Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Russell Annabel .....opinions?

Johnny,

A fine book that would make the selection perfect is Osborne Russell's Journal of a Trapper 1834-1843.


Goodness knows how many times I've read this book and I always find something new and thrilling.

http://books.google.com/books/about/Osborne_Russell_s_Journal_of_a_Trapper.html?id=yv7o0QpYYBYC

Blessings,

Steve

Annabel was one of my favorite authors--due to his ability to paint with words--extraordinary descriptive writing.

But, one of my favorite books is "The Year Long Day", by A. E. Maxwell and O. Ivar Ruud.

The Big Sky � a friend of mine wrote it, so I'm a bit biased. (American classic! Much better than movie.)

A River Runs Through It � I'm in the movie, making good practical use of my opacity. (But at least I got to work ever so briefly with Redford! Good guy on the set. Knew what he was doing � very thorough, careful attention to "little" details. Much shorter man than I expected, with a much more weathered complexion than I expected.)

Steve,

Yeah, my copy of Journal of a Trapper is getting pretty ragged as well!

I suspect there were two reason it didn't make the book list of the course: UM was still on the quarter system then, and there wasn't enough time for the poor students to read FOUR books for the class, and the professor didn't regard Journal of a Trapper as "literary" enough for the course. He was kind of pompous. Imagine that!

I suspect there were two reason it didn't make the book list of the course: UM was still on the quarter system then, and there wasn't enough time for the poor students to read FOUR books for the class, and the professor didn't regard Journal of a Trapper as "literary" enough for the course. He was kind of pompous. Imagine that! [/quote]


"U of M"/ "literary professor" / "pompous." Thou art being redundant.

(And let's not even consider that neither Will James nor Thomas Savage were included in that famous Montana anthology authored by he-shall-remain-nameless U of M professor)

Amazing, isn't it?

My uncle Larry, my father's only sibling, was an English professor at UM and knew a number of Montana writers, includng Tom Savage and Bud Guthrie, partly because he wrote a few books himself on Montana history and related topics. Larry was often amazed the things he heard coming from the mouths of the other English professors!

Tom Savage and I corresponded considerably after my first novel came out. He was wonderfully gracious and supportive and ended-up endorsing a couple of my books. This was in the late 1980s and early 1990s when it was a national craze to be a "Montana writer" and it was obvious through his comments that Thomas did not think much of many of the so-called "Montana writers." Unfortunately, his wife Elizabeth passed away and Thomas took ill and we lost touch when he went to live with one of his sons in the Bay Area. He passed away shortly after that. Any list of western fiction is incomplete without his classic, "The Power of the Dog." Alan Weltzien, a professor at Dillon, has been working hard to keep his name alive.

I like to think of Annabel as "The Capstick of the North".
A great story teller.

+2 on " Tough Trip Through Paradise " Great book in my opinion. Very funny how a young man can get into trouble.

Another book that I've heard about....and I'm not sure if I have the name correct is " Footprints Along the Yellowstone ".......not sure about who the author is.

The Power of the Dog is a fine novel!

Footprints Along the Yellowstone was by L.W. (Gay) Randall and published in 1961 by the Naylor Company of San Antonio. Among other things, it chronicles the hunting of a killer Grizzly and the beginning of the dude ranch industry near Yellowstone Park. An excellent read.
The Champion Buffalo Hunter by Vic Smith is also quite good.
Jedediah Smith and the Opening of West by Dale Morgan is a must-have.

mtrancher,

Thanks for the heads-up. I have The Champion Buffalo Hunter and the Jederdiah Smith books, but will get a copy of Footprints Along the Yellowstone.

You're welcome, John.
For those who like Montana-based books two others to keep an out for are "Devil Man with a Gun" and "Snake Tracks." I don't have "Devil Man" within reach, its in my bunkhouse, and the author's name escapes me. If I remember right, it's history is in the White Sulphur Springs area. "Snake Tracks" is an unfinished, self-published classic by Blair Goyins who chronicles what it was like to be a true rodeo rounder during the 1950s and into the early 60s. It is as true to its era as Garcia's book is to his.
"Backtrailing on Open Range" by Luke Sweetman has some good history in it and the rarest wolf encounter one is likely to ever read about.

Spike van Cleve's Forty Years' Gatherin's
and
Wally McRae's Cowboy Curmudgeon


and ya gotta promise me that you'll read 'em both clear through without grinnin'!

He was indeed!

Two guys from Jersey City, whom I later knew at the University of Alaska, discovered Bud's The Big Sky, devoured it, and digested it. They "became" Dick Summers. I told Bud about one hilarious result, and he got an even bigger kick out of it than I expected. "What a story! What a story! What a story!" I didn't see all that much in it, so I told Bud that he could have it. "No, Ken, you've gotta write it. You've gotta write it."

So I gave it a shot. As I got into it, I began to see in it what Bud had seen in it. I did it all up and showed it to Bud. He suggested a certain style change that of course made it better.

But none of Bud's editors liked it. Later, that UM prof was compiling an anthology of Montana writers' short stories as a tribute to Bud. I offered him mine. He didn't like it.

So later, I gave it to Rick for Smokelore � "El Tigre, Jr" is still, for me, a tribute to my ol' friend Bud Guthrie.

Two Montana books that can't be overlooked:
Bob Fudge - Texas Trail Driver Montana-Wyoming Cowboy 1862-1933 by Jim Russell

Jordan by Arthur J. Jordan, illustrated by Stan Lynde

These would be good books to read for historical background if one was to hunt eastern Montana. Ian Tyson recorded a Bob Fudge song after being given a copy of the book. Jordan's book would be great reading for those who enjoy hunting the Missouri Breaks.

Never had the honor of meeting Bud Guthrie though I got a nice note from him when I was working for the Great Falls Tribune.

An under-appreciated Montana writer is Dan Cushman. "The Muskrat Farm" is a classic.

Surprised nobody mentioned this guy. IMO Arthur Neumann was as clutch as they come in close quarters combat with the most dangerous animals in the world. His book Elephant Hunting in East Equatorial Africa is as good a read as any too.

actually have that one downloaded on to a reader on my phone.....havent started it yet.....

Then you have a lot to look forward too.

moosemike, thanks for the tip. That was not a book I was aware of. On my earlier list I included THE NILE TRIBUTARIES OF ABYSSINIA by Sir Samuel W. Baker. This is a great book if you are a hunter, historian, or horseman. These fellows hunted elephant and rhino on horseback using swords.