Philip of Texas

by James Otis

fiction, Action, Adventure, children, AMERICA, Texas, Ohio
FOREWORD
The author of this series of stories for children has endeavored simply to show why and how the descendants of the early colonists fought their way through the wilderness in search of new homes. The several narratives deal with the struggles of those adventurous people who forced their way westward, ever westward, whether in hope of gain or in answer to "the call of the wild," and who, in so doing, wrote their names with their blood across this country of ours from the Ohio to the Columbia.
To excite in the hearts of the young people of this land a desire to know more regarding the building up of this great nation, and at the same time to entertain in such a manner as may stimulate to noble deeds, is the real aim of these stories. In them there is nothing of romance, but only a careful, truthful record of the part played by children in the great battles with those forces, human as well as natural, which, for so long a time, held a vast portion of this broad land against the advance of home seekers.
With the knowledge of what has been done by our own people in our own land, surely there is no reason why one should resort to fiction in order to depict scenes of heroism, daring, and sublime disregard of suffering in nearly every form.
JAMES OTIS.
MY DREAMS OF A SHEEP RANCH
The day I was twelve years old, father gave me twelve ewes out of his flock of seventy-two, counting these sheep as payment for the work I had done in tending them. Even at that time I thought myself a good shepherd, for I was able to keep a small flock well together.
With Gyp, our dog, I could have herded five hundred as readily as I did seventy-two, because on our plantation in Mississippi the pastures were fenced. Therefore when father began to talk of moving to Texas and there making a venture in the cattle business, I decided at once that if he did so, it should be my aim to raise sheep. With this idea I gathered from the neighbors roundabout, who had larger flocks than ours, all the possible information about the business in our own state.
CONTENTS
My Dreams of a Sheep Ranch
Sheep Raising
Herding Sheep
Something about Texas
Land Grants
The "Texas Fever"
Why I Wanted to Go into Texas
Hunting in Texas
Father Goes to Spy Out the Land
Our Plantation in Mississippi
Father Comes Home
The Bigness of Texas
Where We Were Going
What I Hoped to Do
Cattle Driving
How We Set Out
A Laborious Journey
Comanche Indians
Father Comes to My Rescue
The Arrival at Fort Towson
Preparing for a Storm
A Dry "Norther"
Two Kinds of "Northers"
How Turkeys Kill Rattlesnakes
Deer and Rattlesnakes
Making a Corral of Wagons
On the Trail Once More
Mesquite
A Texas Sheep Ranch
The Profits from Sheep Raising
Father's Land Claim
Spanish Measurements
The Chaparral Cock
Our First Night on the Trinity
Standing Guard
A Turkey Buzzard
Plans for Building a House
The Cook Shanty
A Storm of Rain
A Day of Discomfort
Thinking of the Old Home
Waiting for the Sun
Too Much Water
The Stream Rising
Trying to Save the Stock
The Animals Stampeded
Saving Our Own Lives
A Raging Torrent
A Time of Disaster
The Flood Subsiding
A Jack Rabbit
Repairing Damages
Rounding up the Live Stock
The First Meal after the Flood
Waiting for Father
Recovering Our Goods
Setting to Work in Good Earnest
Sawing Out Lumber
Laboring in the Saw Pit
Wild Cattle
A Disagreeable Intruder
Odd Hunting
A Supply of Fresh Meat
"Jerking" Beef
Searching for the Cattle Again
Our New Home
Planting, and Building Corrals
Bar-O Ranch
An Odd Cart
The Visitors
Zeba's Curiosity
Possible Treachery
Suspicious Behavior
Gyp's Fight with a Cougar
In a Dangerous Position
Hunting Wild Hogs
Treed by Peccaries
Gyp's Obedience
My Carelessness
Vicious Little Animals
Father Comes to the Rescue
The Increase in My Flock
Unrest of the Indians
Texas Joins the Union
War with Mexico
Selling Wool
Peace on th

182 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1913

About the author

James Otis Kaler was an American journalist and author of children’s literature, primarily in the boys' adventure genre. The vast majority of his works were published under the name James Otis, but he also wrote as Amy Prentice, Harry Prentice, and Lt. James K. Orton.

His works include the Boy Spies series, the Navy Boys series, the Minute Boys series, a number of historical novels published by the American Book Company, and more than thirty novels about life in New York State.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 8th grader read this for US History. He said it was very interesting and had a smile on his face when he said he had completed it, which I will call a win. He rated it 4/5 stars and said it did a good job of explaining what life was like back then when Texas was not a state but rather operating as a republic. Also I’m not sure what’s going on with this book cover—-the edited book published by Notgrass looks much more appealing 😆

[Andrea Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was hard to rate this book. I read a version revised by Notgrass History to my kids as a read aloud to history. It was written in a time much different than now, so those things had to be discussed. But it was a good book on teaching them what the time was like for people living in the time.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son rated 5/5 stars.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid read about the settlement of Texas. I read this to my children via the revised version from Notgrass. I imagine I would not have enjoyed the original as much.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. Not as engaging as the other books we have read for US Geography this year.