Dr. Samuel B. Pryor—Physician, first mayor of Dallas, and civic leader. In the story, and in life, he served as Quartermaster General of the General Commissary Headquarters for the Army of the Trans-Mississippi Confederacy during the Civil War. He was known as Old Doc Pryor.

Mrs. Sarah Cockrell—The woman who was the quiet power behind the development of Dallas. Her husband, Alexander Cockrell, purchased all rights to the colony of Dallas from its founder, John Neely Bryan. Cockrell was brilliant, but illiterate, so his wife handled all business finances and correspondence. After he was killed in a duel, she took over issuing the colony’s land grants, establishing and managing numerous businesses, building office buildings, constructing and operating two grand hotels, and managing her Trinity River ferry crossing. In 1872, she built an iron bridge over the Trinity River. She also raised four children. At her death in 1892 (age 73) she owned twenty-five percent of downtown Dallas.

Margaret Beeman Bryan—The wife of the founder of Dallas, John Neely Bryan. In 1841, Bryan settled territory along the Trinity River and claimed the land. The Beeman family was one of the first families to settle in the area after Bryan convinced them to move twenty-two miles from Byrd’s Fort to the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. Margaret was one of ten Beeman children. She was sixteen when the family moved. Two years later, at age eighteen, she married Bryan. He was thirty-three. Bryan was a wandering man and Margaret and her children were left behind in Dallas for years at a time.

Barry Derrit—A Cockrell slave who tended the Trinity River ferry crossing as ferry master. When emancipation was announced, Derrit rejected it and asked to remain in charge of the river crossing. Instead, Mrs. Cockrell freed him and hired him to continue as ferry master He retired when a new iron bridge was completed in 1872.

Mrs. James Wellington “Weck” Latimer—Wife of the publisher/editor of the Dallas Herald. When he went to war she took over the publishing of the newspaper. Severe paper shortages limited the publication’s frequency.

Adolphus Gouhenant (often spelled phonetically as Gounah)—French photographer, painter, owner of the Art Saloon. One has to wonder, was it supposed to be the Art Salon? Can you imagine a Texas sign painter unfamiliar with French accents hearing the word salon and assuming his client was saying saloon?

Texas Frontier Rangers—In the early days of Texas’ anglo settlement (under Mexican rule) empresario Stephen F. Austin supplemented the Mexican government’s militia patrols with a force of settler volunteers, whom he personally paid to protect people living in his colony from Indian attacks. After Texas won independence from Mexico in 1836, the volunteer ranger groups, now sanctioned by the Republic of Texas government, continued to patrol the dangerous frontier. When Texas became a state, the ranger groups continued, supplementing the U.S. Army forces stationed at the frontier forts. During the Civil War, the frontier rangers were charged with protecting the state’s borders from Union attacks and the frontier from Indians—especially the fierce Comanche. and Apache. Many rangers became famous for their exploits.

Camel Drovers: Hi-Jolly, Greek George, Long Tom, and Mico (sometimes called Blackie)—These are the “Texas names,” as Hi-Jolly called them, of four real camel drovers among those who were recruited to come to Texas in 1856-1857 to handle the camels for the “U.S. Camel Corp Experiment.” When the camel project ended after the Civil War, Long Tom returned home. The remaining three built new lives in America. Greek George naturalized as George Allen and became a rancher in California. Mico, under the name Charles Tedro, became a barber in Tucson, Arizona. Hi-Jolly, naturalized as Philip Tedro, worked for a Colorado mining operation. Later he prospected in the desert, using camels. When his prospecting failed, Hi-Jolly went back to the U.S. Army as a mule packer. He later attempted prospecting again without results. He died in Quartzsite, Arizona where a quartz pyramid, topped with a camel weathervane, marks his grave. A popular folk song, The Ballad of Hi-Jolly was written in his name.

Sally Skull—Pistol-packing, horse-trading, championship-cussing, horse rancher from Banquete, Texas. During the Civil War her Mexican freighters could be hired to transport Southern cotton from the King’s Ranch to the cotton market in Matamoros, Mexico. Married six times, she had a reputation as a self-made widow. Sally was like a Texas tornado. You knew it when she blew into town. She was a unique personality who was active in getting Southern cotton to market. I couldn’t resist adding her to the story to provide some true “Texas spice.”

Comancheria, The Comanche Empire —The Comanche people left their homelands in what is now Wyoming and migrated to the Texas panhandle. From there, they spread to cover nearly half the state, forcing other tribes like the Apaches and the Wichitas to relocate. The Comanche adopted the horse from the Spaniards and became expert horsemen. This skill helped them control their large empire, offered an advantage in battle, allowed flash raids on settlers and settlements, and led to their being called “The Lords of the Plains.” During the Civil War, Comanche raids on settlers intensified, despite efforts of frontier rangers. Cotton caravans like Sara’s were under significant threat.

Governor Francis R. Lubbock served Texas during the Civil War from November 7, 1861 to November 5, 1863.

Sheriff Twaddell was the Waco sheriff at the time of the story.

Almost everyone mentioned in the Matamoros Cotton Market portion of the book was a real person.

Charles Prioleau—Senior Partner of Fraser and Trenholm, cotton agents. If he is your ancestor, my apologies for making him a bit of a villain. The story demanded one, and he was a logical choice due to his position. In the real world he may have been a delightful man.

Colonel John S. “RIP” Ford, Texas Frontier Ranger—Ford was, as described in the story, a doctor, lawyer, and widely-admired frontier ranger. He also was a newspaper publisher and politician. He commanded Confederate forces during the battle of Palmito Ranch, the final battle of the Civil War. He acquired his nickname “RIP”as described in the book and did serve as commander of Fort Brown during the time of the story.

Cotton Market speculators and their wives who attended Eliza Quentero’s tea, were real people:

• Jose Quentero and his wife, Eliza Quentero
• Richard King and his wife, Henrietta King, founders of the King Ranch (known simply as the King’s Ranch during the Civil War).
• Charles Stillman (Don Carlos) and his wife, Elizabeth Stillman
• Mifflin Kenedy and his wife, Petra Kenedy
• Patricio Milmo and his wife, Pudenciana Milmo
• Mrs. Droege
• Mrs. Oetlin