Bandits, Bootleggers, And Businessmen: A History of the Big Bend, Texas 1848-1948 (1987)

The bandits. Desperados who terrorized Big Bend ranches and settlements. The bootleggers. The shadows of the Big Bend who played a deadly cat and mouse game with lawmen. The businessmen. Ranchers, miners and fur trappers who wrestled their livelihoods from the forbidding landscape. In this hour-long program the rich history of this unique region comes alive. You’ll hear the old-timers tell their stories. You’ll see hundreds of old photographs. You’ll meet the mysterious messengers of the Big Bend who flashed secret signals to each other, as well as the native plant healers who were known as the doctors of the area. Finally, you’ll encounter the train robbers and outlaws who kept the sheriffs busy and local folks guessing. This is the story of the men and women who lived and died here, who called the Big Bend home.