A man, a dog, and a horse. The call of the wild geese. A very smart doctor from the east who finds there is a lot to learn from these desert people. A woman loved by three men. A gunslinger who has a debt to settle. Max Brand brings them all together in another one of his over three hundred exciting western tales. Brand is not your typical western writer.
Charlie Brooke is always rescuing others, and sometimes even himself! His latest rescue, though, could turn out to be fatal...
Thoroughly engaging, at times even harrowing, adventure tale set in the San Francisco gold rush. Detailed depiction of its time and place, complete with everything from mining techniques to societal attitudes. You'll feel like you're in the diggings.
Thirteen short stories by a popular writer of the early 20th century (not to be confused with an earlier book Blazed Trail). White's books were popular at a time when America was losing its vanishing wilderness. He was a keen observer of the beauties of nature and human nature, yet could render them in a plain-spoken style. Based on his own experience, whether writing camping journals or Westerns, he included pithy and fun details about cabin-building, canoeing, logging, gold-hunting, and guns and fishing and hunting. He also interviewed people who had been involved in the fur trade, the California gold rush and other pioneers which provided him with details that give his novels verisimilitude. He salted in humor and sympathy for colorful characters such as canny Indian guides and "greenhorn" campers who carried too much gear.
Billy Boyle, tough, honest, plain dealing, is at home on the range. He knows cattle and horses better than most. Alexander P. Dill, the merchant from Michigan, knows little of livestock and needs Billy’s help to make it in the business. Billy is eager to oblige, but can he beat the weather, the barbed wire, and the mysterious maneuvers of old man Brown? And what is the Pilgrim up to? Surely no good when it comes to Flora Bridger, who Billy wants to make his own.
Yee-Haw!! The Pony Rider Boys are on the move again! This time they are on their way to Bluewater, New Mexico, ready for whatever adventure they can find. But this time, trouble spots them on the train. Will the Pony Rider Boys be able to handle whatever comes their way?
Bull Hunter was a man who could rip a tree trunk from the ground with his bare hands or tame the wildest stallion with his kind manner. But Pete Reeve didn't have the reputation of a dead shot because he relied on his common sense. Then Bull and Pete crossed paths, and townsfolk braced for the battle.
Whispering Smith, like most of Frank Spearman's western novels (and some non-fiction as well) are set in the world of railroads, in the late 1800's. The main character, Gordon Smith, is a railroad detective; he first appears in this novel, then later in others. This novel was popular enough to be made into film eight times (four being silent) and into a TV series. In this novel, Smith finds that the culprit of the railroad mishaps he is investigating is a close friend, Murray Sinclair. That plot may seem overworked, but Spearman makes it nuanced enough for it to be quite interesting; two interwoven romances are included. The strongest feature of Spearman's novels is probably his beautiful descriptions of the American western landscapes. His character descriptions and plots also hold up well against the other writers of westerns of the early 1900's.
The Great West, prior to the century's turn, abounded in legend. Stories were told of fabled gunmen whose bullets always magically found their mark, of mighty stallions whose tireless gallop rivaled the speed of the wind, of glorious women whose beauty stunned mind and heart. But nowhere in the vast spread of the mountain-desert country was there a greater legend told than the story of Red Pierre and the phantom gunfighter, McGurk.
These two men of the wilderness, so unalike, of widely-differing backgrounds, had in common a single trait: each was unbeatable. Fate brought them clashing together, thunder to thunder, lightning to lightning. They were destined to meet at the crossroads of a long, long trail ... a trail which began in the northern wastes of Canada and led, finally, to a deadly confrontation in the mountains of the Far West.
Of all the stirring tales of this picturesque region of the Santa Catalinas, of all the romantic legends and traditions that have come down to us from its shadowy past, none is more filled with the essence of human life and love and hopes and dreams than is the tale of the Mine with the Iron Door.
This Arizona-set western at the turn of the 20th century features an Irish lord named Balshannon, his American helper Chalkeye, and a cattle-rustler's son named Curly.
Edward Sylvester Ellis was a major American author during the era of inexpensive fiction of the nineteenth century (dime novels). Because he wrote under dozens of pseudonyms, as well as under his own name, it is virtually impossible to know exactly how many books he wrote, but it is believed to be in the hundreds. He specialized in boys' stories, inspirational biography, and history for both children and adults. (From FictionDB.com)This is a western, set in the Pecos River valley in the late 19th century, post Civil War era.
"Two, four, six, eight," he muttered to himself at intervals. "Yes, there are eight of them."Again he laid his ear to the ground and listened."Yes, there are eight of them, sure enough," he again muttered; and then, after a pause, he added: "But two of them are mules, I think; and they are coming right down hitherward."Then he looked to his rifle lock, and cocked his piece."Unless they turn aside when they reach the timber, they will be on me in five minutes; and if they know the forest, they will not turn, that's certain; for here's the only place where you can find hard bottom to ride in and out of the old Bravo, for ten miles up and down."He paused from his soliloquy, listened again, and then a smile crept across his intelligent face.
A tale from the 1800s in the Texas plains written by British author Henry William Herbert.
Yee-hawww! The Pony Rider Boys are on the trail again! In the second book of this series, Professor Zepplin has taken the young men to San Diego, Texas, to experience the life of a cowboy. The cattle drive will take them across the great state of Texas, where they will meet many dangers and adventures.
Adams breathes life into the story of a Texas cowboy who becomes a wealthy and influential cattleman..
There's bad blood between Rowland ''Rowdy'' Vaughan and Harry Conroy. Really bad blood. But Rowdy is crazy about Harry's sister, Jessie. Really crazy. And Jessie thinks the world of Harry and doesn't believe he would ever do anything bad, but...
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Ostensibly a love story, the novel really revolves around a highly mythologized version of the Johnson County War in 1890's Wyoming ... The novel takes the side of the large ranchers, and depicts the lynchings as frontier justice, meted out by the protagonist, who is a member of a natural aristocracy among men.
(from Wikipedia)
Glenn Kilbourne returns from the war and travels to Arizona to regain his health. There he is nursed back to health by an Arizona girl, Flo Hutter Kilbourne's fiancée, Carley Burch arrives in Arizona but soon becomes disillusioned with life in the West and returns to New York. Carley soon learns that life in the Big City is not what she really wants. Should she return to Arizaona? Will Glen still love Her?
Not only a great love story, Grey, as usual, describes the environment in all its glory.
Bret Harte (August 25, 1836 – May 6, 1902) was an American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California.
The Rainbow Trail is a sequel to The Riders of the Purple Sage. Both novels are notable for their protagonists' mild opposition to Mormon polygamy, but in The Rainbow Trail this theme is treated more explicitly. The plots of both books revolve around the victimization of women in the Mormon culture: events in Riders of the Purple Sage are centered on the struggle of a Mormon woman who sacrifices her wealth and social status to avoid becoming a junior wife of the head of a local church, while The Rainbow Trail contrasts the older Mormons with the rising generation of Mormon women who will not tolerate polygamy and Mormon men who do not seek it.
The story follows an ancient feud between two frontier families that is inflamed when one of the families takes up cattle rustling. The ranchers are led by Jean Isbel and, on the other side, Lee Jorth and his band of cattle rustlers. In the grip of a relentless code of loyalty to their own people, they fight the war of the Tonto Basin, desperately, doggedly, to the last man, neither side seeing the futility of it until it is too late. And in this volatile environment, young Jean finds himself hopelessly in love with a girl from whom he is separated by an impassable barrier.
The town of Linrock, located in Pecos County in south Texas, has fallen under the control of a gang of rustlers. Two Texas Lone Star Rangers are sent to Linrock to clean up the town .They soon fall in love with two girls who may be related to the leader of the gang of rustlers.There seems to be no good choice for these two dedicated lawmen.
A collection of short stories by the legendary O. Henry.
Jack Hare is a young cowboy who was rescued from sure death by an old settler by the name of August Naab. Hare learns that Naab's ranch is a dangerous place and is challenged by cattle thieves and a corrupt rancher who is after Naab's water rights. The greatest danger Hare faces though, is over Mescal, a half-Navajo shepherdess who is already promised in marriage to Naab's first-born son. Hare must stop the marriage, but can't kill the son of his benefactor, August Naab...until a gun battle with rustlers brings the two face-to-face over drawn pistols.
The heart of a stallion; the heart of a man; the heart of a woman. Three valiant, authentic, and determined souls cross each others' paths, and the sparks fly. We'll leave it to you to find out what kind of sparks.
The central interest of this story is found in the many adventures of an English lad who seeks employment as a cowboy on a cattle ranch. His experiences during a "roundup" present in picturesque form the toilsome, exciting, adventurous life of a cowboy; while the perils of a frontier settlement are vividly set forth in an Indian raid, accompanied by pillage, capture, and recapture. The story is packed full of breezy adventure.
In 1866, only men uprooted by war had reason to ride into Tubacca, Arizona, a nondescript town as shattered and anonymous as the veterans drifting through it. So when Drew Rennie, newly discharged from Forrest’s Confederate scouts, arrived leading everything he owned behind him—his thoroughbred stud Shiloh, a mare about to foal, and a mule—he knew his business would not be questioned. To anyone in Tubacca there could be only one extraordinary thing about Drew, and that he could not reveal: his name, Rennie.
Drew had come west from Kentucky to find a father he had thought dead until the year before. Kinship with a man like Hunt Rennie, however—the legendary Don Cazar, owner of a matchless range and prize stallions—was not a claim to be made quickly or lightly. Posing as Drew Kirby the young veteran contrived to get himself and his friend Anse hired as corral hands at Rennie’s Range, but he was hardly prepared for the suspicion and danger which stood between him and his father. As hotheaded as his father, Drew was ready to move on to California—until the day all proof of his Rennie name was stolen from him, and his unwarranted arrest for horse-thieving brought on the accusations of the one man whose trust he needed.
Andre Norton’s _Ride Proud, Rebel!_ dramatically portrayed the last year of the Confederacy, when brave men like Drew Rennie met defeat with honor. In this sequel, Drew’s struggle to establish his identity and begin life anew in a raw, unsettled land reflects the courage of thousands of rootless men set adrift by the Civil War.
Settlers are lured to Montana by a land boom syndicate in a scheme that encroaches on the Flying U Ranch. Members of the Flying U attempt to thwart the land-grab, as its very existence is threatened. So begins a dramatically engrossing novel involving an array of fascinating characters, some innocent, others decidedly not. A spunky child goes missing, a prairie fire is set, and a romance begins. B. M. Bower wrote 57 acclaimed works based on the American Old West, with some of her most popular books centering on the Flying U Ranch. She also scripted several Western movies.
Andy Adams worked as a cowboy on trail drives from Texas for eight years. This is an account of a drive when he was the foreman of a herd of Texas cattle being driven to Montana. Expect the same quality writing as found in other books by Adams.
These eight stories are made from our Western Frontier as it was in a past as near as yesterday and almost as by-gone as the Revolution; so swiftly do we proceed. They belong to each other in a kinship of life and manners, and a little through the nearer tie of having here and there a character in common. Thus they resemble faintly the separate parts of a whole, and gain, perhaps, something of the invaluable weight of length; and they have been received by my closest friends with suspicion. ...When our national life, our own soil, is so rich in adventures to record, what need is there for one to call upon his invention save to draw, if he can, characters who shall fit these strange and dramatic scenes? One cannot improve upon such realities. If this fiction is at all faithful to the truth from which it springs, let the thanks be given to the patience and boundless hospitality of the Army friends and other friends across the Missouri who have housed my body and instructed my mind. And if the stories entertain the ignorant without grieving the judicious I am content.
If you enjoy a fast moving western dealing with vengeance and well-deserved payback, you'll like The Rangeland Avenger by Max Brand. A soft spoken but ruthless gunman cuts a path of deadly payback across the Wild West in this exciting adventure.
Lin McLean is an unaffected, attractive young cowboy in the Wyoming territory before statehood. This book is various stories in his life.
This 1898 collection of thirteen previously published articles exhibits the acute perception of one of the most popular writers of the late 19th-early 20th centuries. “These "Tales of the Trail" are based upon actual facts which came under the personal observation of the author… and will form another interesting series of stories of that era of great adventures, when the country west of the Missouri was unknown except to the trappers, hunters, and army officers.” Henry Inman (1837 – 1899) was an American soldier, frontiersman, and author. He served in the military during the Indian campaigns and the American Civil War, having earned distinction for gallantry on the battlefield. He was commissioned lieutenant general during the Indian wars. He settled in Kansas and worked as a journalist and author of short stories and books of the plains and western frontier.
This is a well written story of the California gold rush of 1849. Four friends decide they are going to go to California and get rich in the gold fields. Follow their adventures as they travel to California across the isthmus of Panama to San Francisco. In their search for gold they encounter hostile Indians, various desperadoes, and natural disasters. Did they strike it rich? Listen and find out.
A young Easterner, Hollis, a newspaper reporter, arrives in a small western town, to inherit his father’s ranch and his newspaper. He discovers that the town and the entire county are controlled by an unscrupulous cattleman, Dunlavey. This guy is a law unto himself, stealing cattle from his neighbors, who are powerless to defend themselves because he also owns the local sheriff. Can Hollis overcome these obstacles and insure that the county is run by the rule of law?
A fast-paced old time western. Squint Taylor, a rancher and long time resident of Dawes, is challenged by a crooked newcomer for the position of mayor. Through unscrupulous dealings carried on by a crooked Carrington, Squint lis cheated out of winning the mayoral election. Taylor, and some honest citizens fight to retake the town from the Carrington crowd. Of course, it wouldn’t be a true western without one of the main characters being a beautiful young woman.
A collection of short stories set in the American West at the end of the 19th century.
Frederick Schiller Faust (1892-1944), is best known today for his western fiction. Faust was born in Seattle, Washington and at an early age moved with his parents to the San Joaquin Valley in California where he worked as a ranch hand. After a failed attempt to enlist in the Great War in 1917 and with the help of Mark Twain's sister he met Robert Hobart Davis, editor of All-Story Weekly and became a regular contributor, writing under his most used pseudonym “Max Brand”. He wrote in many genres during his career and produced more than 300 western novels and stories. His most famous characters were Destry and Dr. Kildare, both of which were produced in film. Faust was killed in Italy in 1944 as a front line war correspondent at the age of 51. He is buried in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy.
Ronicky Doone (1926) is a hero of the west, respected by the law-abiding citizen and hated by bushwhacking bandits. Bill Gregg is a man in love, not about to be deflected from meeting his lady love for the first time, and willing to stand up to the living legend to reach her. This initial meeting leads to a friendship between the two and they travel east to New York City on the trail of the girl. When they find the girl, Caroline Smith, and she refuses to leave, Ronicky must discover the secret that holds her. They encounter the sinister John Mark and the beautiful Ruth Tolliver and are exposed to the horrors and vices of big city life as they attempt to rescue Caroline and find their way back to the mountain-desert of the west.
Youth And The Bright Medusa comprises eight short stories published in 1920. Four of them (The Sculptor’s Funeral; A Death In The Desert; A Wagner Matinee; Paul’s Case) are re-worked from an earlier collection, The Troll Garden, published in 1905. This LibriVox recording contains in addition the three stories (Flavia And Her Artists; The Garden Lodge; The Marriage Of Phaedra) from that earlier work omitted in the later book. In other words, all the stories in both books are recorded here.
Murray (1840-1904) was a sometime clergyman, journalist, and purveyor of the outdoor life. His books did much to popularize the virtues of outdoor experience, especially in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. Here are stories, some humorous some serious, of the out-of-doors, of love between man and woman, man and horse, man and dog, teacher and acolyte, of wisdom and foolishness. This recording is a selection of his short stories from "The Busted Ex-Texan And Other Stories" (1889), "How Deacon Tubman And Parson Whitney Kept New Years And Other Stories" (1888) and "A Ride With A Mad Horse In A Freight-Car" (1898).
Many men swore that The Orphan was bad, and many swore profanely and with wonderful command of epithets because he was bad, but for obvious reasons that was as far as the majority went to show their displeasure. Those of the minority who had gone farther and who had shown their hatred by rash actions only proved their foolishness; for they had indeed gone far and would return no more. But Sheriff Jim Shields is tracking The Orphan, wanted for the murder of sheepherders, and won’t stop until he brings the bad man to justice.
Often billed as the second book in Clarence Mulford’s Hopalong Cassidy series, Hoppy doesn’t appear in this one, but it’s still as rip-roaring a western as you’ll ever see.
Three different fantastic adventures of the legendary scout Buffalo Bill.
Four short stories by Mary Hallock Foote (1847–1938), an American author and illustrator. She is best known for her illustrated short stories and novels portraying life in the mining communities of the turn-of-the-century American West. She is famous for her stories of place, in which she portrayed the rough, picturesque life she experienced and observed in the old West, especially that in the early mining towns. She wrote several novels, and illustrated stories and novels by other authors for various publishers. She died at age 90. Her legacy in American history is as a stalwart of the American Old West and a teller of its stories. Her work—the numerous stories for books and periodicals, with her drawings and woodcut illustrations; the correspondence from western outposts; her novels and nonfiction—gained her notice as a skilled observer of the frontier
Five stories of Army life in the mid to late 19th century. Charles King (1844 – 1933) was a United States soldier and a distinguished writer. He wrote and edited over 60 books and novels. Among his list of titles are Campaigning with Crook, Fort Frayne, Under Fire and Daughter of the Sioux.
Six short stories by Mary Hallock Foote (1847–1938), an American author and illustrator. She is best known for her illustrated short stories and novels portraying life in the mining communities of the turn-of-the-century American West. She is famous for her stories of place, in which she portrayed the rough, picturesque life she experienced and observed in the old West, especially that in the early mining towns. She wrote several novels, and illustrated stories and novels by other authors for various publishers. She died at age 90. Her legacy in American history is as a stalwart of the American Old West and a teller of its stories. Her work—the numerous stories for books and periodicals, with her drawings and woodcut illustrations; the correspondence from western outposts; her novels and nonfiction—gained her notice as a skilled observer of the frontier and an accomplished writer.
Yee-Haw!! The Pony Rider Boys are on the move again! This time the boys are in the Ozark Mountains in Missouri. With Joe Hawk, or Eagle-eye, guiding them, Professor Zepplin and the Pony Rider Boys are sure to find many adventures in this action-packed, fourth book of this series by Frank Gee Patchin.
Yee-Haw!! The Pony Rider Boys are on the move again. This time the boys at Delaware Creek, dead in their saddles. They had been riding long and hard into Texas, looking forward to their next adventure. But, trouble finds them once again, this time Stacy Brown may have been shot! What will happen next is anyone's guess.
Yee-Haaw! The Pony Rider Boys are on the move again! In this book, the 3rd of the series, the boys have decided that they want to explore the north country. They also want to make their own arrangements for the adventure, with the approval of Professor Zepplin, of course! So they have arrived in Forsythe, Montana, to try their luck in the mountains.