SEVEN OX SEVEN (PART ONE: ESCONDIDO BOUND)

Seven souls risk everything to seek a home on the West Texas frontier. Cowboys Luke Stuart and Tom Schurtz meet at the end of trail drives in Dodge City, Kansas, in 1877. Back in Texas, Luke and his wife, Elizabeth, share with Tom their plan to venture into the raw frontier of West Texas, seek out a hidden canyon, which may not exist, and start a ranch. Canyon Escondido, their destination, boasts a reputation for mystery and the supernatural in the legends of the Apache, Comanche, and Mexicans, while promising a near-paradise of plenty to him who finds it. Legends. Is it all just the stuff of legends? Will these brave pioneers find a secret Eden cut into the harsh Llano Estacado? Or have they embarked on a dangerous misadventure? In this well-researched, historically accurate, and richly detailed story, P. A. Ritzer embraces the American pastoral, the Western, and delivers a compelling story with authentic characters who represent the good and bad that can be derived from the opportunities inherent in their pioneer nation.