THRILLING WESTERN - SUMMER 1950

 

THRILLING WESTERN

British Edition, Vol. IV, No. 1

Atlas Publishing, Summer 1950

This is a shortened edition of the American November/December 1949 edition of Thrilling Western. The British edition only reprints four of the originals nine stories along with the short quiz. 

The opening novelette is The Coffin Riders by Bradford Scott. This is a Walt Slade tale that sees him take on a lawless killer band that holds the Sin Cajo country in a grip of fear. Bradford Scott is a pseudonym for A. Leslie Scott, a prolific writer for the pulp magazines who also wrote many of the Jim Hatfield stories as Jackson Cole. The Coffin Riders didn’t really offer anything new, just followed a typical storyline for a Slade or Hatfield tale. Slade rides into the area, keeps his identity a secret for a while, has a fist fight (which is beautifully depicted by Orban in a full-page illustration), talks to his horse and himself a lot, uses his guns, before explaining who the bad guys are, what they’d been doing and why along with the mistakes they’d made that enabled him to bring them down, then rides off strumming his guitar and singing. This was an ok predictable read that felt like it was just going through the motions which is why I’m moved say this isn’t one of the best stories I’ve read from Scott. 

A Man Like General Custer by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson is next. This is another novelette by a new author to me. This story felt like one long battle between the U.S. Army and the Apache which tests the characters of Lieutenants Beck and Carney in a fiery crucible of war and danger. Yes, we’ve met similar characters in countless stories before – the ambitious man who doesn’t think things through so endangers his men often as he hunts for glory and the more level headed Beck who covers for Carney’s mistakes when he can. Of course, there’s the Major who is at his last straw with Carney. Things aren’t helped by the Major’s daughter being sweet on Carney. There’s plenty of action and a seemingly endless supply of Apaches to be killed. The ending left a smile on my face. Wheeler-Nicholson’s prose kept this tale fresh and exciting and for me it is the best story within this issue and it certainly left me looking forward to reading more of his work sometime assuming I can find more as he only wrote just over twenty western pulp tales and I don’t have any more. 

Barry Scobee’s One Barrel of Water is the third yarn. This short story tells the tale of hard-bitten men who clash over that precious fluid in the desert heat. It’s not just a story of the fight for water as there is a little more to it than that. Namely some lost treasure. I wasn’t sure about this one as I began to read as it didn’t really hold my attention but I’m glad I persevered as it picked up and became an entertaining tale that had some well written action scenes. This was the first story I’ve read by Scobee and I’ll certainly give him another go. 

The last story is a third novelette. The Son of Shiftless Joe by Bruce Douglas. He’s another author that I haven’t read before and this story is the only one I have by him. Bruce Douglas is a pseudonym for Theodore Wayland Douglas and he wrote just over eighty western pulp stories. This one tells the tale of young Tad Jamieson as he sticks his neck out for trouble when he decides to raise sheep in cattle territory. To complicate matters, Tad is sweet on the daughter of his cattleman neighbour, so that is a romance that is seemingly doomed. Even though it is the kind of story the seasoned western reader will have come across many times Douglas’ writing kept me interested. Threats are made, sheep escape onto public land and a range war is on the horizon. The tough talk is lightened occasionally by comments from Tad’s two hands, Buck Bailey and Half-Pint King. Overall, this was a fun read even though it played out exactly as I expected it to.

If you haven’t guessed already, my favourite story within this issue of Thrilling Western was A Man Like General Custer. One-Barrel of Water and The Son of Shiftless Joe kept my attention and I enjoyed reading them. It’s just a shame The Coffin Riders was a bit of a let-down. 

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. 

A. LESLIE SCOTT BIBLIOGRAPHY

The 2nd part of Anders Nilsson's Leslie Scott bibliography is now available from archive.org including books published before 1980.

https://archive.org/details/lesliescott_booksbefore1980_nilsson_2024

Alexander Leslie Scott (1893-1974) was a very productive American western writer best known for his stories about the Texas Ranger known as Jim Hatfield or Walt Slade. 

The present bibliography lists his books published before 1980, including 223 titles used for 185 different novels. For each novel all known reprints, including translations, are listed. The highest number of translations were documented from the Scandinavian countries, including 145 novels in Swedish translation. 

Cover scans are displayed of editions from Australia and a selection of European countries.

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.

NEW WORK ON A. LESLIE SCOTT

 

NEW WORK ON A. LESLIE SCOTT

by Anders N. Nilsson and James Reasoner

Towards a Bibliography of Alexander Leslie Scott, Focusing on Jim Hatfield, Walt Slade, and the Reprint of Pulp Stories as Books distributed as free PDF for reading online at, or downloading from:

https://archive.org/details/lesliescott_bibliography_nilssonreasoner_2024/mode/1up

Alexander Leslie Scott (1893-1974) was a very productive American western writer best known for his stories about the Texas Ranger known as Jim Hatfield or Walt Slade. The 206 novel-length Jim Hatfield stories were published in the Texas Rangers pulp magazine 1936-1958 under the house name Jackson Cole. 69 of Scott's Walt Slade novellas were published in the Thrilling Western pulp magazine 1940-1951.

Many of the Hatfield stories were reprinted as Popular Library paperbacks, whereas a large number of Walt Slade stories were published as Pyramid paperbacks. Many of Scott's pulp stories were also reprinted as hardcover remakes. Other authors studied here are Tom Curry, Peter Germano, Roe Richmond, Claude Rister, Lin Searles, and the two pseudonyms Buck Billings and Tex Holt.

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. 

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.