B O O K S

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10/2004. xvii, 160 pages.
0896725367
978-0-89672-536-2

6666: Portrait of a Texas Ranch

Photographs by Wyman Meinzer
Text by Henry Chappell
Foreword by Red Steagall
Afterword by Mike Gibson

"If ever there was a coffee-table book that could exemplify the best of the best, this is it. Wyman Meinzer's photos portray the heart and soul of this historic ranch, but even more important, so do Henry Chappell's words. . . . His sentences drip with vivid imagery, allowing readers to watch a movie in their mind of this west Texas ranch where one's livelihood is still earned, four generations later."—True West

"'The Sixes'—the name alone conjures all the history, romance, and tradition of the West. It's how the West was, and still is, on a 290,000-acre working cattle outfit in Texas. . . . Chappell handily captures the essence of the West Texas cattle outfit and its history. . . . Meinzer's work is eye-candy for those enamored of the ranching lifestyle. This coffee-table volume's a keeper."—Western Horseman

"A sumptuous, beautifully written and illustrated volume that tells the story of one of the largest and most famous ranches in the Panhandle. . . . Meinzer's photographs and Chappell's prose enchant the reader."—Roundup Magazine

"[A] handsome, oversized book featuring lavish photographs. . . . 150 pages of stunning pictures . . . Meinzer has produced about 15 other books that are credits to his talented eye, but this one may be the most impressive yet."—Glen Dromgoole, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

"The cover photograph is dark and rich and leaves no doubt about the subject's grandeur. . . . The Sixes is an iconic Texas ranch and deserves the royal treatment it gets. . . . There are no disappointments in this book."—Forth Worth Star-Telegram

The Four Sixes is not a relic, showpiece, or preserve. It’s a working cattle ranch, some 290,000 acres of West Texas prairie carefully used. Here, men still earn their livelihoods on horseback, not out of blind adherence to tradition, but out of necessity.

Since Samuel “Burk” Burnett began buying rangeland in King County in the 1890s, his cowhands have relied on methods developed by early vaqueros and refined on the great trail drives. In managing cattle, these methods are still the most efficient and humane. Spurs, broad-brimmed hats, and scuffed and patched boots are not fashion statements but essentials—as are loyalty, toughness, and resourcefulness, traits still common to those doing dangerous work in remote country.

Perhaps, though, the Four Sixes’ greatest legacy is the land itself. Across four generations, foremen have striven to nurture and restore, to leave a healthy range. That stewardship has produced some of the richest, most ecologically diverse grassland found on the Southern Plains today.

Meinzer and Chappell’s defining study of the Sixes’ heart, soul, and heritage illuminates and spellbinds, teasing out a continuum that reaches out to and claims us all with rich lessons in give and take, need and nurture, enterprise and farsightedness.

Henry Chappell has written two novels, The Callings and Blood Kin, and an essay collection, At Home on the Range with a Texas Hunter. His work has appeared in Field & Stream, Sports Afield, Texas Highways, and Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine. He lives with his family in Plano, Texas.

Wyman Meinzer, official photographer of the State of Texas, has published more than fifteen books, including Windmill Tales, Great Lonely Places of the Texas Plains, Desert Sanctuaries: The Chinatis of the Big Bend, and Canyons of the Texas High Plains.