WESTERN STORY - March 1949

WESTERN STORY

British Edition, Vol. VI, No.5

Atlas Publishing, March 1949

Cover art by William R. Leigh

This publication of Street & Smith’s Western Story is a partial reprint of the American issue from September 1948. The UK version first appeared in 1939 and continued, with slight changes to its title, until 1961. By my count, there were 167 issues. 

We start with the short story Light Up Your Six-Gun by Ralph Yergen. He’s a new author to me who wrote just over 100 stories for the western pulps. This quick paced yarn is about a cigar salesman, Horatio Oberlander Holyoke, who finds one of his best customers, Blaine, in jail accused of murder. Holyoke sets out to prove Blaine is innocent. Whist doing so, we find that Holyoke is very handy with a gun. Holyoke has to save himself from a death trap and the explanation of how he realized he was in grave danger is linked to his profession and that put a grin on my face. I also laughed out loud at the final line of the story, that even though I knew it was coming, I still found it funny. This was a very readable tale that left me wondering if Holyoke appeared in any of Yergen’s other stories cos I’d certainly like to read them if he did.

Peter Dawson’s novella, Retribution River, is next. Dawson is a pseudonym used by Jonathan H. Glidden, who had over 100 stories published in the pulps. His story is a land grab tale. A ranch owning banker, Cavendish, decides he wants more land and sets about driving other ranchers away. The main character is Pete Sarran and he teams up with another couple of men who’ve been driven out. Riding with them is a man named Brazos who none of them know. Brazos talks them into getting back at Cavendish by robbing his bank. The raid doesn’t go according to plan and Brazos rides off with the loot. Sarran was right to mistrust Brazos and sets out to find the double-crosser and there’s a surprise waiting for him when he does track down his quarry. I’ve not read many stories by Glidden, but I’ve enjoyed the handful I have, and Retribution River was just as good as any of them, even though it did have a predictable plot. 

Another novella follows, Mavericks of Moonrock Range by Rod Patterson, who is another author I haven’t read before. Patterson had over 200 stories published in western pulps. Patterson pulled me into his tale immediately with questions that needed answers. Clyde Desbrow sees a note in a newspaper telling him to return to his father’s ranch by a specific date if he wants to claim his inheritance. What he finds at the ranch shocks him but he intends to sort out the wrongs he sees happening in his home. Patterson’s writes well, his prose creating a dark tone to a story filled with tense scenes and intrigue. I can’t really say anymore without spoiling it other than to say I wasn’t a fan of the nick-of-time ending which made me think the author did this as he was running out of pages. This story, for me, would have been much better longer with a bit more explanation as to why certain characters did what they did. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this tale a lot and am eager to read more of Patterson’s work.

Next we have a novelette by Wayne D. Overholser called The Long Haul. Overholser had just over 400 western tales under his own name and a more under a variety of pseudonyms published in western pulps. The Long Haul tells the tale of a decision lawman Lance Gregg has to make: does he take in a wanted man as the law says he should or let him go out in a blaze of glory taking down other outlaws? That’s all there is to the plot, but it was enough to keep me turning the pages to see which choice Gregg would make. The tales ends with a swift shootout that brings everything to a satisfactory conclusion.

Walt Coburn’s Guns Across the Rio Grande is a novella that tells the story of The Rio Kid who has been falsely accused of murdering a Texas Ranger. The Ranger’s Captain, Jess Clayton, doesn’t believe the Kid, whose real name is Carlos McCarty, is the killer. Clayton helps the Kid escape from jail and then they set out to track down and bring to justice the real murderer which involves a cattle drive to tempt some rustlers to steal the herd. This is a fast paced read that includes some great action scenes. I enjoyed reading it, even though it was obvious how things would turn out. I did have to take my time with some of the speech as Coburn writes it as his characters say it, for example the Mexican Pepe says “Por Dios, ees een my blood to be a gon fighter!” I do find this kind of writing adds flavour to these stories so it’s welcomed by me if not excessively done as it can really slow a story down if you have to re-read it to understand what is being said. Coburn was a popular author for the western pulps and had around 800 stories published in them.  

The last tale is a novella by Michael Trent called Badlands Showdown. Trent had nine stories published across a variety of western pulps so is probably the least known of the authors featured in this issue of Western Story. Jim Dunstan, foreman of the Aurora Land & Cattle Company is determined to bring an end to the rustling in the area. Trouble is, it seems a friend is passing on information to the gang of outlaws which, as distasteful as exposing who this will be, Dunstan sums it up by saying “Guilt and friendship don’t go together.” In such a short story it was easy to work out who the bad guy was and who would get the girl, but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of this story. 

This British issue of Western Story also includes the poem Chuckwagon Menu by S. Omar Barker and the very short column Range Savvy by Gene King, neither of which struck a chord with me.

This pulp magazine also contains a bit of information about cover artist William R. Leigh telling us he was an author as well as an artist. Leigh wrote short stories on Indian life that appeared in a variety of American magazines. The story The Western Pony both written and illustrated by Leigh was named as one of the fifty best books of 1933 by the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

Overall, I thought this was a good issue of Western Story as I enjoyed all the stories it contained. 

EXCITING WESTERN - October 1953

 

EXCITING WESTERN
British Edition, Vol. II, No. 9
Atlas Publishing, October 1953

The British edition of Exciting Western started by taking it contents from the American pulp of the same name with the occasional stories sourced from other American western pulps. As time went on most of the stories came from other western pulps. This is the case with this issue of Exciting Western as all the contents, except one, were taken from the Spring 1953 issue of Thrilling Ranch Stories. The other tale, Fiddle-Foot was taken from Exciting Western, March 1953. 

The opening novella is Rustler’s Run by Lewis B. Patten. Burt Norden is doing his best to look after his mother whose gone into a state of depression since her husband died. Burt is sweet on one of the neighbouring rancher’s daughters, Lucy, but the path to true love isn’t running smoothly. Lucy’s mother is dying and another young man, Mitch Riorson is showing interest in her. Mitch is always picking fights with Burt and they are getting more vicious each time fists fly. It seems it won’t be long before one kills the other. On top of all this is the mystery of missing cattle. Patten’s portrayal of human emotion is first class and his action scenes are well depicted. The story was a little predictable, but even so, still made for an exciting read.

Next comes the short story Fiddle-Foot by Ben Frank (real name Frank Bennett). Freddy had some strange help: a stuffed gorilla, a pet skunk – and Stella’s red-hot skillet! This tale is told in a light-hearted tone throughout and contains quite a few amusing scenes. It tells the story of how the Foster Memorial Museum came to be in the basement of the Courthouse in Mumblepeg. It involves a couple of old-timers, an attractive housekeeper, and a stolen windmill, as well as the already mentioned gorilla, skunk and skillet. This story would fall into the category of comedy westerns, and I felt that it was the perfect length for this type of tale, any longer and it would have outstayed its welcome. 

Paul Randell Morrison’s novelette Grip of the West followed. This is set in the time of automobiles and telephones, but once the opening scene is played out, I could easily imagine it as a western taking place in an early time period. The main character is well-to-do Gary Cortland who, whilst drunk, is dumped on a train heading west as a prank. Cortland ends up working on a ranch, saving the day when a river threatens to burst its banks, and falls in love with the rancher’s daughter, Peggy. Cortland also discovers that he enjoys the harder life of a cowboy than living in a city where everything is done for him. All through the story I was waiting to see if Cortland would get revenge on his two friends who put him on the train and how he does that was amusing and just. Entertaining.

The fourth and final tale in this issue of Exciting Western is the short story The Ranger Takes a Wife by Frank P. Castle. Flounces and frills, ruffles and lace – To her they were pretty. To him a disgrace! Tough rancher Chris Talley decides he needs a wife to keep house and do chores. A homeless girl struggling to survive fits the bill and after a quick wedding they are married. That’s when differences in their outlook to life emerge, things Chris can’t accept. There’s also the Guerra family who Chris believes are cattle thieves. More trouble erupts when his wife Loretta befriends Victoria who is one of the Guerra clan. This is a tough tale that contains some harsh dialogue and scenes. I was never sure how this tale would end. The conclusion was a little to perfect as Chris changes his viewpoint all too suddenly. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading the story and would like to check out more of Castle’s work.

The last page is taken up with the article Rope Rascality by Ferris Weddle. I usually don’t read these parts of the pulps but I did this time. It proved to be a collection of tall tales of when a lasso was used, a couple of which made me smile. 

Overall, this was an enjoyable issue of Exciting Western. For me, the best two stories were those by Patten and Castle.

WESTERN NOVELS and Short Stories

 

WESTERN NOVELS and Short Stories
British Edition, Vol. 1, No. 5
L. Miller & Son Ltd. London

According to the FictionMags Index, 105 issues of this pulp were published in America. Only a handful came out in the UK – eight published by L. Miller & Son, and another three were published by Thorpe & Porter. I only own two, both from L. Miller & Son, neither of which contain a date to indicate the year it came out. The stories in the UK editions seem to have been sourced from a variety of American pulps.

Vol. 1, No. 5 has 64 pages and the opening novella takes up 35 of those pages. The Revenge by Joseph Chadwick is the second story I’ve read by him. Dan Kirby was now in a position to pay back those who sent him down some dark trails. Kirby had amassed a small fortune and was now able to buy the ranch that had got rid of him. He’s now a hard man and begins kicking the small squatter ranchers off his land. He also marries the girl he loved back then, even though she doesn’t appear happy by this and they live in separate buildings on his ranch. Some of the squatters won’t go without a fight. Then there’s the man who Kirby’s new wife was in a relationship with before Kirby returned. Does Nan still have feelings for him? Chadwick pulled me into the story easily, and I soon wanted to find out what would become of Kirby. Would he find happiness? Would his ranch succeed? His hard nature and his determination to have his revenge against those who’d wronged him soon had me doubting he’d achieve happiness. There’s plenty of tough talk and action before everything is resolved. Chadwick even explaining what happens in future years to the survivors. 

Next, we have the short story Apache Smoke by Clifton Adams. This is the grittiest tale in this pulp and tells the story of Matt Reppy’s attempt to get out of Apache country with his gold samples. Making Reppy’s task even more difficult is the fact he is on foot, with little food or water and can only risk travelling at night. The situation gets worse when he meets another man who has trouble walking due to an arrow wound in his leg. When this stranger, Talbert, discovers Reppy’s gold, he decides he wants it for himself and he gets the drop of Reppy. Finding out whether one of them, or both escape the Apaches provided some tense reading making this the best story in this issue of Western Novels and Short Stories.

Backfire Loot by Lawrence A. Keating is another short story. This one tells of when Sheriff Bill Dowd conducted a funeral for a cat that almost led to another funeral – his own. This is a bank robbery tale with the added plotline of a dead cat that distracts Dowd from his duty. Saying anymore will ruin it for anyone who reads this so all I’ll add is that I found it a fun read even though the twist ending was easy to predict. 

The fourth story, The Cast-Iron Alibi by Gunnison Steele (real name B. W. Gardner) seemed out of place in a western pulp to me. Nick Ryan could prove he wasn’t the murderer being sought for – prove it with the finality of the grave. This short story is a crime thriller in the noir style set in modern times. It was certainly a good read and had an excellent sting-in-the-tale. 

The final tale was another short story and this was Education of a Cowman by Stephen Payne. John Webb had a lot of qualities, but patience with men less strong than himself wasn’t one of those qualities and this is demonstrated time and again as he sets up a new ranch. Succeeding in this venture is all that matters, whatever the cost. Webb is on the path of becoming a lonely bitter man. It’s down to a life-long friend to make him see sense and become more human again. And that’s the plot of this one – or what little plot there is. Most of the action takes place off stage as the story progresses rapidly in years. It’s not gripping in any way and I really didn’t care what happened to Webb. I also found Stephen Payne’s writing style difficult to follow as it just didn’t hold my attention. I don’t think I’ve read anything by Payne before and on the strength of this I won’t be rushing out to find more of his work.

This is not the best pulp I’ve read but I’m glad I did as I really enjoyed Clifton Adams tale. Joseph Chadwick and Lawrence A. Keating also provided entertaining reads. Gunnison Steele’s story was a surprise as to it not being a western but I did enjoy it. 

As I said at the beginning, the UK editions of Western Novels and Short Stories took their yarns from a number of different American pulps, so here’s a list of where they originally came from:

The Revenge by Joseph Chadwick – Western Novels and Short Stories, December 1952

Apache Smoke by Clifton Adams – Western Novels and Short Stories, December 1952

Backfire Loot by Lawrence A. Keating – All Western Magazine, November 1937

The Cast-Iron Alibi by Gunnison Steele – I’ve not been able to discover where this first appeared.

Education of a Cowman by Stephen Payne – Western Novels and Short Stories, December 1952

EXCITING WESTERN - August 1954

EXCITING WESTERN

British Edition, Vol. III, No. 7

Atlas Publishing, August 1954

This issue of Exciting Western contains five stories, all taken from the American edition of July 1948. Of the eight tales that are in the America version, only five made it into the British edition. None of the American columns, articles or the quiz appear either, and the only illustration to make it is for the lead story in the British publication, Outside the Law, which was drawn by C.A. Murphy. The cover art is the same, although it is presented in a different way – I’ve included this at the end of the review.

The opening novelette is Outside the Law by Jackson Cole. This is one of the fifty Navajo Tom Raine: Arizona Ranger tales that appeared in Exciting Western. The real author behind the pseudonym of Jackson Cole is unknown to me.

Raine is in town to take a vacation, a few days of fishing is what he’s looking forward to. Unsurprisingly, this isn’t how things work out as a number of people believe he’s come to town to track down the missing Gordon Meade. Does the town boss, Stephen Waldron have something to do with his disappearance? He certainly wants to stop the growing romance between his daughter and Meade. Waldron has also posted a reward for Meade’s capture as he says Meade is a rustler. Raine reluctantly finds himself sorting this mess out, having to use his brains and guns to do so and a neat trick with the reward money brings the tale to a close on a happy note. This ending was a little too perfect for my taste, particularly as one person seemed to have a sudden change of temperament to allow this to happen.

This was the first time I’ve read a Navajo Raine story and I liked his character enough to want to read more, something I hope to do soon.

Trigger Trouble in Tejon by W.C. Tuttle is the next novelette and this features his range detectives Tombstone and Speedy who are trying to patch up a range feud and solve a rustling puzzle. Tombstone and Speedy don’t seem to be the brightest pair of sleuths to ride the range, but their conversations were always fun, as was their explanation for being in the area; to count horned toads for the government. There’s a couple of well-written action scenes, and I especially enjoyed the outcome of a fight in a hotel room. It’ll come as no surprise that they crack the case, more by luck than judgement. This was an entertaining story that left me looking forward to reading more tales about Tombstone and Speedy, or other stories by Tuttle. 

The first short story is Hymns for Hell’s Basin by Robert J. Hogan. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Hogan so far and this tale is no exception. Under the spell of a girl’s smile, cussin’ cowpoke Johnny Rand helps a passel of nesters find new homes. Pastor Freeman and his flock have a grant from the Government giving them permission to stake a claim to an area of land for their new homes. Trouble is the local townsfolk and cattlemen want that land for their own use and begin staking their own claims to the land, which is all legal according to a lawyer. Rand has to think fast to stop all the promised land being taken. All this because one of the female members of the wagon train showed some interest in him, something no girl has done before. The story didn’t end quite how I expected but it was a fitting conclusion to this tale.

Louis Dearborn LaMoore is much better known as Louis L’Amour and he also wrote stories under the name of Jim Mayo. The final two short stories in this issue of Exciting Western both come from him, one as L’Amour and the other as Mayo. 

There’s Always a Trail by Jim Mayo is about a drifter who had a gun job to do before he could settle down and grow roots. This drifter tells people his name is Handy, but it’s obvious that this is a pseudonym to hide his real identity and that his true name will be discovered at some point. Handy says he’ll track down some outlaws and retrieve the money they stole in exchange for half-ownership of a ranch, even though he’s told the robbers haven’t left a trail to follow. Handy soon proves them wrong and tracks the outlaws and everything ends with an exciting gunfight. 

The last story is The Nester and the Piute by Louis L’Amour. For such a short story (it’s only five pages long), L’Amour packs a lot in making this yarn a gripping read. This tale is told in the first person through a young man who decides to follow Bin Morley as he tracks a Piute whose done him a wrong. Quite what that crime is, isn’t revealed until the very end and that left with a big grin on my face. 

All the stories in this issue of Exciting Western are well written and easily held my attention. L’Amour’s tales contained the most gunplay but all had intriguing plotlines that engaged my imagination and kept me reading in a need to know how they ended. Overall, I found this to be a very good collection of stories that kept me entertained throughout. 

HAUNTED VALLEY

HAUNTED VALLEY

By Jackson Cole

A Chosen Western, 1949

Most, if not all of the books published by Wells Gardner, Darton & Co., Ltd., under their Western, or Chosen Western, line are reprints that most likely appeared in the American pulps first, perhaps in shorter versions and quite often under a different title. Haunted Valley is one of those books.

Haunted Valley was originally published under the title Riders of Embrujada Valley in the October 1943 issue of Texas Rangers and it stars long-running hero Jim Hatfield. Jackson Cole is a pseudonym shared by a number of authors and this story was written by A. Leslie Scott.

Hatfield, also-known-as The Lone Wolf, rides into the Embrujada Valley to find out just what is the source behind the troubles there and put a stop to it. The reader is one step ahead of the Ranger, as the author has already told of the theft and hiding of some black opals that are supposedly worth a fortune but are also tainted with bad luck. The author does keep some secrets from both the reader and the Ranger until he’s ready to reveal them, usually through Hatfield working out just what is going on. Hatfield seems to have knowledge of everything under the sun. This is helpful when he sets to solve a cryptic map that should reveal the location of the hidden opals. Hatfield has a habit of talking to himself and his horse, Goldie, whilst pondering the problems he has to overcome. 

The author moves his story forward swiftly, so there is never a dull moment. There is plenty of gunplay as Hatfield takes on a small group of killers, but who are they working for? There are also two rival ranchers who seem set on a range war, can Hatfield stop the bloodshed before it starts? Hatfield will find himself in all kinds of deadly situations, one of which is illustrated on the book cover, before managing to bring peace to the valley.

A. Leslie Scott’s writing pulled me into the story easily, his descriptive passages are excellent, and are a little poetic at times. I did smile at some of the terms used as they were definitely a product of their times, for instance where bad language should be it says “blankety blank blank” instead. Many of the characters, including Hatfield, talk old style cowboy lingo that I occasionally had to re-read to make sure I’d understood what was being said properly.  

Overall, Haunted Valley is an entertaining read that left me looking forwards to reading the many Hatfield stories I have in pulp magazines and a handful of books.

SIX-GUN WESTERN

SIX-GUN WESTERN

British Edition

Cover art by Joseph Szokoli

This edition doesn’t include any issue numbers or publication dates. It is a partial reprint of the American Six-Gun Western published April 1950 so I assume it came out not too long after as that was usually the case with British editions of American pulps. It also seems this was the only British edition of Six-Gun Western.

The American edition had 130 pages; the British was trimmed to 100. Two stories were cut to make this possible, these being Ray Gaulden’s Once a Badge Toter and the Six-Gun Smith comic strip The Gambling Lady by Berthold Tiedemann. 

This pulp differs to many that I have seen in that it features two or three drawings illustrating something that happens during each story and all the artists are named. What is a little annoying is that these illustrations often come a couple of pages before the events take place in the story so they act as spoilers. Some of the stories continue page to page and then you have to turn further into the magazine to find the last couple of pages, something I’m not a fan of. One story has its final paragraphs printed on the page before the tale begins. I just don’t understand why some of the adverts couldn’t have been moved around so the stories could be printed unbroken. 

This issue opens with Cow-Country Mail Call which is made up of a few letters from readers and comments by Dobie Dallas. 

Next, we have the novelette Short-Cut to Hell by E. Hoffmann Price with illustrations by William Meilink. This story was originally published in the January 1939 edition of Thrilling Adventures and was the first of four tales Price wrote featuring the character, Saul Epstein. This story was also the reason I picked out this pulp to read as way back in 2011 I read and thoroughly enjoyed the anthology Nomad’s Trail by Price which contained a number of tales featuring one of Price’s other pulp heroes, Simon Bolivar Grimes who was a series character in Spicy Western Stories.

Epstein is a secondary character in Short-Cut to Hell, who pops up a little to conveniently for me to help the main lead, Pete Barlow, take on a man who is trying to muscle in on his girl whilst they all travel in a wagon train. Epstein joins them mid-journey pushing his hand-cart from which he seems to sell everything you could possibly want. There’s also another young woman who shows an interest in Barlow and he doesn’t seem able to resist her advances. That’s not the only problem Barlow will have to deal with as there is a gang waiting to attack the wagons. 

Short-Cut to Hell was an ok read and contained a fair bit of action but overall was nowhere near as entertaining as the Simon Bolivar Grimes tales I’d previously read. Epstein was a fun character though, so I can see why Price would write other tales about him.    

The comic strip Tethered to Murder, featuring series character K-Bar-Kate by R. Hayden was next. This was competently drawn but the story wasn’t gripping in any way and was filled with too many nick-of-time moments for me.

The Grey Wolf by Charls Getts, with illustrations by Kingsland Ward, was much more to my taste. A mysterious stranger wearing the emblem of a wolf comes to the aid of an old settler and his pretty daughter whilst tracking down an old enemy. I guess it’ll come as no surprise that the person threatening the settlers is the man the stranger is hunting. The tale plays out pretty much as expected except for the ending and I was left wanting to read more by Getts.

Gunsmoke Tally by Frank Morris came next. H. W. Kiemle provided the illustrations. Hank Green was holed up in a cabin while his enemies scoured the countryside for him. When there came a knock at the door and a girl tumbled in, he was sure that it was just a ruse to get him where their guns could cut him down. The entire tale takes place in the dark cabin and is a very tense story that is filled with mistrust. Is the girl really who she says she is? Green doesn’t think so. Can she persuade him otherwise? Green starts to believe her but is soon full of suspicion again as his enemies fight their way into the cabin. I’ll certainly be keeping an eye-out for more stories by Morris as I really enjoyed this one.

Golden Girl by Ralph Sedgwick Douglas - a house pseudonym shared by a number of authors but I haven’t been able to discover who wrote this story. Illustrations are by Max Plaisted. The title is the name of the hero’s horse and the story tells the tale of Tuck Creighton’s return to his home spread after a year away. It seems his father is still sore at him though and there are a lot of very puzzling things happening on the be-devilled range. The author came up with some memorable characters for this tale, Whistling Willie, a youngster who can make the sounds of any bird, and a man called The Weeper who oozes evil and works for Tuck’s father. Of course, there is also a pretty girl involved. The author keeps you guessing at just what is going on and springs a couple of surprises during this well told tale, although there is a bit of an unbelievable event that helps Tuck free himself when captured and tied up. How everything was resolved was a little too perfect and involved a just-in-time intervention that for me was a bit of a let-down. I still liked this story quite a lot and would read more by this author if I ever discover who it is. 

The final story is Transformation in Skeleton Flats by John White and this was illustrated by Al Savitt. Jeff Markle was the young offspring of a no-good, shiftless family, and treated with pretty low regard around Skeleton Flats. But it is sure surprisin’ what a shave, a haircut, a bushwhacking and a girl can do to affect the life of an unkempt range rannihan! Jeff puts the blame on himself when Julia Latham’s brother is shot by a gunman trying to kill Jeff as he believes this will help him get close to Julia and win her affections. A mis-guided plan if there ever was one. White tells his story well, even if it is unbelievable making this the weakest tale in this issue of Six-Gun Western. 

Overall, this was a readable pulp that introduced me to a couple more authors I’d like to read more of. 

TEXAS RANGERS - October 1956

TEXAS RANGERS
British Edition, Vol. X1, No. 12
Atlas Publishing, October 1956

This issue of the British Edition of Texas Rangers takes all its stories from the American issue published in March 1956. The British Edition only contains four stories, compared to eight in the original American publication. The same cover art by Sam Cherry was used on both editions but the border and lettering were changed somewhat. I’ve posted the American cover at the end of this review so you can compare it for yourselves.

The Jim Hatfield tale Guns Across the River by Jackson Cole is the opening novella. Jackson Cole is a pseudonym used by a number of authors. This time around it’s Peter B. Germano writing behind the penname. I believe he wrote 16 Jim Hatfield adventures out of the 205 or so Hatfield stories that appeared in the pulps.

Hatfield, known as The Lone Wolf, was caught square in the crossfire when the ghost of a dead man and the invasion of sheep brought war to Peaceful Valley. Germano includes quite a large cast of characters in his twisting plot that makes you wonder how he can possibly tie up all the story threads in such a short tale. This is something I’ve often marvelled at when reading other books by Germano under his pseudonym of Barry Cord, yet he always succeeds, and this novella is no different. There’s also some female interest for Hatfield but we know the Ranger is never going to settle down, don’t we? Guns Across the River is packed with action and told in a hard-boiled style and proved to be a very entertaining read and is right up there with the very best Hatfield stories I’ve ever read. 

Germano re-wrote Guns Across the River as War in Peaceful Valley which came out as one half of an Ace Double in 1959 as by Barry Cord. Jim Hatfield became Deputy U.S. Marshal Matt Vickers. 

The first short story is Moment of Violence by George Roulston. This tells of Matt Strombo’s return from prison after being sentenced for stagecoach robbery and killing the driver. As the tale unfolds, we discover it wasn’t Matt who pulled the trigger but his partner in the hold-up. Of course, Matt’s return to Dandy Crossing arouses many emotions in the townsfolk and more violence ensues. I enjoyed this tale a lot and found it to be a great introduction to this author. I have one of Roulston’s other stories, Court Day, in another issue of Texas Rangers that I hope to read very soon.

Next up is Miguel’s Private Miracle by H.G. Ashburn. An Indian boy had thoroughly believed in the white man’s God till the scalp-hunters came… This short story has a strong religious theme that I found a bit overpowering. It is very well-written though, but it does contain something that I found hard to believe. Different, but not really to my taste. 

The third and final short story is The Reluctant Hangman by John Jo Carpenter, which is a pseudonym use by John Reese. With the sheriff ill it’s up to his deputy, Hiram Cutler, to perform a hanging. This is something Cutler has little stomach for and so he struggles psychologically with the task he’s been called to perform. This proved to be a gripping tale with a well-thought-out ending that I devoured eagerly. I can’t remember reading anything else by John Reese, and this tale left me wanting to try more of his work as soon as I can. 

Overall, I’d not hesitate in recommending this issue of Texas Rangers, if you can find it, as it contains some very strong storytelling indeed. 

WESTERN STORY MAGAZINE - December 1961

WESTERN STORY MAGAZINE
British Edition, Vol. XV, No. 8.
Atlas Publishing, December 1961

This collection of nine tales contains work by eight authors I’d never read before, the exception being Barry Cord, so I was looking forward to trying some new writers to me. Yes, I recognized the names of a few of them but had no idea of what to expect from them when I picked up this issue of Western Story Magazine.

The contents page says none of the stories had been published in Great Britain before, but like all British Editions of western pulps the tales were all previously published in American Pulps. Seven of the stories originally appeared in the December 1940 issue of New Western Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 3. No Law for Die-Hard Cowmen! was taken from Vol. 1, No. 1 of New Western Magazine, March 1940, and Samaritan of Hell’s Half-Acre came from the October 1940 issue of .44 Western Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 4. You can see the covers of these magazines throughout the review.

No Law for Die-Hard Cowmen! by Ed. Earl Repp is the lead story. From what I can gather Repp got other authors to ghost a lot of the work that was published under his own name, and not having read anything by him before means I can’t pick up on any writing styles to help me identify whether it was him or not that wrote this tale. The story follows Clay Anson, who’d turned in his Texas Ranger badge for the chance to deal justice beyond the law and claim his bloody heritage. It was never explained how Anson knew so much about the wrongs he came to set right, and who was behind them. This gave me a few ‘huh?’ moments as I wondered how he knew about certain revelations and made the story somewhat unbelievable. Anson is also a super confident man who never doubts his abilities to take down the badmen. This was probably my least liked story in this magazine.

The second yarn, Barnyard Billy’s Conscript Army by Jim Kjelgaard, was not what I was expecting. This is a tale told from a goat’s point of view and doesn’t contain any humans. Slow starvation awaited the billy goat as he was trapped on top of a barren rock. Below was certain bloody death at the fangs of a huge, snarling dog. Could a second goat help save the day? I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed this tale, even though I find it hard to accept that animals think like humans. It was well written and the author soon had me wondering if the goat could escape the dog. I’m now curious to find out if Kjelgaard wrote other stories that featured only animals. 

The Broken-M Adopts Trouble by Cliff M. Bisbee uses the age-old plot of the failing ranch that the bank is about to claim if the owners don’t pay off their debt. The Mexican partner decides to steal what they need but he doesn’t pick his victim well, and robs the sheriff. There’s a neat side plot of a missing baby that turns up at the ranch making the owners wonder how it got there. It couldn’t have crawled twenty miles, could it? On the strength of this short story, I’d certainly read more by Bisbee.

Hector Gavin Grey’s There’s Gold in Boothill is next. With a title like that it’ll come as no surprise to discover this is a gold mine tale. An old-timer partners up with a young fast gun who may or may not be who he says he is. They take on a job to get back a mine for a man who has a bad reputation. There’s a couple of plot twists as the characters set to double-cross each other and everything pretty much plays out as expected. Entertaining enough to ensure I’d read another story by this author if I find one, although I wouldn’t go looking specifically.

An Outlaw Town Hires a Badge Toter by H. Charles McDermott. Frontier marshal Bob Fury arrives in town to solves a mysterious series of murders and pilfered caches on the request of Laughing Jake Tilby. This is an action-packed tale involving a gold mine that sees Fury taking on the man who hired him. It has a neat ending which involves an unloaded gun. One of my favourite tales in the magazine making McDermott an author I’ll definitely be keeping an eye-out for more of his stories.

The author of Powdersmoke Quarantine, C. William Harrison, wrote under a few pseudonyms too. This story is about Jim Callert who has the difficult task on making Jan Edwards believe he hadn’t killed her brother whilst upholding a quarantine law that will plunge her ranch into poverty. Callert and Jan were an item at one time, but the death of her brother had changed that. If Callert could prove he was innocent, would they become lovers once again? The was an ok read that had an easy to work out plot and of course involved a cattle stampede. This story didn’t make me want to go and search for more of the author’s work.

Barry Cord is a pseudonym used by Peter B. Germano and he has long been a favourite author of mine and his story in this magazine, The Things Men Die For, was another excellent read by him. It’s about a broken old whiskey-bum to whom a small gold medal meant only another bottle … until the sight of a youngster going out to die fanned to living flame a forgotten spark of manhood. Like in his full-length novels, Cord includes intrigue and a great twist ending to this dark toned tale. Definitely the best story in this publication.

Samaritan of Hell’s Half-Acre by Le Roy Boyd features a plot often found in westerns, that of a lawman and outlaw having to team up to fight off greater odds. Stranded by a waterhole without horses, desperado Lafferty and sheriff Parsons find themselves under attack by a gang of Mexicans. This is packed with action and has a terrific twist ending. This story is my second favourite and I’ll certainly be looking for more work by this author.

The final story is I. L. Thompson’s Doom Waits for Barbwire Rebels. Jeff Mainess, a gunless prison outcast won’t line up with either side in a range war so he becomes fair bullet-bait for both. This is your typical cattleman wants all the range and starts driving out the farmers. Soon people die, and Mainess takes on the job of lawman to try and stop the killings. There’s plenty of action, including a siege and assault on the jail. Mainess is pretty much indestructible, taking a number of bullet wounds but is able to shrug them off and carry on as if nothing has happened. There’s also a delicate girl who will show her strengths by the end of the tale and is the love interest for Mainess. This was a readable story but not very memorable.

Don’t be put off by the incredibly dull cover this magazine has as the stories it contains are all worth a read. I never considered giving up on any of them and found a couple of new authors to me that I’d like to read more of. Overall, this is a fun collection of short stories that kept me entertained for a few hours. 

WESTERN STORY - January 1958

WESTERN STORY January 1958

British Edition Vol. 13, No. 1

The four tales within this issue of the British Edition of Western Story were all originally published in the American pulp Star Western Vol. 49, No.2 published in July 1950. The covers of both of these pulps share the same foreground characters in different settings and the girl also has a hair colour change. I’ve posted the Star Western cover below.

The opening story, which is billed as the featured novelette, is Siren of Shamrock Ranch by Joseph Chadwick. Chadwick’s tale held my attention throughout as the outcast Kincaid attempts to prove a man set to hang is innocent by finding the real killer.
Kincaid has received a letter from an unknown party asking him to help. Half a thousand-dollar bill is included with the letter too, with the promise of the other half when he finds the real killer. Kincaid’s investigations are complicated by two young ladies who seem to hate each other and his feelings for them.
Siren of Shamrock Ranch was a fun read spoiled by the publisher’s inclusion of a line drawing at the beginning of the story that gives away the identity of the bad guy, although it does capture a scene from the tale well.

Next comes the first of three short stories, although why Worth Her Weight in Bullets! By Bob Obets is referred to as a short story when it’s two pages longer than the featured novelette I’m not sure – in Star Western it is called a novelette. This is a tale of a partnership welded by blood spilled in battle and endless cruel days on the trail that becomes strained when both Tom McCabe and Turk Buckley fall for the same nester girl, which will see them on opposite sides in a cattle rustling plot.
I wasn’t as keen on this story as the previous tale, as it seemed to take forever to get to the meat of the story and I did contemplate giving up on it after a few pages. Worth Her Weight in Bullets! ended as expected.

Girl Gun-Guard for the Devil! by Clifton Adams is a fast-paced short story about Morry Rockland who had sworn to kill a man and was within inches of doing so when he met the lush and tempting woman who, in her turn, had sworn the hunted killer must not die.

This was easily my favourite tale within this issue of Western Story as both Rockland and the girl have valid reasons to either kill or defend Jay Holland, and the story becomes a battle of wills.

The last tale, The Girl from Boothill by Francis H. Ames, is about a man searching for his brother’s killer. He hopes to find the truth in Pima Valley’s Boar’s Nest and conceals his identity behind a pseudonym. Trouble is a waitress recognizes him, although she keeps this to herself, but there is always the fear she will expose him for who he really is. Things are soon complicated by another young woman and there are some shocks to uncover about his brother. Everything is resolved neatly in a swift shootout.

The only author in this collection that I’ve read before is Clifton Adams. Of the others, Chadwick and Ames entertained me enough to want to read more by them. Obets’ story didn’t grab me enough to make me want to search out more of his work.

Overall, this was an entertaining enough pulp that is worth reading if you can find a copy.

WESTERN ADVENTURE October 1958

WESTERN ADVENTURE October 1958

British Edition Vol 3, No. 4

The four tales to be found in this British edition of Western Adventure were all originally published in the American pulp Western Story, Vol. 196, No. 5, January 1942. The cover art was done by H.W. Scott but whether he redid it or someone else copied it for the British edition I don’t know. If you study both covers, you’ll see many subtle changes. You can view the American cover at the end of this post.

The first yarn, and featured novelette is Wolf of the Toltecs by Philip Ketchum. This is the much-used landgrab story, with one man, Ben Broadman seeking vengeance on those who killed his friends. It’s a tough tale that sees Broadman become a wanted man and he soon seems to care for nothing other than getting his revenge, no matter who gets hurt along the way. It also seems the story can only end with Broadman’s death. I enjoyed reading this tale, although the ending was a bit of a let down for my tastes – I’d have preferred a much harder hitting conclusion. I will, however, be seeking out another of Ketchum’s tales to try soon.

H.A. DeRosso was the author of short story Death Stacks the Deck. This has a wonderfully dark atmosphere, and was the second entry in this pulp that seemed to be heading for a downbeat ending. Ex-gambler Harvey Howell sees the only way to payoff his ranch is to play one last game and loses his home in a crooked game. Howell is then offered a chance to reclaim his ranch by playing another game to cheat the biggest rancher in the area out of his ranch. What doesn’t sit well is the fact that this rancher’s daughter is Howell’s wife. Cheating also goes against all of Howell’s beliefs. With all hope gone Howell plays the game and wins. After this the author includes a small twist that, like in the Ketchum novelette, turned things around in a way that gave the tale a happy ending that didn’t seem to fit the rest of the tone of the story to me. Having said that, the ending won’t stop me reading more of DeRosso’s work.

Rodeo Reckoning by Seth Ranger – which is a pseudonym used by Frank Richardson Pierce – came next. This short story is about a rodeo champion who wants to retire and run a horse ranch, but finds himself back competing to prove he’s still the greatest. That is about the entire plot and it worked out exactly as you’d expect. In fact, I got bored with it half-way through and decided to speed-read it to the end. If it had been longer than ten pages, I’d have probably not finished it.

The last short story was Hep Meets the New Year by Glenn H. Wichman. Wichman wrote 65 tales featuring Hep and this was the first time I’d read one. Hep decides to make some new year resolutions and gets four other people to do so too. The question is will any of them stick to these decisions? This is a comedy western, its light-hearted tone was fine, and it contained a couple of slap-stick situations at the end. Covering twelve pages was enough for me though as it didn’t have enough plot to hold my attention and I’m not sure I’ll be reading the other Hep Gallegher stories I have in my collection any time soon. 

There are also two factual features by Jim West, that I didn’t bother reading.

I’m hoping to try and read pulps more often as there are certainly some gems to be found within them. 

THRILLING WESTERN October 1953

THRILLING WESTERN OCTOBER 1953

British Edition, Vol. 5, No. 10

This edition contains three novelettes and four short stories, all of which appeared in the earlier American publication of Thrilling Western dated March, 1949. The same cover art was used for both.

The British edition begins with the novelet Haunted Forest by Bradford Scott and is one of sixty-five plus tales that appeared in the pulps starring Texas Ranger Walt Slade who is also known as El Halcon (The Hawk). Slade keeps his identity a secret as he takes on a spectre in a fight for lumber lands. As usual Slade is really good at figuring out what is going on and solves everything with ease. This tale was filled with action, although it was slowed down a little when Slade explained how a hydraulic ram worked which I thought went on too long and became tedious. This was an entertaining story as have been other Walt Slade tales I've read. Bradford Scott is a pseudonym used by A. Leslie Scott.

Next came the short story Red Creek Showdown by Peter B. Germano writing as Barry Cord. Lin Peters has to face death as he tries to figure out who’s trying to stop him driving a stage and why. Like in many tales by Germano this one has a couple of neat twists, although the main reason as to why the culprit wants to stop the stage isn’t explained, it’s just left for the reader to decide. Very enjoyable, but could leave some readers frustrated. 

Novelet Six-Guns Sing at Night by John H. Latham is the third tale. I believe this is the authors real name and that he also wrote for the pulps as Tom Brand too.  Peter Weaver blames the death of his dad on Big Joe Brady but has never been able to prove it. The truth comes out when rancher Lon Gentry springs a trap to capture Brady who he accuses of being a rustler. There are some nice moments of humour in this tale and this was my favourite story in this issue and it left me eager to try some more of Latham’s work.

Trouble Talk takes just over three pages to tell. It’s written by Tex Holt, which is a house name, and I’ve not been able to discover who the real author is. This is the story of Sheriff Bill Lowell of Cottonwood, a man who didn’t think he needed a deputy as he hunts for a killer known as the Gray Ghost. It has a twist ending that was easy to work out, but the tale did hold my attention throughout.

Another short story follows, this one being Death Grins in Moonlight by Dupree Poe. Poe is the authors real name and he also wrote pulp tales as Roger Rhodes. This is the most gruesome story of all those in this issue and I was quite surprised by how graphic it was, especially during a vicious attack on a wolf. This animal will eventually get its revenge as it helps bring a scoundrel to retribution. Perhaps a little far fetched but it certainly made for an excellent ending that left me curious to try more of Poe’s tales.

The Doordevil of Humpwallips is a novelet by Sly MacDowell, which is the author’s real name, and it stars his series characters Swap and Whopper in a whole load of trouble as they get tagged as oyster pirates. I don’t think I’ve read any other stories about oyster rustling, so that added an interesting angle to the tale. The setting is a bit more modern than the other stories as people drive trucks whilst others ride horses. There’s some fun humour sprinkled throughout as Swap and Whooper try to talk themselves out of trouble only to dig themselves in deeper. I won’t be rushing to read another tale about Swap and Whooper but I won’t skip another story when I pick up another pulp that contains a tale featuring them. As far as I can tell they appeared in 73 pulp tales and I have four or five more in my collection.

The final tale is the short story Six-Gun Jamboree by Lew Martin. This is a pseudonym shared by Norman A. Daniels and Donald Bayne Hobart, but I’ve not been able to discover which of them wrote this. Lasting one and a half pages there’s not a great deal of plot to get your teeth into as two life-long friends suddenly become foes over a lady. 

Overall, I found this to be a very readable issue of Thrilling Western that has introduced me to a couple of authors I’d like to read more of. 

GUNS ACROSS THE PECOS

By Jackson Cole

Popular Library, 1965

In the fertile oasis of the Delnorte Valley seethed a full-scale range war. Lynch fever spread. Bombs exploded along the wire fences – reflecting the hate that filled the valley. The Coral River ran red with blood and open war was expected at any moment. Ranger Jim Hatfield had to find the man responsible for the violence before Delnorte became a valley of death.

The man Hatfield had to stop was protected by a terror organization called “The Black Cappers.” Their specialties were killing and destruction and they had forced the nesters and the ranchers into two armed camps. Hatfield found himself caught in the crossfire – an easy target for anyone with an easy six-gun. He was running on sheer power and had to get his man in a hurry . . . before the powder-keg of Delnorte Valley exploded!

This story was originally published under the same title in the November 1937 issue of Texas Rangers (see below). I’d guess the 1965 version has been expanded to create the length needed for a book. Jim Hatfield was created in 1936 by A. Leslie Scott and all the stories were published under the pseudonym of Jackson Cole. Scott was the main writer for the long running series alongside Tom Curry. A few other authors wrote for the series too. Guns Across the Pecos was written by Curry.

This is a tough, fast-paced story that contains a number of surprises and plenty of action – more or less every chapter containing gunplay or fist fights. Although the tale does include women, they don’t have very big roles – even the girl who provides the love interest.

Hatfield is extremely fast with his guns, talks to his horse Goldy, and has a quick mind that helps him solve all the problems he faces almost effortlessly. Hatfield occasionally comes across as superhuman when it comes to second-guessing his enemies and when he gets shot – the latter occurring more than once in this tale but Hatfield seems able to shrug his wounds off and carry on as if nothing had happened.

Being such an old story there is some of the kind of lingo we don’t see much of nowadays, such as ‘dawggone it’, ‘keerful-like,’ and ‘shoot yuh daid.’ This, to me, is part of the fun of reading these old tales but at times can be a challenge when there’s a lot of it in one sentence. 

Tom Curry keeps the main plot twist a secret until near the end, and it was one I didn’t see coming, although I did work out who was behind whatever it was that was going on. The story ends with a classic hero chasing bad guy across country scene, making for a final dramatic showdown that ends the tale in suitable style. 

I’ve read a few Jim Hatfield tales in pulp magazines and found them to be very entertaining and this extended book length story proved to be as equally enjoyable. 

Thrilling Western May 1958

British edition, Vol. 9, No. 12

Contents:

Featured Novelette

Holdup at Stony Flat

By Clair Huffaker

Taw was being framed, Christine warned . . . but how could he believe a woman who had already betrayed her own husband?

Short Stories

To the Last Man

By Ben Frank

A man should be ready to shoot, if need be, to uphold his family’s honor . . . but Johnny had to have a better reason before he could kill.

Track the Man Down

By Robert J. Hogan

Grace was all the things Vermilion Smith wanted in a woman . . . and the sister of the man he had to shoot on sight.

Fair Warning

By Larry Powell

To Dave Morris, there was a right and a wrong way to act . . . even if doing the right thing meant he would have to kill a man.

As far as I understand it, Thrilling Western continued in the UK after its original American run came to an end. This is one of those later issues. Were the stories written for the UK publication? Nope, they are taken from other American pulps, namely Ranch Romances. The first three stories all coming from the April 1957 issue of Ranch Romances and the final tale from the November 1956 issue. 

I’ve included the cover of the April 1957 issue of Ranch Romances as it shows how the cover art has also been re-used too, or at least a new version of it painted – if you look at them closely, you’ll see there are a number of differences between the two. 

But what of the stories themselves? I’ve read work by three of these authors before, the odd one out being Larry Powell. Ben Frank (r.n. Frank Bennett) I’ve only read in a similar pulp, whilst the other two I’ve read in full length books and greatly enjoyed, so I was really looking forward to trying some of their earlier work.

I found all four tales to be entertaining reads, but did enjoy those by Huffaker and Hogan more than the other two. I do wonder if this is because Frank and Powell’s tales are much shorter so their storylines weren’t as complex. Hogan’s tale had the most memorable ending for me due to its hard-hitting nature. To say all these tales came from a publication with romance in the title I did wonder whether they would be more of a love story than an action packed western but this wasn’t the case. Yes, all the tales have some element of romance but they are traditional westerns filled with twisting plots and plenty of gunplay. On the strength of these four stories, I’ll certainly be on the lookout for more work by all the authors.

I have quite a few western pulps and my enjoyment of this one has me eager to read some more as they certainly contain some first-class western entertainment. 

It would be remiss for me not to add some further comments about the Huffaker novelette, Holdup at Stony Flat. This would later become a full-length novel under the title of Badman which was published in 1958, the year after it first appeared in its original shorter form. Later, in 1962, Huffaker wrote a screenplay based on Badman and in 1967 the film The War Wagon was released, directed by Burt Kennedy, it starred John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. Later publications of the book saw it have a name change to The War Wagon. 

Although I have the full-length book version, I’ve never read it, so what has been added to lengthen the tale I couldn’t say. It’s also been many years since I saw the film and I don’t remember much about it, but from what I can gather it differs quite significantly after the opening scene which closely portrays the start of the original short-story.

Riding the Pulp Trail

By Paul S. Powers

Altus Press, 2011

Paul S. Powers was one of the foundation authors of the famous pulp magazine of the 1930s and 1940s, Wild West Weekly. Now, here for the first time, are twelve Paul Powers stories written in the years after Wild West Weekly stopped publication. Six of these stories were published in magazines such as Exciting Western, The Rio Kid Western and Thrilling Ranch Stories. The other six are brand new stories – never before published – that were discovered in 2009.

Contents:

Death is Where You Find It

To Steal a Ranch

Hangnoose for the Prodigal

Texa

Boothill is My Destination

Guns at Jailbird Ranch

By the Neck Until Dead

A Pard for Navajo Jack

Murder on the Hoof

Buzzards Hate Bullets

Judgement Day on Whisky Trail

Yellow Glass

Whenever I read old pulp stories I’m always a little worried that I’m going to find them hard going due to them being too old fashioned in writing style for my tastes. Let’s face it I wasn’t born when most of the pulp magazines were enjoying their heyday. The stories this collection contains are all from the late 1940s, way before I was born, so I must admit to being very pleasantly surprised to find that Paul Powers’ writing stands up well with books being written today. Yes, there are some terms used that you don’t see anymore, but that all adds to the attraction of these tales from the past.

Each story features either a drifting cowboy or a lawman. All offer fast paced plots; plenty of action, and most include a twist or two of some kind. Twists I mostly never saw coming. Each story is fronted by a double page illustration like those found in those old pulp magazines, a nice touch that adds to the flavour of these stories.

I found the book very easy to read, and as I finished one story I found myself jumping straight into the next. I can honestly say there isn’t one tale in this collection that I didn’t enjoy. Yes I have my favourites as one would expect but not one really stood out as being a lot better than the others, each and every one being of a similar excellent standard.

Praise must also be given to Laurie Powers who put a lot of hard work into putting this collection together and getting it published. Laurie also writes an entertaining introduction to the book that gives the reader a brief and informative background to her grandfather’s experiences writing for the pulps.

Definitely a book all fans of westerns should enjoy reading.

Western Adventure, October 1957

Street & Smith's

WESTERN ADVENTURE

British Edition Vol. 2 - #4

Contents:

Featured Novelette:

Driftin’ Cowhand by Walt Coburn

When Rafe Joplin’s tough-hand outfit drove away a cavvy of rustled horses across the Missouri, Bass Jackson knew his life depended on the trigger savvy of that Driftin’ Cowhand.

Range Hogs Can Die by Wayne D. Overholser

With nesters invading Redstone Valley, even Hugh Latham’s six-gun rep couldn’t keep the lid on a cattle-sheep feud.

Boothill Cargo by Norman A. Fox

Doc Comanche wasn’t checking off that counterfeit dinero as a dead loss until he collected hot-lead toll.

Deadline for a Deputy by Frank Richardson Pierce

Tony Baxter had three strikes against him when he made a baseball player pinch-hit as a deputy and take the trail of Wideawake Jackson.

Showdown at Sundown by Richard Poole

Without chips to buck a high-stake poker game, Kerry Lantham gambled his life on blistering Colt aces.

Published a number of years before I was born, I found this pulp to be a mixed bag for my tastes. My favourite story was Boothill Cargo. Doc Comanche being an entertaining lead character, one I believe stars in a number of pulp tales by Norman A. Fox and I’ll certainly be hunting through my collection to see if I have any others. The fact I liked the story the most surprised me as a previous pulp story I’ve read by Fox didn’t inspire me that much.

Of the remaining stories I liked Showdown at Sundown best, then Range Hogs, and then the featured novelette Driftin’ Cowhand – I thought this one went on a bit too long.

Deadline for a Deputy I gave up on, mainly due to all the references to baseball, a game I’m not familiar with in any way at all due to it not being that popular here in England. Still I don’t expect to like all the stories these old pulps contain.

Overall this issue of Western Adventure has left me eager to try another one soon.

Exciting Western, June/July 1960

British Edition Vol. 5  - #7

Contents:

Coon Hunter by Ben Frank

     Gummy Wilson always figured nothing was trickier than a coon – till he met up with a killer and a spunky red-haired gal.

An Old Cold Trail by H.A. DeRosso

     Ernie had paid for his crime, and figured it was time now for someone else to do a little paying.

Freight-Line Killer by Garold Hartsock

     Keen wits are sometimes better than blazing guns to trip a killer.

Purple Whisky by Frank Scott York

     Lou Fox knew all about redeye but – Purple Whisky – was a bay horse of a different colour!

Featured Novelette:

The Killer Sheriff by George Kilrain

     To young Hod Wesley, a lawman was only as big as his gun was fast. He had to learn that it took a bigger man not to use a gun at all.

Published before I was born, this pulps’ stories are written by writers that are mainly unknown to me. I say mainly because I do recognised one of the above names, that of H.A. DeRosso. So I approach these pulps with an open mind, not having any idea as to what to expect.

I think this is the first pulp where I’ve actually read all the stories from beginning to end. I found them all to be of a fairly consistent quality, and not to heavy on the ‘old West lingo’ I often find difficult to make sense of without having to re-read the sentences. I was also surprised to find that two of these stories, Coon Hunter, and Purple Whisky, contain a lot of humour, in fact the latter is a comedy out right.

Did I have a favourite story in this issue? Yes, two in fact, that are both very different to each other, these being Purple Whisky and An Old Cold Trail. The story I liked least was the featured novelette: The Killer Sheriff.

The great thing about these old pulps is that I find them a great way to try authors new to me, and I often discover one or two that I’d like to read more by. In this case there are three I’ll be hunting through my collection to see if I have more by them, these being Ben Frank, H.A. DeRosso, and Frank Scott York. If anyone has any info on the first and third of these then please add it to comments.