In this book Bryan has turned his talents to the story of one of the most
extraordinary characters of the Southwest. Legend and folk hero Elfego Baca,
who was born in 1865 and died in 1945, is best remembered for singlehandedly
withstanding a siege by an estimated 80 Texas cowboys who fired a reported
4,000 shots without even wounding him. In this lively and well-researched
account, Bryan explores the facts and legends surrounding Baca's long and
varied career. A gunfighter and ruffian who was three times tried for and
acquitted of murder charges, Baca could not seem to stay out of trouble. Yet
he earned a respectable reputation as a lawyer, sheriff, mayor, district
attorney, and a perennial candidate for state and federal office. His
temperament—volatile, generous, loyal, devious, unscrupulous, and
violent--earned him a host of friends, enemies, and reluctant admirers. This
remarkable man was the subject of a Walt Disney television series titled "The
Nine Lives of Elfego Baca."
