Billy Dixon - His Life & Adventures - Personalized Limited Edition

Do You Know Billy?

Maybe you heard of Billy Dixon. If you have, you probably know him for the shot he made at the second battle of Adobe Walls up in the Panhandle in 1874.

It was twenty-eight men and one woman against a force of Comanche, Cheyenne and Kiowa numbering at least 700.

Billy Dixon, using a borrowed Sharps .50-90, picked a brave off his horse at such a range that the Indians were spooked and decided to pack it in. US Army surveyors later measured that shot at 1538 yards. That’s 9/10ths of a mile.

Billy said it was luck. Maybe so, but it takes rare skill to make that kind of luck possible.

I told myself I wasn’t going to go on about “the shot of the century,” but I already have. Best laid plans. Thing is, if all you know about Billy Dixon is his marksmanship, you are missing the best things about knowing him. Which in my mind are his love of freedom and his ability to put it into words.

Billy Dixon’s memoirs are a manly celebration of freedom - the freedom Texans know comes from wide open spaces and self-sufficiency. He understood from boyhood that freedom came with responsibility, and he was willing to pay the price.

“There was just a handful of us out there on the Plains, each bound to the other by the common tie of standing together in the face of any danger that threatened us. It was a simple code, but about the best I know of.”

Just a few facts. Billy Dixon was:

• Orphaned at 12
• On his own at 14
• a muleskinner
• a scout
• a buffalo hunter

He was by no means an educated man, but he could tell you what he felt.

“The air was fresh and invigorating, the grass was green, the flowers were blooming, the sky was clear, the sunshine pleasant, and a feeling of joy and happiness everywhere. Those were splendid nights, out there under the stars. The mornings came with dazzling splendor. At this season sunrise on the plains presented a scene of magnificence. I always had the feeling that it came with a thunderous sound.”

Some will tell you that Billy’s wife, Olive K. Dixon, actually wrote this book. They obviously have not read her foreword. If they did, they would know it’s in a whole different voice. In many notebooks, she carefully took down the words he spoke. These are his words.

“When the XIT established itself in the Texas panhandle, the cowboy was typical, genuine and picturesque. He was the cock of the walk, who could eat centipedes for breakfast and barbed wire for supper without injuring his digestion, and dance all night and ride all day without missing a step. His like will never be seen again. He had a rough hide and a tender heart, and an ear that was inclined to every hard luck story that passed his way.”

Billy Dixon - His Life & Adventures is the latest classic of Texas history produced by Copano Bay Press.

This limited edition is just 254 copies, one for each county in Texas, and the jacket is personalized with your name.

Physical Details

• Billy Dixon - His Life & Adventures
• Limited Edition of 254 copies
• Each one is hand numbered
• 180 pages
• Jacket personalized with your name (or any name you choose)

Personalization

The jacket will be personalized with your name (or any name you choose) 

 

Shipping

• Allow two weeks for personalization and shipping
• Shipping is 5 dollars, anywhere in the United States.
• Your book will be packed the old fashioned way, in an actual box. No cheap book mailers.

Guarantee

Guarantee

We will gladly buy it back if you decide you don't want it anymore. There's no time limit on that.