Kelton, Elmer
Author: Elmer Kelton
Publisher: Texas Christian University Press
Retail: Varies
ISBN: 978-0875654126
Copyright: April 22, 2010
Pages: 336
In The Far Canyon, Kelton masterfully unveils for his reader the finality of the buffalo’s demise, the beginning of a time when cattle would replace the American bison on the southern plains and ultimately end the Plains Indian culture. The novel reveals the history of the period, not in a general grand swoop of the pen, but rather, up close and personal, so his readership can judge the impact of the period upon his characters.
The novel’s first chapter introduces Comanche warrior Crow Feather, whose situation is emblematic of a common recurring theme in all of Kelton’s works . . . change. Protagonist Jeff Layne is faced with the very same dramatic problem, the devastating threat to one’s self-concept inherent in change. Layne, the hide hunter from Slaughter is weary of killing and death. He decides to return to South Texas, determined to earn his living with the newest resource on the plains, cattle. And the cultures collide.
Kelton eloquently reveals the impact of hide hunters on Plains Indian culture. Crow Feather realizes that no matter how many whites the Comanche kill, there will always be more “coming back.” Crow Feather also understands that his life and the lives of his wives and children will never be easy again. Are Layne and Crow Feather of a character that will allow them to escape a predetermined fate by reaching that far canyon, or will they simply perish under the cultural dictate of their historical time?
The question is a thematic dilemma that Kelton excels at and it is what transforms his writing into serious literature.
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Veteran western writer Kelton begins this sequel to Slaughter exactly where that Golden Spur-winning yarn ended, in Texas, 1874. After the Battle of Adobe Walls, the Commanche warrior Crow Feather lies bleeding but alive. Jeff Layne, too, has survived--just as he survived both a Union slug during the Civil War and his days as a buffalo hunter during the great bison slaughters. Now Layne, tired of death and killing, is headed back to south Texas to resume ranching. But when he and his wayward band (including old friend and camp cook Cap Doolittle, and Englishman Nigel Smithwick and his untutored American bride, Arletta) reach their destination, Layne discovers that a ruthless Yankee reconstruction government has wreaked havoc and that his ranch is now owned by his old enemy, Vesper Freed. But Texas is a big place, and, rather than fight for his land, Layne decides to move north and start again. Still, he can't avoid the inevitable tangle with Freed. Layne and his companions' story is interlaced with that of Crow Feather, whose hope of living a peaceful, isolated existence with his people seems to have been dashed when he's confined to a degrading and violent reservation. Despite being longer than the average western, this well-plotted novel holds interest and will prove especially rewarding for those already caught up in the adventures of Crow Feather, Layne and company.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Kelton, a prolific and award-winning author of Westerns, has produced another solid success in this sequel to Slaughter (Doubleday, 1992). Ten years after the Civil War, Jeff Layne, a Confederate veteran weary of killing both men and buffalo, wends his way along dusty cattle trails toward his family ranch in Texas. When he gets to his hometown, however, he finds that the property has been stolen by the dastardly Vesper Freed, who also stole Jeff's girl, Eva, some years ago. Jeff decides to gather up some cattle and a party of companions and head to a remote canyon in north Texas to start up a new ranch. Along the way, the party encounters Crow Feather and his Comanche family, who are trying to escape from the newly formed reservation. Written with obvious knowledge of the American frontier and Native American culture, this grand saga will appeal to fans of Larry McMurtry. Highly recommended.
Rebecca House Stankowski, Purdue Univ. Calumet Lib., Hammond, Ind.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Author: Elmer Kelton
Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition/First Printing edition
Retail: Varies
ISBN: 978-0765348944
Copyright: April 7, 2007
Pages: 224
Barbed WireBitter Trail
Bowie's Mine
Day the Cowboys Quit, The
Far Canyon, The
Good Old Boys, The
Honor at Daybreak
Hot Iron
Joe Pepper
Living and Writing in West Texas
Man Who Rode Midnight, The
Many a River
Pecos Crossing
Shadow of a Star
Six Bits a Day (Hewey Calloway)
Slaughter
Time It Never Rained, The
Wolf and the Buffalo, The