tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51471347369830604102024-02-21T05:22:02.333-05:00Spur&LockDuane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-26037896291301044392019-12-29T23:26:00.000-05:002019-12-29T23:26:16.579-05:00Comanche Moon by William R. Cox<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3-thQxz4sycLH8ILCPjR7IWflA11x6jnVa7Cuq9GCMT05RZxAwzOo3HaJs9FrOjW3bhBwUyJjnKBNHEfqVWcIWiLVW_CrmOSTKX1vwH9XSrX2lNvvFsZBGKH5UKX3B8QIv0fTB1euwgg/s1600/Comance+Moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1451" data-original-width="899" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3-thQxz4sycLH8ILCPjR7IWflA11x6jnVa7Cuq9GCMT05RZxAwzOo3HaJs9FrOjW3bhBwUyJjnKBNHEfqVWcIWiLVW_CrmOSTKX1vwH9XSrX2lNvvFsZBGKH5UKX3B8QIv0fTB1euwgg/s320/Comance+Moon.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The 2nd printing of the Signet paperback edition. <br />(The 1st printing was in 1961, but the 75 cents<br />tag suggests this came later in the decade.)<br />My copy looks more beat-up than this one.</td></tr>
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<b>I didn’t know William R. Cox’s name</b> when I first encountered
his writing. It was a novel featuring drifting Thomas Buchanan, a self-proclaimed
“peaceable man” who somehow ends up in trouble—usually someone else’s trouble, but
it’s someone who must rely on Buchanan to clear up the mess. The Buchanan
series of westerns was published by Fawcett-Gold Medal—currently Piccadilly
Publishing is re-releasing the novels in the ebooks format—as written by Jonas
Ward. William Ard created the series, the first novel of which was published in
1956. Ard completed only five books in the series. He died while writing the
sixth, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081M81TS7/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thepulprack-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B081M81TS7&linkId=17736bb7871a238eb64d32cf92d4a45a" target="_blank">Buchanan on the Prod</a>, which was finished by Robert Silverberg. Brian
Garfield, immersed in writing westerns before publishing his breakout novel (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/146830366X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thepulprack-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=146830366X&linkId=de217954d5175c44a98107563a0fab22" target="_blank">DeathWish</a>), wrote the next—<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081LJJ22C/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thepulprack-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B081LJJ22C&linkId=1015d6a30b6181aeaffbe16d2765919c" target="_blank">Buchanan’s Gun</a>, and Cox took over the series with
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HZ3G7V6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thepulprack-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07HZ3G7V6&linkId=d45361895735f66d9e504d022faac552" target="_blank">Buchanan’s War</a> (1971). He ended up writing more Buchanans than Ard, a total of
sixteen books. To be honest, I prefer Cox’s Buchanan to Ard’s version.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Comanche Moon</i> was published under Cox’s name in 1959, twelve
years before Fawcett released his first Buchanan. The earlier book develops a tone
that is harder-boiled than the overall feel of most Buchanan novels, but
includes elements one can see arise later in Cox’s Buchanan tales.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For example, <i>Comanche Moon</i> brings together a disparate group
of people—an old plot device even at the time Chaucer used it for <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140424385/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thepulprack-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0140424385&linkId=fd42c606d0d383bd38e73c408433541e" target="_blank">TheCanterbury Tales</a></i>—which happens in several Buchanan stories. Further, <i>Comanche
Moon</i> focuses on this group trapped in Comanche Station, a stage-line station
halfway between Pecos and El Paso, by a war band of raiding Indians. In 1973’s
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MCVN98K/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thepulprack-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07MCVN98K&linkId=220e9a112b61e96abb96c1d27350ea00" target="_blank">Buchanan’s Siege</a>, the eponymous hero and a band of allies are trapped by a
large gang of badguys.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The main difference in the two books is that the Buchanan
stories typically have an identified villain, usually a land baron or crooked
banker or swindler working toward a big score. For <i>Comanche Moon</i>, the threat
comes from a large gathering of Comanches. Cox makes them essentially faceless and thoroughly
vicious presences—think of the attackers in John Carpenter’s <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011RO88C4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thepulprack-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B011RO88C4&linkId=45ffa8fa122d78cf6af5ab16aae9f94e" target="_blank">Assault on Precinct 13</a>—who form
the stereotypical savage Indians from innumerable Hollywood oaters. While the massed
warriors surrounding the station may not—from Cox’s perspective—consciously represent
the nightmarish, primeval wilderness arrayed against the representatives of
civilization trapped within their deadly circle (harking to cultural critic and
historian Richard Slotkin’s <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806132299/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thepulprack-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0806132299&linkId=f1c35afac07d0073cd91271b31333cd2" target="_blank">Regeneration Through Violence</a></i> [“the eternal
presence of the native people of the woods, dark of skin and seemingly dark of
mind, mysterious, bloody, cruel”] and literary critic Leslie Fiedler in <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1564781631/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thepulprack-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1564781631&linkId=8c3beedb973a1daabaab4b8053a017f9" target="_blank">Loveand Death in the American Novel</a></i> discussing Charles Brockden Brown’s 1799
novel, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140390626/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thepulprack-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0140390626&linkId=01b158d7838215495736f504b26d094e" target="_blank">Edgar Huntly</a></i> [“It is not the Indian as social victim that appeals
to Brown’s imagination, but the Indian as projection of natural evil and the
id; his red men are therefore treated essentially as animals, living extensions
of the threat of the wilderness, like the panthers with whom they are
associated”]), Cox occasionally describes them in ways that echo these dark shadows
that haunt civilization’s dreams. As one character states, “They fight to kill.
They try to kill you all over, not just in one place.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Other passages that demonstrate their bogeyman qualities:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They were riding harder and harder.
There were so many of them that it seemed they could ride right through the
buildings, sweeping everything away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They were coming as he remembered a
storm marching across a wheat field and it was like shooting at slanting
raindrops.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Only three members of this mass of warriors are named. More on
them later in this essay.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Another similarity between this novel and the Buchanan
series: <i>Comanche Moon</i>’s Luke Post is a small-statured gambler who’s full of chutzpah,
savvy about the wily and cowardly ways of cornered men, and quick with a gun;
Thomas Buchanan mentions at least once per story his acquaintance with
real-life Luke Short, a diminutive cardsharp known for his gun skills. (This is
<u>not</u> <i>Luke Short</i>, the pseudonym of prolific pulp- and
slick-fictioneer Frederick Glidden. Bat Masterson <a href="https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-lukeshort/" target="_blank">wrote </a>in 1907 of the actual Short,
“Luke was a little fellow, so to speak, about five feet, six inches in height,
and weighing in the neighborhood of one hundred and forty pounds. It was a
small package, but one of great dynamic force.” Clearly, Short’s history made quite an impression on author Cox.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Quite different from the easy-going but effective Tom
Buchanan</b> is Cox’s ostensible protagonist, Pierce—who initially appears to the
reader in the guise of a hard-boiled, amoral anti-hero remarkably savvy about
fighting Comanches, but who later is revealed to be haunted by demons even he can’t
restrain.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We’re introduced to Pierce as he’s going about his business—collecting
Indian scalps that he sells to the Mexican government. It’s an ugly business about
which he appears to have no qualms. Indeed, his initial appearance suggests he
might fit in very well with the band that marauds its way through Cormac
McCarthy’s <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679728759/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thepulprack-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0679728759&linkId=3488782e6fda9f974869d6337a54b3eb" target="_blank">Blood Meridian</a></i>. When his two companions are apparently ambushed
by a scouting party—their fate remains unknown, because the two simply disappear
after Pierce sends them to surprise an Indian family—Pierce gives no thought to
rescuing them or even looking for them before skedaddling to a safer location.
It doesn’t matter that the two companions are clearly lowlife-types with no more
human regard for their victims than Pierce. That Pierce abandons them to
certain death—or, more likely, to horrible torture and then death—with no more
consideration than he gives his Comanche victims, immediately frames his
character for the reader.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Cox doesn’t even tell us Pierce’s full name. We know only
that he’s called White Eye Pierce:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“White Eye,” they called him,
because of the rage which made glass of his eyes when he caught them unprepared
and killed them and took their hair. They hunted him and he hunted them, and so
far as he was concerned that was proper and the way it had to be. There would
never be an end to this so long as Josie was alive and with them, never.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Only later in the novel does Pierce fully reveal the source
of his hatred. He tells one of the trapped travelers, Ben Tyler—a sympathetic
and mostly honorable fellow from the East—how the Comanches had killed his
parents when he was young, and made captives of him and his sister, Josie; how
they’d repeatedly raped his sister until one of the war chiefs, Bear Head, had
taken her as a wife; how Pierce, once he was older, had repeatedly implored Josie
to escape with him, but she had refused, pointing to the children she’d borne
as tying her to the tribe. The first of these children, Walking Jay, had been
the child of one of her rapists and was adopted by Bear Head. And Pierce
realized that he’d lost all chance of removing her from the Comanches once she’d
become pregnant, but he continually fought an internal battle over the pre-captivity
sister he’d adored and the adopted Comanche she’d become and that he hated.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Late in the novel, Pierce encounters and kills Walking Jay, his nephew--and his sister's first-born son. Several times he sees Bear Head guiding the warriors during their attacks. And at least once, Pierce sees his sister at Bear Head's side, encouraging the war chief's efforts. It is a sight that nearly crumbles Pierce's precarious mental state.</div>
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Tyler is sympathetic to Pierce’s anguish, and he admires his
leadership qualities among the besieged as well as his fighting acumen, but he’s also
repulsed by the vile manner by which Pierce expresses his hatred toward the Comanches.
Although Tyler is among those trapped by the native warriors, he can’t quite
align himself with Pierce’s view that the Comanches are aliens whose existence
is completely antithetical to anything non-Comanche.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is Tyler’s observations of Pierce through the rest of the
novel that lift the scalp hunter from a mere two-dimensional hating and killing
machine to a fully formed character.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Cox demonstrates his storytelling skill</b> by successfully fleshing
out Pierce’s character into a believable personality. The writer truly shines
in delineating the other characters trapped at the station. While the scenes of
action and violence lend a pulse to the plot that pulls along the reader from
Chapter One, it’s the quieter moments of interaction between the twelve men and
two women that knit the narrative cords binding the story into a cohesive,
entertaining whole. As in the best tales, the tension that builds between
characters—builds, ebbs, and sometimes explodes—engages the reader in a way far
stronger than the external drama (the surrounding threat of the bloodthirsty
Comanches) that frames the visceral scenes within the walls of the station. The
emotions, the scheming, the cowardice, the dreaming, the foolishness, the
heroics of these fourteen characters are what truly bring <i>Comanche Moon</i>
to life. The heightened moments Cox composes inside the surrounded station at
times rival those dramatic, claustrophobic, deadly scenes that often mark Harry
Whittington’s best-remembered books.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Cox, who wrote scripts for a number of television shows over
the years, notes at the novel’s beginning that it originally was developed as a
screen treatment. My research turns up no info suggesting the story was ever
filmed, but its scenes suggest it could have made a powerful movie. It has all
the elements to be such: an outsider protagonist with a troubled past that
haunts his present, an ensemble cast with room for a variety of character
actors, a dramatic plot. Although Anthony Mann and other directors were making
noirish, hard-boiled westerns in this vein during the 1950s, some of Cox’s lurid
or sexual details might have had to be diluted for the tale to have made it to the screen at that
time. Still, there’s plenty of room for an enterprising director to tackle a motion
picture based on <i>Comanche Moon</i> today.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>This is a strong, excellent novel composed in the guise of a
traditional western.</b> As noted earlier, Piccadilly Publishing is releasing Cox’s
Buchanan novels. The company also is releasing another series Cox wrote under
his own name—the Cemetery Jones novels—plus a number of Cox’s stand-alone
westerns. As of this writing, <i>Comanche Moon </i>isn’t yet one of these, but be on the lookout, as it would
surely be a fine addition to their catalog.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-42084625189289421292019-08-26T16:14:00.002-04:002019-08-26T16:14:41.001-04:00Lewis B. Patten's rough-hewn Ruthless Men<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudHcKrXlLWQWvPmoCrrE1JRNEb6r3Vq7ZClVy7t03fybMNzGZ_LBdkcH2WD6lrntpGmcw66GuQjEAs2LSpEeBsL_5GwR-MtWJJp0INYJhacaN300kyeZJmf7cWeDm-G7SoWCBUjX6IgA/s1600/the+Ruthless+men-Patten-frt+cvr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="962" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudHcKrXlLWQWvPmoCrrE1JRNEb6r3Vq7ZClVy7t03fybMNzGZ_LBdkcH2WD6lrntpGmcw66GuQjEAs2LSpEeBsL_5GwR-MtWJJp0INYJhacaN300kyeZJmf7cWeDm-G7SoWCBUjX6IgA/s320/the+Ruthless+men-Patten-frt+cvr.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
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According to Wikipedia, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Ruthless Men</i> was the second of four novels written by Lewis B. Patten
published in 1959. All were paperback originals. This and one other of the four
were published by Fawcett Gold Medal. The other two were published by Avon
Books.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Patten had been publishing novels for seven years by this
time—his first published <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">story</i>,
according to Robert E. Briney in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Best
Western Stories of Lewis B. Patten</i> by Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenberg
[Southern Illinois University Press: 1987], appeared in the April 1950 issue of
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zane Grey’s Western Magazine</i>.
According to the “Bibliography of Western Publications,” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ruthless Men</i> was his twenty-first novel for adults (Pronzini and
Greenberg)—he’d also written at least three novels for younger readers
featuring Gene Autry and Jim Bowie (what we’d call tie-in novels today) for
Whitman Books and Big Little Books.<o:p></o:p></div>
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All that preamble is to say, Patten’s apprenticeship was
done by 1959. He knew what he was doing as a storyteller of traditional
westerns. For the most part, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Ruthless
Men</i> demonstrates the truth of that statement. In other ways, it also
demonstrates that Patten hadn’t yet achieved mastery in his storytelling
efforts. There was still time for that. After all, his last novel wasn’t
published until 1980.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Ruthless Men</i>
focuses on Luke Partin, who opens the novel intending to kill a man he’s
tracked for days after he follows his trail from the house of a family who’s
been butchered. Years before, the family had nursed Luke back to health after
he’d been left for dead by Apaches. For Luke, this vengeance trail is a way to repay
a debt and assuage his fury.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After Luke succeeds in his quest, his target’s surviving
family members set after him on an enraged vendetta. This sets up a long
chase-and-fight narrative that drives Luke to the end of his reserves and lets
Patten show a character dealing with deadly situations as he nears the end of
his rope.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This narrative landscape allows Patten to demonstrate his
skills at showing a hero under stress—something he did very well for years in
nearly all his books—as Luke must deal with the ramifications of his vengeful
ride.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On the other hand, the story relies on melodrama and
pulp-magazine-style schemes and strategies for scenes featuring ambush and escape to
support its plot. While Patten’s pacing and characterizations keep a strong
grip on the reader’s attention, the pulpy flavor of some of the drama shows
that his mastery of the traditional western isn’t quite complete. For instance,
some of the subtlety Patten would employ in later novels isn’t quite evident
here:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Riding away, Nancy Holcomb glanced up at the foot of the rim
and saw Luke watching her. She raised a hand, then dropped it abruptly and
turned her face away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She hated him. He was brutal and savage and had probably lied
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet, if she hated him, why did she feel such shame at
leaving him thus? Why did she feel like weeping all over again, just as she had
last night?</span> (p. 39)<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is rather simplistic emotional turmoil. It may form the reality of some folks' perceptions at some level, but Patten drops it on the page in a rather raw form,
belying his efforts to describe his characters as having more complicated or
mature interior lives. The nuanced emotional and psychological portraits readers have come to expect from Gold Medal's genre novels isn't entirely on display here, but the sort of fast-moving action novel that readers look for—or at least <i>I</i> look for—in Fawcett westerns is certainly evident in <i>The Ruthless Men</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Still, these quibbles shouldn’t stop you from seeking and
reading this early-ish novel by a writer who would win three Spur Awards and
become a master of the traditional western.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-4930518630306988072019-06-06T20:32:00.000-04:002019-06-06T20:32:25.663-04:00What led to the trail to Santa Fe Passage?<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;">Not the actual Sante Fe Trail. A novel with that title.</span></span><br />
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While reading a book, I’ll sometimes wonder what prompted the author to write it. Was there some event in the news that capture the nation’s attention? Was there a historical commemoration? Was a Broadway play, a song, or a movie popular in such a way that a writer wanted to ride its coat tails?<u></u><u></u></div>
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The question came to mind while reading <i>Santa Fe Passage</i> by Clay Fisher. I can’t say why I wondered—the Trail is a worthy setting for a novel.<u></u><u></u></div>
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The Trail’s timeframe normally is defined as 1821-1880—an important period bridging the early era of the United States’ establishing itself as a nation to the post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the western territories. The Trail also fueled the country’s economic growth, playing a part in the spread of the U.S. presence and influence westward and southwestward; and the flow of people and goods and money placed markers for future relations with Spain and Mexico. But on the whole, the Trail and its environs seem to be an era rarely explored by writers of traditional westerns (at least compared to the number of novels focused on the Wild West and Trail Drive periods of the nation’s history).<u></u><u></u></div>
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So I did a little research.<u></u><u></u></div>
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<i>Santa Fe Passage</i> was published in 1952 by Houghton Mifflin Company. It also appeared in the April 1952 issue of <i>Esquire</i> illustrated by pulp-and-slick stalwart Walter Baumhofer. Was anything happening in popular culture at the time that may have sparked the writing of <i>Santa Fe Passage</i>?<u></u><u></u></div>
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A Michael Curtiz film, <i>Santa Fe Trail</i>, starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Raymond Massey and Ronald Reagan, was released by Warner Brothers in 1940. A little early to have sparked a 1952 novel. A Randolph Scott movie, <i>Santa Fe</i>, was released in 1951 by Columbia Pictures. (Interestingly, Scott had been considered for the lead role in the 1940 film, Santa Fe Trail.) This movie was based on a novel by James Vance Marshall, <i>Santa Fe: The Railroad That Built an Empire</i>, published by Random House in 1945. It’s possible the book may have sparked an idea in Fisher’s creative mind, but more likely the Scott film did so.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Of course, there’s always the possibility Fisher just had a notion about a story independent of any other external stimuli. Clay Fisher is a pseudonym of the prolific Spur Award-winning Will Henry—a name that also is a pseudonym for Henry Wilson Allen. My general perception of a Will Henry novel is that it will be historically accurate and focus on a particular person, event, or thing—like the Santa Fe Trail—that carries some significance. This examined point of significance—what modernist poet Ezra Pound called the “barb of time”—allows Henry to build engaging, entertaining narratives in ways that may be said to elevate his tales from mere genre fiction (the “traditional western” label) to carrying the cachet of “historical fiction.”<u></u><u></u></div>
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Which doesn’t mean <i>Santa Fe Passage</i> doesn’t carry the tropes of melodrama. The story includes a hero, a villain (actually, more than one), romance, and violence.<u></u><u></u></div>
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Sounds like a traditional western, right? This one isn’t about the wild-and-woolly post-war West we expect in most traditional westerns—that is, those novels that fully conform to the genre tropes and expectations typically in place for those novels popularly known as Westerns. It is, instead, a novel set in the pre-Civil War era frontier. It takes place on the Santa Fe Trail—in fact, the characters do not even complete their journey and reach Santa Fe by the book’s end.<u></u><u></u></div>
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The tale focuses on a wagon train heading to Santa Fe from St. Louis. There are a number of conflicts—thanks to an unscrupulous wagon master, <span style="color: #1f497d;">Kiowa</span> raiders, terrible weather and bogs, to name only a few. One suspects Fisher pulled unfortunate events from every published history of the trail and crammed ‘em all into this single journey. Even if that is true, the travails have the feel of authenticity—particularly if one has also read some of the journals written by the Trail’s actual travelers. Fisher accomplishes the storyteller’s goal: the story is filled with incidents told at an interesting pace, making for an entertaining read.<u></u><u></u></div>
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The hero and his sidekick are Kirby Randolph and Sam Beekman, mountain men who’ve come east to civilization—in this case, St. Louis—after a long spell in the wilderness. They remind me a bit of the two male leads in David Thompson’s (David Robbins’) Wilderness series of books, Nathaniel King and Shakespeare McNair. Just as Thompson’s McNair teaches King how to survive and thrive in the frontier, Beekman attempts to mentor Kirby in the ways to live among civilized folks. Kirby’s attempts to shoehorn his oversized personality into the molds crafted by civilized expectations are sometimes humorous, sometimes deadly.<u></u><u></u></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">Fisher’s continual reliance on Mountain Main Idiom for Kirby and Beekman’s dialog is colorful but tiresome. David Thompson handles this much more successfully and satisfyingly in his Wilderness series.</span><span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span>Here’s a sample from <i>Santa Fe Passage</i>:<u></u><u></u></div>
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“Wal, if them mules is packin’ whut we heered they was, we should ought to have a reular guard commander. When the Kioways and Commanches get the wind of whut’s laced onto them longears, ye’ll have yer hands full jest bossin’, without yer tryin’ to run the camp guard, too.”<u></u><u></u></div>
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“Whut’s on them mules is Company business. I don’t know nothin’ about it. But I’m handlin’ the guard and if ye don’t like it, ye’d best haul out right now.”<u></u><u></u></div>
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An interesting historical note<i>: Santa Fe Passage</i> is set in 1839. Part of the novel’s conflict arises from the transport of a woman—<span style="color: #1f497d;">Aurelie St. Clair</span>, Kirby’s eventual romantic interest—along the Trail. Women were few and far between on the actual Trail. For instance, the remarkability of one woman’s trip is documented in <i>Down the Santa Fe Trail and into Mexico: The Diary of Susan Shelby Magoffin, 1846-1847</i> published in 1926. (Magoffin was long described as first woman to travel the trail, but more recent research [1984] by Marian Meyer has turned up documentation that another woman—Mary Donoho [like Magoffin, from Kentucky]—actually made the trip 13 years before Magoffin’s journey, earlier still than Fisher’s fictional passage. You can see my earlier blog post about this account by clicking <a href="https://spurandlock.blogspot.com/2012/09/down-santa-fe-trail-and-into-mexico.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)<u></u><u></u></div>
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I’m going to stray afield—or off-trail—for a bit and mention that Magoffin’s claim to the title of first “American lady” to travel the trail is somewhat spurious based on the cultural biases of the time (indeed, Meyer’s further investigations suggest Magoffin may actually have been the sixth woman): after all, she was accompanied by her maid, Jane, who may have been excluded from consideration because she was a servant, because she wasn’t white, or both. As Kelley Pounds points out in the online version of an article that first appeared in the January/February/March 1998 issue of <i>Calico Trails</i>, “Mary Donoho: The Santa Fe Trail’s New First Lady,”<u></u><u></u></div>
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In Jean M. Burroughs' fictionalized account of Susan Magoffin's life, titled <i>Bride of the Santa Fe Trail</i>, Jane is portrayed as a black woman who had cared for Susan since childhood. If Burroughs' supposition is true, Jane might have been the first African American woman to travel the Santa Fe Trail all the way to Santa Fe. "Black Charlotte," wife of Dick Green and slave to Charles Bent, preceded Jane at least to Bent's Fort, where she worked as a cook in the early 1840s. According to David Lavender in <i>Bent's Fort,</i> published in 1954, Charlotte supposedly made the claim that she was the "only lady in de whole damn Indian country."<u></u><u></u></div>
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You can read more of Donoho's essay by clicking <a href="http://kelleypounds.tripod.com/old/donoho.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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These historical notes aside, <i>Santa Fe Passage</i> remains an entertaining frontier tale. And as to its possible spark in Fisher’s mind—the question that kicked off this essay—I lean toward thinking it was the release of the Randolph Scott movie <i>Santa Fe</i> in 1951. (Randolph Scott . . . Kirby Randolph. Hmmm.) After all, Fisher—under his actual name of Henry Wilson Allen—worked as a screenwriter for MGM’s animation division. <i>Santa Fe Passage</i> was filmed and released by Republic Pictures in 1955, starring John Payne, Faith Domergue and Rod Cameron. It was directed by Republic stalwart William Witney. Interestingly enough, the script was by Heck Allen—another pseudonym of Henry Wilson Allen.</div>
Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-84760200109255076992015-09-26T11:41:00.000-04:002015-09-26T11:41:08.685-04:00Tex Rickard, boxing promoter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbGIF0spJW_WbsLF8Ni_XptERdAouhn_LEM41ybrtVs5gkvBNL1o8REgcxilycer9KCTkcwBQmVlv0BCKCoVVzJ17_hIRS2J8XM5B8JG5M_fNYb4PuKVjziAjNuTQqbbGL1nVNcpXUsY/s1600/big+rickard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbGIF0spJW_WbsLF8Ni_XptERdAouhn_LEM41ybrtVs5gkvBNL1o8REgcxilycer9KCTkcwBQmVlv0BCKCoVVzJ17_hIRS2J8XM5B8JG5M_fNYb4PuKVjziAjNuTQqbbGL1nVNcpXUsY/s320/big+rickard.jpg" width="236" /></a></div>
<strong>George Lewis Rickard</strong>, known as Tex, died January 6, 1959—four days after his 59th birthday. <br />
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He was a true entrepreneur. He launched the New York Rangers franchise of the National Hockey League in 1926. He owned the team until his death.<br />
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Tex was the primary force behind building the third incarnation of Madison Square Garden in 1925. It was located at Eighth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets in Manhattan.<br />
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Rickard was an innovator. Between 1921 and 1927, Tex raised the popularity of boxing by promoting a number of fights for “The Manassa Mauler,” world heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey. For the Dempsey-Charles Carpentier bout in 1921, Tex was responsible for the first live radio broadcast of a title fight and the first million-dollar fight.<br />
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Tex promoted the July 4, 1910 Fight Of The Century in Reno, Nevada, between former heavyweight champion and “Great White Hope” Jim Jeffries and reigning heavyweight Jack Johnson. 15,760 fans paid $270,775 to watch the bout. Tex sold the film rights to the match for $101,000.<br />
In 1906, while running a saloon in Goldfield, Nevada, Tex organized the first boxing matches in that state.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4-nOkOgtEbM2Le2M39H9Z6cFFaXJQh2EFnFVtbIbAwjZPGuMWKrx2mpoTCYl9ORsDuIA7wHGokidVKJMTR54FkAsPHCsk0NxMFp5Kip4-RoYeQLm0RtmdHXC91oZONzhxduHmJrZA6E/s1600/FC+Fighting+Alaska+Duane+Spurlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4-nOkOgtEbM2Le2M39H9Z6cFFaXJQh2EFnFVtbIbAwjZPGuMWKrx2mpoTCYl9ORsDuIA7wHGokidVKJMTR54FkAsPHCsk0NxMFp5Kip4-RoYeQLm0RtmdHXC91oZONzhxduHmJrZA6E/s200/FC+Fighting+Alaska+Duane+Spurlock.jpg" width="135" /></a><br />
After moving to Alaska in 1895 during the Gold Rush, Tex earned and lost several fortunes. As owner of The Northern Saloon in Nome, he befriended famous lawman and gunman Wyatt Earp. And in 1900, he met down-on-his-luck bareknuckle boxer Jean St. Vrain—an encounter that would lead to a very different sort of fight. <br />
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You can read about the results of their meeting in<strong> FIGHTING ALASKA</strong>, a Fight Card book, now in paperback, by clicking <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Card-Fighting-Duane-Spurlock/dp/1515304817/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442081508&sr=8-1&keywords=duane+spurlock/thepulprack-20/pulprack-20" target="_blank">here</a>. Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-6551020043411208562015-05-14T11:08:00.000-04:002015-05-14T11:08:26.430-04:00Now available: FIGHTING ALASKA, the ebook version<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTTxm2d4aRmo6saIpcGm_QdhbAYbkfNQZQOfJIs_eOCA0NJ3Mz9mr3JUagtrMnyMpN-fZsDhanQksR3_T7dZtRdHUkuMNTMHghynTtryxUHV78Ydsr12gaQfxDStUr0kUo1bPXbjiopE/s1600/hard-times_charles-bronson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTTxm2d4aRmo6saIpcGm_QdhbAYbkfNQZQOfJIs_eOCA0NJ3Mz9mr3JUagtrMnyMpN-fZsDhanQksR3_T7dZtRdHUkuMNTMHghynTtryxUHV78Ydsr12gaQfxDStUr0kUo1bPXbjiopE/s320/hard-times_charles-bronson.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Western fans may be interested in my new tale, <em>Fighting Alaska</em>, an entry in the Fight Card series. Although it focuses on a NorthWestern setting, its action begins in the Texas Panhandle. <br />
<br />
Set in 1900, <em>Fighting Alaska </em>tells the tale of a reluctant fighter's trip to the Alaskan gold rush. On the way, he encounters a fictional hero who may be recognized by fans of TV westerns from the late 1950s and early 1960s, as well as historical folks like Wyatt Earp, Rex Beach, and Tex Rickard. <br />
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You can find the ebook version now at Amazon. You can reach it by clicking <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Alaska-Fight-Card-Tunney-ebook/dp/B00XLKIC1A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431614765&sr=8-1&keywords=duane+spurlock/thepulprack-20" target="_blank">here</a>. (For those who prefer paper and ink over Kindle pages, the print version should be available soon.)<br />
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You can also find my article on writing <em>Fighting Alaska</em>, "A Fighter's Trail to the Alaskan Gold Rush," at the Fight Card site. Read the article to find out why Charles Bronson's photo is included with this post. Click <a href="http://fightcardbooks.com/a-fighters-trail-to-the-alaskan-gold-rush" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2288bb;">here</span></a> to visit the site and see the article.<br /><br /> Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-19340245329954237512015-04-27T14:28:00.001-04:002015-04-27T14:28:18.105-04:00The vigor of pulp prose: Allan Vaughan Elston<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<strong>Allan Vaughan Elston was a writer for the pulps</strong>--remembered primarily today as a writer of westerns--who also wrote for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0255742/" target="_blank">TV</a>. Apparently, according to the Wyoming Author's Wiki, he's claimed by <a href="http://wiki.wyomingauthors.org/w/page/12626653/Allan%20Vaughan%20Elston" target="_blank">Wyoming</a>, although he was born July 28, 1887 in Kansas City, Missouri, and died October 21, 1976 in Santa Ana, California. The Wyoming Author's Wiki page also includes a nice listing of Elston's books.<br />
<br />
His <a href="http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt1b69p3w0/" target="_blank">papers</a> are housed by the UCLA Special Collections at the Charles E. Young Research Library. You can find a tidy biographical summary at the <a href="http://elston%20was%20born%20on%20july%2028,%201887%20in%20kansas%20city,%20missouri;%20bs%20in%20civil%20engineering,%20university%20of%20missouri,%201909;%20worked%20as%20a%20transitman%20for%20railroads%20in%20the%20west%20and%20midwest%20(1909-13)%20and%20as%20a%20resident%20engineer%20(1913-15),%20a%20cattle%20rancher%20(1915-17),%20and%20as%20a%20consulting%20engineer%20(1918-24);%20became%20a%20free-lance%20fiction%20writer;%20publications%20include%20come%20out%20and%20fight%20(1941),%20round-up%20on%20the%20picketwire%20(1952),%20long%20lope%20to%20lander%20(1954),%20showdown%20(1956),%20and%20saddle%20up%20for%20steamboat%20(1973);%20he%20died%20on%20october%2021,%201976./" target="_blank">Social Archive</a> maintained by the University of Virginia. Elston lived a varied and interesting life.<br />
<br />
At least a couple of Elston's westerns have been reprinted as Large Print books the past few years: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Roundup-Picketwire-Allan-Vaughan-Elston/dp/1445856611/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8/thepulprack-20" target="_blank">Roundup on the Picketwire</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Saddle-Steamboat-Allan-Vaughan-Elston/dp/1628992557/ref=la_B0034Q1BVO_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1430157280&sr=1-4" target="_blank">Saddle Up for Steamboat</a>.<br />
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Elston wrote extensively for the pulps. However, the passage from <em>The Sheriff of San Miquel</em> I quote below originally saw print in the Toronto Star Weekly, a newspaper supplement, of December 18, 1948. It was later published in book form by J.B. Lippincott Company in 1949. That's my source for this example of vigorous pulp prose. Elston demonstrates his mastery and his confidence by describing in a very elegant manner a character who could easily be described in a moment with clichés:<br />
<br />
<<<br />
. . . through the veins of each ran generations of an impulse called sporting blood. Alfredo was a Mexican of the ruling class, directly descended from the original Conquerors. He was only twenty-eight years old, with a face smooth, olive and gentle, a mustache thin and black, flashing dark eyes and mellow, courteous speech. In build he was slight, in feature delicate, in dress quietly elegant. Nothing visible to the eye gave evidence that he was sheriff of San Miguel County. Being a scion of <em>los ricos</em> and the owner of a great rancho, he had no need for the pay of a sheriff. But he liked hazard and excitement. That too was in his blood. His trimly fitting vest showed no badge. The badge was in his pocket, along with his cigarillos and watch. His slender waist showed no belt or gun. But a gun was on him somewhere, and upon certain occasion Alfred Baca had been known to produce it with eye-baffling celerity. His real weapons were dignity, self-confidence and a reputation for being utterly fearless. Once he'd walked into this very bar to arrest an outlaw. Showing no gun, he'd merely taken from his pocket a sheriff's badge and exposed it in the palm of his hand. "I am Alfredo Baca. You will follow me, senor." Whereupon, taking obedience for granted, he had turned his back on the outlaw and walked three blocks to the <em>carcel</em>. "After you, senor." And the wanted man, two guns and all, had marched sullenly in.<br />
>><br />
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Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-69247347480401710562013-03-16T15:02:00.001-04:002013-03-16T15:02:31.800-04:00Iron Men and Silver Stars: Donald Hamilton's western anthology<strong><em>Iron Men and Silver Stars</em></strong><br />
Gold Medal, Greenwich, Conn. (Fawcett Publications: 1967)<br />
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<strong>Donald Hamilton is known among PBO readers and Gold Medal collectors</strong> as a writer of vigorous prose, dramatic situations, careful plotting, well-delineated characters with realistic, human personalities and reactions. He's best known as the creator of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Matt-Helm-Citizen-Donald-Hamilton/dp/0857683349/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363460244&sr=1-1&keywords=matt+helm/thepulprack-20" target="_blank">Matt Helm</a> series of thrillers. But he's also a writer of westerns.<br />
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Based on this last qualification -- and probably to capitalize on the popularity of the Helm novels -- Fawcett had Hamilton edit a western anthology, <em>Iron Men and Silver Stars</em>.<br />
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The collection opens with a slight piece by the editor about writing westerns, originally published in the Western Writers of America's April 1956 issue of <em><a href="http://westernwriters.org/" target="_blank">The Roundup</a></em>. But everything that follows that preface is a fine example of solid writing by masters of the short prose form. I'll share a few opening paragraphs to demonstrate the energetic, engaging qualities of the writing in this book:<br />
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<strong>"Green Wounds," Carter Travis Young</strong><br />
He was a big, easy man with a way of relaxing completely that was rare in Burt Haskins' experience. Strangers just didn't settle down on the other side of the sheriff's scarred oak desk and act like they'd come home! (p. 11)<br />
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<strong>"Epitaph," Tom W. Blackburn</strong><br />
The man in overalls could run like a rabbit. He was shifty on his feet and fast as hell, but he was a sitting duck, just the same. Like the shot Jack Dall had put through his hat inside the Pioneer Bar when the fellow had loudly claimed the marshal of Fort Sand was a saloon marshal, Dall's shots here on the street were precisely planted. A warning, a chastisement, stinging the man's heels, driving him to a more frantic retreat. There was only one way to rule a turbulent town.<br />
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<strong>"In the Line of Duty," Elmer Kelton</strong><br />
The two horsemen came west over the deep-rutted wagon road from Austin, their halterless Mexican packmule following like a dog, its busy ears pointing toward everything which aroused its active curiosity.<br />
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<strong>"Coward's Canyon," John Prescott</strong><br />
Jimmy Conroy's mouth was dry and sour in an acid-like way and the jogging of his horse intensified it in some way. The bullet-laden bandoliers, crossing at his breastbone, the big Frontier Colt, slapping at his thigh, and the buck-loaded double shotgun in his scabbard, all dragged their weight upon him in a nagging way, and failed to provide him with the assurance he thought he should expect of them. If he alone of the posse had felt this weight of fear he might have drawn sustenance from the others, but in three days they had lost two men from ambush, and he could tell they all felt the thing by now.<br />
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Each of these paragraphs sets a stage for a compact drama that will engage the reader in a narrative as compelling as a novel-length work, but with fewer words. To simply call these pieces <em>short stories</em> denies the energy and craft evident in each. They are all small but potent bursts of narrative magic.<br />
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Once upon a time, the western short story ruled the publishing market. Tons of ink and paper were devoted to satisfying the reading public's desire for more western fare.<br />
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Options for placing western short stories are far fewer now. But the examples in Iron Men and Silver Stars provide a picture of a time -- late in the heyday, to be sure, but still viable at the time -- when the western short story still commanded respect in the mainstream publishing industry.<br />
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Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-37533669140805681472013-03-04T20:55:00.000-05:002013-03-04T20:55:48.373-05:00High Country by Peter Dawson
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thorndike, Maine (Thorndike Press, 1992). Originally
published 1947.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Many western readers know Peter Dawson is the <em>nom de plume</em>
of Johnathan H. Glidden</strong>, brother to Frederick Glidden, better known as Luke
Short. The latter may be the more-recognized name, because a number of his
stories were adapted into well-remembered Hollywood movies, and Short had a
strong career as a writer for the slicks.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dawson had a long career of his own. I recently read a trio
of his stories in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Brand-Wishbones-Western-Trio/dp/0786211598/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362447995&sr=1-2&keywords=Ghost+Brand+of+the+Wishbones/thepulprack-20" target="_blank">Ghost Brand of the Wishbones</a>,
and as a result wanted to try out a novel-length work by him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The stories in <em>Ghost Brand</em> were entertaining, but their
artifice as stories was evident: the cause-and-effect of the action that moved
the plot seemed a little forced, as did the romantic elements of the stories.
Something organic was missing. I wondered if the limited lengths of the stories
might have played a part in Dawson’s narratives seeming a bit stilted, and if a
longer form -- the novel -- might allow him more room to build and develop his
story and characters more naturally.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In reading <em>High Country</em>, I think my intuition was correct.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The novel features Jim Sherill’s plans to sell a herd of
horses to prove his worth to the self-proclaimed Commodore Lovelace, a
riverboat magnate, so he may take the hand of the Commodore’s daughter, Ruth,
in marriage. Jim’s plans are thwarted when his herd is stolen. He tracks down
the rustlers, insinuates his way into their camp with a story that they can
throw in together and make money selling stolen horses from Canada to the Army
in nearby Whitewater, and can also send horses rustled nearby from the region for
sale up in Canada.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Along the way, he meets Jean Ruick, running her father’s
ranch after the old man’s death with the help of a trusted old hand, Brick, and her
uncle, Caleb Donovan, whom she doesn’t quite trust. Jim falls for Jean after he
realizes how shallow Ruth actually is and how greedy and domineering the
Commodore truly is -- infatuation had blinded Jim to the faults of both, and
Jean’s integrity and honesty strike home at his heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the course of the novel, Jim wins over one of the
rustler’s lieutenants, and the two steal back Jim’s herd. Donovan’s involvement
in the rustling is revealed, and Jim loses his herd again -- and Jean’s trusted
hand, Brick, is murdered.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If this plot sounds convoluted, it’s so only because I’ve
condensed the narrative so concisely. Peter Dawson pulls it all off very
nicely. In the limited confines of a short story or novelette, this plot
wouldn’t have worked at all. But in the more forgiving parameters of a novel,
Dawson uses the larger narrative space to construct a world, a situation, with
fully developed characters and with appropriate pacing to end up with a very
enjoyable story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">By the end of the tale, we reach a very satisfactory wrap
up. The bad guys get their deserved comeuppance, and the weary and hard-working
good guys -- and gals -- end up in one another’s arms.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m pleased that my curiosity led me to try out Dawson’s
efforts in the longer form. I’m also pleased to say that I’ll be looking for
more Peter Dawson novels to read.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-87843374198538908412013-03-01T21:04:00.001-05:002013-03-01T21:04:29.091-05:00Greenhorn Stampede by Kit PrateKit Prate, New York (Tower Books: 1981)<br />
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Trace Belden is leading a trail drive from Nogadoches with his younger brother, Lon. Moving 900 spooky cattle to a new ranch in Texas is hard work enough. Trying to keep rein on Lon, who is immature and rebellious against his sibling's hard authority, ratchets up the stress exponentially.<br />
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Further conflict enters the plot when Trace pays a visit to his ex-wife. Her husband -- arrogant and powerful -- has no care for Trace, and preens before him with the cattleman's former spouse. But Lon throws oil on the fire smoldering between the men with an ill-timed, brash and foolish move. As a result, the rift between the brothers grows wider, and Cord Bishop -- the bullying husband -- has a bitter taste in his mouth and a strong desire to do in the Belden brothers.<br />
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Kit Prate sets up a tough task for an author, for none of the protagonists are particularly likeable or sympathetic, not even Trace, the titular hero of the story. But Prate's characters <strong>are</strong> very human, not mere stereotypes playing parts in a stereotypical traditional western plot. So the route the writer traces in this narrative holds the reader's interest to see just what will happen to these contentious folks.<br />
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Entertaining. I'll keep an eye out for more books by Kit Prate.<br />
Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-33223412270563178462013-02-03T15:40:00.000-05:002013-02-03T15:40:12.919-05:00Clay Randall's Amos Flagg--High Gun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been entertained by the adventures of Thomas Buchanan for a few years now. I don't mean artist and blogger Thomas Buchanan, whose posts at <a href="http://mydelineatedlife.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Pictorial Arts</a> I find interesting, witty, and entertaining, and whose blog I recommend. I mean Buchanan, a series of peripatetic westerns published by Fawcett from 1956 to 1986 (meaning it lasted longer than <a href="http://www.tvrage.com/Gunsmoke" target="_blank">Gunsmoke</a> [1955 to 1975]), and written by diverse hands during that time.<br />
<br />
So I was interested in reading other western series published by Fawcett. The company had published a number of solid and reliable series characters under its Gold Medal imprint in the hard-boiled spy/detective/thriller genres (notably Richard Prather's <a href="http://www.thrillingdetective.com/scott.html" target="_blank">Shell Scott</a>, Donald Hamilton's <a href="http://www.matthelmbooks.com/" target="_blank">Matt Helm</a> and Edward S. Aarons' <a href="http://spyguysandgals.com/sgShowChar.asp?ScanName=Durell_Sam" target="_blank">Sam Durrell/Assignment</a> series). With a deep catalog of western titles, and the long-running Buchanan series as a model, it made sense to me that GM would have more than one western series character.<br />
<br />
I appealed to the collected brain trust at the Yahoo group moderated by <a href="http://jamesreasoner.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">James Reasoner</a>, <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WesternPulps/" target="_blank">WesternPulps</a>, and learned I was right. Although none of the series named in the responses lasted with as many entries as Buchanan, I was pleased to find out there are more GM western series to enjoy.<br />
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One of those series is about Amos Flagg, written by <a href="http://goldmed.eddiestevenson.co.za/randall/1.shtml" target="_blank">Clay Randall</a>. While Buchanan's adventures were chronicled by a number of writers during his 30 years of activity, Flagg was the sole responsibility of Randall--a pseudonym of Clifton Adams, a reliable writer in the western and detective genres. Randall's career is detailed at Mystery*File <a href="http://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=1068" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=1817" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Flagg is the tough sheriff of Sangaree County, Texas. He is tough but fair, but he's driven to be unyielding by his family history: his father, Gunner Flagg, was a notorious outlaw. Now retired (ostensibly) from the owlhoot trail thanks to a long term in prison and old age, Gunner now lives in Sangaree County. His presence is a constant prod to his son that the sheriff must continually exceed the expectations of his constituents, who -- whenever they are disappointed by Amos' performing his duties --recall the adage that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.<br />
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So far I've been able to get my hands on only the second entry in the series: <em>Amos Flagg--High Gun</em>. It's a solid western tale, well told, whose plot demonstrates the father-son conflict described above: Gunner, never far from a scheme, makes a deal with a writer/photographer from a big East Coast newspaper to interview Wild West outlaws whom Gunner has cajoled into gathering at a remote location. The plan goes awry, of course, and danger threatens the photographer, Gunner, Amos, the sheriff's closest friends, and eventually all of Sangaree County.<br />
<br />
The build up is a bit slow, and -- to me, at least -- seemed to bog down a bit in the novel's middle portion. Things picked up about page 100 in this 160-page book. But my expectations were based -- probably wrongly -- on my experiences reading the Buchanan books. The entries in that series are fast paced, the characters quickly and deftly drawn, the situations lined out early and allowed to run like a galloping horse. For this Flagg novel, Randall delves a bit more deeply into the psychology of his characters, details the snares the sheriff must navigate in Sangaree County's political geography, and manipulates a much larger cast than one usually finds in a Buchanan caper. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpqUBy3u8f82prt_SZGR3FQAC88v4jEedcdDhNruuUsYswHCd3DtbuQrns3g5MPQMhLjHV9v1AmGkyJCp42j3RcF5_BZLkN7ItBOHRxgTPOulcGgbYg8Mf7oA7pAf-KUhRI54o1WcJtM/s1600/Amos+Flagg+High+Gun+BT+F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpqUBy3u8f82prt_SZGR3FQAC88v4jEedcdDhNruuUsYswHCd3DtbuQrns3g5MPQMhLjHV9v1AmGkyJCp42j3RcF5_BZLkN7ItBOHRxgTPOulcGgbYg8Mf7oA7pAf-KUhRI54o1WcJtM/s320/Amos+Flagg+High+Gun+BT+F.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>
Thinking about comments made by Ed Gorman on Randall's western writing, I've decided my initial dissatisfaction wasn't justified: Randall is a solid western writer, and <em>High Gun</em> is a tough, well-written western. <br />
<br />
You'll find a listing of Clay Randall's Gold Medal output at Eddie Stevenson's Gold Medal-focused site, <a href="http://goldmed.eddiestevenson.co.za/randall/1.shtml" target="_blank">here</a>. You can read another review of <em>High Gun</em> at Cullen Gallagher's <a href="http://www.pulpserenade.com/2010/12/amos-flagg-high-gun-by-clay-randall.html" target="_blank">Pulp Serenade</a>. (He also posts a second cover painting for the Belmont Tower edition of the novel, which pictures an unmistakable likeness of Clint Eastwood as Amos Flagg. I've posted both it and the GM cover to accompany this post. Having two icons linked with the western (model Steve Holland on the GM edition, Eastwood on the BT edition) on two editions of the same book certainly is a fine honor for a western novel, I'd say.<br />
<br />
Randall gets high marks at Pulp Serenade. I second the opinion. I'll be searching out more Amos Flagg novels.<br />
<br />
<br />
Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-4723591597014544222013-01-25T22:23:00.000-05:002013-01-25T22:23:59.550-05:00Strong stuff: Edge and the Piccadilly WesternRecently a co-worker said to me, "You made the coffee this morning."<br />
<br />
"How do you know?"<br />
<br />
"I added cream and it didn't change color."<br />
<br />
I nodded. "Strong stuff."<br />
<br />
Strong stuff is what I've encountered not only in my beverages but also in my reading lately.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5W2ILWs4zyaHuxoIbg_isvI9hzl8Ntnn9KBJWCltlarMLa09LcIAsz64B1Wy8ITU3vz8pvo_rpipKddpUnRwzSxPDbVNLqVCoAVYf2lTqV5svoBz89ZKf5lxTXdItPqbJdghREadCWuw/s1600/Edge+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5W2ILWs4zyaHuxoIbg_isvI9hzl8Ntnn9KBJWCltlarMLa09LcIAsz64B1Wy8ITU3vz8pvo_rpipKddpUnRwzSxPDbVNLqVCoAVYf2lTqV5svoBz89ZKf5lxTXdItPqbJdghREadCWuw/s320/Edge+1.jpg" width="195" /></a></div>
I've recently read the first Edge novel
and the second entry in that long-lived series. (The first Edge novel, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Edge-The-Loner-ebook/dp/B006BG672W/ref=sr_1_2_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359168343&sr=1-2&keywords=george+gilman+the+loner/thepulprack-20" target="_blank">The Loner</a>, was published in 1971. The last entry in the series was published in 1989. I'm just now getting around to it. I'm more like the tortoise than the hare.) Famously and
accurately blurbed as "The Most Violent Westerns in Print!" Any virtues (and
there are very few) the other characters exhibit are overshadowed by the primary
character's apparent amorality.<br />
<br />
Edge starts out as Josiah Hedges, returned from the War Between the States to find his younger brother tortured and murdered. He sets out on a vengeance trail. Hardened by war and heartbreak, Edge is a killing machine, cold and ruthless.<br />
<br />
Fashioned to take advantage of the surge of popularity in the Spaghetti Western films of the time, the Edge series features a lot of hard-boiled, ugly characters in noirish situations. Author Terry Harknett -- working under the George Gilman pseudonym -- writes a sharp-paced, snappy narrative with flares of black humor. But the entries I've read have a far stretch to go before reaching the epic and nuanced development of Sergio Leone's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Good-Two-Disc-Blu-ray-Combo-Packaging/dp/B001U6YI92/ref=sr_1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1359169097&sr=1-3&keywords=good+the+bad+and+the+ugly/thepulprack-20" target="_blank">The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly</a> or even <a href="http://www.amazon.com/My-Name-Nobody-Terence-Hill/dp/B0007M21Z8/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1359169212&sr=1-2&keywords=my+name+is+nobody/thepulprack-20" target="_blank">My Name is Nobody</a>.<br />
<br />
Edge and most of the other Piccadilly Cowboy westerns were nearly all published with a distinctive cover design, an easily recognizable style of cover paintings that helped readers quickly see that here was a book similar in mood and graphic violence like others published by New English Library (or, in the U.S., Pinnacle or Chelsea House). The covers and the packaging are attractive, and it's easy to see why readers were first tempted to purchase these books when they initially appeared. <br />
<div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQy72MbVJJFOpax0uwn1GAvBm5OjkdrHNXerERQ-PYPIEGt_D67rp6eTVMfcytdCQT5uS4KhhLj8U3KBjReK0b4Ylbx42xTCo4vnaVCB9LNYB2x0Odw-a7ZHAVZU9dRO5sqbm6-kAqZU/s1600/jubal+cade+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQy72MbVJJFOpax0uwn1GAvBm5OjkdrHNXerERQ-PYPIEGt_D67rp6eTVMfcytdCQT5uS4KhhLj8U3KBjReK0b4Ylbx42xTCo4vnaVCB9LNYB2x0Odw-a7ZHAVZU9dRO5sqbm6-kAqZU/s320/jubal+cade+2.jpg" width="199" /></a></div>
<div>
The violent-action thrillers set in a contemporary setting that would have been the counterparts of the Piccadilly westerns would have been Don Pendleton's Executioner series. But from a purely packaging and marketing standpoint, I'd say the Piccadilly westerns had the upper hand.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
I also recently read the second entry in the Jubal Cade series, <a href="http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/charles-r-pike/double-cross.htm" target="_blank">Double Cross</a>, which was
contemporaneous with the Edge series, and also penned by Terry Harknett and Angus Wells, who
belonged to the Piccadilly Cowboys. Jubal Cade is another ruthless character.
However, he debates with himself the appropriateness of his actions: he was
trained to be a physician, to heal people; but he will take a life as quickly as
stomping a bug if that person thwarts or threatens his plans. This debate is
highlighted in the novel I read when he shot and wounded an attacker, then was
captured by the attacker's brother, and had to tend to the wounded man's
injuries. Hard-boiled, just like the Edge books, but with a glimmer of morality
at least visible between the lines.</div>
<br />
<div>
But there are few glimmers for hope, optimism, or morality in the Edge books. He takes the wandering antihero figure fashioned by Leone and Clint Eastwood to what may be its most extreme depiction in western series fiction. Edge is deadly, misogynistic, focused purely on self preservation -- as if his lizard brain is the only functioning part of his mind. Perhaps most telling about Edge is this description in the second book: "He
was a man without imagination."</div>
<br />
Strong stuff has its place. But for me, a little reading of this type goes a long way. I think the next western book on my reading list will veer back more to the traditional mode.<br />
<br />
<div>
</div>
Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-21766709379450713012012-09-01T19:47:00.000-04:002012-09-01T19:47:17.699-04:00Down the Santa Fe Trail and into Mexico: The Diary of Susan Shelby Magoffin, 1846-1847<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6tkysl5bFEP9dyb2Dvibjmy1dhc-EDapW1qXsu4l7HgZEDkJyIs98ARC3KayJLl-S02mLGaegZj9IXf8Qhimj1DwO4SUCYskOEKvrEVY8GDWBvV_u-hbzVDQj9iLCtkUc7yvSiKyhOU/s1600/Santa+Fe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6tkysl5bFEP9dyb2Dvibjmy1dhc-EDapW1qXsu4l7HgZEDkJyIs98ARC3KayJLl-S02mLGaegZj9IXf8Qhimj1DwO4SUCYskOEKvrEVY8GDWBvV_u-hbzVDQj9iLCtkUc7yvSiKyhOU/s320/Santa+Fe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
In an earlier post I discussed my
appreciation for the University of Nebraska Press' Bison Books
imprint.
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
One of the Press' books I read recently
was<em> </em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Down-Santa-Trail-into-Mexico/dp/0803281161/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346542853&sr=8-1&keywords=Down+the+Santa+Fe+Trail+and+into+Mexico/pulprack-20" target="_blank"><em>Down the Santa Fe Trail and into Mexico</em></a><em>: The Diary of Susan
Shelby Magoffin, 1846-1847</em>. I have some interest in the Santa Fe
Trail, and when I found this volume on the library's Sale cart, I
thought it would be a handy reference.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Well, it is, But when I began reading it, I had no idea
I was also going to be immersed in lots of Kentucky history, as well.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Shelby_Magoffin" target="_blank">Susan Shelby Magoffin</a> (July 30, 1827 –
October 26, 1855) was tied to two families important to frontier
history. Really, more than two.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
She was the granddaughter of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Shelby" target="_blank">Isaac Shelby</a> (December 11,
1750 – July 18, 1826), a hero of the American Revolution and the
first and fifth governor of Kentucky. She was born near Danville,
Kentucky. She was named for an aunt, who was married to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephraim_McDowell" target="_blank">Dr. Ephraim McDowell</a> (November
11, 1771 – June 25, 1830), a Danville physician famed for
performing the world's first successful ovarian tumor removal by surgery. (The tumor weighed 22.5 pounds!)</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
At the time of the journey, Susan was
18 years old and had been married only eight months to frontier
merchant Samuel Magoffin, whose family also hailed from Kentucky. One
of Susan's sisters was married to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beriah_Magoffin" target="_blank">Beriah Magoffin</a>, 21<sup>st</sup>
governor of Kentucky. Samuel's brother – and Susan's brother-in-law
– James played an important role during the journey recounted in
Susan's journal, serving as an emissary of the United States
government to deal with the Mexican authorities as the Army
advanced—because, while the Magoffins made their business trek to
Santa Fe, the U.S. Army was battling the Mexican Army in efforts that
would eventually expand the United States' border to the Rio Grande
to include he Republic of Texas and New Mexico.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So Susan met another famous Kentuckian
on her trip: Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850),
General of the Army at the Battles of Monterrey and Buena Vista,
afterwards known as Old Rough and Ready, and eventually elected as
the 12<sup>th</sup> President of the United States.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Susan is quite proud of her Kentucky
heritage, and she continually compares the men she meets during her
trip with the Fine Kentuckian Qualities of the men she knows back
home. For example, while in Santa Fe . . .</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<em>On leaving the Fort we rode to the
opposite side of the city (to the West) to see the Gloriatta, an
inclosed public walk. It was commenced by Gov. Gen. Garcia Conde,
being planted altogether in indifferent looking Cotton-woods it is
quite susceptible of improvement—a Yankee's ingenuity and
Kentuckian's taste is wanting to make it a beautiful place.</em> (pp.
141-142)</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
While in Santa Fe, she is visited by a
number of the military men. To one such visitor, Susan says,</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<em>I complimented him a little and my own
dear Kentucky, at the same time by asking him, for my own private
information, if he [came] from Ky. as I believed most or all of the
great men were from there, or connected with her in some way.</em> (132)</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Susan's allegiance to her home state
sound a bit funny to our ears. But really, people today have local
and state pride; and the boosters of college sports teams aren't so
much different today. (<a href="http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com/" target="_blank">SEC</a> fans may be a bit more zealous.) But her
biases aside, her journal provides a remarkable record of the time
for a civilian caught in a war zone while the U.S. invades Mexico.
The worries – for loved ones captured or for her immediate family,
when rumors reach them that the enemy is approaching and killing all
Anglos – and the delights of her journey are presented with details
that military and business-oriented accounts overlook or have no
concerns for. The details of the journey – the number of hours of travel, the
stops for water or rest or repairs, the description of the landscape and its features,
the difficulties of living on the trail – are wonderful for those
who seek that sort of information, and her descriptions lift the
Santa Fe Trail from being a dry historical subject to something alive
and real.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Susan's place in history as the first
Anglo woman to travel the Trail and journey into Mexico with the
traders is made all the more important by her journal, which gives
the modern reader a look at the War with Mexico, a wonderful view of
travel and work on the Sante Fe Trail, and a sense of what people
from North American culture experienced when they first encountered
the South of the Border culture during the 1840s.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I heartily recommend this book.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-37129315745514474072012-08-04T21:48:00.000-04:002012-08-04T21:48:14.936-04:00Riker's Gold by Skeeter Dodds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbM0qsDr8IVqeqwR9_ckX86PC8csgOFC3YGU1fwJTGMIUwKWZT8qztXNy7M2JDQ5Nr8DLAvX1EfgfMei4Xkor7DiplnKdlgS92WgujsxDJdTh2uenRJxy7hnzmRHwpDfZPyPsYz5REJfA/s1600/Rikers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbM0qsDr8IVqeqwR9_ckX86PC8csgOFC3YGU1fwJTGMIUwKWZT8qztXNy7M2JDQ5Nr8DLAvX1EfgfMei4Xkor7DiplnKdlgS92WgujsxDJdTh2uenRJxy7hnzmRHwpDfZPyPsYz5REJfA/s320/Rikers.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>
<strong>I picked up this novel wondering what
kind of western writer someone named <a href="http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/d/skeeter-dodds/" target="_blank">Skeeter</a> might be.</strong> Checking the
copyright page, he's apparently actually James O'Brien. I gargled the
Internet and came up with nothing about this particular writer.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Riker's Gold was originally published
as a Black Horse Wester in 2001. I read the large print edition published in the Dales
Western Library.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I thought I would be in for a long,
slow read when the novel opened with Jack Riker bemoaning the bad
times: his once-fruitful farm has hit bad times, as the past few
years have brought drought and a failing future to Riker and his
wife, who has turned rather bitterly against him as well.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Then a soldier comes by and leaves
behind saddle bags full of Army gold for Riker's safekeeping. The
soldier is sick with a fever that has wiped out the rest of his
company. He wants Riker to hold onto the gold until the Army sends
someone looking for the lost troop. Then the soldier rides into the
snow-covered mountains to die.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
A band of thieves come across the
soldier's trail and follow him into the mountains. They see him
scribble a note, then fall over dead. Overcoming their fear of the
illness that's claimed all the dead soldiers lying about, they take
possession of the note and read about the gold and its whereabouts.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Meanwhile, Jack has ridden into town to
lock the saddlebags in the safe within the sheriff's office. Jack is
part-time lawman for the town. After a rattling argument with his
wife, who wants him to simply take the gold and start a new life,
Riker thinks the gold will be safer hidden in town until the Army
shows up. But a nosey townsman peeps through the office window and
sees Riker locking away the saddlebags, which raises his curiosity.
The fellow is a known lush, and the wily bar owner can tell something
is on the man's mind. Lubricating the gent with free drinks, he
learns about the hidden saddlebags and wonders why Riker would make
the effort to secure them.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The barowner has kept a long-simmering
feud going with Riker, because he hankers for Riker's wife. When he
learns the sheriff's safe holds gold, he stirs up the townspeople –
who, like Riker, are beaten down by bad times – in a scheme to get
the gold and Riker's wife, too. The conflict boils over when the
deadly gang of thieves arrive in town, and the shooting begins.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Dodds uses the love triangle
effectively in this story, building a range of conflicts from that
emotional dynamic coupled with Riker's ethical dilemma about how to
handle the gold placed in his care. Although there are plenty of
characters willing to fire guns in this tale, Dodds plays a wary game
with his primary character, Riker, by having the sheriff keep gunplay
at bay until the final town-sized shootout that brings the story to a
climax. Dodds handles this nicely.</div>
<br />
I was intrigued enough by Riker's Gold
to wonder how the author might handle another plot. I'll have to find
out.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-8205451819618238202012-07-29T15:57:00.002-04:002012-07-29T15:57:46.349-04:00Railroaded! By Mark Bannerman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrPtE_lTqS6G-NoVPpjktVt-BMvnWntK30PSYrcjfU6tPvoQDr5TN1glsfPh6Vfa53LaysvNHptqV7CM1MqmeMYwX4QQBZqyvKYhnc1q0Ah-9qXofEBSamokfxpsvMKxdiI93L6ZKOLk/s1600/railroaded.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrPtE_lTqS6G-NoVPpjktVt-BMvnWntK30PSYrcjfU6tPvoQDr5TN1glsfPh6Vfa53LaysvNHptqV7CM1MqmeMYwX4QQBZqyvKYhnc1q0Ah-9qXofEBSamokfxpsvMKxdiI93L6ZKOLk/s320/railroaded.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<strong>Mark Bannerman is the pseudonym of
Robert Hales writer Tony Lewing</strong>, whose first Black Horse Western was
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Grand-Valley-Linford-Western-Library/dp/070895622X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343591210&sr=8-1&keywords=Grand+Valley+Feud/pulprack-20" target="_blank">Grand Valley Feud</a>, published in 1995. Steve Myall has a very nice
interview with him from 2009 on the <a href="http://westernfictionreview.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Western Fiction Review</a> blog. You'll find it <a href="http://westernfictionreview.blogspot.com/2009/07/interview-mark-bannerman.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<em>Railroaded</em>! was published as a BHW in
2001. I read the large print edition published in the Linford Western
Library in 2003.</div>
<br />
Here's the cover blurb:<br />
<br />
<em>After the Civil War, Kansas was a wild territory ripe for exploitation German immigrant Helmut Rapp and his wife come west, claiming land under the Homestead Act. With the new railroad thrusting towards his land, Helmut strives to preserve the life and obscurity he has worked hard to achieve.</em><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mark notes in his interview that he's a
fan of Ernest Haycox. His well-crafted sentences, the details he uses
to build his characters, and the descriptions of events
all provide proof that he's studied Haycox's finer works. There is a
pulse and rhythm to Bannerman's narrative that demonstrates his
attention to his storytelling craft.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
His structuring of the novel provides a
nice example. Most BHWs I've read offer a linear narrative, building
from a traditional exposition of place and setting, introducing
characters, and then adding the points of conflict from A to B to C.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In <em>Railroaded!</em>, Bannerman opens with a
dramatic scene spotlighting the primary character in mortal danger,
then moves to a deep flashback, so that the narrative keeps moving forward
to the point at which the novel opened—not the climax, but quite
near it. Building his novel with this structure displays Bannerman's
confidence in his skills and his awareness of how to place the
load-bearing structures in a plot.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This story is an emigrant tale: Helmut
Rapp's story begins in Bavaria, where – as a starstruck and
somewhat naïve youth -- he marries stage star Ingrid. Ingrid
continues to bed other men, and when Helmut discovers her continual
infidelity and lack of remorse, he takes his savings and goes to
America. He meets a resourceful Irish girl and marries her, sure that
his past will not catch up to him.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Of course, how wrong he turns out to be introduces all
kinds of conflict into the plot.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After he successfully builds a ranch in
the west, Ingrid tracks him down and extorts him into signing over
ownership of the farm to her. In return, she won't reveal that Helmut
is a bigamist. She opens a brothel in town and lives the high life of
a wild west entrepreneurial bordello queen.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Helmut's troubles grow exponentially
when the railroad arrives and wants to buy his valley to make its way
to the nearby town. The townspeople want Helmut to sell, because the
railroad will bring money to the town's businesses. Helmut could be
rich. But Ingrid holds the paper on his property, so he stands his
ground and refuses to sell – even though the ground he stands on
doesn't legally belong to him.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Conflict escalates until the reader
returns to the first scene, where Helmut is on the run from the local
marshal, a bloodthirsty gunman named Keno who doesn't mind if the
line of the law wobbles a bit in favor of the railroad.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In terms of storytelling finesse, this
is one of the best BHWs I've read. Bannerman demonstrates an expert
hand at pacing and storytelling. Recommended.</div>
<br />
<strong>LINKS</strong>:<br />
Railroaded! is available from Amazon. Click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Railroaded-Linford-Western-Mark-Bannerman/dp/0708994814/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1343590080&sr=1-1/pulprack-20" target="_blank">here</a> for a large print edition. Click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/RAILROADED-ebook/dp/B008ACYBFK/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1343590080&sr=1-1/pulprack-20" target="_blank">here</a> for the Kindle edition..Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-78454106604110895692012-07-16T11:04:00.005-04:002012-07-16T11:04:59.411-04:00Former desert ranch of Roy Rogers sells for $645K<<<br />
<span class="byline">The Associated Press</span> <span class="creditline"></span><!-- Story Body with separating p tags --><br />
<div class="entry-content story_body">
<span class="dateline">VICTORVILLE, Calif.</span> — A 67-acre Southern California ranch that once belonged to the late King of the Cowboys Roy Rogers has been sold for $645,000.<br />
<br />
The Double R ranch near Victorville, in the Mojave Desert, includes a 1,700-square-foot home, a red barn, a stable with 15 stalls, a half-mile horse track and fenced pastures<br />
<div style="color: black; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 10pt/normal sans-serif; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-transform: none; width: 1px;">
<br />Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/07/16/2260087/former-desert-ranch-of-roy-rogers.html#storylink=cpy</div>
</div>
>><br />
<br />
The rest of the story can be reached by clicking <a href="http://www.kentucky.com/2012/07/16/2260087/former-desert-ranch-of-roy-rogers.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-73174166306374994052012-07-01T14:24:00.002-04:002012-07-01T14:24:48.694-04:00Bison Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLwPWiGxDjg4PIi9ggvdwI3GDITGwPSbVkhKtDoq77hQhl1Xo-fHm_fkKlMgMMy_iPD4ykWuDvB7S8ordnjnzFFJFg5iHcTnAVd_6KQTjjxWBjF2_lCyxpPvXUbEQFd5BrrQMy014dfxc/s1600/Bents+Fort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLwPWiGxDjg4PIi9ggvdwI3GDITGwPSbVkhKtDoq77hQhl1Xo-fHm_fkKlMgMMy_iPD4ykWuDvB7S8ordnjnzFFJFg5iHcTnAVd_6KQTjjxWBjF2_lCyxpPvXUbEQFd5BrrQMy014dfxc/s320/Bents+Fort.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<strong>The</strong><a href="http://unp-bookworm.unl.edu/pages/bison50.aspx"><strong> Bison Books</strong></a><strong> imprint of the </strong><a href="http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/catalog/CategoryInfo.aspx?cid=152"><strong>University of Nebraska Press</strong></a><strong> is a great boon to scholars of western history, to fans and writers of western fiction</strong>.<br />
<br />
It's true that many of the older documents and narratives that form their backlist are now available digitally from Gutenberg and other online sources as free electronic files. But it's nice to have a printed edition on one's shelf, close to hand, and the spine of which can trigger a thought that leads to digging through the pages of one or another of these tomes.<br />
<br />
I have several Bison books on my shelves. I've been particularly fortunate the past couple of months to add to this collection thanks to my wandering thrift stores and library sales. Here are my recent acquisitions:<br />
<br />
Magoffin, Susan Shelby: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Down-Santa-Trail-into-Mexico/dp/0803281161/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341166808&sr=8-1&keywords=Down+the+Sante+Fe+Trail+and+into+Mexico/thepulprack-20">Down the Sante Fe Trail and into Mexico</a>, The Diary of Susan Shelby Magoffin, 1846-1847. Edited by Stella M. Drumm. Foreword by Howard R. Lamar. 1982.<br />
<br />
Majors, Alexander: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seventy-Years-Frontier-Alexander-Majors/dp/0803281587/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341166875&sr=1-2&keywords=Seventy+Years+on+the+Frontier/thepulprack-20">Seventy Years on the Frontier</a>, Alexander Majors' Memoirs of a Lifetime on the Border. Edited by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham. With a Preface by Buffalo Bill Cody. Introduction by David Dary. 1989.<br />
<br />
Lavender, David: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bents-Fort-David-Lavender/dp/0803257538/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341166936&sr=1-1&keywords=Bent%27s+Fort\thepulprack-20">Bent's Fort</a>. 1972<br />
<br />
Adams, Andy: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wells-Brothers-Young-Cattle-Kings/dp/B00266RUZ4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341167035&sr=1-1&keywords=Wells+Brothers%2C+The+Young+Cattle+Kings+bison+books/thepulprack-20">Wells Brothers, The Young Cattle Kings</a>. Introduction by Jim Hoy. 1997.<br />
<br />
These are all nice-looking books, filled with interesting info. I intend posting a review of the Magoffin volume soon.<br />
<br />
Many thanks for Bison Books' keeping these texts readily available!<br />
<br />Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-91872219241836219352012-06-28T19:34:00.000-04:002012-06-28T19:34:40.280-04:00Frederick Faust's Abrupt Endings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt51iw7qfrL7ACf9rmaK27eMPqZ8Iwztwz7Xb6r3cQ3HeAhFv2PbGedWWtqAgyXFqmPDtUX5i4zVlFFcTYCRqgmpuIrKbTXboH76hRRWaZ2LsR42P1yMk5UZr_27xS7c4Xo2HBDxkOC_w/s1600/Lightning+Gold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt51iw7qfrL7ACf9rmaK27eMPqZ8Iwztwz7Xb6r3cQ3HeAhFv2PbGedWWtqAgyXFqmPDtUX5i4zVlFFcTYCRqgmpuIrKbTXboH76hRRWaZ2LsR42P1yMk5UZr_27xS7c4Xo2HBDxkOC_w/s320/Lightning+Gold.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<strong>It's been awhile since I shared something about Frederick Faust</strong>, more popularly known as Max Brand. While Leisure Books was publishing fresh Brand paperbacks in the mass market format, a new title seemed to appear every month. But once Dorchester filed bankruptcy, new Brand westerns have been hard to find. Five Star is still releasing hardcover editions of Brand's work, but I don't know from whom they will appear as paperback editions (or if they will).<br />
<br />
So, back to this re-post from the old Pulp Rack Web site:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong>Frederick Faust's Abrupt Endings</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span> by <span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Duane Spurlock</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Frederick Faust's stories frequently seem to defy the traditional plot
arc, in which a denouement -- or falling action that wraps up loose ends --
follows the climax. More than one reader has commented with a grumble about the
abrupt endings of Faust's stories. With the body of his tale told, the author
seems to have no interest in providing a typical sense of closure to his
readers. Like a rocket that has expended all its fuel and then falls to earth,
a Faust story speeds pell-mell to its climax, and then stops.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">One explanation for this trait of Faust's storytelling is easy to apply:
that the editorial demands of pulp fiction magazines did not require the
artifice of closure.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">This argument suggests that readers weren't interested in a neat, tidy,
wrapping up of narratives, or that editors didn't want or worry about such
things. There may be some weight to this theory, but I don't believe it is the
ultimate answer. Of course, in some cases a lack of closure led to readers'
demanding more of the story. A prime example is <b>Edgar Rice Burroughs</b>' <i>Tarzan
of the Apes</i>, which ends with Tarzan giving up his rightful inheritance so
that the woman he loves -- Jane Porter -- may marry the man he mistakenly
believes that she loves. Of course, Burroughs wrote a sequel -- <i>The Return
of Tarzan</i> -- in which everything ends as readers had hoped, with John
Clayton (Tarzan) recognized as Lord Greystoke and married to Jane.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">A second explanation that one may apply to the lack of closure is that
Faust's lifestyle -- his extravagant spending -- demanded the furious pace he
followed in writing his fiction, and he had no time or inclination for crafting
tidy endings. After all, wasn't he writing for a popular audience seeking
entertainment, not for a literary audience expecting aesthetic pleasures?</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">There is a third explanation for the lack of closure: simply that Faust
was unable to craft such scenes. Look at the typical course his stories run --
the protagonist is always moving forward against hardships, toward a goal
(known or unrealized), tacking a seemingly unending succession of obstacles,
natural and manmade; Faust simply ends his story when its hero overcomes the
latest difficulty that is most pertinent to the immediate narrative. We can
assume that other obstacles will lie ahead for the hero -- any closing action
that Faust might craft (that is, closing action that is true to the world of
the protagonist and the narrative he has inhabited) would actually form the
beginning of a new story, a new series of hurdles to leap over.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">For examples, and to demonstrate that Faust's tendency toward this sort
of ending was not limited simply to his pulp magazine stories, let's turn first
to a non-pulp publication, to a couple of non-western stories that appeared in
an untypical Faust market, <i>Good Housekeeping</i> magazine. Faust had two
stories published there -- "Miniature" and "Level Landings"
in the September and October issues of 1939, respectively. In
"Miniature," the protagonist has found a solution to the trials he
has faced the past recent years. But by the end of the story, he throws away
this option, even with the sure knowledge that he will face greater
difficulties in the future.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">At the end of "Level Landings," the awakened hero realizes
that the expectations for him -- to marry his sweetheart and settle down to a
comfortable domestic life with no physical threats, no dangers -- will be
utterly unsatisfying for him. He feels the pull of a life filled with
excitement and adventure, and the reader leaves the story with the full
expectation for the hero to dump his fiance so he may seek out the bright face
of danger.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In neither story do we see the sort of closure that readers of
contemporary popular fiction have come to expect. The stories end with no real
happiness, no complacency, no happy marriages that signal the end of a comedy
by Shakespeare, whose work Faust so loved. Instead, the heroes of these stories
look forward to further trials and obstacles to overcome.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong>Pulp Protagonists</strong></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Let's turn now to Faust's pulp protagonists. Like Hercules working
through his twelve labors, Faust's heroes move from one task or difficult
situation to another. A story recounts a hero's particular labor, then ends. In
the case of Faust's series characters, the next story in the series covers
another labor, and then ends. Even if a character reaches the end of his labors
to win some treasure or knowledge, there is no closure, for other challenges
shall arise for such characters.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">For instance, Faust's "<b>Reata</b>" must perform three
missions for Pop Dickerman to repay a debt. Reata's saga is told over the
course of seven stories -- those devoted to each of his missions for Dickerman,
and then the stories that recount his labors to clean his name in the eyes of
the authorities.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Each story about "<b>Bull Hunter</b>" can be seen as focusing
on that character's overcoming some great physical or situational challenge
until he finally wins the hand of Mary Hood.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The "<b>Thunder Moon</b>" stories focus on the character's
many challenges -- to prove his manhood (in differing ways) to the Cheyenne and
to the whites and to himself -- and each story examines the character's trials
as he faces these challenges. At the end of the series -- "Farewell,
Thunder Moon" -- Thunder Moon has turned away from his Cheyenne brothers
to marry a white woman, but the reader knows that the warrior's psychic split
as a white man raised among Indians will still bring him torment in the life
that may follow the closing of the story.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Whether Faust was actually unable to write scenes of typical closure,
this hypothesis -- plus the examples just given -- suggests a fourth
explanation for the abrupt endings of his stories: that he was instead
following a tradition of heroic stories in which closure is not an element.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong>The Heroic Tradition</strong></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Faust was an avid student of older literatures, and it's quite possible
to see him working within that tradition -- just as he was so devoted to
writing out-of-fashion, classically styled poetry.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">To further describe my point about the older tradition that may have
been Faust's model, I'll rely on a quote from John Crowley's <i>Aegypt</i>
because it makes the point so succinctly. In this scene from Crowley's novel
about stories and histories, a character -- history professor Frank Walker Barr
-- neatly summarizes the sort of heroic literary tradition of which Faust's
protagonists might be a part:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong>"It seems to me </strong></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">that what grants meaning in
folktales and legendary narratives -- we're thinking now of something like the <i>Nibelungenlied
</i>or the <i>Mort D'Arthur </i>-- is not logical development so much as
thematic repetition, the same ideas or events or even the same objects
recurring in different circumstances, or different objects contained in similar
circumstances." . . . .</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">"A hero sets out . . . to find a treasure, or to free his beloved,
or to capture a castle or find a garden. Every incident, every adventure that
befalls him as he searches, <i>is </i>the treasure or the beloved, the castle
or the garden, repeated in different forms. Like a set of nesting boxes -- each
of them however just as large, or no smaller, than all the others. The
interpolated stories he is made to listen to only tell him his own story in
another form. The pattern continues until a kind of certainty arises, a
satisfaction that the story has been told often enough to seem at last to have
been really told. Not uncommonly in old romances the story just breaks off
then, or turns to other matters.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">"Plot, logical development, conclusions prepared for by
introductions, or inherent in a story's premises -- logical completion as a
vehicle of meaning -- all that is later, not necessarily later in time, but
belonging to a later, more sophisticated kind of literature. There are some
interesting half-way kind of works, like <i>The Faerie Queene</i>, which set up
for themselves a titanic plot, an almost mathematical symmetry of structure,
and never finish it: never need to finish it, because they are at heart works
of the older kind, and the pattern has already arisen satisfyingly within them,
the flavor is already there . . . " (pp. 360-361)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">It isn't so difficult to recognize in Faust's work elements of that
older kind of literature, in which <b>the adventures of the protagonist <i>are</i>
the treasure</b> -- for both the reader and the story's hero.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">It is generally acknowledged that Faust's characters are larger than life
in their personalities and abilities, are mythic in their proportions. As Faust
collector and novelist <b>William Nolan</b> states in an article for the May
1997 issue of <i>Firsts: The Book Collector's Magazine</i>, Faust's "West
was primarily a place of myth and fancy, an imaginary landscape people with
demigods, wonder horses and legendary villains." (p. 41) So it isn't so
difficult to understand how Faust -- an avid student of older literatures --
would cast his tales of action and adventure, of heroes surmounting challenges
and crises in the mold of older traditions in which the niceties of the sort of
"logical completion" that contemporary readers expect do not appear.
Do not, according to the determination of the author, <i>need </i>to appear
because the labors of the hero are all that is essential to the story: These
labors prove and prove again the worthiness of the protagonist to be considered
heroic.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Think again of <b>Bull Hunter</b>. Each of his stories recounts his
facing some hardship; his saga ends with a sort of incompleteness -- "The
Trail Up Old Arrowhead," the last of Faust's five stories about Bull, ends
with Bull unconscious, clobbered by the conniving Hal Dunbar. Bull unknowingly
is saved by Riley, with whom Dunbar had conspired to kill Bull. But Riley
drives off Dunbar when he recognizes the truly heroic presence that fills Bull.
Riley leaves as well after making sure -- from a hiding place -- that Bull will
revive once Pete Reeves arrives.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">There is no scene of marriage to beloved Mary Hood, no assured declaration
of a "happy ever after" ending. But Riley reaffirms the lesson of the
Bull Hunter stories when he essentially summarizes them to Dunbar:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">"Here's a simple gent, lying here stunned. Well, it ain't the first
time that he's beat the both of us. He's lying there knocked cold, but he'll be
found by a partner, Pete Reeve. And he'll be brought back to Moosehorn, and
he'll marry the prettiest girl we ever seen. How does he get all this? Just by
being simple, Hal, and honest. . . " (p. 248, Leisure Books edition)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The last entry in the <b>Thunder Moon</b> series offers another example.
In "Farewell, Thunder Moon," the adopted Cheyenne warrior's true
family travels west and locates the lost son and his tribe. Thunder
Moon/William Sutton is torn between the two worlds that call to his soul. He
loves Charlotte Keene, a beauty from the white world, yet he cannot make
himself abandon the frontier. Similarly, Charlotte is unwilling to give up on
her love for him. So, in Chapter 14, she agrees to leave behind her civilized
world and to live in the wilderness with her beloved.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In Chapter 16, Thunder Moon and his white visitors are set upon by
Cheyenne warriors jealous of his accomplishments. After dispatching the
would-be murderers, Thunder Moon realizes that his trust has been betrayed by
men he considered to be like brothers to him. This betrayal severs all ties
with his Cheyenne past.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">There is no final scene of William Sutton and Charlotte Keene leaving
the frontier together, no romantic fade out. There is only Thunder Moon's monolog,
which effectively ends the novel and the series, summarizing the primary
dilemma of the entire series and its resolution:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">"The river was between me and my life as a Cheyenne. The river is
between us, and I never can cross it again. There is blood upon the water. This
night my friends have gone from me. I was a Cheyenne. My name was Thunder Moon.
All the prairies knew me. But Thunder Moon is dead. Do you hear? The knife of
Standing Antelope found the heart of that chief. He is dead. He will return no more.
. . .</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">"I was two people in one. . . but now one half of me is dead. I am
going home to my own people. I am William Sutton at last." (pp. 79-80)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">It's interesting that in the passage quoted from <i>Aegypt</i>,
Crowley's Barr mentions <i>The Faerie Queene </i>-- Robert Easton notes it as a
favorite of Faust in <i>Max Brand: The Big Westerner</i>. And like Edmund
Spenser's poem, Faust's stories of larger-than-life characters and mythically
powerful animals hark back to "works of the older kind" -- tales
whose structure depends upon incident and adventure; not upon plot arcs,
development and denouement. As in "Level Landings," it is striving
against adversity and overcoming danger that mark the hero. Settling down to
domestic comfort -- the typical denouement upon which many hundreds of grade B
westerns have faded out -- has no place in the rugged landscape drawn by Faust.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong>Bibliography</strong></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br />
Crowley, John. <i>Aegypt</i>, Bantam Books (New York: 1994)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-50282613289203023302012-06-28T15:49:00.000-04:002012-06-28T15:49:14.824-04:00Print edition of Jungle Tales Vol. 1 debuts at #5 on New Pulp Best Seller List<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Print edition of Jungle Tales Vol. 1
debuts at #5 on New Pulp Best Seller List</div>
<br />
<br />
According to Barry Reese's most recent compilation, the print
edition of Jungle Tales Volume 1 debuted on the New Pulp Best Seller
List at # 5!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://barryreese.net/2012/06/25/new-pulp-best-seller-list-based-on-amazon-sales-ranks-62512/">http://barryreese.net/2012/06/25/new-pulp-best-seller-list-based-on-amazon-sales-ranks-62512/</a><br />
<br />
Jungle Tales Volume 1, which includes my Ki-Gor story, "The
Devil's Nest," is now available at Amazon . . .<br />
<br />
<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jungle-Tales-Volume-Aaron-Smith/dp/0615659977/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1340755685&sr=8-5&keywords=duane+spurlock%2Fthepulprack-20" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Jungle-Tales-Volume-Aaron-Smith/dp/0615659977/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1340755685&sr=8-5&keywords=duane+spurlock%2Fthepulprack-20</a><br />
<br />
Thanks for your support!<br />Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-13007759506593429002012-06-25T17:42:00.001-04:002012-06-25T17:42:49.322-04:00My new Ki-Gor adventure now available in Jungle Tales Vol. 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh257Ng9GOvRPxztsnw7a0hEIlGHaQYjoHEBtUkbn7Dc2MIcZp_jHCDg8BQPRiLVzYbhKUNmksLPXW2j7WMtdp2P7TlTbp_CwJBdlVRwgCovXlDxbyR1rn433IbkC93CGrevj-YBxGj4_c/s1600/JungleTalesB2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh257Ng9GOvRPxztsnw7a0hEIlGHaQYjoHEBtUkbn7Dc2MIcZp_jHCDg8BQPRiLVzYbhKUNmksLPXW2j7WMtdp2P7TlTbp_CwJBdlVRwgCovXlDxbyR1rn433IbkC93CGrevj-YBxGj4_c/s320/JungleTalesB2.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
Please excuse the blatant promotional tone, but I think at least some folks here will be interested:<br />
<br />
I'm contributing to this year's Tarzan Centennial with a novella in a new anthology: Jungle Tales, Volume 1, from new pulp publisher Airship 27, features three stories about popular jungle hero Ki-Gor. My story, "The Devil's Nest," finds our hero searching for a lost American heir, encoutering a lost tribe of warriors, and battling a squad of mercenaries hunting down the lost gold mines of Ophir, the source of King Solomon's gold.<br />
<br />
This action-packed anthology also features stories by Aaron Smith and Peter Miller, a bold painted cover by Bryan Fowler, and interior illustrations by Kelly Everaert. The eBook version currently is available from Airship 27's Hangar, which you can reach this URL:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.robmdavis.com/OScommerce/product_info.php?products_id=85&osCsid=4934eefcf304e00ace989fd9c215894c">http://www.robmdavis.com/OScommerce/product_info.php?products_id=85&osCsid=4934eefcf304e00ace989fd9c215894c</a><br />
<br />
A print version will soon be available.<br />
<br />
Find out more at The Pulp Rack:<br /><a href="http://pulprack.blogspot.com/">http://pulprack.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<br />
- DuaneDuane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-36608002494064187012012-06-21T11:29:00.001-04:002012-06-21T11:29:13.150-04:00Camping<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFw-8Hm_ZDjutIoirw-HRV0DbjNYAwGgp5We1IXwaTjVFB8bwHye3nuyO19m0Wp7gxc4WDk62mMO2uIIyoQn_E9RupaMXkvmfkWwmxm1BFNoXtUiR1jYsDcZrgfdh85CZmGE0BU-7YDmI/s1600/2012+Scout+Summer+Camp+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFw-8Hm_ZDjutIoirw-HRV0DbjNYAwGgp5We1IXwaTjVFB8bwHye3nuyO19m0Wp7gxc4WDk62mMO2uIIyoQn_E9RupaMXkvmfkWwmxm1BFNoXtUiR1jYsDcZrgfdh85CZmGE0BU-7YDmI/s320/2012+Scout+Summer+Camp+015.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I'm at Boy Scout Summer Camp this week with 21 boys. Here's the view from the dining hall.<br />
<br />
We had a ten-minute downpour Sunday afternoon; otherwise, the weather's been great: mid-90s, with humidity only around 50-60%, and a nice breeze all day long. Nice sleeping weather at night. But some folks have complained that one whippoorwill has been trilling through its notes after midnight at warp speed. Ah, nature.<br />
<br />Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-82972363706562992372012-06-06T12:10:00.000-04:002012-06-06T12:10:35.340-04:00The Coen Brothers' True Grit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5UYeGsUNMaagqdtr1Dq6SFTYj4H8Wt8kA7ByTT3IcsIJsin3leYVR3C7ke9stR5Jc_96cDKxPa4H9uBWoSQYOwYWTkMLn7IUfHFkVHfEL4QBd9ogb_7Jb0CtpEKrBIhRYCDsMQNl01k/s1600/truegrit_coen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5UYeGsUNMaagqdtr1Dq6SFTYj4H8Wt8kA7ByTT3IcsIJsin3leYVR3C7ke9stR5Jc_96cDKxPa4H9uBWoSQYOwYWTkMLn7IUfHFkVHfEL4QBd9ogb_7Jb0CtpEKrBIhRYCDsMQNl01k/s200/truegrit_coen.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<strong>During the Silent Era and Hollywood's Golden Age</strong>, when
westerns were a regularly produced film genre, new films based on western
novels and stories were commonplace. New western fiction appeared weekly on
newsstands and on bookstore shelves, and Hollywood producers saw little need
for remaking a western movie that already had been based on a prose work.<o:p></o:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Therefore the number of western films that have had remakes
is relatively low. Consider, then, the number of western remakes of movies
already assigned <i>classic</i> status. A smaller number still, right?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Look at this in another manner – how many western films have
been based on books whose remakes have been produced during the original
author's lifetime?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Can you count 'em on one hand? I can, if I don't take time
to gargle the Internet for further research (other than to double-check some
dates) . . .<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><strong>Destry Rides Again</strong>
by Max Brand (Frederick Faust): three film versions, including the famous <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Destry-Rides-Again-Marlene-Dietrich/dp/B00008CMRO/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1338996429&sr=1-1/thepulprack-20">JamesStewart/Marlene Dietrich</a> film (1939); less famous is the <a href="http://www.audiemurphy.com/movies15.htm">Audie Murphy</a> version
titled <em>Destry</em> (1954 – granted, Faust had died in World War 2 by then); and a
still-less-known version with <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022810/">Tom Mix</a> was made in 1932. That's two versions
during Faust's lifetime. (Just for kicks, let's throw in a 1959 Broadway
musical version starring <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Destry-Rides-Again/dp/B004CD0VR8/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1338997051&sr=1-2-catcorr/thepulprack-20">Andy Griffith</a>.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3:10 to Yuma by
Elmore Leonard: two versions, one with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/3-10-Yuma-Special-Edition/dp/B000TGJ82Q/ref=sr_1_8?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1338997106&sr=1-8/thepulprack-20">Glenn Ford and Van Heflin</a> (1957), and
the other with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/3-10-Yuma-Widescreen-Edition/dp/B000XR9L50/ref=sr_1_4?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1338997106&sr=1-4/thepulprack-20">Russell Crowe and Christian Bale</a> (2007).<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stagecoach-Criterion-Collection-John-Wayne/dp/B00393SG0G/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1338997257&sr=1-2/thepulprack-20">Stagecoach</a>, based
on Ernest Haycox’s story “The Stage to Lordsburg,” has been filmed multiple
times--most famously by John Ford and starring John Wayne, but only once during the author’s life. Another <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_tc_2_0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3AErnest+Haycox&keywords=Ernest+Haycox&ie=UTF8&qid=1338997360&sr=1-2-ent&field-contributor_id=B001HPMZ2S/thepulprack-20">Haycox</a> story, “Stage
Station,” was the basis for two films: Apache Trail (1942) starring Lloyd Nolan
and Donna Reed, and Apache War Smoke (1952) starring Gilbert Roland and Glenda
Farrell. Only the former was released during the author’s lifetime.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
4. <strong>The Maltese Falcon</strong> by Dashiell Hammett. Yes, I'm willing
to consider this a western: It occurs in a western city, San Francisco; it has
been well-argued that Sam Spade's occupation, private operative, is a literary
updating of the popular culture fashioning of the romanticized loner cowboy;
the time and setting are not so distant from the Wild West era; the story's
tropes and the play of the characters in their fringe-culture environment
certainly displays similarities to activities in a semi-lawless boomtown during
the western-expansion golden age. Besides the famous<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maltese-Falcon-Three-Disc-Special-Edition/dp/B000GIXLW0/ref=sr_1_4?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1338997424&sr=1-4/thepulprack-20"> John Huston/HumphreyBogart</a> adaptation (1941), there was a 1931 version with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Maltese-Falcon-Satan-Lady/dp/B000J6E0T2/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1338997482&sr=1-1/thepulprack-20">Ricardo Cortez</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWh0p4ITHCt-M0n23YUyfhoGMGqpAs38lpAGjVfhEK7eO6F9XLvpEMjPVN4MNDVyaLjSHFYNPQlk-4Eczctn_RmB1xYumRJ9kT6-2ondhowKQnzN3Rv9Dq9mG7Bc2s4kAyzpW2VDRCcTY/s1600/truegrit_portis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWh0p4ITHCt-M0n23YUyfhoGMGqpAs38lpAGjVfhEK7eO6F9XLvpEMjPVN4MNDVyaLjSHFYNPQlk-4Eczctn_RmB1xYumRJ9kT6-2ondhowKQnzN3Rv9Dq9mG7Bc2s4kAyzpW2VDRCcTY/s200/truegrit_portis.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then there's
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Portis-Charles-Author-Paperback-Nov-2010/dp/B004FQ2Y4K/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338997630&sr=1-3/thepulprack-20">True Grit</a> by Charles Portis: first filmed by Henry Hathaway in 1969 with<a href="http://www.amazon.com/True-Grit-Special-Collectors-Edition/dp/B000O179FY/ref=pd_bxgy_mov_img_b/thepulprack-20"> JohnWayne</a>, and remade in 2011 by <a href="http://www.amazon.com/True-Grit-Matt-Damon/dp/B003UESJME/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1338997531&sr=1-1/thepulprack-20">Ethan and Joel Coen</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<em>True Grit</em> is now a member of a very select club. (If I've
forgotten other members of the club, please let me know.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are a number of surprises that some people express
about this fact. Indeed, both surprise and dismay were expressed by many folks
when the plans for the remake were first announced:<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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At a time when so few westerns are filmed, why shoot a new
version of an existing film?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Why remake a movie already declared a classic?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Or, considered another way, Why remake John Wayne's greatest
film?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Why remake <i>this</i> film?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Who do these Coens think they are, anyway?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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I'll make an effort to respond to these questions from my
own highly subjective perspective.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong>At a time when so few westerns are filmed, why shoot a new
version of an existing film?</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That's a
pretty good question. I'm sure the Coens have addressed this somewhere, but
without reading any of that, I know Hollywood is all about successful box
office draws. Just as mainstream (or, if you prefer J.A. Konrath's term,
<em>Legacy</em>) publishers are looking for bestsellers, Hollywood is looking for
blockbusters. So, if a movie has performed well in the past, why won't it
perform well now? And if someone wants to make a western, which Hollywood apparently hasn't
so sure about these days, why wouldn't you make one that's already considered a
success? Why spend money on something untested, on something that might not be
a Sure Thing? (And what, after all, might <i>be</i> a Sure Thing in this
sketchy genre called Westerns? There are no fast cars, no CGI monsters or rocket
ships, no cosmic explosions – heck, there are NO ZOMBIES!) Therefore, following
the Algebra of Money, it makes sense to produce a new version of an existing film.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<strong>Why remake a movie already declared a classic?</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, another good question. The gist of my
response would be to say, “See previous response.” I'll throw in a few more
details: Hollywood money men seem to like gambling on a Sure Thing. It was a
classic once, why can't it be a classic again? The original hung its hook on
John Wayne; we don't have Wayne, but we have those off-kilter Coen Brothers who
seem to have a following, <em>and</em> they made Money with some of their other movies,
so let's roll the dice that are somewhat loaded with Coens and Their History Of
Making Money.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhqQnW6TMk3lfc1HWWz7eP3KGhdA2dXTsq0FdKrc-Nvg88DwHRMiaf20uF7qIw0gvGk9AZrWvHe0KnR36sDXabNl1Y2R8_GfEqQFuByL__4SJUwqGYhAd9ZbrHM1kz0qO6M5UFDfWQmw/s1600/truegrit_wayne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhqQnW6TMk3lfc1HWWz7eP3KGhdA2dXTsq0FdKrc-Nvg88DwHRMiaf20uF7qIw0gvGk9AZrWvHe0KnR36sDXabNl1Y2R8_GfEqQFuByL__4SJUwqGYhAd9ZbrHM1kz0qO6M5UFDfWQmw/s200/truegrit_wayne.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Or, considered another way, <strong>Why remake John Wayne's greatest
film?</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, I'll argue that <em>True Grit</em>
is <strong>not</strong> John Wayne's greatest film. It may be his best-known movie because of an
awareness that exists beyond the typical audience for western movies, thanks in
part to its ubiquitous existence on cable channels. It's true he won his only
Oscar for his performance as Rooster Cogburn, and I enjoy him in that role. But
I'll argue that he acted as well or better in other movies. <em>Stagecoach</em>, another
John Wayne film (perhaps the one that most got his star rising), has been remade
multiple times. And one might argue that Wayne remade one of his own films when
he performed in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Bravo-John-Wayne/dp/B0045HCJSK/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1338998101&sr=1-2/thepulprack-20">Rio Bravo</a>. (Or was that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/El-Dorado-Paramount-Centennial-Collection/dp/B001TWT0A4/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1338998148&sr=1-1/thepulprack-20">El Dorado</a>?) Anyway, while this point
may have value in discussions of other topics, it has no more weight in this discussion
than “You shouldn't remake a movie that <i>didn't</i> win an Oscar.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<strong>Why remake <i>this</i> film?</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>See my first and second responses, above. And, to borrow from my third
response, I'll say that <em>True Grit</em> may be John Wayne's most famous film, and
people who know it or are at least aware of it might have been willing to pay
money (see references to Algebra of Money, above) to satisfy their curiosity
about a remake.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<strong>Who do these Coens think they are, anyway?</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I haven't met these boys. But from the
evidence, I'd say they are solid storytellers with a fine sense of Hollywood
history and filmmaking under their hats. They understand genre and how to use, expand, and step
outside of its tropes. Apparently they know how to nurture fine performances
from actors. They understand how to play off-kilter in a way that is endearing
and strengthening for a film (just watch <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Simple-M-Emmett-Walsh/dp/B001B1UO7G/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1338998250&sr=1-2/thepulprack-20">Blood Simple</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Arizona-Nicolas-Cage/dp/B00006LPGP/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1338998300&sr=1-2/thepulprack-20">Raising Arizona</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hudsucker-Proxy-Tim-Robbins/dp/B00000ING2/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1338998339&sr=1-1/thepulprack-20">TheHudsucker Proxy</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/O-Brother-Where-Art-Thou/dp/B00003CXRM/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1338998380&sr=1-2/thepulprack-20">O Brother, Where Art Thou?</a>), and <em>True Grit</em> is a story with
some off-kilter moments; go read the book. One can argue they had proven their
facility in filming a western when they made a successful movie from the dreary
story of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Country-Old-Men-Javier-Bardem/dp/B00118T63C/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1338998436&sr=1-2/thepulprack-20">No Country For Old Men</a>. (Really, it's a western.) So, altogether I'd
say they were actually a good choice for heading up a remake of <em>True Grit</em>. Audiences
really wouldn't have appreciated Hollywood's turning over the history of a
beloved movie to a couple of hacks.<o:p></o:p></div>
Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-79138509814633158222012-05-31T20:56:00.000-04:002012-05-31T20:56:36.790-04:00Gino D'Achille's cover for Night of the Coyotes by Philip Ketchum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26dE_pfaaCf_XLCqLSu0OhtgMn_aru3juAQaoWQDblnvEXVhPgRq_fEl0IOhiUhIcwMxV41XnzCaJQXQFsyWP3oElYJYEwsfI5mgmGfATB4-u3Mg1f56TLES1kB1AP8pSux0yFuPlA44/s1600/Nightof014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26dE_pfaaCf_XLCqLSu0OhtgMn_aru3juAQaoWQDblnvEXVhPgRq_fEl0IOhiUhIcwMxV41XnzCaJQXQFsyWP3oElYJYEwsfI5mgmGfATB4-u3Mg1f56TLES1kB1AP8pSux0yFuPlA44/s320/Nightof014.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
My main point of this post is to note the cover art to this Ballantine Western: it's by internationally known illustrator Gino D'Achille.<br />
<br />
Until recently I knew D'Achille's work as a fantasy artist, primarily because of his covers for Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series published during the 1970s, before the cover art was turned over to Michael Whelan. D'Achille's Barsoom covers were stark, with little flash of the sort I was used to seeing on Robert E. Howard's books or others by ERB, such as the Krenkel or Frazetta covers used by Ace for the Pellucidar and Venus series. D'Achille's nearly monochromatic paintings appeared blah on the bookshelves next to those over-the-top representations of heroic men and nubile princesses.<br />
<br />
And when Michael Whelan's covers started to appear on the Barsoom books, it was like seeing 3-D HD TV after watching nothing but black-and-white on a tube cabinet set.<br />
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Looking back now, those covers have an appeal.<br />
<br />
But this blog is about westerns.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrAsaCov7xTX9LiUg4nRkQHyQdx8mfUCpPxjsd5T4MXrZBnA7AFWgag8pAkmPmPApYAlzQipXYjHxcGjfsq8z_mcWNx-AaqBn1nj9Ffsz2UjzbRXz2wyYgIJWWGP_e_GnblhgTGVwhyphenhyphen0/s1600/Hart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrAsaCov7xTX9LiUg4nRkQHyQdx8mfUCpPxjsd5T4MXrZBnA7AFWgag8pAkmPmPApYAlzQipXYjHxcGjfsq8z_mcWNx-AaqBn1nj9Ffsz2UjzbRXz2wyYgIJWWGP_e_GnblhgTGVwhyphenhyphen0/s200/Hart.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I hadn't realized D'Achille had painted covers for westerns until I saw this one. It's rather dark (especially when compared to his Barsoom covers), but very effective. It caught my eye.<br />
<br />
Exploring the artist's <a href="http://www.ginodachille.com/gallery/commercial-art/07-cowboys-western/18/">Web site</a>, turns out he has executed quite a few western covers -- including the Piccadilly Western series <em>Hart</em> written by<a href="http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/john-b-harvey/"> John B. Harvey</a>.Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-84786758084718249622012-05-28T20:45:00.002-04:002012-05-28T20:45:51.057-04:00Memorial DayToday we honor the memory and sacrifice of those who have served our country in its military services.
Thank you one and all!Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-28107162373926228282012-05-19T13:10:00.000-04:002012-05-19T13:10:43.950-04:00The Saga of the O'Brien Clan by William W. Johnstone<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078602898X/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_g14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1785MGX8K7WJ343SFQZB&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846#_/thepulprack-20">The Brothers O'Brien</a> by William W. Johnstone
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/PP-The-Brothers-OBrien-Hangman/dp/0786028998/ref=pd_sim_b_9/thepulprack-20">Shadow of the Hangman</a> by William W. Johnstone
Published by Pinnacle Books, February and April 2012, respectively.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1fcmhp8-Fi2P8CmvJkX72p-qA6XilTiKdtFheveLBvP_BgPWZA3V35OhkHF7uci1SWUJo3t__k8C8duQlRnsUGk7EBf8vEMQXm_cwwCjOEGT_5o2RYCf7Bsg-QpL5iVTy4TLU00KXd4k/s1600/TheBrothersObrien.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1fcmhp8-Fi2P8CmvJkX72p-qA6XilTiKdtFheveLBvP_BgPWZA3V35OhkHF7uci1SWUJo3t__k8C8duQlRnsUGk7EBf8vEMQXm_cwwCjOEGT_5o2RYCf7Bsg-QpL5iVTy4TLU00KXd4k/s200/TheBrothersObrien.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>Some of the most engaging western stories are about families</b>: <i>Bonanza</i>, <i>The Big Valley</i>, <i>The Sons of Katie Elder</i>, <i>How the West Was Won/The Macahans</i> come to mind. Of course, these are all TV series and movies, but any number of stories by Thomas Thompson and Tom W. Blackburn also fit in the mold. Louis L'Amour's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Sackett#/ref=sr_kk_3?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Asackett+series&keywords=sackett+series&node=283155&ie=UTF8&qid=1337447148/thepulprack-20">Sackett</a> saga may be the top contender for expansive version of this sub-genre.
Author <a href="http://williamjohnstone.net/">William W. Johnstone</a> — and the folks now behind the WWJ brand — certainly understood and understand the appeal of the family saga. One can easily argue that every one of the various WWJ series is in some way or other a family saga.
One of the two newest WWJ series has its feet firmly planted in the family saga mold, that of The Brothers O'Brien.
The opening book of the series describes the establishing of the O'Brien clan's ranch, Dromore, by Shamus, his wife Saraid, and his segundo Luther Ironside. Four boys are born to the O'Briens before the death of the missus, and this band of gritty men face off any threats to their independence or the well-being of Dromore.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIm4Q9BFCgJSneAEeoIUG7Sg8ZMvm0Bv8f1tZSxWvnALyQr9_yakEpU0pVvfiU90hesmldKSsPHpQ4sserbFLHmlBpzVu2gt0muHBdA5GOwPXWAOsqDF2KeUPoXOLE0AqxOqaEL98rF0I/s1600/Shadowofthehangman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIm4Q9BFCgJSneAEeoIUG7Sg8ZMvm0Bv8f1tZSxWvnALyQr9_yakEpU0pVvfiU90hesmldKSsPHpQ4sserbFLHmlBpzVu2gt0muHBdA5GOwPXWAOsqDF2KeUPoXOLE0AqxOqaEL98rF0I/s200/Shadowofthehangman.jpg" /></a></div>
In both of the series' first two novels, the villains are truly evil. In the first novel, a scheming daughter of a Mexican landowner brings about the death of her own father as she schemes to bring the wealth of the O'Briens under her control. In the second, honest-to-goodness Satan worshippers plot revenge on the O'Briens for the hanging of family member after caught rustling ten years earlier. One wonders if this O'Briens-against-the-forces-of-Hell's-evils will be a continuing theme for the series.
The writing styles for the two books differ, suggesting two ghost-writers are behind the books, but the characterizations are consistent, and J.A. Johnstone or someone has done a good job checking continuity. The various members of the cast are engaging and entertaining to follow in their interactions with one another and with other characters. Like other WWJ series, this one likely will go long and far.Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147134736983060410.post-70818099594591705052012-05-12T13:53:00.001-04:002012-05-12T13:53:46.347-04:00Dead's Man RanchA Ralph Compton novel by <a href="http://matthewmayo.com/">Matthew P. Mayo</a>. Published by Signet Books, 2012.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUrv5v0sxuh7DlI6mJEnIyLOvQRm7Wo6z30PIzVZnwY_KGcrrpavH9Xe7FI2nqnjFJgFcuuyk6uaJ3ppglmr5rRmpklTPHIV2NyZZ9ZO6POeA9afEs1uSl-gXdTHwOxxztRfIaY2lfyE/s1600/DeadMansRanch-Cover-184x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUrv5v0sxuh7DlI6mJEnIyLOvQRm7Wo6z30PIzVZnwY_KGcrrpavH9Xe7FI2nqnjFJgFcuuyk6uaJ3ppglmr5rRmpklTPHIV2NyZZ9ZO6POeA9afEs1uSl-gXdTHwOxxztRfIaY2lfyE/s200/DeadMansRanch-Cover-184x300.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>I'm not usually a fan </b>of the plot that features a dude or greenhorn heading west and colliding with the earthy western customs, only to end up won over by the locals and having the “veneer of civilization” (in the words of Edgar Rice Burroughs) stripped away to leave something more straightforward and honest. But Matthew P. Mayo's considerable storytelling skills excellently overcome the obstacles inherent in this vintage plot, and he delivers a well-told, nicely paced, exciting novel that any western reader will find very satisfying.
In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ralph-Compton-Dead-Mans-Ranch/dp/0451236211/ref=la_B002MKJM78_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1336845008&sr=1-2/thepulprack-20">Dead Man's Ranch</a>, a stranger — Bryan — comes to town, but everyone recognizes him as the spitting image of his father, who died recently and left one of the finest ranches in the territory to this son, who was sent East to be raised by his mother's parents after she died. There are complications to Bryan's taking over the ranch, of course: he's an Eastern dandy and doesn't have a clue to his family's story (his grandfather, who raised the boy, had disinherited Bryan's mother when she married the rough-and-tumble western rancher, and subsequently kept Bryan in the dark about his beginnings as he raised the boy, even returning unopened any letters and gifts from Bryan's father when they came to the house); his dead father left behind the kindly Esperanza, unmarried, but with a grown bastard son, good-hearted Brandon, who has spent most of his time in a bottle since his father's death. There's also the owner of the neighboring ranch—also a widower—who wants Bryan's new property; his reckless, hot-headed, and frequently drunken son, who will perform any violent act necessary to get hold of the dead man's ranch to gain favor from his hard-nosed father; and the rancher's daughter, who frequently mediates between the two hot-headed men of her family.
Throw in a psychopathic serial killer who has heard about the complicated mess about settling the dead man's property from a lawyer who was in his cups at a poker table (and who later ends up dead in an alley—guess who does him in?), and you've got all the ingredients for a western stew that is muy caliente.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzfOTWdolzMgqD1YqDETSHGuXigmv9FksArVRt1oSBsgtRbO49uKWOAOdcqpbwGIAQSWQHAMWRr0ryTwxxoGWTmV9JuZaKKgEOes-5izRAHU-eCTGChB5aQ_XGyYfyCngiR9LXxawBow/s1600/Wrong-Town-Print-Cover-Front-lg-187x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzfOTWdolzMgqD1YqDETSHGuXigmv9FksArVRt1oSBsgtRbO49uKWOAOdcqpbwGIAQSWQHAMWRr0ryTwxxoGWTmV9JuZaKKgEOes-5izRAHU-eCTGChB5aQ_XGyYfyCngiR9LXxawBow/s200/Wrong-Town-Print-Cover-Front-lg-187x300.jpg" /></a></div>
Mayo weaves together all the tangled strands and pulls it off in fine fashion. He is a veteran western writer and historian of the West who has penned novels for Robert Hale's <a href="http://blackhorseexpress.blogspot.com/">Black Horse Western</a> imprint. (You can learn more about Black Horse Westerns at <a href="http://www.blackhorsewesterns.com/bhe25/">The Black Horse Extra</a> blog.) It's a pleasure to see his work now made available to a wider mass-market audience. Mayo has recently released the first novel about his series character, <b>Roamer</b>, titled <i>Wrong Town</i>. It is available as a paperbound <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Town-Roamer-Book-1/dp/0985141301/ref=tmm_pap_title_0/thepulprack-20">book</a> or as an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007L74538/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=mapma-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007L74538/thepulprack-20">ebook</a> for the Kindle. Readers who try <i>Dead Man's Ranch</i> will soon find themselves searching for his other books.Duane Spurlockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.com2