simply “took on a different appearance, that of the gray cloth of the Confederate States of America” (p. 14). The prologue hints at what is to come by recounting the “brutish behavior” of the Texas Rangers as they ruthlessly hanged a Union army captain so as to demonstrate to other prisoners what would happen if they did not reveal everything they knew about Union activity in the area (p. 21). These same Rangers hadmassacred thirty-six German Union sympathizers in the Texas Hill Country several months earlier. The ten ensuing chapters explore, generally in chronological order, violent conflicts that emerged from the U.S. and Mexican civil wars raging at the time as well as from struggles over stolen cattle. Collins paints a picture of the typical Texas Ranger as “a citizen soldier,” rather than “a professional lawman,” and often “on the ‘wrong side’ of the law” (p. 9). Leaders, such as Captain Leander H. McNelly, praised by Webb as heroes, employed cruel tactics and engaged in torture on the basis that “‘their ends justified their means’” (p. 287). Collins does not shy away from exposing the violence perpetrated by people from a variety of racial and ethnic groups; the existence of this dark side of humanity seems to be one of his main themes. For example, in his exploration of the cattle wars, he portrays the brutality of the Comanche, Kickapoo, and Lipan Apache raiders as well as the vicious response by the Rangers, who burned homes and killed women and children. In another situation, the Rangers attacked peaceful Tejano farmers in retaliation for the actions of a few Mexican bandits. Collins keeps the reader fascinated with his ability to tell intriguing stories using a clear and descriptive writing style. He has mined an array of previously understudied sources, including newspaper accounts, personal papers, government documents, and unpublished manuscript collections. An engaging and accessible book for a wide variety of audiences, A Crooked River is sure to be a definitive account of the Texas Rangers and border violence between 1861 and 1877 for many years to come.

中文翻译：

---

分裂的房屋：福音派分裂和密苏里州联盟的危机 作者 Lucas P. Volkman

只是“呈现出不同的外观，即美利坚联盟国的灰布”（第 14 页）。序言通过叙述德克萨斯游骑兵的“野蛮行为”来暗示将要发生的事情，因为他们无情地绞死了一名联邦军队上尉，以便向其他囚犯展示如果他们不透露他们对联邦活动的所有了解会发生什么区域（第 21 页）。几个月前，这些游骑兵在德克萨斯丘陵地区屠杀了 36 名德国联盟的同情者。随后的十章通常按时间顺序探讨了美国和墨西哥当时肆虐的内战以及因被盗牛而发生的斗争所引起的暴力冲突。柯林斯将典型的德克萨斯游骑兵描绘成“公民士兵”，而不是“专业的律师，”，而且经常“站在法律的'错误的一边”（第 9 页）。领导者，例如被韦伯称赞为英雄的 Leander H. McNelly 船长，在“'他们的目的证明他们的手段'”（第 287 页）的基础上，采用残酷的策略并进行酷刑。柯林斯毫不避讳地揭露来自不同种族和民族群体的人们所犯下的暴力行为；人性的这个阴暗面的存在似乎是他的主题之一。例如，在他对牲畜战争的探索中，他描绘了科曼奇、基卡普和利潘阿帕奇袭击者的残暴行为以及游骑兵的恶毒反应，他们烧毁房屋并杀害妇女和儿童。在另一种情况下，游骑兵袭击了和平的特哈诺农民，以报复一些墨西哥土匪的行动。柯林斯用清晰和描述性的写作风格讲述有趣故事的能力让读者着迷。他挖掘了一系列以前未被充分研究的资源，包括报纸报道、个人文件、政府文件和未发表的手稿收藏。一本引人入胜且通俗易懂的书，适合各种受众，《弯曲的河流》肯定会成为德州游骑兵队和 1861 年至 1877 年间未来许多年的边境暴力的权威描述。