pBorn during the infant years of the Texas Republic, C. C. Slaughter 1837-1919 participated in the development of the southwestern cattle industry from its pioneer stages to the modern era. Trail driver, Texas Ranger, banker, philanthropist, and cattleman, he was one of America's most famous ranchers. David J. Murrah's biography of Slaughter, now available in paperback, still stands as the definitive account of this well-known figure in Southwest history.ppA pioneer in West Texas ranching, Slaughter increased his holdings from 1877 to 1905 to include more than half a million acres of land and 40,000 head of cattle. At one time Slaughter country stretched from a few miles north of Big Spring, Texas, northwestward two hundred miles to the New Mexico border west of Lubbock. His father, brothers, and sons rode the crest of his popularity, and the Slaughter name became a household word in the Southwest. In 1873--almost ten years before the beef bonanza on the open range made many Texas catt