I'll Gather My Geese

by Hallie Crawford Stillwell

Book Overview

In 1916, Hallie Crawford went to teach school in Presidio, just across the Rio Grande from Ojinaga, Mexico, which had been recently captured by Pancho Villa. Hallie's father, considering this a dangerous place for a young woman of nineteen to live alone, told her he thought she was going on a wild goose chase. "Then I'll gather my geese," she told him, with determination and independence. These traits stayed with Hallie all her life, and were indispensable...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0890964785
• ISBN13: 9780890964781
• Release Date: June 1991
• Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.8" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Legendary West Texas Ranchwoman

Hallie Stillwell's book is a must read for those interested in the history of the Big Bend region of Texas. She is a Texas legend. The book covers the first half of her extraordinary life in the Big Bend. Hallie Stillwell did not have it easy. It was hard to make a living by ranching in the Texas Big Bend and still is. She created a family business and legacy by determination, perseverance, and an eagerness to learn and contribute. Go see the Stillwell Hall of Fame and Museum, south of Marathon and north of the Big Bend National Park.

Enjoyable

I'll Gather my Geese is an interesting look at the life of a woman living in the rugged Big Bend area of Texas. Adventure, hardship and danger could not dim Mrs. Stillwells spirit.

Ranchwoman's Autobiography

The picture of Hallie and her cousins on the cover of "I'll gather my Geese" sold me on the book. What a bunch of sassy cowgirls! Hallie tells us in the preface that she never set out to write a masterpiece, but she did tell a very fine story of ranch life in the first part of the 19th century in the Big Bend area of Texas. Hallie's spirit is invincible, and her humorous anecdotes of ranch life kept me laughing. Hallie's family survived droughts, huge dust storms and the Great Depression. The story ends with Roy's death (Hallie's husband); as Hallie is about to give in and sell off all the cattle, the rains come. I am waiting for the publication of her next book on the next 50 years of her life "My Goose is Cooked". (...)

Excellent account of Hallie's life from about 1897-1950s

I met Hallie Stillwell in 1991 in Ft. Davis. I have camped in Big Bend and area, and her book told of her life around there - her early life, the dangers of the area, her marriage to Roy, her children, her ranchlife plus living back and forth from ranch to Marathon. It is an excellent account of Western life at that time - hot, dusty, busy, trying to survive, herding cattle, raising children, enjoying the land. She wrote well. It's easy to read though it jumps around some. She has a second book which I have not been able to locate. She died about the fall of '97, just short of her 100th birthday. Her ranch is still near Big Bend (about 45 miles south of Marathon and 20+ miles above the Rio Grande) and has a trailer park, general store, and an excellent museum.