Hal G. (Hal George) Evarts

Born Harry George Evarts in Topeka, Kansas, on August 24, 1887, he was nicknamed Hal almost at once. As a boy he was far more interested in creeks, woods, and wildlife than school, and he left formal schooling early before heading out to Oklahoma and other parts of the West.

Those wandering years shaped everything he wrote. He worked on a railroad survey crew, traveled widely, and spent time as a trapper, rancher, and guide near Yellowstone, building the close knowledge of animals, landscapes, and frontier life that later gave his fiction its vivid, outdoorsy feel.

Evarts became a successful writer of Western novels and short stories, with several works adapted for the screen. He died on October 18, 1934, at age 47, aboard a ship off the coast of Brazil, but his books remain notable for their fast-moving adventure and strong sense of the natural world.