Wayne D Overholser

The summer warpath began in late spring 1876 and was one laid out under the command of General George Crook, perhaps the most experienced Indian fighter in the United States Army at that time. Among other officers under Crook's command was the daring and resourceful Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry. The purpose of the campaign was to round up the wild tribes of the Cheyennes and Sioux and place them on reservations. Walt...

Central Oregon-the last frontier. Transportation is still by stagecoach and freight wagon. There is a movement afoot for a people's railroad, paid for by the state, to bring the benefits of rails to the area, to make it easier to ship livestock and produce, and to encourage settlement. For years, the competing railroad barons, James J. Hill and Edward H. Harriman, have done nothing toward building a line in central Oregon, but now, under the impetus...

Wayne D. Overholser, winner of three Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America, weaves a magic spell in this story with his consistent skill in presenting vibrant characters and his uncommon sensitivity to the depths of human personality.

"Two western stories find young men fighting to preserve the ranches they grew up on when others try to destroy the ranches for their own profit"-- Publisher.

"Two western stories about men who ride into town with the odds stacked against them, but determined to right wrongs"--

Gun in his hand is the story of Dane Coe, who is returning to Ogallala in Nebraska Territory at his father's request. He is met at the train depot by Ed Lanning, ramrod for Sam Drew's ranch, and a young gunfighter, Frank Ashton. Sam Drew has decided he will do whatever it takes to get the railroad to end its track on land he owns, rather than on land owned by Dane's father. Lanning and Ashton have been given an assignment by Drew -- make Dane turn...

"Twelve traditional Western stories set in Oregon and Colorado about lawmen, gunfighters, cattlemen, sheepmen, businessmen, lawyers, teachers, stubborn old men and independent women"--

"In two western stories, young men try to do what they feel is best despite opposition from family and friends. The love of a woman will give them the motivation to fight for what they know is right"--

"A remarkable battle was fought at Beecher Island, Colorado, in 1868. Forty-nine untrained volunteers, two wounded officers, and a dying army doctor were nailed down on a sandbar in a shallow river by more than a thousand Cheyenne, Arapahoe and Sioux. For the fourth day the squaws and children shrieked with blood-lust. Roman Nose gathered his warriors for yet another attack. And again the desperate men on Beecher Island leveled their rifles."--

"Dirken's Hole never bothered the outlaws who wintered there if the outlaws didn't bother them. Then one young man broke this rule. Robert Buel was a bounty hunter - a man appointed by the law to hunt down criminals for reward money. Now he was coming home. In the little town of Dirken's Hole, high in the Colorado Rockies, Buel returned to see his father - and to pick up his last assignment"--