In the past few months, I’ve run across a couple of works of historical fiction focused on the time and place of my primary interest, pre-Republic East Texas. I rather accidentally discovered a decent little book of historical fiction with a terrible title, Gunpowder Wind. This 1988 paperback is by a couple of authors who did a series of books for a “Best of the West” collection of a trade press, Dan Parkinson and David Hicks.
Despite what I think is a ridiculous title and cover photo, this story is not half bad to read. It is about the Battle of Nacogdoches in 1832 and calls forth some of the key characters of the region. Frost Thorn, William Goyens, Alexander Horton, and Colonel Jose de las Piedras figure in the story. Chief Diwali and The Egg of the Texas Cherokee are mentioned as well. I found it first through interlibrary loan (the best invention of modern libraries), but now have my own ragged paperback via Amazon. As a fictionalized account it does a decent job with the circumstances of the uprising, but I really just enjoyed running across any story of early East Texas. If reading it would help resolve some of the under-appreciation of East Texas history, then I recommend it. Just put a piece of tape over the title and occasional over-the-top factual embellishments and read on.