A Texas Cow Boy Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of a Spanish Pony

Charles Angelo Siringo (February 7, 1855-October 18, 1928), was an American lawman, detective, and agent for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Siringo was born in Matagorda County, Texas to an Irish immigrant mother and an Italian immigrant father from Piedmont. He attended public school until reaching the age of 15, when he started working on local ranches as a cowboy. After taking part in several cattle drives, Siringo stopped herding to settle down, get married (1884), and open a merchant business in Caldwell, Kansas. He began writing a book, entitled "A Texas Cowboy: or Fifteen Years on the Hurricane Deck of a Spanish Pony." A year later, it was published, to wide acclaim, and became one of the first true looks into life as a cowboy written by someone who had actually lived the life.