The Storm Family Saga #1

STAMPEDE

as by Matt Chisholm

Panther, 1970

The Civil War was over. The South, and Texas, had lost. The losers were destitute and without hope.

Then Will Storm got word of a possible deal at Abilene railhead a thousand miles north in Kansas. On a shoestring, he gathered himself a bare handful of greenhorn riders, whipped his all-wild mustangs into the semblance of cow ponies, his half-wild steers into the semblance of a herd, and headed north for Kansas.

A few days out, the mother of all thunderstorms dispersed the maddened cattle. They rounded them up. Then a band of amateur rustlers tried their hand – and badly burnt their fingers. Three dead and the rest of them on the run. The Red River was in furious spate. They got across without losing a steer. Indian country of sinister reputation lay ahead. They paid the old chief a toll of ten cows and went through like a dream.

At last the Kansas line and Abilene is only a few days ahead. Then…trouble came; very quietly, and terribly…

Matt Chisholm is really English author Peter Watts, a writer who I enjoy very much. Having already read four books from this nine book series I looked forward to reading ‘the beginning’.

Stampede is pretty much your usual cattle-drive tale but well written with plenty of pace and thrills filled with courage and grim tenacity that builds up to a twist ending, which leads to the family members heading off in different directions thus setting up the storylines for the following books.

Definitely worth picking up if you can find a copy.