In 1954, The Post assigned Teague to illustrate Alan LeMay’s 5-part western serial, The Avenging Texans.  Set during the Texas – Native American Wars, and loosely based on the story of Cynthia Ann Parker, this epic saga details the decade-long effort of protagonists Amos Edwards and his adopted nephew Martin Pawley to find Debbie Edwards, niece to Amos and cousin to Martin, who was abducted by Comanches during a murderous raid on her parents’ homestead.  After several fruitless searches in Comanche Country, they finally find Debbie – but the drama is far from over…  If the plot sounds familiar, LeMay’s book version of the story was published under a different name: The Searchers.  In 1956, The Searchers was made into one of the all-time great American movies, staring John Wayne and directed by John Ford.

The Avenging Texans would prove to be Teague’s last long-format serial illustration assignment for The Post.  And in it, he did not disappoint.  From the grisly first illustration and the hair-raising snatching of Debbie, through the violent Comanche ambush, to the final illustration with The Rangers riding into battle, Teague’s mastery of western illustration is on full display.  Teague’s youngest daughter Hilary served as the model for the young Debbie, and his older daughter Linda served as the model for the older Debbie.  Artist friend Jack Swanson served as the model for several characters.  One interesting factoid: the dress Hilary wore when modeling was worn by Vivien Leigh during the burning of Atlanta sequences in Gone With The Wind.  Teague’s friend Bill Menzies had previously given Teague this dress to use in his illustration work.

The Avenging Texans is presented below in its entirety, along with some material from the Teague archive.  Story text has been omitted for a cleaner presentation.