Uncle Comanche

I have not read Dr. Benner's Sul Ross, Soldier, Statesman, Educator. When I went off to Texas A & M I found Sul Ross' statue, but was eye-ball deep in studying other things. So I missed any good history on Sul Ross. I picked up this book in hopes of broadening my limited knowledge of the man. This is a good book about a kid for kids. It has some good dialogue, some good moral lessons, a few of the things that warriors need to know, no matter when they grow up, a few notes on the imperfections of the institution of parenthood and some pretty solid history. Even though I spent over four years beside Barnard's Mill in Glen Rose and have driven the roads between there and Waco many times, I had a hard time following young Sul's progress from Waco to Comanche Peak. The Brazos, Bosque, and Paluxy River crossings were not emphasized as much as I had expected them to be. Nor was the possibility that his route followed fairly close to the one used by the Santa Fe Expedition a decade before. Poor old George Barnard not only had trading posts in that area, he was also on the Expedition and suffered mightily from it. I also missed the language of the Comanche. Any kid could pick up a few words in a strange and exotic culture in that amount of time: water, food, friend, sleep, fun, magic, strength, good, bad and watch out! We are truly lucky Sul survived his eventful childhood, and that Dr. Brenner wrote about it so well.