Album Notes

SONG OF THE BALCONES by
Robert Bogan

Introduction


After decades of hostilities, in 1827 the young Republic of Mexico joined a peace treaty with Barbaquista, Great Chief of the Comanche in Texas. Four years later, two renegade Comanche tribes launched a series of attacks against Mexican interests in Texas, and spread lies blaming other tribes, the Waco and Tawakoni.

On October 18, 1831, Mexico sent from San Antonio a force of 200 men to stop those attacks and punish the attackers. After weeks of pursuing their objective, before dawn on November 13, the force massacred an innocent Towakoni village. Among the slaughtered lay Great Chief Barbaquista, the peacemaker.

For revenge, the survivors of this assault launched two attacks in one day. On November 21, the combined forces from several tribes ambushed their attackers on their way back to San Antonio. Seventy miles to the west, a larger number surprised a small, unrelated expedition led by Jim Bowie who was raiding a hoard of Apache silver

These battles are part of a longer war, the tragic clash of three cultures in Central Texas that resulted in genocide. Song of the Balcones tells part of the story that J. Frank Dobie called ‘the great epic of Texas.’ Many of these characters, such as Bowie and the narrator, Deaf Smith, played a part in the Texian Revolt five years later.

Written to be read aloud with music Song of the Balcones is a 750-line dramatic monolog composed in iambic pentameter, arranged in five cantos. This historical narrative entertains as silent reading and in musical performance. It would also make a good movie!

Although the narrative stands complete, the author is currently compiling research, some original, into maps and a glossary for eventual inclusion.

ABOUT THIS PERFORMANCE

On August 21, 1988, Howie Richie brought together Robert Bogan, Bill Averbach and other musicians who improvised without rehearsal this performance of Song of the Balcones in a broadcast from KUT FM's Studio 1A in Austin, Texas.