Guns of Fort Benton by Tom Curry
The plot basically is, Captain Bob Pryor, his sidekick Celestino Mireles and Buffalo Bill Cody (!) are chasing down outlaws Cal Doak and Baldy Baldwin who are selling arms to the likes of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Gall, and they gather the help of ranchers Lease Ward and Joe Haskins to help them fight.
What can I say? It's pulpy men's adventure. It's very colourful and romanticised. It's not so much about daily life as it is about action and drama.
I found this story hard to get through. Probably because it's about the US Cavalry, which I don't know enough about. Or because the characters are all very bland and boring. Pryor is way too clean cut to be an interesting hero and Celestino is barely there for most of this one, so we don't know their relationship beyond him calling Pryor "General". Maybe Celestino's his secret gay lover, who knows?
It does get a bit better. There's a bit where Pryor and Cody abduct an unconscious henchman of Baldwin's and try to get some information about Baldwin's plans by bringing him to partial consciousness and pretending to be his bosses. That bit was fun.
It does remind me of why I like Westerns so much... there are characters in it who aren't perfect, who are a bit more interesting than the law abiding hero. Basically every time I choose to watch Cimarron Strip whenever it's on TV.
I'm not too interested in stories guest starring real life heroes of the historical United States, but that's just me.
It does get a bit better. There's a bit where Pryor and Cody abduct an unconscious henchman of Baldwin's and try to get some information about Baldwin's plans by bringing him to partial consciousness and pretending to be his bosses. That bit was fun.
It does remind me of why I like Westerns so much... there are characters in it who aren't perfect, who are a bit more interesting than the law abiding hero. Basically every time I choose to watch Cimarron Strip whenever it's on TV.
I'm not too interested in stories guest starring real life heroes of the historical United States, but that's just me.
Surrender, Hell! by Robert J. Hogan
A short story about a man who tries to get his childhood friend to surrender or he be shot down. The characters are very interesting.
Sometime in the past, Walt Buckley and Cato Lane fought for the hand of Belle Boyd, and Buckley won.
Buckley and Lane are both very interesting characters. Buckley's a typical law abiding hero, but he's very divided on whether or not to kill his old friend. Cato, though an outlaw on the run, is a character both the reader and the hero sympathises with, especially since it's revealed that Cato rescued Buckley from drowning in quicksand when they were very young, and Buckley has been forever in debt for that. Furthermore, Cato left a hidden stash of money for Buckley to spend.
Buckley's wife, Belle, is gentle, but strong, and having had her in the middle of this love triangle adds another layer to her character.
The story was short, but very engaging with characters who were fully realized, which surprised me.
A short story about a man who tries to get his childhood friend to surrender or he be shot down. The characters are very interesting.
Sometime in the past, Walt Buckley and Cato Lane fought for the hand of Belle Boyd, and Buckley won.
Buckley and Lane are both very interesting characters. Buckley's a typical law abiding hero, but he's very divided on whether or not to kill his old friend. Cato, though an outlaw on the run, is a character both the reader and the hero sympathises with, especially since it's revealed that Cato rescued Buckley from drowning in quicksand when they were very young, and Buckley has been forever in debt for that. Furthermore, Cato left a hidden stash of money for Buckley to spend.
Buckley's wife, Belle, is gentle, but strong, and having had her in the middle of this love triangle adds another layer to her character.
The story was short, but very engaging with characters who were fully realized, which surprised me.
Guadeloupe Gunfire by Nels Leroy Jorgensen
Burke Donahue is a wandering gunfighter who has returned from Mexico after two years of absence. He had been the son of a successful cattle rancher, but the ranch was sold after his father's passing, he and his Tony had split between them what was left, and they went their separate ways. Both brothers gained a bad reputation. It's not quite explained what Burke did, but Tony was rumored to have killed his previous employer. Of course, he was framed for it by two half-Mexican men he had become a comrade of.
Not very much to say about this story. The characters are pretty thin.
Army Commission by Barry Scobee
This has the potential to be a greater story but some of it goes nowhere.
Sergeant Duggan is commissioned by Major Townstreet to burn down a Native American camp and send the people and their sub-chief back to their "assembly grounds", or else he'll be discharged from the army. Duggan had been friends with the sub-chief and had been specially selected to appeal to him.
The dialogue can be clumsily written, such as when the sub-chief, only known as "Jimmy Bigpants", rightly refuses to be moved back to the assembly grounds, and then agrees to go back there when Duggan drops the matches he had been ordered to burn the tepees with into the fire.
The atmosphere for most part is very rich, especially the army's journey towards the encampment.
Of course, there is a woman in the story with feelings for the handsome young sergeant... I have a feeling that some Western stories are just male wish fulfilment fantasies.
Again, the characters are kind of thin. It did seem to have been written in a haste.
Other features of this issue include Gun Titan of the West by John A. Thompson, a short biography on gun manufacturer John Browning; The Bunkhouse, a feature by "Foghorn Clancy" telling the story of outlaw Nathaniel Reed.
And finally, an unsung hero's letter to the editor...
'A Mighty Girl' would have a field day with this. Though even if it is 1950 she shouldn't care what men think of her. What was the point of sending her photograph, whether or not she knew that all the editor would approve of was her looks? Well, her heart was in the right place.
It seems to me that whoever the editor is, he made fun of Lutjens for her assertiveness. "You can come out of hiding", indeed. Their response wasn't helpful or fair, and it wasn't funny to assume that Ms. Lutjens was emasculating her agitator.
The attitudes towards women in 1950 still shock me.
All that aside, it was a mixed bag of stories. Some I enjoyed, and others I found difficult to get through.
Burke Donahue is a wandering gunfighter who has returned from Mexico after two years of absence. He had been the son of a successful cattle rancher, but the ranch was sold after his father's passing, he and his Tony had split between them what was left, and they went their separate ways. Both brothers gained a bad reputation. It's not quite explained what Burke did, but Tony was rumored to have killed his previous employer. Of course, he was framed for it by two half-Mexican men he had become a comrade of.
Not very much to say about this story. The characters are pretty thin.
Army Commission by Barry Scobee
This has the potential to be a greater story but some of it goes nowhere.
Sergeant Duggan is commissioned by Major Townstreet to burn down a Native American camp and send the people and their sub-chief back to their "assembly grounds", or else he'll be discharged from the army. Duggan had been friends with the sub-chief and had been specially selected to appeal to him.
The dialogue can be clumsily written, such as when the sub-chief, only known as "Jimmy Bigpants", rightly refuses to be moved back to the assembly grounds, and then agrees to go back there when Duggan drops the matches he had been ordered to burn the tepees with into the fire.
The atmosphere for most part is very rich, especially the army's journey towards the encampment.
Of course, there is a woman in the story with feelings for the handsome young sergeant... I have a feeling that some Western stories are just male wish fulfilment fantasies.
Again, the characters are kind of thin. It did seem to have been written in a haste.
Other features of this issue include Gun Titan of the West by John A. Thompson, a short biography on gun manufacturer John Browning; The Bunkhouse, a feature by "Foghorn Clancy" telling the story of outlaw Nathaniel Reed.
And finally, an unsung hero's letter to the editor...
'A Mighty Girl' would have a field day with this. Though even if it is 1950 she shouldn't care what men think of her. What was the point of sending her photograph, whether or not she knew that all the editor would approve of was her looks? Well, her heart was in the right place.
The attitudes towards women in 1950 still shock me.
All that aside, it was a mixed bag of stories. Some I enjoyed, and others I found difficult to get through.
