Cartridge Creek by Richard Meade - Western Novel Review

CARTRIDGE CREEK is an unusual western story.  It’s the story of a wild town needing taming but it’s not a ‘new lawman rides into town and lays down the law’ story.  The fellow that does the taming is a real estate developer.  Yes, you heard right.  A real estate developer.  The lead character is Will Leatherman, but although he’s a partner in the San Antonio Development real estate company, he’s also an ex-trail hardened cowman. He was tired of the roller coaster life of a cowman and wanted to do something to make steady money.  So he took his $20,000 savings and invested in real estate. He and his partner purchase real estate properties, develop them and resell them at a profit.

But now he and his partner are in a bind and have to find a big money-making deal in order to prevent bankruptcy.  So in the beginning of the novel, we find them eyeing a couple of properties across the country that they feel might meet their needs.   His partner is checking into one option, while Leatherman is checking into another.  The option Leatherman is looking into is a town owned by the Southern Pacific Railroad and a nearby ranch owned by a man named Gorman.  The town is called Cartridge Creek and the railroad has put it up for sale dirt cheap.  Gorman is a retiring rancher and is also offering his ranch up for sale at an extremely low price.  Leatherman’s first task is to find out why both properties are so low in price.  

Just as Leatherman arrives in town, he receives a telegram from his partner who informs him that the other deal is no longer an option. So Cartridge Creek and the Gorman Ranch are now their last hope.  Buying a whole town and a large, well-watered ranch in close proximity could be a sweet deal that saves their company--or it could bust them.  And in Leatherman’s case, he could lose his life.

What Leatherman finds out about the town has him ready to throw in his cards and tell his partner it’s time to dissolve the company and salvage what they can, but that ranch...he wants that Gorman ranch.  Unfortunately, the town is wild and unruly, run by a savage ex-Quantrill rider and his rival. Between their feuding and the rustling, the town is not the prosperous family-friendly place it could be and all the ranches round about suffer, including the sweet beauty that is up for sale.

The town is filled with gunmen chased out of New Mexico following the Lincoln County War.  And the gunmen’s loyalties  are divided up between two saloon-owners: Fate Canady and Goldtooth Bob.  These are the two feuding factions.  Partners at one time (they opened the Cattleman Saloon together), they had a falling out and are now sworn enemies.  Goldtooth Bob left the Cattleman Saloon and opened the Silver Dollar Saloon.  Things are heating up and it looks like there will be an all-out war any day.

The Southern Pacific Railroad is tired of the trouble-causing gunmen and would rather sell the town cheap than hire anyone to tame the place.  Leatherman and his partner have approached the railroad to buy the town but want to take a look at it first.  He enters the town incognito; not letting anyone know his real purpose there or his association with the San Antonio Development company.

He takes a room at the boarding house owned by a widow named Bettina Grady who is being courted by the local town booster, a likeable fellow named Tom Brand. Brand is enthusiastic about the town’s prospects and is the major reason the railroad came through and the town has prospered. At least it prospered up until the gunmen moved in.  He’s handy with a gun and befriends Leatherman.  

Leatherman is not entirely sure he wants any part of the trouble due to occur and struggles with his decision to buy or leave.  If he buys, he knows that the wild bunch will have to be cleared out of the town or they will never be able to develop and sell property there.  If he leaves, he and his partner will surely have to declare bankruptcy.  And then there’s that ranch.  It’s such a beautiful ranch with plenty of land and water that he’s entertaining the idea of buying it up for himself rather than for development.  And lastly, there’s Bettina Grady.  He keeps picturing Bettina Grady on that ranch with him.  But of course, there’s an expectation and understanding that Bettina will marry Brand when he asks her.

Leatherman finally makes his decision.  And as you can guess, he decides to gamble at taking a hand at cleaning up the town and buying the ranch for himself.  He sends a telegram to his partner to proceed with the deal.  

As expected, there’s all kinds of gunplay.  The two hard-case town bosses have it out in a fierce Lincoln County-style shootout in the middle of town, followed by drunken revelry.  The whole town is shot up, windows smashed, dead gunmen laying in the street and the losing saloon trashed.   The townsfolk all hole up in their homes until it’s all over.  They stand guard all night with weapons ready to protect their homes and women from the marauders.  One of the townsfolk peeking through covered window describes it as “...like watching hell through a peep hole.”

Following the win by Fate Canady, Leatherman plans a three-pronged attack:  with the townsmen starting a battle in town, he plans to have a group of ex-railroad policemen approach the town from one side and the ranchers approach from the other side.

With the prospects of the town looking rosier and an offer of the town management position, Brady asks Bettina to marry him.  She, however, turns him down.  And although she doesn’t mention Leatherman,  Brady suspects rightly that  he is the reason.  His jealousy turns into an ugly betrayal which not only nearly costs Leatherman his life, but also puts the town in severe jeopardy.

It’s a gripping story with plenty of conflict--Leatherman’s conflicting emotions about the situation; the competition between Leatherman and Brady for Bettina’s affections; the town bosses against each other and the town and then finally, the winner of the feud against Leatherman and his little ‘army’.

This is one I would definitely re-read.

Back Cover

IRONIC FACT: far more cigars are smoked than cigarettes, but the cover drawing shows a cowboy smoking a cigarette.

FAVORITE LINES:

“You stand fast or you’re dead as hell!”

“I don’t care how many trains go through Cartridge Creek; the one I leave on is the one I pick myself.”

“When a man’s time comes to die, he can do it two ways.  Straight up on his hind legs or hunched over like a scared rabbit in a hailstorm.  Me, I ain’t no rabbit.”

Manor Books printing 1975

Original copyright - Doubleday & Company Inc 1973

Cigarettes lit up 1

Cigars lit up 10

Gunplay 4

Fistfights 1

Bushwhacks 3

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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.

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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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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."



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Gunplay 5
Fistfights 3
Murder 3
Bushwhackings 1
Kidnapping 1

UPDATED: Formatting corrected

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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

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

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