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The Floating Outfit #55
Apache Rampage
It was a motley assortment of people--poorly armed--holed up in Baptist's Hollow, and Lobo Colorado lusted for their blood, nothing less. Colorado thought it was going to be easy. But he didn't know that the group was led by a man by the name of Dusty Fog.
- GenresWesterns
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
20 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
J.T. Edson
183 books78 followersJohn Thomas Edson is an English writer of Westerns.
He was born in 1928.He was obsessed with Westerns from an early age and often "rewrote" cowboy movies that he had seen at the cinema. One thing that always intrigued him was the minutiae—how did the baddie's gun jam? What were the mechanics of cheating at cards? How did Westerners really dress and speak?
His writing was helped to develop by a schoolteacher who encouraged him. Now lives in Leicester, Leicestershire.[citation needed]
During his 20s and 30s, Edson served in His Majesty's Armed Forces for 12 years as a Dog Trainer. Cooped up in barracks for long periods, he devoured books by the great escapist writers (Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert McCraig, Nelson C. Nye and Edgar Wallace). He also sat through hours of movies starring John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Errol Flynn and his all-time favourite, Audie Murphy.
His first appearance in print was "Hints On Self-Preservation when attacked by a War Dog" in the Osnabrück camp magazine Shufti in 1947. Acquiring a typewriter in the early 1950s and putting it to good use while posted to Hong Kong, by the time of his discharge he had written 10 Westerns, an early version of Bunduki and the first of the short detective-type stories starring Waco.
Upon leaving HM forces, JT won second prize (with Trail Boss) in the Western division of a Literary Competition run by Brown & Watson Ltd, which led to the publication of 46 novels with them, becoming a major earner for the company.
He had the need for supplementary income from time-to-time and also served as a postman, and the proprietor of a fish 'n' chip shop. Furthermore, he branched out as a writer and wrote five series of short stories (Dan Hollick, Dog Handler) for the Victor boys papers, and wrote the "box captions" for comic strips, which instilled discipline and the ability to convey maximum information with minimum words.
His writing career forged ahead when he joined Corgi Books in the late '60s, which gave JT exposure through a major publishing house, as well as the opportunity to branch out from the core Westerns into the Rockabye County, the science-fiction hero Bunduki and other series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._T._Edson
He was born in 1928.He was obsessed with Westerns from an early age and often "rewrote" cowboy movies that he had seen at the cinema. One thing that always intrigued him was the minutiae—how did the baddie's gun jam? What were the mechanics of cheating at cards? How did Westerners really dress and speak?
His writing was helped to develop by a schoolteacher who encouraged him. Now lives in Leicester, Leicestershire.[citation needed]
During his 20s and 30s, Edson served in His Majesty's Armed Forces for 12 years as a Dog Trainer. Cooped up in barracks for long periods, he devoured books by the great escapist writers (Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert McCraig, Nelson C. Nye and Edgar Wallace). He also sat through hours of movies starring John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Errol Flynn and his all-time favourite, Audie Murphy.
His first appearance in print was "Hints On Self-Preservation when attacked by a War Dog" in the Osnabrück camp magazine Shufti in 1947. Acquiring a typewriter in the early 1950s and putting it to good use while posted to Hong Kong, by the time of his discharge he had written 10 Westerns, an early version of Bunduki and the first of the short detective-type stories starring Waco.
Upon leaving HM forces, JT won second prize (with Trail Boss) in the Western division of a Literary Competition run by Brown & Watson Ltd, which led to the publication of 46 novels with them, becoming a major earner for the company.
He had the need for supplementary income from time-to-time and also served as a postman, and the proprietor of a fish 'n' chip shop. Furthermore, he branched out as a writer and wrote five series of short stories (Dan Hollick, Dog Handler) for the Victor boys papers, and wrote the "box captions" for comic strips, which instilled discipline and the ability to convey maximum information with minimum words.
His writing career forged ahead when he joined Corgi Books in the late '60s, which gave JT exposure through a major publishing house, as well as the opportunity to branch out from the core Westerns into the Rockabye County, the science-fiction hero Bunduki and other series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._T._Edson
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 16, 2024
A quick reading action packed Western where a group of Texans, soldiers, miners and prisoners help a rather ungrateful town hold off an attack by some renegade Apaches of the time period. Certainly as good as any Louis L'Amour novels. Written in the 60's I appreciated that the author refrained from using coarse language in this manner, from page 148. As a dying former prisoner was asked if he had a last request the author wrote "Tell the colonel-(the message to the colonel was unprintable and hide searing)!" Many modern writers would have opted to using gutter language with this setting. If you like Westerns J T Edson is worth reading.
April 28, 2023
Good fast paced Western with larger than life characters. Second time I've read it, so 4 stars.
July 13, 2023
The end of the redskin way
Baptists Hollow did not welcome strangers but now there only salvation was the despised miners and the show wagon they turned aezy.
Baptists Hollow did not welcome strangers but now there only salvation was the despised miners and the show wagon they turned aezy.
May 3, 2014
JT has a habit of reversing the roles of traditional western stereotypes. Here the 'good' women of the town are self-righteous and mercilessly force others out into the path of the Apaches while the 'bad' show-woman and her daughters are generous and willing to risk their lives to return and help defend the ungrateful town. Dusty and the floating outfit try to warn the town of what is coming but the marshal/mayor and citizens are too arrogant to listen. Initially the floating outfit decide to leave the town to it's fate and take their chances with the show folks in the open. A chance meeting with an army patrol led by old friend Sergeant Paddy M. (from The Rushers) however gives Dusty enough of a fighting force to return and try to save the town. The carelessness of the townspeople leave them outgunned and undermanned and only a miracle can save them. But if anyone can pull of a miracle it's Dusty Fog.
October 21, 2013
This is the first JT Edson novel I've ever read and it was fast paced. The way a western should be.
July 26, 2016
It's always a good time when I can spend it with Dusty, Lon, Mark and Waco.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews