Hello Lovelies! Please excuse our dust while we do a bit of construction on the blog. We will still be posting exciting reviews, brilliant guest posts, and exciting giveaways but we are in the process of transforming the blog and adding new content and features for you to enjoy.

Monday, November 23, 2009

The Rustlers of West Fork by Louis L'Amour

Genre: Western

Copyright: 1951

Pages: 244

Rating:




The Rustlers of West Fork
is the first of four novels that Louis L'Amour wrote about Hopalong Cassidy's adventures in the American western frontier. Click Hopalong Cassidy Background for more information about these books.

Plot Summary: It's the 1860s and ranchers and the cowhands who work for them are the most common residents of small towns in the frontier. Buck Peters, the original foreman of the Bar 20 ranch, is ready to repay a debt he owes to another rancher, Dick Jordan. Unfortunately, Dick now lives several days ride west of Buck's ranch, on the Circle J ranch near Horse Springs. A trusted messenger needs to take the $15,000 Buck is repaying Dick across the wild land and into a region known for lawlessness and robberies. Buck decides that person should be his friend, Hopalong Cassidy.

Hopalong (Hoppy) runs into some trouble on his way to Horse Springs, first when three men try to ambush him to get the money before he ever leaves town and then when he rescues a father and son from an Apache Indian raid. One of the men who attacked Hoppy mentions a name before he dies, Avery Sparr. Hopalong learns from the family he rescued and their friends that Avery Sparr has a reputation as "the slickest, fastest gunman" around Horse Springs. He has also taken up residence at the Circle J with Dick Johnson and his daughter, Pam.

After Dick Johnson was injured in an accident, Avery Sparr and his partner Arnold Soper have taken a bigger and bigger leadership interest in the Circle J. Unbeknownst to Dick or his daughter, Sparr also had Soper register a new cattle brand. In a time before the West was fenced off with barbed wire, ownership of each cow (and the potential profit it represented) was based on the brand it wore. By trusting the wrong men, Dick has given Sparr the opportunity to organize a slow takeover of his entire business. Even worse, Sparr has used the opportunity posed by Dick's injury to make Dick and his daughter, Pam, prisoners in their own home.

Hopalong had some inkling of trouble at the Circle J from a letter Pam sent him before he left the Bar 20. Mixed in with the standard greetings and conversation was a coded call for help. The more Hoppy finds out about Sparr, Soper and their gunmen, the more convinced he becomes the he needs to rescue Dick and Pam and set things right on the Circle J.

My Reaction: I didn't know any of the Hopalong Cassidy background until I reached the Afterword of this book. That didn't really effect my enjoyment of the story. Some of the characters from Clarence Mulford's original Bar 20 stories make appearances, but they're all clearly labeled as friend or foe. This book is really more of a stand alone story, like a Western TV series with one-shot episodes instead of long-term story arcs.

If you've ever seen a Western-themed movie or TV series, you'll have a good idea what to expect from The Rustlers of West Fork. The good guys are full of common sense wisdom, courage, and grit. The bad guys are cowardly, conniving, and bloodthirsty. I enjoyed L'Amour's descriptions of the lands and history of how towns like Horse Springs developed and the way a clever man could try to takeover an entire ranch without raising any suspicions.

I was also more impressed with the Pam character than I had expected to be. She wasn't able to protect the family business from these high-class rustlers, but she did manage to get a message out for help and work with Hoppy on his rescue plans.

Western Slang: The language in this book is beautiful. Some of the slang reminds me of my father-in-law, but taken to the extreme. Some I had to ask my husband for translations. Here's a sample.
  • "plumb salty" - street-wise, crafty, (maybe a "gun-slick") opposite of a "pilgrim" or "soft-tailed tenderfoot"
  • "Boot Hill" - the graveyard
  • "played hob" - cause trouble
  • "hoss" or "cayuse" = horse
Bottom Line: This book is the Western equivalent of a serial romance novel. It's not earth-shaking or epic, but it is a fun read and a good entry into the genre for people not familiar with Westerns.

Princess of the WWW

Visit Shonda at her blog Texas Red Books

6 comments:

Blodeuedd said...

Yikes, yup did not understand those words at all. But sounds great, I do wanna read a western

Sharon said...

Sounds fun! I have read westerns in the past and would like to read some more, maybe this one. I knew all those terms except "plum salty." Thanks!

TexasRed said...

This Hopalong Cassidy series was a great entry into the Westerns for me. Fun, quick reads.

Jenny Girl said...

Good review chicka!
Unfortuantely I watched so many westerns as a kid that I shy away from them now, except maybe Unforgiven, 3:10 to Yuma, Tombstone, okay maybe the new ones are cool.

I think I'll have to change my mind :)

Alaine said...

I read western romances when I was young and loved watching western moves when I was growing up so I really should try reading one of these books! Great reviews Shonda!

Becca said...

Thanks for these 4 reviews. My dad, who passed away in January, was a huge Louis L'Amour fan. I am thinking of reading more westerns and L'Amour books in 2010 to continue to feel closer to him. It is good to know that these four are entertaining reads since he had these in his collection!