Ol' Shep: Book 1: Faithful Shep

“He had been there alone for fifteen days. His side of bacon was eaten, and the sack of corn getting very low. The Rangers were as much delighted as if it had been a human being they had rescued. He had worn the top of the wall of the old stage stand perfectly smooth, standing off the sneaking coyotes … Shep had held the fort….” —George Wythe Baylor, Captain (Ret.), Company C, Frontier Battalion, El Paso Herald, February 3, 1900Faithful Shep is a fictional account of a loyal dog rescued by nine Texas Rangers, based on a fascinating true story from the history of America's west.Author's NoteFaithful Shep was written as a tribute arising from admiration of that great daring that is bred in bravery. I dedicate this book to all who ennoble with loving care the warm-hearted animals who revere them in return. May this story of a stranded, starving dog and the ordinary men who trekked into hostile country to save him, serve as a source of inspiration and resolve.I express sincere appreciation and deep indebtedness to the host of Texas university researchers, reference librarians, and historical archivists whom I continually pestered for details of setting and geography, personal letters from the period, old newspaper clippings, documents on the Texas Rangers, and other minutia that I cannot even recall at the moment. These long-suffering aides to my quest are too numerous to name, but I am thankful they know who they are and that they helped a hero dog live again, briefly, in these pages.EXCERPTBy the time Joseph P. Andrews and William Wiswall rode into San Antonio on that afternoon in the early fall of 1879, they had already covered some 1,000 miles of rough, dry, and dusty country. They traversed southern Colorado, from their starting point in the mining country of Ouray County, and made their way across the Indian Territory before crossing the Red River into Texas. And even though they had come this far already, they were still many weary miles and, likely, several negotiations away from the goal of their quest.Still, this fledgling city at the spring-fed headwaters of the San Antonio River was a welcome sight. The heat was unusually stifling for this time of the year; their horses plodded forward with heads down, and Shep, the black German Shepherd who was their constant companion, trotted along in his usual position, twenty feet ahead. It was early afternoon on Sunday, and both men were hungry and in need of beer. Doubtless, their mounts wanted hay, and Shep would probably be content with a bowl of milk and a beef bone.Slumped in their saddles, Andrews and Wiswall scrutinized their surroundings. San Antonio was the principal trading post for hundreds of miles in this part of the vast border region of Texas, and the streets brimmed with hustling men and wagons, the wheels creaking under their loads. Vaqueros from surrounding ranchos rode past or lolled at street corners, laughing and conversing with señoritas who hurried by, carrying baskets of corn or buckets of water.The bustle enveloped the two as they rode into town. In this northern section of the city, home-grown foodstuffs glutted stalls along the streets, the prices low compared to the markets in Denver. To the two mining engineers, the whole of the American Southwest seemed bent on showing its wares in these busy dirt roads and avenues. Street corner hawkers cried for buyers for their vegetables, fruits, berries, grapes, nuts, and eggs. But it was the people who most captured the attention of the partners. Most of the denizens of this street appeared young, tight-lipped, and dusty.