Tío Cowboy: Juan Salinas, Rodeo Roper and Horseman (review)

358Southwestern Historical QuarterlyJanuary ofthe men tainted the Texas Rangers' image. He also examines Rangers operations by region during these early years, a mediod diat keeps the action well organized. Rangers still rode into action on horses during diese years but often called in reinforcements via automobile. The deadly rivalries between such men as Big Bend's Joe Sitter and bandit Chico Cano make for entertaining reading. Udey dien follows the Rangers through die racial riots, prohibition, oil boom, labor unrests, and gangster eras diat they encountered over die following decades. He documents the unrest of the 1920s during die gubernatorial run ofMa and Pa Ferguson, when die Rangers' funding and existence was direatened. The reign of succeeding governors is covered as the author experdy shows die effects ofpolitics on the Rangers' reputation. In 1935, die Rangers combined with the highway patrol in die newly created Department ofPublic Safety. Struggling through its first years in diis role, the Texas Rangerforce received able leadership in 1 938 when Director Homer Garrison took over, instituting new crime scene processes and training programs diat strengthened Ranger effectiveness. Udey details how Garrison's respected leadership transformed the Rangers into a regionally distributed force of professional peace officers who were able to operate with an independence unknown to typical police forces. Occasional gun batdes with felons continued to put the Rangers in the national spodight, but many of the new breed of Rangers served their careers without ever firing their weapons in defense. The tradition, pride, history, and legend that have shaped the ranging service since the Republic ofTexas years created new twentieth-century models of leadership among the captains who adapted their companies to their respective times and places. Lone StarLawmen is an interesting, well-paced study ofthe Rangers' second century of service that will stand the test of time. Udey's research is extensively documented, and his chapter notes will certainly guide die studies of authors of future studies of the modern Texas Rangers. Lontana, TexasStephen L. Moore Tío Cowboy:Juan Salinas, Rodeo RoperandHorseman. By Ricardo D. Palacios. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2007. Pp. 216. Illustrations, charts, index. ISBN 1585445274. $22.00, cloth.) Tío Cowboy chronicles the life and achievements oflegendary rancher, calfroper, and professional rodeo performerjuan Light Salinas. The son ofa prominent Soudi Texas rancher, Juan Salinas was born in 1901 and learned to ride a horse and to rope catde during his early childhood. During die 1930s and 1940s, he became one of the first Mexican American cowboys to perform on the professional rodeo circuit. Author Ricardo D. Palacios was Tío Juan's nephew and number one fan. The book is a moving tribute to his uncle, who at one time enjoyed celebrity status in the South Texas Brush Country north of Laredo. Palacios arranges the book chronologically and relies exclusively on personal reminiscences and anecdotes provided by his famous uncle (consequendy there are 2??8Book Reviews359 no endnotes or bibliography). Salinas was a member of die earliest rodeo cowboy associations (the Cowboys Turtie Association and die Rodeo Cowboys Association). At die height of the Great Depression, he embarked on a career as a professional calfroper on die national rodeo circuit. Salinas's considerable skills (not to mention diose ofhis famous equestrian partners La India and Honey Boy) earned him a place at die Championship Rodeo at Madison Square Garden for ten consecutive years (1936-1946). Exempted from service in World War II because he was a stock raiser, Salinas remained on the rodeo circuit, taking a train to New York City to compete against die best cowboys die nation had to offer. After a successful ten-year career on die circuit (where he earned an average ofabout$30,000 ayear), he quitperforming as a professional but remained active on the local rodeo scene in South Texas. Palacios's primary objective in writing die book is to shine a light on the largerthan -life personality and career ofhis TíoJuan. Broader social issues, consequendy, are broached only in passing. Salinas attributed a good part of his national prominence to his Hispanic heritage, as people from across the country came to witness a Mexican rodeo cowboy competing for top...