FORGOTTEN BOOK: TWO FOR TEXAS

 Two for Texas by James Lee Burke  (1982)

Since 1971, James Lee Burke has written thirteen novels about the Holland family.  Two for Texas, the second book in the series features Son Holland, a Tennessee mountain boy who drifted to New Orleans after his family had been slaughtered by Shawnees.  At that time Louisiana was ruled by the imperious French and anyone not of French ancestry was considered somewhat less than human.  Son found himself arrested on trumped-up charges of theft, found guilty, and sentenced to ten years in a penal camp.where a man's life had little value.  He vowed not to spend the entire ten years of his term there; it took two years for that vow to be made a reality.

The camp was run by the Landrys, two brothers, each more vicious and sadistic than the other.  While at the penal camp, Son became friends with Hugh Allison, a rough and tumble man with a colorful past.  When Son and Hugh were ordered to pull a mule out of the mud with a block and tackle, with the younger Landry brother overseeing the operation, the block somehow got loose and struck Landry in the head.  Angered, the prison guard was about to kill the two.  In a struggle, Landry's pistol went off, killing him.  Knowing Landry's brother would demand vengeance and fearing for their lives, Son and Hugh made their escape while being sought by the surviving cruel and murderous Landry brother.

Escaping Louisiana, they made their way to Texas on two stolen US Army horses, with Landry never far behind.  They traded their horses for a place to stay in a Comanche camp and for a Tecuma woman prisoner to cook for them.  The Indian woman was known only as White Man's Woman -- they would later learn her name was Sana -- and soon she became Son's lover.  When Mexican soldiers confiscated all the Comanche's horses, Son and Hugh made a deal with the Indian leader -- they would help steal the horses back, along with dozens of others, in trade for eight horses they could sell further into Texas.  The raid went awry because the Indians insisted on counting coup and gathering the scalps of the Mexicans guarding the horses, but Son, Hugh, and Sana managed to escaped with their eight horses.

Landry, still pursuing the runaway convicts teamed up with the Mexicans in a search for the pair, Landry putting a $200 bounty on their heads, literally.  In a strange country, with enemies all around them, the safest bet for Son and Hugh is to find and join up with Sam Houston and his rag-tag army fighting for Texas Independence.  Jim Bowie, who is fighting with Houston, has decided that he should fortify a mission and make a stand there against Santa Ana's troops...

Lyrical, violent, earthy, and shocking, Burke's prose sings in this book about a decent but flawed man forced to do things that go against his grain, while partnered with a violent roustabout whose cunning often is the only thing that allows them survive.

As with  all of Burke's books, this is a powerful read and highly recommended.