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Hopalong Cassidy #4
Hopalong Cassidy
Jim Meeker came down from Montana to run Texas cattle--only to find that Hoppy's Bar-20 ran the water. So when a trio of snake-mean rustlers started themselves a cattle war, the powder was primed, the guns cocked, and Hoppy was smack in the middle.
So it's friend against friend, brother against brother, gun against blazing gun. Time's running out, and the range is red with blood.
So it's friend against friend, brother against brother, gun against blazing gun. Time's running out, and the range is red with blood.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1906
About the author
Clarence Edward Mulford
164 books24 followersClarence Edward Mulford was the author of Hopalong Cassidy, written in 1904. He wrote it in Fryeburg, Maine, United States, and the many stories and 28 novels were followed by radio, feature film, television, and comic book versions. Clarence was born in Streator, Illinois. He died of complications from surgery in Portland, Maine. He set aside much of his money from his book for local charities.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 18, 2025
Penned in 1910 this classic western is an enjoyable read compared to more modern reads. It’s a timeless classic featuring a group of cowboys that never waver and stick to their morals and ethics to overcome the bad guys.
July 19, 2021
5 Stars for Hopalong Cassidy (audiobook) by Clarence E. Milford read by Burt Reynolds.
I found this amazing classic on Scribd. Burt Reynolds reading Hopalong Cassidy. Wow, I had no idea he had narrated audiobooks. This was a lot of fun.
I found this amazing classic on Scribd. Burt Reynolds reading Hopalong Cassidy. Wow, I had no idea he had narrated audiobooks. This was a lot of fun.
March 30, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. Sometimes it is nice to sit back and enjoy a book just for the experience of reading it, rather than critiquing it for style and syntax along with a myriad of other little details. Is this a good yarn from the early 20th Century dealing with events from the late 1870s? Sure it is. There is all the action a person could want from a black and white western. Mulford's writing style is dated but, in my humble opinion, much better than L'Amour's. If you are just wanting a good cowboy book, you won't go wrong here.
August 4, 2020
There’s trouble brewing in Texas between the cowboys of the Bar-20 Ranch, and those of the H2. Meeker, owner of the H2, is down from Montana, where the rule was open range, and he’s not used to the strict water rights situation in his new territory. (It doesn’t help that the syndicate that sold the land to him didn’t bother to mention the issue.) Meeker’s determined to use the easily accessible water just north of his range, which belongs to the Bar-20. And in this arid land, that’s not enough water for both spreads.
Foreman Buck Peters of the Bar-20 isn’t too concerned about the H2 riders getting the better of his, as they’re a superior lot of cowpokes, especially Bill “Hopalong” Cassidy. Bill might have lost part of a leg to an assassination attempt years ago, giving him his distinctive gait, but he’s a top hand at cattle herding, shooting, and figuring out the best thing to do. No, push comes to shove, the Bar-20 will come out on top of any range war.
More worrisome is that during such a war, rustlers will have a free hand to steal cattle while everyone is distracted. It’d be best if this matter could be settled without bloodshed, but Meeker’s bullheaded and not listening to anyone sensible, like his pretty daughter Mary (who has met Hopalong and is getting on well with him.)
What none of them know is that the H2’s bronc buster Antonio is actually the leader of the local rustling gang, and is determined to set off the war one way or the other so he and his cohorts can profit.
This 1910 novel is the third book in the Hopalong Cassidy series, which started with Bar-20 in 1906 (a fix-up of several stories starting publication in 1904.) It’s a good standalone, with the exception of never explaining his nickname or mentioning his odd walk. (Though it is mentioned that cowboys tended to be poor walkers, having spent most of their time in the saddle.)
Good: There’s plenty of exciting Western action and it’s easy to see the seeds of a good B-movie in here. The long last third of the book is the siege and infiltration of a rustlers’ hideout high on a mesa. It’s tense and has several twists. Not a lot of time is spent on distractions like the love story.
There’s several memorable characters, my favorite of which is Salem, the H2 cook, who’s a former sailor and speaks in a near-impenetrable nautical dialect. People other than Hopalong get to do their own impressive moments.
Less good: While the characters never comment on national origins, it’s notable that every man in the book with a Spanish name works for the rustlers. It’s…odd that the Bar-20, which is within a couple days’ ride of the Rio Grande, has no vaqueros.
The romance is very much “there’s only one female character, so of course she’s going to get with the hero of the story.”
I’m also kind of disturbed that the author’s idea of pure masculine friendship involves everyone involved constantly insulting and threatening each other. Which is exactly how they treat their enemies too. (Which brings up the notion that Antonio might be the villain simply because he’s too thin-skinned to realize that the other H2 workers were attempting to be friendly when they constantly belittled and abused him.)
Hopalong’s pretty rough around the edges in this book, smoking a pipe, drinking (but not to excess), cussing, and quick to think the worst of strangers. He was cleaned up considerable for the movies.
Tor reprinted a few of the Hopalong Cassidy books in the 1990s, but many are in the public domain and can be legally downloaded.
Recommended to old-style Western fans.
Foreman Buck Peters of the Bar-20 isn’t too concerned about the H2 riders getting the better of his, as they’re a superior lot of cowpokes, especially Bill “Hopalong” Cassidy. Bill might have lost part of a leg to an assassination attempt years ago, giving him his distinctive gait, but he’s a top hand at cattle herding, shooting, and figuring out the best thing to do. No, push comes to shove, the Bar-20 will come out on top of any range war.
More worrisome is that during such a war, rustlers will have a free hand to steal cattle while everyone is distracted. It’d be best if this matter could be settled without bloodshed, but Meeker’s bullheaded and not listening to anyone sensible, like his pretty daughter Mary (who has met Hopalong and is getting on well with him.)
What none of them know is that the H2’s bronc buster Antonio is actually the leader of the local rustling gang, and is determined to set off the war one way or the other so he and his cohorts can profit.
This 1910 novel is the third book in the Hopalong Cassidy series, which started with Bar-20 in 1906 (a fix-up of several stories starting publication in 1904.) It’s a good standalone, with the exception of never explaining his nickname or mentioning his odd walk. (Though it is mentioned that cowboys tended to be poor walkers, having spent most of their time in the saddle.)
Good: There’s plenty of exciting Western action and it’s easy to see the seeds of a good B-movie in here. The long last third of the book is the siege and infiltration of a rustlers’ hideout high on a mesa. It’s tense and has several twists. Not a lot of time is spent on distractions like the love story.
There’s several memorable characters, my favorite of which is Salem, the H2 cook, who’s a former sailor and speaks in a near-impenetrable nautical dialect. People other than Hopalong get to do their own impressive moments.
Less good: While the characters never comment on national origins, it’s notable that every man in the book with a Spanish name works for the rustlers. It’s…odd that the Bar-20, which is within a couple days’ ride of the Rio Grande, has no vaqueros.
The romance is very much “there’s only one female character, so of course she’s going to get with the hero of the story.”
I’m also kind of disturbed that the author’s idea of pure masculine friendship involves everyone involved constantly insulting and threatening each other. Which is exactly how they treat their enemies too. (Which brings up the notion that Antonio might be the villain simply because he’s too thin-skinned to realize that the other H2 workers were attempting to be friendly when they constantly belittled and abused him.)
Hopalong’s pretty rough around the edges in this book, smoking a pipe, drinking (but not to excess), cussing, and quick to think the worst of strangers. He was cleaned up considerable for the movies.
Tor reprinted a few of the Hopalong Cassidy books in the 1990s, but many are in the public domain and can be legally downloaded.
Recommended to old-style Western fans.
April 9, 2015
The a neighboring ranch hires "Greasers" with a yen for rustling, the iconic American hero responds with rip-snorting action, damnear surrealistic, flowery narration and cow-puncher lingo. Back in 1910 this was all just good, clean fun. See the early days of our western mythos and certain political policies.
May 18, 2012
Since this book was written so very long ago it is nowhere near "politically correct."
Taking that into account, I still enjoyed it very much.
Taking that into account, I still enjoyed it very much.
December 21, 2024
Hopalong Cassidy #4. Published in 1910, the setting is apparently in the 1870s. "Hoppy" is a senior cowboy for the Bar-20 ranch. He's a skilled rider and cowpoke, is quick on the draw and can fight, but is somewhat chivalrous when he first meets Mary Meeker, the beautiful young daughter of the guy who owns the neighbouring ranch. Later on, though, he gets a bit frisky in what would now be regarded as assault (he kisses her). Hoppy is not an educated man, and talks roughly, in the fashion of the time, but he is clearly a leader within his group, and men respect him.
On that, the author has often done away with correct grammar, and words are spelled as they would be pronounced. This reminded me of the old black and white westerns I saw when TV first came to Australia, and I think it was an effective technique. Examples - purty for pretty, and "shore 'nuf". Some cowboy terms I remember well from the movies, such as the chuck wagon, and cowpunchers, but others were brought back to mind, such as cayuse (a type of horse). Incidentally I still don't know the meaning of "cowpuncher", but assume it relates to bumping a cow to change its direction.
Having seen cattle drives in the movies, I still knew little of the techniques involved. Trail hands needed several horses, as they work long hours, and the horses need rest and food. The men also worked shifts, allowing them the same facility. Ownership was proven by branding, which was done at the calf stage. There was a dramatic description of the technique involved in separating a calf, immobilising it needing at least two men, and then branding it. The mothers sometimes reacted violently and required restraint, and afterwards would lick the wound. These descriptions were fascinating.
The extreme racist epithets against Hispanic people would horrify people today, but the rough banter between the cowpokes was not much better. Of course it was a male dominated group (females were rare) and one can put this down to guys exercising dominance, and seeing if others stand up to it. Within their group, no-one took offense, and there were no fights.
The plot involves a dispute over grazing and water rights, and the flames are being fanned by a "greaser" (Mexican) who has thrown in his lot with a group of rustlers. When the ranchers fight, their attention will be distracted leaving the way open for the baddies. There are some gun battles, and various people get wounded. This introduces a level of fantasy as the victims seem to need not much more than a bandaid. The description of these events is exciting, even though sometimes the descriptive language may be over the top. The author impressed me with some of his humorous dialogue. Example - 'What're ya doing?" "Painting white spots on pink elephants." I love it! And I'm stealing it.
As the reader may suspect, the goodies win the battle. Hoppy shows his grace in victory, leading the opposing rancher to respect him.
What of romance? The lovely Mary is shown to be a woman of strong morals and opinions, and is no pushover. The interactions between her and Hoppy are few, and short. Will they get together? How would that work with his job as a range hand? Read on, ya won't get nuthin outa me.
My mother refused to let me read westerns as she considered them to be "low". Having read this, I can see she was right, but it would have added something to my education. Not too late - I learned a lot from reading this, and put some old memories in perspective.
Rating 4.1.
On that, the author has often done away with correct grammar, and words are spelled as they would be pronounced. This reminded me of the old black and white westerns I saw when TV first came to Australia, and I think it was an effective technique. Examples - purty for pretty, and "shore 'nuf". Some cowboy terms I remember well from the movies, such as the chuck wagon, and cowpunchers, but others were brought back to mind, such as cayuse (a type of horse). Incidentally I still don't know the meaning of "cowpuncher", but assume it relates to bumping a cow to change its direction.
Having seen cattle drives in the movies, I still knew little of the techniques involved. Trail hands needed several horses, as they work long hours, and the horses need rest and food. The men also worked shifts, allowing them the same facility. Ownership was proven by branding, which was done at the calf stage. There was a dramatic description of the technique involved in separating a calf, immobilising it needing at least two men, and then branding it. The mothers sometimes reacted violently and required restraint, and afterwards would lick the wound. These descriptions were fascinating.
The extreme racist epithets against Hispanic people would horrify people today, but the rough banter between the cowpokes was not much better. Of course it was a male dominated group (females were rare) and one can put this down to guys exercising dominance, and seeing if others stand up to it. Within their group, no-one took offense, and there were no fights.
The plot involves a dispute over grazing and water rights, and the flames are being fanned by a "greaser" (Mexican) who has thrown in his lot with a group of rustlers. When the ranchers fight, their attention will be distracted leaving the way open for the baddies. There are some gun battles, and various people get wounded. This introduces a level of fantasy as the victims seem to need not much more than a bandaid. The description of these events is exciting, even though sometimes the descriptive language may be over the top. The author impressed me with some of his humorous dialogue. Example - 'What're ya doing?" "Painting white spots on pink elephants." I love it! And I'm stealing it.
As the reader may suspect, the goodies win the battle. Hoppy shows his grace in victory, leading the opposing rancher to respect him.
What of romance? The lovely Mary is shown to be a woman of strong morals and opinions, and is no pushover. The interactions between her and Hoppy are few, and short. Will they get together? How would that work with his job as a range hand? Read on, ya won't get nuthin outa me.
My mother refused to let me read westerns as she considered them to be "low". Having read this, I can see she was right, but it would have added something to my education. Not too late - I learned a lot from reading this, and put some old memories in perspective.
Rating 4.1.
January 25, 2025
Hopalong works for the Bar 20 ranch. They are located in Texas. Jim Meeker is a rancher from Montana who has decided to move near the Bar 20. He has a daughter named Mary. The two ranches do not get along. This enmity is helped along by a cowpuncher working for Meeker, named Antonio. He is a rustler who works with Shaw’s outfit.
Antonio sabotages things and kills a few people and pretty soon it looks like there will be a range war. But that is avoided and instead there is a war against the rustlers which takes up the last third of the novel.
This is not at all like the L’Amour Hopalong novel I read. First off, Cassidy is not nearly as likeable. There are far too many characters and at times I lost track of who they worked for. The writing is clunky as is the dialog. Hopalong is not center stage. He is involved in some conversations and action but disappears for stretches.
The reprint published in 1992 is different from the audiobook. It has been scrubbed of the racial epithet used against Antonio. I guess it follows the original printing. This book was originally published in 1912. Other books published that year include Zane Grey’s “Riders of the Purple Sage” and “Tarzan of the Apes” and “A Princess of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Antonio sabotages things and kills a few people and pretty soon it looks like there will be a range war. But that is avoided and instead there is a war against the rustlers which takes up the last third of the novel.
This is not at all like the L’Amour Hopalong novel I read. First off, Cassidy is not nearly as likeable. There are far too many characters and at times I lost track of who they worked for. The writing is clunky as is the dialog. Hopalong is not center stage. He is involved in some conversations and action but disappears for stretches.
The reprint published in 1992 is different from the audiobook. It has been scrubbed of the racial epithet used against Antonio. I guess it follows the original printing. This book was originally published in 1912. Other books published that year include Zane Grey’s “Riders of the Purple Sage” and “Tarzan of the Apes” and “A Princess of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
October 18, 2022
First published in 1910, 'Hopalong Cassidy' is traditional Western novel plotted around a gang of rustlers trying cause a range war in order that they can rustler cattle unimpeded. The characters are well written, and the dialogue between them is just amazing. Whilst I was not surprised by the many well-written action scenes, I was surprised by the technical descriptions of the weaponry and its use. This ticks so many boxes, apart from the casual racism towards Mexicans which can be a little cringeworthy by modern standards.
January 31, 2020
Great story for an avid Hopalong Cassidy fan since I was a boy in the 1940’s. Milford was an excellent writer. The original Hoppy was even more interesting than the movie and tv Hoppy. I’ve now read most or all of the Hopalong books.
Great story for an avid Hopalong fan since I was a boy in the 1940’s. Mulford was an excellent writer and I have now read all or most of his Hoppy stories. The original Hoppy was an even more interesting character than the movie and tv one.
Great story for an avid Hopalong fan since I was a boy in the 1940’s. Mulford was an excellent writer and I have now read all or most of his Hoppy stories. The original Hoppy was an even more interesting character than the movie and tv one.
July 11, 2017
Definitely a dated work in a time when rampant uses of racist jargon was the norm. Contextualized for its time though, it is full of fascinating characters and a vivid painting of what life could have been like in the wild west.
November 2, 2017
This is the grandfather of Western romance. It has everything you could want; violence, mayhem, half broke horses that the cowboys ride to show off their skills, impossible accuracy with handguns, and heros who treat a lady like a lady. This is definitely not deep, but it sure is fun!
It is also clean except for a few swear words and the occasional curse. No obscenities or crudities.
It is also clean except for a few swear words and the occasional curse. No obscenities or crudities.
March 3, 2023
The original Hopalong Cassidy was not the Hoppy that I grew up watching in the movies and on TV. The novels by Clarence Mulford are really good and help you time travel to that period in our history. Strongly recommend.
May 29, 2024
Mulford's books aren't fantastic, yet they're a lot of fun and relaxing. Good action and flowery descriptions.
July 1, 2021
Certainly not the Hopalong Cassidy I used to watch on TV in the 50's but a good story of good and bad in the old west.
July 18, 2011
I read and enjoyed this as a boy, but recently re-read it... and it was a struggle. Mainly due to Mulford attempting to emulate some of the speech patterns of the wild west by writing words phonetically... some novelists pull this off, not this one. I think as a young boy reading it I didn't mind - added to the fun of it, reading it again I found it very annoying. This could be due to the fact I've done a lot of editing/teaching since when I first read it... but I think its more than that, I don't think the action scenes have enough for me, and the characters are all fairly typical. And I absolutely loved Hopalong Cassidy as a kid, but the original Hopalong of Mulford's is not the one from the t.v. show, nor the Hopalong that Louis L'Amour wrote about under a different name (in my opinion, improved Hopalong).
Mulford's Bar-20 might be a good cowboy book for a youngster with a fascination for the wild west, but not for an adult interest.
Mulford's Bar-20 might be a good cowboy book for a youngster with a fascination for the wild west, but not for an adult interest.
April 15, 2010
If you can get past the purple prose (...to the shrieking towns of the coast where wantonness stalked unchecked...)you find that this book, written in the 20s, is violent and unflinching in showing a world where men kill with no remorse. Where Hoppy and the BAR-20 crew stop a range war, trap the rustlers, shoot most of them, hang the rest; and then Hoppy rides off to get the girl. And yet for all the dated style and simplistic plotting I liked this novel. The characters act sensibly and are both believable and likable. If you like Louis Lamour but would prefer a tougher hero you might like this.
January 27, 2020
I never read any of the Hopalong Cassidy books, comics, and I've never seen any of the film's or shows. I considered this a cultural defect and picked up this book to change that.
I honestly am not sure why he was such a cultural phenomenon. I'm guessing he was one of the first serialized cowboys that formed a loose "series" because I've read plenty of westerns, if not any by Mulford, and it just felt like I had read the book before. It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't one to stand out or be particularly memorable to me.
I honestly am not sure why he was such a cultural phenomenon. I'm guessing he was one of the first serialized cowboys that formed a loose "series" because I've read plenty of westerns, if not any by Mulford, and it just felt like I had read the book before. It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't one to stand out or be particularly memorable to me.
December 8, 2011
Were I to describe this book with one word, I can think of several that would work: Flat, predictable, uninspired, lackluster, mediocre. Having said that, it was still better than Catcher in the Rye.
June 22, 2012
Obviously the Cassidy books have their fans, but this is hammy writing in a book that is under plotted. There is little point except to satisfy your curiosity about how the books are different from the films.
September 8, 2011
A good read.
October 19, 2012
The original book. Nothing like the old TV character.
August 8, 2013
Classics! Love these books!
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews