Noel M. Loomis

Noel Miller Loomis was born on April 3, 1905, in Wakita, Oklahoma, and grew up in Texico, New Mexico, and Slaton, Texas. He worked as a writer, editor, teacher, printer, and newspaperman, and attended the University of Oklahoma.

Loomis became best known for his western fiction, while also writing mysteries, science fiction, and nonfiction history. His books included City of Glass, The Man with Absolute Motion, and Wells Fargo, and he sometimes published under the names Benjamin Miller and Silas Water.

He received the Spur Award for his 1958 western novel Short Cut to Red River. Loomis died in San Diego, California, on September 7, 1969.