Ferguson Rifle

by Louis L'Amour

Published 20 July 1973
It began with gold that had once belonged to Montezuma. Stolen and cached in a church in Mexico, it was recovered by two army officers who fled north for the French settlements. Along the way one stabbed the other to death. The remaining officer was eventually killed by Plains Indians, but he buried the treasure just before he died.

Now Ronan Chantry, a handful of trappers, and an Irish girl whose father was killed after telling her a few vague landmarks are searching for the lost treasure. But they are not alone. The girl’s uncle, Rafen Falvey, wants it, too. Like Chantry, he is well educated, bold, and determined. Under different circumstances the two men might have been friends. But in all likelihood it wouldn’t have made any difference. When it comes to gold, even friendship doesn’t keep men from killing each other.

Tucker

by Louis L'Amour

Published 21 April 1972
“If a man won’t fight for what is rightly his, then he ain’t much account.” With this challenge from his dying father, young Shell Tucker rode out after three men who had stolen the twenty thousand dollars his father was carrying. Two of the men he hunted, Doc Sites and Kid Reese, were his friends. Dreaming of adventure, Tucker had wanted to join their gang. But now, with his father gone and the people back home desperately in need of the proceeds from the cattle drive, Shell was determined to uphold his father’s reputation and recover their money. He knew the odds were against him. Finding his friends would be difficult. Getting the money back would be nearly impossible.

The Stingaree

by Max Brand

Published August 1969

The Spirit of the Border

by Zane Grey

Published March 1969
The Spirit of the Border is the second in Zane Grey's Ohio River Valley trilogy. The protagonist, frontier Indian fighter Lew Wetzel, and his opponent, border renegade Jim Girty, were historical figures who in 1777 clashed in the wilds of the western Virginia border. Wetzel takes as his partner Jonathan Zane, brother of Colonel Ebenezer Zane and Betty Zane, the heroine of the battle of Fort Henry. Together, Wetzel and Zane pursue a relentless war of attrition against Wyandotte, Shawnee, and Seneca Indians. Colonel Zane is opposed to them in his feeling that settlers and Indian fighters alike little know Rthe proud independence, the wisdom, the stainless chastity of honor" true of many members of the Indian nations. Wetzel's conflict with Jim Girty and his Indian renegades is centered on the Village of Peace, an enclave of Moravian missionaries and their Christian converts among the Indians. Girty and his allies fall upon these Christian Indians when they are at prayer in the chapel, and the resulting massacre finds only two boys escaping from the carnage. Wetzel and Zane pursue Girty, and there is a final confrontation at Beautiful Spring. The Spirit of the Border was first published in 1906. Coupled with the appearance of Betty Zane in 1903, it further established Zane Grey's reputation as a historical novelist. Grey's Ohio trilogy concludes with The Last Trail. The authentic text to each volume is supplemented with a foreword by Loren Grey, son of the author.

To Tame a Land

by Louis L'Amour

Published 1 February 1969
Rye Tyler was twelve when his father was killed in an Indian raid. Taken in by a mysterious stranger with a taste for books and an instinct for survival, Rye is schooled in the hard lessons of life in the West. But after killing a man, he is forced to leave his new home. He rides lonely mountain passes and works on dusty cattle drives until he finds a job breaking horses. Then he meets Liza Hetrick, and in her eyes he sees his future. After establishing himself as marshal of Alta, he returns, only to discover that Liza has been kidnapped. Tracking her to Robbers’ Roost, Rye is forced to face the man who taught him all he knows about books, guns, and friendship. Two old friends—one woman: Who will walk away?

Donnegan

by Max Brand

Published 1 October 1996

North to the Rails

by Louis L'Amour

Published August 1971
When Tom Chantry comes west to buy cattle, he quickly runs into trouble. During a drunken scuffle in a bar, Dutch Akin challenges Chantry to a gunfight. Leaving town rather than face Akin, Chantry is quickly branded a coward.

Later, when hiring men to take his herd to the railroad, Chantry faces a dilemma: No one wants to make the long, dangerous ride with a leader of questionable courage. So when French Williams, a shrewd and ruthless cattleman, makes Chantry an offer, Tom reluctantly accepts his unusual terms: Tom must remain with the drive from start to finish. If he fails to do so, the entire herd will belong to French.

Tom quickly learns that life is not going to be made easy for him. The first man French hires is Dutch Akin.

Riding for the Brand

by Louis L'Amour

Published 1 February 1986

BLOOD IN THE DUST
 
The open West was a land where wanderers could find themselves a home—a home to fight for, to be changed by, sometimes to die for. Jed Asbury was one such journeyman, taking on the identity of a dead man. Allen Ring was another: He’d won his plot of land in a card game only to find he had to win again with a gun. From a has-been boxer to a ranch hand taking on his bosses’ troubles, the characters in these classic Louis L’Amour short stories are all “riding for the brand”—staying loyal to what matters, staking the West with their courage and their blood.


The High Graders

by Louis L'Amour

Published 26 March 1971
The town of Rafter Crossing had been simmering for some time when Mike Shevlin rode in. The quiet ranching community has turned into a booming mining town, and the newfound wealth has made Rafter Crossing anything but peaceful. The cattlemen are bound and determined to close down the mines because they're poisoning the range water. And the miners are stealing the high-grade ore that rightfully belongs to Laine Tennison. Mike Shevlin's mission is to get Laine's ore back. The smell of fear and greed is thick in the air. The rumor circulating around was that Eli Patterson, a good man, was killed in a gunfight. But Mike Shevlin knew that wasn't true. Patterson had been like a father to Mike, and he was a Quaker -- committed to non-violence. As Mike tries to unravel the mystery of Patterson's death, he's led deeper and deeper into a conspiracy that controls not only the fate of Rafter Crossing, but the heart of a beautiful, yet tormented, young woman.

Montana Rides Again

by Max Brand

Published 1 January 1982

Boulder Dam

by Zane Grey

Published 2 October 1985
Lynn Weston, a rich man's son, proves his manhood with the rough crew building the Boulder Dam but the real trouble starts when gangsters plan to blow the Dam sky-high!

Dogs Of The Captain

by Max Brand

Published 1 March 2006

The Hash-knife Outfit

by Zane Grey

Published August 1973
They are just about as bad and evil as outlaw gangs come. But in the end, they finally go straight. For a good reason: there's only one Hash Knife man left alive. A true legend of Western storytelling, Zane Grey's novels have thrilled generations of readers, and sold over 30 million copies since 1954.

Guns of the Timberlands

by Louis L'Amour

Published 1 October 1981
Clay Bell spent the last six years fighting Indians, rustlers, and the wilderness itself to make the B-Bar ranch the prize of the Deep Creek Range. But Jud Devitt, a ruthless speculator from the East, now threatens everything Clay has worked for. Devitt, holding a contract with the Mexican Central to deliver railroad ties, wants to harvest timber off the land where Clay grazes his cattle. Backing Devitt are shady politicians, a dishonest banker, and fifty of the toughest lumberjacks in the county. But as Colleen Riley, Devitt’s fiancée, realizes the brutal game he’s playing, her disapproval of his actions, and Clay Bell’s obvious integrity and charm, pull her toward a destiny that will tip the scales in their bloody battle over timber and cattle.

Borden Chantry

by Louis L'Amour

Published 1 October 1977
The marshal's name was Borden Chantry. Young, lean, rugged, he's buried a few men in this two-bit cow town—every single one killed in a fair fight. Then, one dark, grim day a mysterious gunman shot a man in cold blood. Five grisly murders later, Chantey was faced with the roughest assignment of his life—find that savage, trigger-happy hard case before he blasts apart every man in town . . . one by bloody one.

Peyton

by Max Brand

Published 1 September 2011
Lost in the vast plains without a guide, a horseman must brave the elements and the local Cheyenne if he has any hopes of survival!

In "Man from the Sky," Paul Torridon and his plainsman guide ride together on their way to Fort Kendry. But one morning the guide has vanished without a trace, and Paul is left with just his faithful steed. Paul knows that his destination will be near impossible to find without a guide, and that's only if he and his horse make it out of the barren plains alive. But just as it looks like Paul's luck has finally run out, he stumbles upon an ailing Cheyenne warrior sprawled on a small island in a dry gulch . . .

The title story opens with renowned gunman Hank Peyton on his deathbed. Hank tells his son Jerry that he'll be leaving him his legendary gun, known as The Voice of La Paloma. But Jerry soon falls on tough times and becomes easy prey for the corrupt sheriff and his posse, who accuse him of stealing horses. When the real horse thief is discovered, instead of clearing Jerry's name the sheriff makes a deal with the outlaw: steal The Voice of Paloma, and the crime will be forgiven!

Peyton collects two of legendary Western author Max Brand's most exciting stories in one volume, showcasing a master of his craft at work.

Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction that takes place in the old West. Westerns books about outlaws, sheriffs, chiefs and warriors, cowboys and Indians are a genre in which we publish regularly. Our list includes international bestselling authors like Zane Gray and Louis L'Amour, and many more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Last Stand at Papago Wells

by Louis L'Amour

Published December 1965
It was the only water for miles in a vast, sun-blasted desert where water meant survival. So Logan Cates naturally headed for Papago Wells. But he wasn’t the only one. Fleeing the fierce Churupati and his Apache warriors, other travelers had come there too. And when the Apaches found them, they began a siege as relentless and unforgiving as the barren land…and just as inescapable.

The last thing Cates wanted was to be responsible for the lives of thirteen desperate strangers and a shipment of gold. But he knew that if they were to survive, he was their last chance. He also knew that some in the party were willing to die—or kill—to get their hands on the money. If he couldn’t get them to work together, it wouldn’t be the desert or even the Apaches that would do them in—it would be the greed of the very people he was trying to save.

The Golden West

by Max Brand, Louis L'Amour, and Zane Grey

Published 1 April 2003

Outlaw's Pursuit

by Max Brand

Published 1 July 2008
"Brand practices his art to something like perfection." The New York Times

"Max Brand is the Shakespeare of the Western range." Kirkus Reviews


In "Dust Storm," Bob Lindsay is stuck in his shack in the Powder Mountains during a huge dust storm. When he finally emerges, he finds his water hole is nothing but a wallow of mud, and two-thirds of his crop has been wiped out. Now the two largest ranches in the area are ready to fight for water. Lindsay stopped the fighting once can he do it a second time?

Hugo Ames is the outlaw in "Outlaw's Pursuit" with a $15,000 bounty on his head following four years of robberies. Riding in the mountains in a thick fog, Ames needs to find Truck Janvers, an old prospector who can give him refuge for the night. Just when he's about to give up, he finds Janvers' hut but the old man is dying. As Ames tries his best to help, the door is flung open and a man throws a knife at the old prospector, finishing him off. Now, the outlaw will pursue a killer

Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction that takes place in the old West. Westerns books about outlaws, sheriffs, chiefs and warriors, cowboys and Indians are a genre in which we publish regularly. Our list includes international bestselling authors like Zane Gray and Louis L'Amour, and many more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

The Steel Box

by Max Brand

Published 1 June 2012
"Prairie Pawn" tells the story of Paul Torridon, called White Thunder by the Cheyenne Indians holding him hostage. They believe that he cured Whistling Elk's son from a menacing illness and brought rain when others had failed to do so. Though Paul has been rewarded with many riches, he still seems unhappy, and the Cheyenne chief decides to undertake a dangerous mission to kidnap Torridon's sweetheart, Nancy Brett, from Fort Kendry. The Cheyennes believe that will make White Thunder happy enough to voluntarily stay with them.

In the title story, "The Steel Box," Lew Sherry and Pete Lang accept an offer they simply can't resist. Oliver Wilton is willing to pay the cowboys $1,000 a day for ten days to protect him from danger that has him living in a state of terror. A seafaring man has arrived at the inn in town and has made no secret of the fact that he's come to settle a score with Wilton. In the meantime, Wilton's niece, for whom he manages a half-million dollar trust, has been seen target practicing with a gun equipped with a silencer. Oliver Wilton has reason to fear for his life, but can two unwitting cowboys save it?

With these two rich and detailed tales, Max Brand shows again why is he is regarded as one of the finest authors ever to work in the Western genre.

Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction that takes place in the old West. Westerns books about outlaws, sheriffs, chiefs and warriors, cowboys and Indians are a genre in which we publish regularly. Our list includes international bestselling authors like Zane Gray and Louis L'Amour, and many more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.