A must read for the fan of ranching history and Texana, The Spurs, by W.J. “Scotch” Bill Elliott, tells the stories of the first cowboys to ride for the old Spur Ranch located in Dickens County, Texas. Elliott was among those first cowmen and tells the stories of the men he knew personally who traversed the area where the Texas Rolling Plains meets the Caprock Escarpment in West Texas.

A native of Scotland, Elliott arrived at the headquarters of the Espuela Land and Cattle Company on April 28, 1888 to become the ranch bookkeeper. He later participated in the surveying of the town of Espuela, Texas in 1891 and managed the general store and was postmaster until the store and post office were closed in 1910.

The Spurs was first published and printed by The Texas Spur in 1939. It had a second printing in 1972. Until now the book has been out of print and virtually unavailable except to those fortunate few who ran across it accidentally and paid a high price to purchase it. The Texas Spur, in honor of the 100th birthday of the town of Spur, Texas and its own 100th year of publication, has republished The Spurs in its original format complete with photographs.