
A gritty cattle drive across the open plains sets the stage, where seasoned drovers and restless bunkies push a herd from Dodge City toward the untamed Northwest. The narrative opens with a reckless rivalry between two young men—Quince Forrest and his horse‑wrangler—culminating in a tragic misfire that leaves one badly wounded. Their fellow drovers, led by a pragmatic foreman, must quickly improvise care and decide whether to press on or seek aid in a remote valley along the Beaver River.
Amid the dust and determination, a mysterious stranger arrives, offering both a prized crane feather and an accidental extra cartridge that proves disastrous. His unexpected assistance in treating the injury hints at the complex alliances that will shape the drive. Listeners are drawn into the raw, day‑to‑day challenges of frontier life, the camaraderie forged under pressure, and the looming decisions that will test the young cowboys’ resolve.
Language
en
Duration
~7 hours (415K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Charlie Kirschner and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
Release date
2004-06-30
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1859–1935
Drawn from years on cattle trails rather than romantic myth, his western stories feel lived-in, dusty, and real. Best known for The Log of a Cowboy (1903), he helped preserve the everyday world of the late frontier in plain, vivid prose.
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