Weekly Quote: Things a Man Has to Do

"Some things a man has to do, so he does'em."

--from the 1950 movie WINCHESTER '73

Where the Long Grass Blows by Louis L'Amour - Western Novel Review

Cover of Louis L'Amour's Where the Long Grass Blows

Topnotch writing by Louis L'Amour who rarely disappoints. WHERE THE LONG GRASS BLOWS is the age-old range war story but with a couple of interesting twists. One of which is the fact that the leading character does considerable research on the situation in the area and the competing ranchers and comes in prepared with land deeds. His plan is to sit back and watch the competitors destroy each other. And then move in with his cattle-brand; taking over the range legally.

"Bill Canavan was a young man with a plan. He wanted not wealth but a ranch, a well watered ranch in good start country, and he intended to settle for nothing less. The fact that he was down to his last three dollars meant nothing, for his mind was made up. And back down the trail there were men who could tell you that Bill Canavan with his mindset on something was a force with which to reckon. Yet he was not riding blindly into a strange land. For, like the tactician he was, he had gathered his information carefully, judged the situation, the terrain, the time and the people, and now he was ready."

"This was a new country, but he knew the landmarks and the personalities. He knew the strengths and weaknesses of its rulers, knew the economic factors of their existence, knew the stresses and strains within. He knew that he rode into a valley at war, that blood had been shed and that armed man rode its trails night and day. Into this maelstrom he rode, a man alone, determined to have his own from the country."

Bill Canavan is 27 and has spent most of his life fighting for others to help them get their piece of the pie and now he's prepared to fight for his own. He planned for three years, talked to those familiar with the valley and has drawn a meticulous map based on conversations and recollections of people who had lived there or passed through.

The two big augurs are Walt Pogue at the Box N and Charlie Reynolds at the CR Ranch. Tensions are high and everyone anticipates that all hell will break loose pretty quick. The wild card is the foreman, Star Levitt at the VV Ranch who has a similar plan to watch the two big augurs destroy each other and then move in. Only Levitt has dastardly plans to insure there are no survivors on either side and that he ends up with the VV Ranch.

At the VV, are the owners Tom and Dixie Venable, brother and sister, who are at the mercy of a blackmailing Levitt who has freehand of the ranch doings and a promised marriage with Dixie. Canavan came into the valley thinking he knew all the angles but the relationship between the Venebles and Levitt has him puzzled. Still, from the start, he's identified Levitt as the real danger. For most of the book, Canavan is trying to figure out why Dixie would be engaged to Levitt and why Levitt seems to be calling the shots at the VV. Although puzzled by these mysteries, he has Levitt pegged as a quick-tempered fellow who, if pushed, will likely take rash actions that lead to mistakes Canavan can capitalize on.

And yes, Dixie Venable is Canavan's love interest from the first day. His first meeting with her results in an unforgettable horse race. And before the day is out, he's declared to the hotel clerk, "I'm going to marry her."

Canavan not only out fights Levitt, he out thinks him too. In addition to the fistfights and gunplay, there's an entertaining legal hearing at the end. And of course, a happy ending for Canavan and Dixie.

Where the Long Grass Blows is a terrific read and entertaining story. This one will definitely stay in my collection.

Cigarettes lit up 6
Cigars lit up 1
Pipes lit up 1
Gunplay 6
Fistfights 1

FAVORITE LINES


"When thieves fall out, honest men get their dues."

"The happy man is the man who is content with just what he needs… Just so he has it regular."

"It is the way of thieves to find excuses for their crimes. They always argue that everyone would steal if they had the chance."

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Weekly Quote: Dyin' All Alone

"In the end, you end up dyin' all alone on a dirty street." And for what? For nothin'."

from the 1952 movie HIGH NOON

Louis L'Amour's The High Graders - Western Novel Review

Cover of the High Graders by Louis L'Amour - 1963 Bantam edition

MIKE SHEVLIN the HIGH GRADERS' lead character, returns to the town of Rafter Crossing after a 13 year absence to investigate the shooting death of Eli Patterson, an old man who once befriended him. He also finds himself investigating the beating death of the rancher Jack Moorman who he had also befriended. Having arrived, he lands in the midst of a town war. As one would expect, both murders and the town hostilities are related.


During his long absence, the at one time cowtown, has become a gold mining town with more trouble than it can handle. And the once powerful cattle ranchers are now battling with the miners over what ranchers and miners have always fought over; the land and pollution of the water supply. The real conflict, however, is the feud between two factions who have been involved in high grading the gold from the biggest mine.

Two years previously, Ray Hollister, a small rancher with big ambitions, partnered with a shyster lawyer to bring in a mining superintendent named Ben Stowe to do the high grading. But Ben Stowe does a double cross and maneuvers Hollister and his lawyer out of the swindle. Now Hollister is using the other ranchers to get revenge on Stowe and steal the stolen gold. So while the ranchers think it's Ranchers vs Miners, it's really High Grader vs High Grader.

"Somebody had been shrewd enough to let a whole community get its fingers sticky. By simply looking the other way while the minors high-graded a little gold, the men who operated the mines had made the townspeople accomplices to their own theft."

In addition, although the owner of the mine is keeping her identify secret, one of the crooked factions is trying to press her to sell the "unprofitable" mine so, as they tell it, the land can be returned to ranch-land.


In the meantime, the owner of the mine, Laine Tennison, grows suspicious of the ever-increasing pressure to sell and suspects that the mine is really worth more than the superintendent is revealing. While keeping her ownership secret, she comes from San Francisco on the pretense of visiting a relative in order to get a closer look at the situation in Rafter Crossing. She is convinced that her mine is being bled dry by high graders. And is certain that the gold has not been removed from the town yet. Furthermore, she believes that whoever is stealing it has it hidden somewhere right there in town!


Naturally, it is Mike Shevlin she wants to hire to find out who is behind it and how they're doing it. And when he gets involved, all hell breaks loose. Things get too hot and Stowe is forced to move the gold out fast, but he's got to get it past all those looking for it: the owner; Shevlin; Hollister and the ranchers. He finds a surprising ally to move the gold. An ally that is fully aware that he can't trust Stowe to not put him six feet under once the gold is safely delivered to its destination.

"He knew their kind, for in a sense he was one of them. The difference was that he had chosen to ride on the side of the law--and when you came down to it that was quite a difference. He had deeply ingrained within him a respect for the law, and the need for it. He knew that otherwise life would be a jungle, And he knew too, that many of those who made out to despise the law the most, found themselves wishing for its protection."

The love interest for our hero is Laine Tennison. Although Shevlin has a bad reputation, obtained from his youth, she has a high regard for him because her uncle was the very Eli Patterson whose death Shevlin came back to investigate. And it was Patterson who, while in her presence, once recommended Shevlin to Tennison's grandfather.


This is a great read; a real page turner. It's action-packed from start to finish. There's tons of gunplay, several murders, a bushwhacking, fistfights, a kidnapping, all kinds of double crossing and an assassin for hire. And as they say, there is no honor among thieves...or trust. There's hardly anyone without a secret. And everyone mistrusts everyone else. In addition to the mystery of who killed Eli Patterson & Jack Moorman, are the mysteries about who's double crossing who and how. Even Laine, at one point, wonders if Shevlin hasn't changed sides on her.


This is my second read of this book and I'll probably read it again.

Back cover of The High Graders by Louis L'Amour.  An accurate portrayal of the story.

FAVORITE LINE:

"Ma'am, I'm Mike Shevlin, and all hell's about to break loose."


OTHER FAVORITES:


"...you smell of trouble, and trouble is my business."


"I take notions"


"When a horse starts swishin' his tail there's no telling what burrs he'll pick up."


"By noon tomorrow I'm cutting my wolf loose, and if you're not with me you'd better hunt a hole."


"Ma'am, you never get far talking things over with a man holding a gun. And this here man wasn't much given to talk."



Cigarettes lit up 1
Cigars lit up 13
Pipes lit up 3
Gunplay 5
Fistfights 3
Murder 3
Bushwhackings 1
Kidnapping 1

UPDATED: Formatting corrected

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Weekly Quote: What Does a Man Really Need?

"When you boil it all down, what does a man really need? Just a smoke and a cup of coffee."

--from the 1954 movie JOHNNY GUITAR

R M Hankins' The Man from Wyoming - Western Novel Review

Cover of R M Hankins' The Man from Wyoming Bantam 1949

Originally published by MacRae-Smith Company in 1941 under the title of "Lonesome River Range",   R M Hankins' "The Man from Wyoming" was published in 1949 by Bantam. The novel is a mystery story similar to Wilkie Collins' "The Moonstone" in which a woman witnesses her fiancé stealing a valued jewel and then spurns him without explaining why. Unbeknownst to either of them, he stole it while sleepwalking. So, while she did see him steal it, he's baffled by her behavior and years later is vindicated when a detective discovers the truth.

R M Hankins' odd dedication.

In R M Hankins' "The Man from Wyoming" story, the crime committed is not theft but murder.  A newlywed wife witnesses her husband murder her brother...or does she? The grand jury decides there's not enough evidence & his wife can't testify against him. But that doesn't keep the whole town from ostracizing him and his wife from spurning him.  So eventually he lights a shuck and disappears. Then two years later, a man who looks very much like her husband (only with a missing tooth and a scar) hires on at the ranch. Is he her husband's doppelgänger? Or is he her husband? Is he trying to cheat her out of her ranch? Or is he trying to save her ranch? There were so many twists and turns, first I was certain of one thing, and then certain of the opposite. His wife went a bit soft in the head when she witnessed him killing her brother so we're never sure how sane she is, although, at times she seems saner than and more intuitive and observant than anyone else in the story. 

The story is told in first-person which is my least-liked writing perspective. Although corny at times, it is an interesting story. It's just too bad it's weighed down with too much dialogue. It's also hampered by an overload of jargon & witty old-timer & one up-man-ship tales that don't support or advance the story.

In addition, the inconsistent morals are baffling. The woman hates her husband with a passion when she believes he's a murderer, but his look-alike comes along and is proven to be the real murderer and yet she's all for getting the ranch hands together to spring him from jail if he's convicted. Why didn't she support her husband likewise despite the fact she believed him to be the killer? And the narrator, who also hates him because he's a "killer" and even wants to shoot him on sight, calls the lookalike "the best man in the territory". Baffling.


I suppose if you don't think too hard, it's a good story.

Back Cover of R M Hankins' The Man from Wyoming

Cigarettes lit up 2
Gunplay 2
Pipes lit up 5
Pistol whippings 1
Fistfights 2
Murder 1
Bushwhackings 1

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Weekly Quote: Drinking Your Whiskey

"Always drink your whiskey with your gun hand, to show your friendly intentions."

From Ramon Adams' book, The Cowman and His Code of Ethics

Luke Short's Trouble Country - Western Novel Review

   

➽Luke Short's Trouble Country

I usually like stories written by Luke Short, but this one leaves me a mite disappointed.   

The main character of the story, Sam Dana, is a fiddle-footed cowboy who returns home following his father's death to find that his half-brother has let the ranch run down and has invited some hardcases to live in the main house. His brother's wife is so disgusted, she has moved into town. 

Sam doesn't really need the ranch as he's struck it rich with a coal mine so he's all set to sell his share of the ranch to his brother. However, when he hears accusations that his brother is a cattle rustler, he changes his mind, buys his brother out and sets to mend the tarnished Dana family name. 

Only his brother doesn't quit the area; instead he buys a neighboring ranch and commences to causing trouble. 

With a set-up like that, you'd expect lots of gunplay, bushwhacking and the possibility of Sam losing the ranch, his life or even his girl. 

Yep, there's a romance with the sheriff's daughter, but there's no conflict between the two to be resolved nor a challenge from another suitor to be overcome.  Disappointingly, before the romance even gets going, it turns sour when she heeds ugly rumors about Sam's sister-in-law and turns out to be both mean-spirited and prejudiced. 

And as for the ranch, there's never even the remote possibility he'll lose it. Yes, his brother burns down the ranch house, but golly, there's a still a small cabin there to live in and well, Sam is rich and can rebuild without much trouble. 

The story is well-written. My disappointment is in the expectation that there would be stronger resistance from Sam's half-brother and his hardcases. Turns out the hard-cases aren't as tough as we're led to believe and no challenge to Sam.  His brother is no challenge either.  He turns out to just be a weak-willed, slow-minded adversary.  And without the risk of losing something, or even gaining something worthwhile, there's no real investment in reading the story.

Back cover of Luke Short's TROUBLE COUNTRY western novel

One thing I like to do is compare the cover descriptions with the story to see if they measure up. The cover mentions rustlers having his ranch and him having to fight for it. That doesn't measure up with the story. He comes back, meets with his brother and buys him out with no resistance (other than an inflated price tag for his brother's share in the ranch.) 

Same with the back cover and the images. It all looks and sounds like there was never-ending  gunfights and skirmishes to get his ranch back. You'd think from reading this that Sam had hired a bunch of tough hands to fight his brother and his gun toughs and maybe there were some saloon brawls.

In fact, most of Sam's activity is in legal maneuvering, especially in achieving financial support for his half-brother's wife.  The legal maneuvering isn't even challenged with counter legal moves by his brother.

Cigarettes lit up 9

Gunplay 3

Fistfights 1

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Weekly Quote: Trying on Another Man's Hat

"Never try on another man's hat."

From Ramon Adam's The Cowman and His Code of Ethics