Trail Drive
17 primary works • 30 total works
In this new Ralph Compton Western, William "Bull" Kelly brings his five sons onto the cattle drive, but when rustlers stampede the herd and injure them, he'll do anything to protect his own.
Over the past twenty years, William "Bull" Kelly acquired a reputation as one of the best ramrods in Texas. He has led legendary cattle drives to almost every railhead in the middle of the country. Most impressive of all, he once drove his herd all the way up to Montana. But after years of working for other people, he decided to run cattle on his own, with his five sons.
Everything starts off fine, but when a group of cattle thieves try to stampede the herd, some of Kelly's sons are hurt in the melee. The rustlers quickly find out that Kelly isn't called "Bull" because he insists on riding at the head of the herd. He's called "Bull" because of his skill with the harsh whip coiled on his belt.
Over the past twenty years, William "Bull" Kelly acquired a reputation as one of the best ramrods in Texas. He has led legendary cattle drives to almost every railhead in the middle of the country. Most impressive of all, he once drove his herd all the way up to Montana. But after years of working for other people, he decided to run cattle on his own, with his five sons.
Everything starts off fine, but when a group of cattle thieves try to stampede the herd, some of Kelly's sons are hurt in the melee. The rustlers quickly find out that Kelly isn't called "Bull" because he insists on riding at the head of the herd. He's called "Bull" because of his skill with the harsh whip coiled on his belt.
A cattle drive faces long odds in this exciting new installment in Ralph Compton’s Trail Drive series.
An outbreak of hostilities with Comanches has disrupted the usual trail routes. But Mase Durst must get his cows from his Texas ranch to the railway up in Wichita, Kansas, or face losing his land, which the bank is fixing to foreclose on. He's forced to take his herd on a little-used route called the Red Trail—little used for good reasons. It’s a tough trek: dangerous, narrow, and fraught with banditry.
Along the way, Durst and his men face numerous obstacles thrown up by Mother Nature, cattle rustlers and crooked lawmen. But even their safe arrival in Wichita will offer no relief if he can’t make it home in time to save his ranch from the bank—and his wife from the predations of their rapacious neighbor. . .
An outbreak of hostilities with Comanches has disrupted the usual trail routes. But Mase Durst must get his cows from his Texas ranch to the railway up in Wichita, Kansas, or face losing his land, which the bank is fixing to foreclose on. He's forced to take his herd on a little-used route called the Red Trail—little used for good reasons. It’s a tough trek: dangerous, narrow, and fraught with banditry.
Along the way, Durst and his men face numerous obstacles thrown up by Mother Nature, cattle rustlers and crooked lawmen. But even their safe arrival in Wichita will offer no relief if he can’t make it home in time to save his ranch from the bank—and his wife from the predations of their rapacious neighbor. . .
In this brand-new Ralph Compton Western, the drovers of the Bar X ranch will face sandstorms, renegades, and outlaws along the historic Cimarron trail.
After a child is accidentally killed in a shootout, Art Catlin decides to give up his life of bounty hunting and finds a new career as a drover, working for the Bar X ranch. The trail is 770 miles from Santa Fe to Independence, Missouri, and Art isn't fool enough to think it'll be an easy journey.
As they head east, they seem to come upon countless threats, from environmental to personal. If they're to make it all the way with the herd intact, Catlin will need to use all of the skill and knowledge he's acquired over his long and violent career.
After a child is accidentally killed in a shootout, Art Catlin decides to give up his life of bounty hunting and finds a new career as a drover, working for the Bar X ranch. The trail is 770 miles from Santa Fe to Independence, Missouri, and Art isn't fool enough to think it'll be an easy journey.
As they head east, they seem to come upon countless threats, from environmental to personal. If they're to make it all the way with the herd intact, Catlin will need to use all of the skill and knowledge he's acquired over his long and violent career.
In this thrilling installment in bestseller Ralph Compton’s Trail Drive series, a small ranch owner drives his herd into Mexico and is startled to find that human life comes cheaper than beef on the hoof.
Andrew Buchanan has a problem. His modest ranch in Southern California is being pressured by an unscrupulous competitor and the encroaching wave of the future—orange growers. The only chance he has to sell his cattle for real money is to take them south into Mexico.
The Empire Trail is five hundred miles of misery that crosses scorching deserts and clings to treacherous cliffs—and it's Andrew's job to find the best way across. But physical barriers are not the only thing he must contend with. A group of dangerous men are trailing the herd, determined to take the cattle or die trying.
But this is Andrew's livelihood that hangs in the balance, and he won't go down without a fight.
Andrew Buchanan has a problem. His modest ranch in Southern California is being pressured by an unscrupulous competitor and the encroaching wave of the future—orange growers. The only chance he has to sell his cattle for real money is to take them south into Mexico.
The Empire Trail is five hundred miles of misery that crosses scorching deserts and clings to treacherous cliffs—and it's Andrew's job to find the best way across. But physical barriers are not the only thing he must contend with. A group of dangerous men are trailing the herd, determined to take the cattle or die trying.
But this is Andrew's livelihood that hangs in the balance, and he won't go down without a fight.
Western Writers of America 2022 Spur Award Finalist
A rancher discovers just how many times a man's luck can hold out in this thrilling novel in the bestselling Trail Drive Series
After struggling for years to work a raw-patch ranch in the arid flatlands of Texas, young Mitchell Newland learns that his herd of scrubby range cattle will fetch ten times their local price if they're driven to Montana.
He strikes a one-sided deal with the devil, neighboring rancher Corliss Bilks, to back his play with cattle, men, and horses. The trail brims with hellish hardship: prairie fire, stampede, flooded rivers, hailstorms, rattlers, sickness, long, broiling days and frigid nights.
Halfway to Montana, range pirates and a rogue Apache war party close in. Mitch and the boys fight, grim and helpless, watching as their herd is driven westward in a cloud of dust and cackling laughter.
Cut down to two bloodied men, Mitch collapses, far too late, and admits the old man has won the bet. But salvation in the form of a Basque sheepherder revives Mitch and his pal, Drover Joe, and Mitch realizes he isn't done. Not by a long shot. And now he has nothing to lose.
A rancher discovers just how many times a man's luck can hold out in this thrilling novel in the bestselling Trail Drive Series
After struggling for years to work a raw-patch ranch in the arid flatlands of Texas, young Mitchell Newland learns that his herd of scrubby range cattle will fetch ten times their local price if they're driven to Montana.
He strikes a one-sided deal with the devil, neighboring rancher Corliss Bilks, to back his play with cattle, men, and horses. The trail brims with hellish hardship: prairie fire, stampede, flooded rivers, hailstorms, rattlers, sickness, long, broiling days and frigid nights.
Halfway to Montana, range pirates and a rogue Apache war party close in. Mitch and the boys fight, grim and helpless, watching as their herd is driven westward in a cloud of dust and cackling laughter.
Cut down to two bloodied men, Mitch collapses, far too late, and admits the old man has won the bet. But salvation in the form of a Basque sheepherder revives Mitch and his pal, Drover Joe, and Mitch realizes he isn't done. Not by a long shot. And now he has nothing to lose.
The daughters of a New Mexican rancher must help their father recover a stolen herd in this thrilling new novel in the bestselling Trail Drive series.
In the early days of the Mexican Revolution guerrillas led by Francisco "Pancho" Villa raid a ranch in Doña Ana County, New Mexico Territory. They abscond with a herd of saddle horses earmarked for sale to the U.S. Army, wounding rancher Alejandro Aguirre and killing his only son, Eduardo, in the process.
When the army commander and his superiors in Washington, D.C. refuse to violate Mexican sovereignty with a punitive raid, Alejandro's twin daughters, Dolores and Yolanda, must step up. Together they lead a crew of ranch hands and friendly members of the Mescalaro Apache tribe to recover the herd. A perilous road lies ahead, but the sisters will stop at nothing to find justice for their fallen brother and reclaim what was stolen.
In the early days of the Mexican Revolution guerrillas led by Francisco "Pancho" Villa raid a ranch in Doña Ana County, New Mexico Territory. They abscond with a herd of saddle horses earmarked for sale to the U.S. Army, wounding rancher Alejandro Aguirre and killing his only son, Eduardo, in the process.
When the army commander and his superiors in Washington, D.C. refuse to violate Mexican sovereignty with a punitive raid, Alejandro's twin daughters, Dolores and Yolanda, must step up. Together they lead a crew of ranch hands and friendly members of the Mescalaro Apache tribe to recover the herd. A perilous road lies ahead, but the sisters will stop at nothing to find justice for their fallen brother and reclaim what was stolen.