Texas

Twenty-eighth state in the United States, admitted to the Union on December 29, 1845. Named for the Caddo Indian word tejas, which means "friends."[1]

Before statehood, Texas was presided over by five other governments: Spain (1519 – 1684 and 1690 – 1821, France (1684-1690), Mexico (1821 – 1836), the Republic of Texas (1836 – 1845), the United States (1845 – 1861 and 1865 – present), and the Confederate States of America (1861 – 1865).[2]

In the late 1830s, Samuel Augustus Maverick was beginning his empire of vast land holdings across central and southern Texas in anticipation of colonization from the Eastern United States and Europe.[3] In 1838, he offered some grazing acreage in Little Bend to his cousin Micah Maverick. Micah moved to Little Bend with his brothers Beauregard and Bentley and their families that year and established the Maverick Ranch.[4]

In 1848,[4] Beauregard Maverick took his two boys, Bret (age 8) and Bart (age 7) into a cantina in El Paso and spoke words that would stick with the boys forever: "Boys, take a good look. This is what's known as gambling. Stay away from it. In games like this you haven't got a chance. Remember as long as you live—stick to poker."[5]

On March 4, 1861, the State of Texas seceded from the Union to join the Confederacy. The Civil War left Texas largely untouched but as a state of the Confederacy, it contributed many men and materials to the Southern war effort. During Reconstruction, Texas struggled with economic, agricultural and social depression for several years.[6]

Trail West to Fury: When conscription into the Confederate Army became mandatory for all white men in Texas between the ages of 18 and 35 in 1862, Bret and Bart Maverick sold off their cattle on the Maverick Ranch for $1,650[4]  and left Little Bend to fight as Johnny Rebs in the Civil War. They returned[7]  in August of 1867[4]  with plans of settling down and becoming cattle ranchers. But one night, competing rancher Jessie Hayden sent two gunmen to kill the Mavericks. The Mavericks were able to kill the gunmen in self-defense, but there were no reliable witnesses to confirm the brothers' story. They left Texas on a cattle drive into the Arizona Territory, unable to return to Texas as long as murder charges remained there against them.[7]

Point Blank: Molly Gleason took Bret Maverick to an empty farmhouse outside of Bent Forks,[9] Nebraska in July of 1871.[4] She was ostensibly trying to sell Bret on the idea of settling down in Bent Forks instead of Little Bend, Texas when she told him, "in Texas, you can look farther but you can't see as much."[8]

Ghost Rider: By May of 1872, the murder charges against Bret and Bart Maverick had been lifted and they were able to travel freely in the state of their birth without a price on their head once again. Catching up for lost time at Texas poker tables,[4] Bret won $3,000 in Gunsight, Texas. Immediately after the game, the Kid held Bret up and stole his winnings. Bret tracked the Kid to White Rock, Texas, but was mistaken for the escaped convict Felton and arrested for the murder of Bert Nicholson. After breaking out of jail, Bret proved his innocence by capturing Felton, the real killer, and recovering $60,000 of stolen Wells Fargo money. While waiting for his reward money, Bret was invited to stay in White Rock on credit at the poker table at Fred's Paradise Saloon.[9]

Brasada Spur: By August of 1872,[4] Bart Maverick took Belle Morgan on a ride in the country outside of King City,[10] Kansas.[4] As they looked out over the countryside, Belle told Bart vistas like the one they were looking at were the reason she stayed in King City after her husband died. Bart reflected on Texas, but Belle echoed Molly Gleason's sentiment to Brother Bret when she told Bart, "You can see farther in Texas, Colonel Maverick, but you can't see as much."[10]

In the mid-1870s, the notorious outlaw Cliff Sharp carried a price on his head for robbery and murder in Texas.[11]

The Thirty-Ninth Star: On July 3, 1876, Waco, Texas resident Fred Bohanan and his family checked into the Capital City Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. The next night, also in Salt Lake City, Janet Kilmer asked Bart Maverick if he was from the East, to which he clarified, "East Texas."[12]

In 1876, with the Indian threat removed from the Panhandle, the vast grazing lands opened up to white settlement. By 1877, a booming ranching industry had begun to prosper.[6]

Escape to Tampico: While in Tampico, Mexico, in June of 1877, Bret Maverick convinced Paul Brooks that Rachel Stoker, an old flame of Brooks', wanted him to visit her in Corpus Christi. In July, Amy Lawrence left Steve Corbett in Tampico and lured him to follow her to Corpus Christi. To avoid being captured by authorities in an American port, Corbett disembarked from his boat on the Mexican side of the Texas border and traveled overland the rest of the way. When Bret realized Corbett was falling into a trap, he also left Tampico and sailed immediately to Corpus Christi where he was forced to kill Corbett in self-defense.[131

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