A Texas Cowboy or, Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of a Spanish Pony

As well as for his time as a lawman, Siringo was famous for epitomizing the spirit of adventure and free roaming that characterized North America during the 19th century. Born and raised on the Western frontier, it was through his years in the West that Siringo learned the rural life of a cowboy. By the time he published this autobiography in 1885 at the age of thirty, Siringo was an ambitious and confident fellow - "money, and lots of it", he declares, is the prime reason he wrote his memoirs.

The book begins with Charles Siringo's account of his early life, as the son of immigrants; his father an Italian and his mother Irish. We follow his early life in and around Dodge City, learning the ways of the cattle hand and witnessing a few remarkable sights along the way. Eventually, Siringo sets up shop as a merchant, where he found the time to author this memoir.

Perhaps the most vivid highlight among these recollections regards Billy the Kid, one of the most notorious outlaws to ever emerge in the West. Something of a nemesis for the law-abiding Siringo, the pursuit of Billy occupies several chapters of this book. In 1886, the year after this autobiography appeared, Siringo would enroll in the Pinkertons: bored with cowboy life, it was as a detective working undercover that his abilities were truly realized.

By Charles A Siringo. Paperback, 2016, 132 pages.