance in Case Two, “The Feminine Touch for Company ‘Z,’“ MORE JUSTICE FROM COMPANY “Z.”

Information about the daughter of the above “Benkers”— who also followed the family tradition of retaining the full name regardless of who the father might be—Miss Amelia Penelope Diana Benkinsop, G.C., M.A., B.Sc. (Oxon.), owner of Benkinsop’s Academy for the Daughters of Gentlefolk in England, is given in BLONDE GENIUS; Part One, “Fifteen the Hard Way,” J.T.’S LADIES and Part Two, “A Case of Blackmail,” J.T.’S LADIES RIDE AGAIN.

BLONDE GENIUS is the rarest of our books. To date, copies that have passed through the hands of the now regrettably defunct J.T. Edson Appreciation Society and have been auctioned by us for charity have realized from avid collectors: £60.00; U.S. $65.00; £35.00; U.S. $30.00, and three at £25.00 each.

li Pairaivo: first, or favorite, wife. As is the case with the other Comanche terms, this is a phonetic spelling.

lii Nemenuh: “the People,” the Comanches’ name for themselves and their nation. Members of other tribes with whom they came into contact called them, frequently with good cause, the “Tshaoh,” the “Enemy People.”

liii A description of the way in which mustangers operated is given in .44 CALIBER MAN and A HORSE CALLED MOGOLLON.

liv Told in COMANCHE.

lv An example of how the Ysabel Kid could conceal his tracks is given in Part One, “The Half Breed,” THE HALF BREED.

lvi Two examples of how the Ysabel Kid’s knowledge of wild animals was turned to good use are given in OLD MOCCASINS ON THE TRAIL and BUFFALO ARE COMING!

lvii An example of how well the Ysabel Kid could impersonate the call of a wild animal is recorded in Part Three, “A Wolf’s a Knowing Critter,” J.T.’S HUNDREDTH.

lviii One occasion when the Ysabel Kid employed his skill with traditional Comanche weapons is described in RIO GUNS.

lix Some researchers claim that the actual designer of the knife that became permanently attached to Colonel James Bowie’s name was his oldest brother, Rezin Pleasant. Although it is generally conceded that the maker was James Black, a master cutler in Arkanas, some authorities state that it was manufactured by Jesse Cliffe, a white blacksmith employed by the Bowie family on their plantation in Rapides Parish, Louisiana.

What happened to James Bowie’s knife after his death in the final assault of the siege of the Alamo Mission, San Antonio de Bexar, Texas, on March 6, 1836, is told in GET URREA! and THE QUEST FOR BOWIE’S BLADE.

Since all of James Black’s knives were custom made, there were variations in their dimensions. The specimen owned by the Ysabel Kid had a blade eleven and a half inches in length, two and a half inches wide, and a quarter of an inch thick at the guard. According to William “Bo” Randall, of Randall-Made Knives, Orlando, Florida—a master cutler and authority upon the subject in his own right—James Bowie’s knife weighed forty-three ounces, having a blade eleven inches long, two and a quarter inches wide, and three-eighths of an inch thick. His company’s Model 12 “Smithsonian” bowie knife—one of which is owned by James Allenvale “Bunduki” Gunn, details of whose career can be found in the Bunduki series—is modeled on it.

One thing all bowie knives have in common, regardless of dimensions, is a “clip point.” The otherwise unsharpened “back” of the blade joins and becomes an extension of the main cutting surface in a concave arc, whereas a “spear point”—which is less utilitarian—is formed by the two sides coming together in symmetrical curves.

lx An occasion when Big Sam Ysabel went on a mission without his son is recorded in THE DEVIL GUN.

lxi Told in THE BLOODY BORDER and BACK TO THE BLOODY BORDER.

lxii “Floating outfit”: a group of four to six cowhands employed by a large ranch to work the more distant sections of the property. Taking food in a chuck wagon, or a “greasy sack” on the back of a pack mule, they would be away from the ranch house for long periods and so were selected for their honesty, reliability, loyalty, and capability in all aspects of their work. Because of the prominence of General Jackson Baines “Ole Devil” Hardin in the affairs of Texas, the OD Connected’s floating outfit was frequently sent to assist such of his friends who found themselves in difficulties or endangered.

lxiii The circumstances are described in GUN WIZARD.

lxiv When manufacturing the extremely popular Winchester Model of 1873 rifle—which they claimed to be the “Gun Which Won the West”—the makers selected all those barrels found to shoot with exceptional accuracy to be fitted with set triggers and given a special fine finish. Originally, these were inscribed “1 of 1,000,” but this was later changed to script: “One of a Thousand.” However, the title was a considerable understatement. Only one hundred and thirty-six out of a total production of 720,610 qualified for the distinction. Those of a grade lower were to be designated “One of a Hundred,” but only seven were so named. The practice commenced in 1875 and was discontinued three yean later because the management decided it was not good sales policy to suggest that different grades of gun were being produced.

lxv Told in SIDEWINDER.

lxvi Told in HELL IN THE PALO DURO and GO BACK TO HELL.

lxvii How Annie Singing Bear acquired the distinction of becoming a warrior and won her “man-name” is told in IS-A-MAN.

lxviii Told in WHITE INDIANS.

lxix Told in Part Two, “The Poison and the Cure,” WANTED! BELLE STARR.

lxx Told in WHITE STALLION, RED MARE.

lxxi Mark Scrapton, a grandson of the Ysabel Kid, served as a member of Company “Z,” Texas Rangers, with Alvin Dustine “Cap” Fog and Ranse Smith—grandsons of Captain Dustine Edward Marsden “Dusty” Fog and Mark Counter, respectively—during the Prohibition era. Information about their specialized duties is given in the Alvin Dustine “Cap” Fog series.