Pacaritambo

THE ADVENTURES OF THE NEGRO COWBOYS
by Philip Durham and Everett I. Jones. B&W era photo section. Condition: Very good, gently pre-read 1976 Bantam paperback, first printing. Small loss of color ospot bottom front cover, pale hinge crease (very pale). Interior clean & tight but tanning. Great photos. Content: Great stories of Black Cowboys (and the history of same) from Bose Ikard and Cherokee Bill to Deadwood Dick. [1 copy available]
$ 3.50 + $ 2.89 media shipping. International shipping available.

THE AGE OF GOLD: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream
by H. W. Brands. B&W era illustrations & photos. Condition: NEW 2002 Anchor Trade Paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear. Interior perfect. Content: The gold rush of 1848, says Brands, was a watershed in American history, helping mold the country into its modern shape, transforming the wilderness and pushing the country into civil war. He makes good use of a sparkling cast of characters: George Hearst, Leland Stanford, Levi Strauss, even William "War Is Hell" Sherman, all raced to California to make their fortunes. For most of the hundreds of thousands who flocked to California, though, life in the mines of the Sierras was hard and rarely paid off. Yet the hopeful kept coming not only from the East but from around the world, with profound implications for California and the rest of the country. The question of statehood would California be a slave state or free? accelerated the onset of the Civil War, says Brands. He believes the gold rush changed the national psyche, pulling the country away from a Puritan ethic of "steadiness and frugality" and toward a new American dream of "instant wealth," the fruits of "boldness and luck." With solid research and a sprightly narrative, Brands's portrait of the gold rush is an enlightening analysis of a transformative period for California and America. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 8.50 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

ALONG THE RAMPARTS OF THE TETONS: The Saga of Jackson Hole, Wyoming
by Robert B. Betts. B&W era illustrations. Condition: UNREAD but not perfect 1978 edition, Colorado Associated University Press (Boulder) Trade Paperback. Unfortunately shelfwear has produced a pale diagonal crease bottom front cover and small edgewear to corners. Interior clean & tight. Wonderful selection of B&W photos, woodcuts, & era drawings. Content: This is the story of one of the most beautiful areas in America - and the story of the city of Jackson Hole, which more and more just refers to itself as "Jackson" - too bad, Jackson Hole is much more inviting, IMHO. This book covers the creation of the Tetons, the arrival of the first hunter humans, the Native American tribes, the Mountain Men, the ranchers, and finally, "civilization." If you "ski Jackson," you'll love this book. If you enjoy American West history, this is one of those "must read" regional histories. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 9.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

BEN HOLLADAY THE STAGECOACH KING:
A Chapter in the Development of Transcontinental Transportation
by J. V. Frederick. B&W photos. Cover painting "Stagecoach Overtaken by Indians" by George Simons. Condition: NEW 1989 University of Nebraska Press (Bison Books) Trade Paperback reprint of 1940 work. First printing. Perfect. Content: In spite of bad weather, primitive roads, holdups by highwaymen, and trouble with Indians, Holladay's coaches delivered passengers and mail on schedule. J.V. Frederick describes in fascination detail the organization and operation of a vast transportation empire ruled by a man with executive genius and a gambler's instincts. Excellent and detailed history of stagecoach travel in the American West. No glamor! [1 copy available]
$ 8.89 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available>

THE BORDER AND THE BUFFALO: An Untold Story of the Southwest Plains
by John R. Cook. B&W photos & illustrations. Condition: NEW 1989 State House Press (Austin) Trade Paperback, first thus. Originally published in 1907. Content: The slaughter of the great buffalo herds of the West took place between 1874 and 1884. The southern herds in the Texas Panhandle were gone as early as 1878. John R. Cook was one of the hunters taking part in the extermination. His book, The Border and the Buffalo, first published in a small edition at Topeka, Kansas, in 1907, is one of the most important first-hand accounts about buffalo hunting that has been written. The organization of hunts, camp routines, and marketing of the buffalo hides are all described in detail. The book also highlights battles with the Comanche Indians, and various scouts with the U.S. Cavalry on the plains of Texas. Note: This is a first-hand account by a gentleman who may have needed to slightly inflate his iimportance and the events in which he was involved. However, it is still a worthwhile read for the color, language, psyche of the Buffalo Hunter. Be ready for some racial epithets which are so disgusting by today's standards, but were a part of the frontier attitude. [1 copy available]
$ 12.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

BRITISH GENTLEMEN IN THE WILD WEST: The Era of the Intensely English Cowboy
by Lawrence M. Woods. B&W photo section. Condition: NEW 2003 Robson Books (London) Trade Paperback, reprint. Content: In the freewheeling days of the open range, a group of British gentlemen went into business on a grand scale, building legendary cattle empires and a new industry based on beef and railroads. This is the first full account of the upper-class cowboys. Some of the men covered: Frewen brothers; Moreton and Richard; Horace Plunkett; Earl of Aylesford; and Lyulph Ogilvy. It also provides a rich and detailed history of the Wild West, its people and their lifestyles and the author contrasts the harsh lot of the ordinary cowboy with the luxurious lifestyle enjoyed by members of the exclusive Cheyenne Club, where gentlemen dined on fresh oysters, smoked fine cigars and toasted their guests (i.e., Oscar Wilde & Lillie Langry) with imported French Champagne. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 8.49 + $ 3.29 media shipping

A CHORUS OF BUFFALO: A Personal Portrait Of An American Icon
by Ruth Rudner. Beautiful cover photo by David Meunch. Condition: NEW 2003 Marlowe Trade Paperback, first printing. Content: Contrary to popular belief, the American buffalo is not extinct - but it is in trouble. In this passionate volume, Rudner mixes lyrical anecdotes and meditative essays to explore the buffalo's fragile existence, its uncertain future and the politics swirling around the iconic animal. Because buffalo sometimes carry brucellosis, a bovine disease that can cause incurable, debilitating undulant fever in humans and irregular fertility in cattle - and because ranchers are required to kill off entire cattle herds at the first sign of it - the roaming rights of buffalo occupy a central place in Western agricultural politics. Traveling across bison country, Rudner interviews the interested parties, watches the buffalo roam and weighs the merits of all sides. In the end, she comes down on the side of those environmental groups and private citizens who want public lands to be made available to free-ranging bison. Ranchers' fears, she argues, are exaggerated; indeed, there is no known instance of brucellosis transmission from wild buffalo to grazing domestic cattle. Rudner's reverence for the magnificent creature shines through her descriptions of firsthand encounters - on the Dakota prairie, in Yellowstone backcountry, on a Chippewa/Cree reservation (where only five buffalo remain) and on a Sioux reservation (where a thriving herd of more than 400 buffalo live). Throughout, she evenhandedly considers the often-conflicting views of environmentalists, ranchers, park rangers, biologists, animal rights groups, Indians who eat buffalo meat and backpackers who, like herself, view the buffalo as a living link to nature's wildness. [1 copy available]
$ 3.59 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

CRAZY HORSE AND CUSTER: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors
by Stephen Ambrose. B&W era photos illustrate. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1986 Meridian-NAL large Trade Paperback, second printing. Tiny edgewear with light tanning to page edges. Content: Military historian Ambrose examines the connections between the Indian chief and the cavalry officer who fought at Little Bighorn. Reviewer: "Ambrose really brings history to life in this book about Custer, Crazy Horse, and the culture of plains indians and American expansionism. Ambrose is able to elquantly put down on to paper both sides of the story without becoming bogged down in what is so popularly reffered to as politically correct revisionist history. After reading this book I really feel as though I have a much better understanding of both the indian side of the story which is to preserve their way of life as well as the unstoppable expansion into the west. Anyway no matter who's [sic] side you take Custer's or Crazy Horse's it's a great book and was fun to read. [1 copy available]
$ 4.59 + $ 3.29 media shipping Priority & International shipping available.

CUSTER'S LAST STAND: The Anatomy of an American Myth
by Brian W. Dippie. B&W photo section. Condition: NEW 1998 Bison Books Trade Paperback, third printing. Short, pale diagonal crease bottom front cover corner. Content: This book does for Custer what Tuska did for Billy the Kid. Reviewer: "This book spends exactly 12 pages explaining the battle. The rest of the book is broken into sections describing how the event affected the American Psyche. Paintings of The Last Stand, poerty describing The Last Stand, novels, movies and jokes related to The Last Stand are all examined in depth here. There is a 12 page section of photos and illustrations. The defeat of an American army in the field by Indians on the 100th birthday of The United States sent shock waves through the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition where the visiting people were studying the wonders of modern technology, convinced that nothing could stop the progress of science and thus this country's western expansion. The different views of Custer and indeed our very government can be seen by how differently the event has been portrayed by various forms of the media. As an example of this think of any movies you may have seen about the battle, the older ones are very sympathtic towards the 7th Calvalry, showing the Indians as blood thirsty savages while the newer crop of films has reversed the roles of who was the blood thirsty savage. If you are looking for a hard core military examination of the battle pass on the book, if you are interested in an unusual study of the American response to an event no one ever expected, one which continues to fascinate us to this day, this book is for you." [1 copy available]
$ 9.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

DAVY CROCKETT
by Constance Rourke. Intro by Michael Lofaro. B&W illustrations by James Mac Donald. Condition: NEW 1998 Bison Books Trade Paperback, first printing. Content: Blending myth and reality, Constance Rourke aimed to get at the heart of Davy Crockett, whose hold on the American imagination was firm even before he died at the Alamo. Published in 1934, her work pioneered in showing the backwoodsman's transformation into a folk hero. It remains a basic in the Crockett literature. Some critics argue that this book is more novel than history, but it is still classified as a biography today. [1 copy available]
$ 4.50 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

DOWN THE SANTA FE TRAIL AND INTO MEXICO:
The Diary of Susan Shelby Magoffin, 1846 - 1847
edited by Stella M. Drumm. Foreword by Howard R. Lamar. B&W photos. Condition: Very gently pre-read 1982 Bison Press Trade Paperback, third printing. Tiny edgewear and 1 dog earred page tip. Content: In June 1846 Susan Shelby Magoffin, eighteen years old and a bride of less than eight months, set out with her husband, a vetran Santa Fe trader, on a trek from Independence through New Mexico and south to Chihuahua. Her journal describes the fifteen months moving from house to house and town to town. She became adept in Spanish and the lingo of the traders, and wrote down in detail the customs and appearances of the places she went. She gave birth to her first child during the journey and admitted, "This thing of marrying is not what it is cracked up to be." She died in childbirth at home in Missouri at the age of 26. [1 copy available]
$ 7.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

FACTS AS I REMEMBER THEM: The Autobiography of Rufe LeFors
by Rufe LeFors. Edited by John Allen Peterson. B&W reproduction of manuscript pages. Condition: Good + UNREAD, but not perfect, 1986 University of Texas Press Trade Paperback, first edition. Problems: small edgewear, pale yellow mark/stain fore edges from cover to page 81. Otherwise the interior is clean & tight. Name inside front cover. Content: LeFors recorded his story over the course of a decade, finishing up in 1941 in his 81st year. His memoirs span the period frm the Civil Warto the early 20th century, when the Texas Panhandle was scarcely settled. LeFors as a trail driver, pony express rider, and rancher. He traveled for a year with Arrington's Texas Rangers, and wore the badge of sheriff in the wild wet town of Old Mobeetie. He finally settled in Lawton, Oklahoma, wehre he was a deputy and finally sheriff. Another American West fascinating life. [1 copy available]
$ 7.50 + $ 2.89 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

THE FRONTIER AGAINST SLAVERY: Western Anti-Negro Prejudice and the Slavery Extension Controversy
by Eugene H. Berwanger. Condition: UNREAD 1971 University of Illinois Trade Paperback, no printing given. Light edgewear with pale tanning to white back cover edges - but NO tanning to interior pages. Content: Based on comprehensive research, this volume shows that prejudice against Negroes, along with opposition to slavery, was a major factor in deciding the slavery expnsion controversy of the early 1800's. He contends that racial prejudice in the Ohio River Valley before 1860 shaped the ideas of pioneers who settled the trans-Mississippi West, resulting in the enactment of laws to exclude all Negroes, slave or free, from the newly established territories and states. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 7.89 + $ 3.09 media shipping.

FRONTIER WAYS: Sketches of Life in the Old West
by Edward Everett Dale. Wonderful B&W illustrations by Malcolm Thurgood. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1989 University of Texas Press Trade Paperback, first printing. Although unread, this book was intended for a library and has all the markings, but was never shelved. The cover has been laminated. Content: This is a wonderful book which covers not only some of the more colorful characters of the Old West, but what Dale calls "the forgotten majority" - the most important factor in the conquest and development of the American Empire. The son of pioneer Texana, Dale drew upon his own memories and the memories of people he had known to re-create the lifeways of the western frontier. He writes in fascinating detail of how the pioneers learned to build sod houses, found water and wood, and erected schools and churches to keep culture and learning alive on the frontier. He also describes the plain food the fueled the pioneers' hard labor and the primitive medical care that sometimes kept them alive. Excellent history! Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 5.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

GENERAL CROOK IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY and A SCOUT WITH THE BUFFALO-SOLDIERS
General Crook by John G. Bourke. Buffalo-Soldiers is written by and illustrated by Federic Remington. Condition: UNREAD 1973 Filter Press soft cover, no printing given. Content: Two great first hand accounts of the American West. General Crook fought Indians in the Northwest, the Rockies, and the Southwest. Remington details his experience with the Buffalo Soldiers. Great history. [1 copy available]
$ 3.50 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

GHOST TOWNS OF THE AMERICAN WEST
by Robert Silverberg. B&W photo section. Condition: UNREAD 1973 Ballantine Comstock Edition first thus, first printing. Small edgewear with pale shelfwear hinge crease. Interior clean and tight but tanning. Content: Silverberg coves the ghost towns (and ghosts) of California, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Dakotas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. Great history. [1 copy available]
$ 3.50 + $ 2.94 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

HENRY STARR: Last of the Real Badmen
by Glenn Shirley. B&W photo section. Condition: Good only, 1965David McKay hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), no printing given. This is an EX-LIBRARY book with all mrkings. Content: Starr boasted that he had robbed more banks than any man in America - and then swear he had been forced into a life of crime by society. He could rob two banks in the same time; then spend his spare time reading the classics, a supply of which he carried in his saddlebags. Twice he was sentenced to die on the gallows, but was saved by presidental commutation. Three times he turned "respectable" only to backslide into the dangerous life he really enjoyed. During one of his relapses into respectability, he produced a motion picture - A Debtor to the Law - his testament to the world that crime did not pay - and then prompty ignored his own advice. Only once did he kill a man. Starr was part Cherokee, part white, and the most unusual train- and bank-robbing outlaw ever to run loose in America. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 3.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE HUNTING OF THE BUFFALO
by John Bakeless. Intro by J. Frank Dobie. B&W era photos and drawings illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1966 University of Nebraska Bison Press Trade Paperback, second printing. 3 light rubbings front cover with pale crease back cover. Interior is clean & tight - NO tanning. Content: A sad detailing of one of the worst chapters in American History - the hunting of the buffalo to near- extinction and the results of it. Questions welcome. (1 copy available)
$ 7.50 + $ 3.09 media shipping Priority shipping available.

THE JOURNALS OF LEWIS AND CLARK
edited and with new introduction by John Bakeless. Condition: NEW 1964 Mentor paperback edition, 29th printing (1987). Perfect. Content: Read right from the journals, alternating between Lewis and Clark (and so designated), their account of discovery, bravery, survival, not to mention sheer luck at times. Bakeless concentrates mainly on the journal entries for the journey to the Pacific. This is a good, well-priced shortened version of the journals, with only the highlights, for Lewis and Clark fans. (2 copies available)
$ 3.50 + $ 2.94 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

LaSALLE AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE GREAT WEST
by Francis Parkman. Intro by William R. Taylor. B&W maps illustrate. Condition: Very gently pre-read 1984 Modern Library softcover, first thus, first edition (although it is a stated first edition - but we know better). Pale spine crease and 1 dog earred page. Content: Francis Parkman, one of America's greatest historians, tells the story of La Salle, his rivals, and the struggle over North America in La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West. On April 9, 1682, Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, paddled into the Gulf of Mexico. He and a small band of men in three canoes had become the first to navigate the entire length of the Mississippi River--"the object of his day-dreams, the destined avenue of his ambition and his hopes." He claimed the river and its enormous watershed for France and named it after King Louis XIV. Five years later, while searching for an overland route to the Mississippi, La Salle was killed by mutinous members of his party. La Salle had spent nearly half of his 42 years in North America, enjoying some triumphs and enduring many hardships. Great history! [2 copies available]
$ 10.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

LET THE COWBOY RIDE: Cattle Ranching in the American West
by Paul F. Starrs. B&W maps & photos illustrate. Condition: NEW 2000 Johns Hopkins large Trade Paperback, first pritning. Content: The title of this book is a bit deceptive as it is really about ranching and the American West, and as Starrs notes, a "cowboy is not a rancher." But they share legends that permeate American history, popular culture and environment -- built and otherwise. Starrs's book describes the legacy of this way of life, the fragmented and irrational laws governing the use of public lands and the resulting ecological problems. Starrs explores five regions in detail and tells of the differences and similarities between them. He looks at the history of Native American and Hispanic attitudes toward the land, attitudes that were generally more communal and protective. These attitudes receded before the Anglo ranchers' combination of mistrust and fierce defense of the right to exploit public lands. Anglo Americans identify the wide-open spaces of the West as an integral part of our identity, yet the some 600 acres required to graze one head of cattle in these arid lands has become just too much to sacrifice for one rancher's personal gains. Grazing fees are now routinely charged so that there is some equity in the use of public lands. But Starrs argues that profits are not the real motive of today's ranchers anyway; rather, the honor, tradition and lifestyle far outweigh any real money to be made. Starrs's book is copious with detail and information and well-researched. If it reads somewhat like a textbook, the story is so fascinating and such a part of us all that the reader is quickly drawn in. Starrs adds rational and careful thought to an often incendiary debate. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 12.50 + $ 3.49 media shipping.

LEWIS & CLARK: A Photographic Journey
by Bill and Jan Moeller. Bautiful color photos illustrate. Condition: NEW 1999 Mountain Press (MT) Trade Paperback first edition. Perfect condition. Content: Join the Corps of Discovery as they navigate the lengths of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers in this unforgettable photo documentary. Along with their vibrant color photos, Bill and Jan Moeller add carefully researched text and quotes from the journals of William Clark and Meriwether Lewis to create a fascinating look at the uncharted West. Feel the "secret pleasure" described by Lewis as you find yourself surrounded by the mountains and mighty waters of the West just as the explorers saw it. Excellent history and wonderful photos. [1 copy available]
$ 4.50 + $ 2.89 media shipping.

THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF WILD BILL HICKOK
by J. W. Buel. Condition: UNREAD 1976 Leisure paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear and light rubbings along fron thinge. Inteiror clean & tight but tanning. Great cover art of Hickok. Content: Non-Fiction study of Wild Bill and his days in the West. [1 copy available]
$ 4.50 + $ 2.94 media shipping.

MEN WITH SAND: Great Explorers of the North American West
by John Moring. B&W photos and maps illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1998 TwoDot Trade Paperback, no printing given. Content: The intrepid men who braved tough terrain, horrendous weather, and hostile Indians to explore the American Northwest were said to "have sand," meaning they had the grit to survive. In this collection of 11 essays, those men, from Lewis and Clark to the lesser-known Sylvester and James Pattie, are chronicled in concise and lively prose. The essays, by a professor of zoology whose avocation is western history, are written for a general audience, and primarily provide the basic biographical facts of the principals. And as the men whose lives are chronicled essentially mapped and discovered what lay between St. Louis and the Pacific, the book, read in its totality, also serves as a good general introduction to early western exploration. The essays are serious and informative, but given the characters portrayed, the book is also replete with lively tales, including John Colter's legendary escape from the Blackfeet and Jedediah Smith's fabled encounter with a grizzly, which won him the sobriquet of "The Toughest Man Alive." [1 copy available]
$ 5.49 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

THE MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA (Revised & Updated)
Text by Stanley Young. Color Photos by Melba Levick. Condition: UNREAD 1998 Chronicle Books soft cover, revised & updated edition, second printing. Content: A classic guide to 21 missions, this beautifully illustrated volume is now revised and updated. California's missions were built by Spanish padres over 150 years ago, and this book tells the history of each, along with photographs of the adobe architecture, bright gardens, rustic interiors, and artistic flourishes. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 7.50 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

MY LIFE AS AN INDIAN
by J. W. Schultz. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1984 Fawcett Columbine Trade Paperback, 4th printing. Light edge wear plus moderate tanning to page edges. Content: Originally published in 1907. Reviewer: "This is a terrific story of a young white man's time with the Piegan Blackfeet. James Willard Schultz came west for adventure and joined an Indian trading post 45 miles north of Fort Benton, Montana. He not only traded furs, gold, liquor, and dressmakers goods to the Indians, but became fluent in the language of the Blackfeet, sharing in their hunts and wars and even taking a young Indian wife. It's a somewhat self-conscious story from a masculine vantagepoint during a time when warrior bravado was in vogue and the buffalo were still thriving. This book portrays a segment of Native American life and culture just before the buffalo were diminished and the people were forced to reservations." [1 copy available]
$ 7.49 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

NARRATIVE OF MY CAPTIVITY AMONG THE SIOUX INDIANS
by Fanny Kelly. Condition: UNREAD 2000 Konrcky & Konecky hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), no printing given. Content: In 1864 the Kelly wagon train left Kansas for Idaho and ran into a war party of 250 Sioux Indians resulting in a massacre of the Kellys with the exception of Fanny and her daughter. This story of her forced stay among the Sioux Indians is among the best of "Captivity Stories" - a popular genre in the nineteenth century. It details her capture and ordeals, while at the same time painting a vivid picture of a way of life that was soon to disappear. [1 copy available]
$ 5.49 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

THE PRICE OF FREE LAND
by Treva Adams Strait. B&W family & era photos illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1979 J. B. Lippincott hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. Book is in excellent condition, but DJ has edgewear top edge & is price-clipped. Interior clean & tight with "Not For Resale" stamped on loose endpage. Content: True story of Ms. Strait's childhood in 1914+ Nebraska while her parents were trying to comply with the provisions of receiving free land (160 acres - no mule mentioned). Fascinating story. Written for Young Adults, but interesting to all ages. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 6.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

PLACE NAMES OF GLACIER/WATERTON NATIONAL PARKS
by Jack Holterman. B&W photos & maps. Condition: UNREAD 1985 Falcon Press/Glacier Natural History Assn. Trade Paperback, no edition given. Content: Stories, myths, legends and history of all of the places in and around Glacier/Waterton National parks. A guide to the Kootenai language is included. Neat book. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 9.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

THE SHOOTERS: A Gallery of Notorious Gunmen from the American West
by Leon Claire Metz. B&W photos illustrate Condition: NEW 1996 Berkley Trade Paperback, first thus, 9th printing. Remainder. Content: Leon Metz, IMHO, is the top Western historian today. If Metz says it's true or it's a fact, it is! In-depth studies of some of the great outlaws and lawmen of the Old West. "With a scholar's authority and a storyteller's passion, Leon Metz chronicles the lives of famous gunfighters like Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, and Wild Bill Hickok, as well as lesser known desperadoes who left just as many corpses and whiskey bottles in their wake. Rich in detail, and woven with wit and insight, these fascinating portraits reveal The Shooters as they really lived, fought and died. - Ingram" The chapter on Wyatt Earp may bring to mind the "great Wyatt Earp war" that raged among Western historians a few years back. Metz is great; the book is great. [1 copy available]
$ 4.59 + $ 3.09 media shipping

THE SINGING CREEK WHERE THE WILLOWS GROW: The Rediscovered Diary of Opal Whiteley
presented by Benjamin Hoff with a wonderful introduction & history by the author. B&W era photos illustrate Condition: UNREAD 1986 Ticknor & Fields hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. This problem is the DJ: edgewear & a chip bottom spine with another bottom back flap. The DJ panels are undisturbed. Better than it sounds. Content: In 1920, when the Atlantic Monthly Press published the childhood diary of Opal Whiteley (The Story of Opal), it became an immediate bestseller, acclaimed for the extraordinary expression of a child's view of nature, life and family in her native Oregon. The view is joyfully pantheistic and anthropomorphic: the fields are a fairy land; the woods harbor a fir tree named Byron; a pig answers to Peter Paul Rubens; a young wife is "Dear Love"; "angel parents" take care of Opal, who purports to be adopted. Childish spellings mingle with sophisticated foreign phrases. A year later the diary was declared a hoax, a fantasy, by the press, which deemed the book an adult-child collaboration. Opal, buffeted by ill fortune, retreated further into a fantasy world. Diagnosed a schizophrenic, she is today in a hospital outside London, where Hoff, having rediscovered the diary, attempted unsuccessfully to interview her. Interjecting his frustration, he nevertheless succeeds in bringing about an understanding, 65 years later, of a tragically gifted child. Not only an interesting look at a still-frontier Oregon, but a human puzzle to be enjoyed and considered. [1 copy available]
$ 6.59 + $ 3.19 media shipping

SON OF THE MORNING STAR: Custer and the Little Bighorn
by Evan S. Connell. B&W era photos. Condition: NEW 1991 HarperPerennial Trade Paperback, first printing. Light tanning to interior page edges. Content: I think this is the best book written on Custer, Crazy Horse, and the Little Bighorn - but then, I haven't read everything out there, either. Part anthropological study of Plains Indian life, part military history, and part character study of the principal actors in the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Evan Connell's justly well-known book presents a balanced and critical account of George Armstrong Custer's career. ("Why he was esteemed as an Indian fighter is puzzling," Connell remarks. "None of his frontier campaigns demonstrated particular skill or insight.") Connell also examines the lives of Captain Frederick Benteen and Major Marcus Reno, the admirable General George Crook, and their foes Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Rain in the Face. Reno comes out worst: he held the dubious distinction of having the worst record before or since in the history of the United States Military Academy, and he was dishonorably discharged for incompetence after failing to get his column into battle in time to save Custer's command. Connell's thrilling story has all the inevitability of a tragedy, but there are no tragic heroes to which to point. [1 copy available]
$ 4.59 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

SOUTH PASS, 1868: James Chisholm's Journal of the Wyoming Gold Rush
by James Chisholm. Edited by Lola M. Homsher. B&W drawings & photos. Condition: NEW c. 1988 Bison Press Trade Paperback, 4th printing. Content: Reviewer: "Except for a few splatterings of philosophical and somewhat impertinent ramblings, James Chisholm's journal of the 1868 Wyoming Gold Rush at South Pass is a colorful first-hand glimpse into life during this time period. Chisholm was a reporter from the Chicago Tribune whose assignment was to report on the activities of the Sweetwater Mines. Traveling by train from Chicago to "end-of-the-track's town" Cheyenne, Wyoming his reports of vigilante hangings, killings and life in Cheyenne are paramount for this time and place. As the railroad advanced westward, he took leave of the train at Green River and continued north by horse and wagon to South Pass in search of the gold mines. Chisholm is very descriptive of geographical landforms, the people he encounters, the demeanor of the miners, e xperiencing the climatic elements, getting lost, accidently setting the prairies on fire (twice), his callous viewpoints on Indians, glowing reports of the Wind River Valley for future economic potential, his two exploratory trips into these Wind River Mountains and the overall profile of the gold mines. An insightful read. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 8.50 + $ 3.09 media shipping.

SPEAKING ILL OF THE DEAD: Jerks in Montana History
edited by Dave Walter with Jon Axline, Salina Davis, Jodie Foley, Lyndel Meikle, Anne Sturdevant. B&W photos illustrate. Condition: NEW 2000 TwoDot Books (Montana) Trade Paperback, first edition, first printing. Tiny edgewear. Content: A wide range of jerks, male and female alike, round out this collection. The jerks selected are a sampling from the Montana History Conference's ongoing "Jerks in Montana History" lecture series. Jerks include: Calamity Jane, Sir St. George Gore, crooked Indian agents, et al. This is a great book about the American West bad guys. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 7.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

SOUTHWEST: THREE PEOPLES IN GEOGRAPHICAL CHANGE 1600 - 1970
by D. W. Meinig. B&W maps and charts illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1976 Oxford University Press Trade Paperback, fourth printing. Light shelfwear with tiny edgewear. Interior clean & tight. .Content: This is a study of the Southwest which not only defines its people, but its geographical boundaries. Maybe the Southwest is not where you always thought it was. Interesting work. [1 copy available]
$ 2.89 + $ 3.19 media shipping

SOUTHWEST SAGA - THE WAY IT REALLY WAS!
by William C. McGaw. B&W era photos illustrate. Condition: UNREAD 1989 Golden West Trade Paperback, no printing given. Very light edge wear. .Content: History and mini-biographies of some of the Southwest's more intriguing characters - beginning with Estevan (and the Zunis) to Sarah Borginnis (warrior woman) to Billy the Kid to the Texas Confederates rush to take over New Mexico. Very interesting stuff. [1 copy available]
$ 5.89 + $ 3.19 media shipping Priority shipping available.

THE STORY OF ROY BEAN: Law West of the Pecos
by C. L. Sonnichsen. B&W photos. Condition: UNREAD 1972 Fawcett Gold Medal paperback, first printing. Pale, short diagonal "crimp" bottom front cover corner tip. Interior clean & tight but beginning to tan. Exceptional condition for it's age. Advertises the Paul Newman up-coming movie. Content: Everyone knows the story of Judge Roy Bean of the Big Bend country of Texas - so I won't bore you with details. I'm not a Roy Bean scholar so it's up to you to decide if it's accurate history. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 11.50 + $ 2.89 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

THREE YEARS AMONG THE INDIANS AND MEXICANS
by Gen. Thomas James. Edited, With an Introduction, by Milo Milton Quaife. Condition: Good+ 1966 Citadel Press hardcover & DJ (in NEW mylar jacket), no printing given. EX-library book with all markings, but the interior is very clean & tight. Loss of color spots top front board. Content: Reviewer: "A lively, descriptive and exciting narrative of Thomas James' adventures up the Missouri River in 1809-1810 and to Sante Fe in the years 1821-1823. His writing abilities are brilliant and the reader will find themself anxiously flipping through the pages to see what happens next. In 1809 James joined the St.Louis Missouri Fur Company and relates the experiences of his crew being mistreated by Manuel Lisa, then joining up with John Colter, along with several other personal accounts of the day to day activities and survival strategies they encountered. He was one of the first to describe and take part in the trade business from St. Louis to Sante Fe and it is absorbing to read of his confrontations with the Comanches and the Spanish during these years. This is a must read for early American West enthusiasts.The book itself may be difficult to find, but it is certainly well worth the effort." [1 copy available]
$ 8.55 + $ 3.19 media shipping

THE TRAMPLING HERD: The Story of the Cattle Range in America
by Paul I. Wellman (The Comancheros). Cover art by Tom Lea. B&W illustrations by F. Miller. Condition: NEW 1988 University of Nebraska Press Trade Paperback, first printing. Reissue. Content: Reviewer: "Wellman, who died in 1966, was born in Oklahoma and worked on Wichita and Kansas City newspaper for much of his life, before moving to California and freelance writing. This book, written in 1939, is an excellent summary account of the cattle trade in the West, from 1580 to the early 1900s. He touches on just about everything having to do with his topic, from historical figures and events to equipment." and ". . .an indescribably superior one-volume story of the range-cattle business that reads as easily as fiction. Beginning with the Spanish roots of the Southwestern cattle ranches, he goes on to tell something of the early Anglo settlement of Texas, the troubles with the Comanches, the "hide-and-tallow empire" built up in antebellum days, the effects of the Civil War, the clashes with the Kansans, the founding of Abilene. He talks about stampedes and what was done about them, great trail towns and their lawmen, lean years and fat ones, the cowboy's work and play, and a gallery of unforgettable Western characters, good, bad, and indifferent. He studies the Lincoln County War, the coming of "bobwire," and why cowmen hated sheep. There is information I got from this book that I've found nowhere else. You will say the same. every lover of Western social history should be glad to see it back in print." Questions welcome [2 copies available]
$ 7.50 + $ 3.09 media shipping.

UNDER GOD'S SPELL: Frontier Evangelists 1772 - 1915
by Cathy Luchetti. Wonderful old B&W era photos illustrate. Condition: NEW 1989 Harcourt Brace hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. Content: Luchetti's collection of diary entries provides fascinating insights into 19th-century American frontier and small-town religious life. Catholic in her choice of texts, Luchetti includes the writing of a Roman Catholic nun, an Episcopal bishop, and an ex-slave who suffered the horrors of involuntary family separation before becoming an African Methodist clergyman. Also included are a number of important accounts that illustrate the difficulties missionaries faced because they lacked understanding of Native American culture. Vivified by photography deserving special commendation, this book would be a good supplementary text for a course in American religious history. Excellent! Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 15.49 + $ 3.49 media shipping.

THE UNSINKABLE MRS. BROWN (Molly Brown)
by Carolinei Bancroft. Wonderful B&W era photographs illustrate. Condition: UNREAD c. 1963 Johnson Books Trade Paperback edition, no printing given. Content: A remarkably complete and detailed history of Mrs. Brown from birth to the Titanic to death - considering this is a slim volume. [1 copy available]
$ 3.25 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

THE VOYAGEUR
by Grace Lee Nute. B&W illustrations by Carl W. Bertsch. Condition: UNREAD 1987 Minnesota Historical Society Press Trade Paperback, reprint edition, third printing. Tiny edgewear. Content: Nute's best-selling book portrays the indefatigable French-Canadian canoe men, whose labors were vital to the fur trade and whose influence reaches us through the colorful songs, place names, customs, and legends they left behind. This definitive account was first published in 1931. [1 copy available]
$ 7.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

WHEN SIX-GUNS RULED: Outlaw Tales of the Southwest
by Marc Simmons. B&W era photos illustrate. Condition: NEW 1990 Ancient City Press Trade Paperback, 5th printing. Content: Twenty-seven intriguing vignettes set throughout N.M., about some two dozen outlaws and lawmen, from the 1860s through "The Last Train Robbery" (by young NYC "drugstore cowboys") near Las Cruces in 1938. Well-known Southwest historian Simmons draws on historical, archival, and frontier newspaper sources to sketch the exploits of the notorious (Clay Allison, Vicente Silva, Black Jack Ketchum, Billy the Kid) and not-so-notorious (Joe Fowler, Capt. "Paddy" Graydon, Madam Varnish of White Oaks, the Hall gang of Silver City, James Addison Reavis, "Baron of Arizona"). Includes an introduction; list of selected readings. [1 copy available]
$ 6.49 + $ 3.09 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

WILLIE BOY: A Desert Manhunt (INSCRIBED COPY)
by Harry Lawton. B&W photo section with fold-out map detailing Willie Boy's travels. Condition: UNREAD 1960 Malki Museum Press Trade Paperback, second edition, first printing. INSCRIBED to Texas O. Henry scholar, Colonel Trueman O'Quinn. Binder's glue strings down spine with tiny edgewear. Interior clean and tight. Content: "A 500-mile posse-chase aftr a Paiute killr over the Mohave Desert in 1909 has been skilfully recrated, with a background of Indian lore and description of the country, most of which the author tracked over following the flight route." "To my mind, Willie Boy is as good on mob psychology as the Ox Bow Incident. - J. Frank Dobie The 1969 movie was directed by Abraham Polonsky and starred Robert Blake (a great actor no matter what else one may think), Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Susan Clark, Barry Sullivan, Ned Romero, Charles McGraw, and Garry Walberg. A great Western movie! [1 copy available]
$ 129.50 + free media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

WITH THE BORDER RUFFIANS: Memories of the Far West, 1852 - 1868
by R. H. Williams. Historical Notes by Arthur J. Mayer & Joseph W. Snell. B&W photos. Condition: UNREAD 1982 Bison Press Trade Paperback, first printing. Small edgewear with light rubbings along front hinge. Interior perfect. Content: Seeking his fortune, Williams left the English navy in 1852 to farm in southwest Virginia. When that lost luster he went west and joined the "Border Ruffians" who were fighting to make Kansas a slave state. By 1860 he was in Texas (as a Ranger) and within another year he was riding with an irregular Confederate cavalry, battling Yankees, large bands of thieves, and Comanches. Returning to England in 1868, he fashioned his American adventures into this extraordinary memoir, first published in 1907. [Written many years after the events, many of the names and places may not be familiar to today's readers, plus Williams often changed the names of people to either protect them or because he simply forgot their names. Notes for the Kansas chapters prepared by Joseph Snell; notes for the Texas chapters prepared by Arthur Mayer.] [1 copy available]
$ 12.49 + $ 3.29 media shipping.