The Bear Paw Horses

by Will Henry

On the wild frontier, even an outlaw had to risk his life and his love if he wanted to be free. Con Jenkins was helping an elderly Indian and his granddaughter carry out the last orders of Crazy Horse, the most-feared war chief of the Oglala Sioux and is thrown headfirst into the deadliest struggle of his life.

Genres: Westerns

214 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Also wrote westerns as Clay Fisher.

Henry Wilson Allen (September 12, 1912 – October 26, 1991) was an American author and screenwriter. He used several different pseudonyms for his works. His 50+ novels of the American West were published under the pen names Will Henry and Clay Fisher. Allen's screenplays and scripts for animated shorts were credited to Heck Allen and Henry Allen.

Allen's career as a novelist began in 1952, with the publication of his first Western No Survivors. Allen, afraid that the studio would disapprove of his moonlighting, used a pen-name to avoid trouble.[3] He would go on to publish over 50 novels, eight of which were adapted for the screen. Most of these were published under one or the other of the pseudonyms Will Henry and Clay Fisher. Allen was a five-time winner of the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America and a recipient of the Levi Strauss Award for lifetime achievement.

Henry Wilson Allen was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Allen died of pneumonia on October 26, 1991 in Van Nuys, California. He was 79.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This tragic story of the defeat of most of the Nez Perce Native American tribe and, concurrently, the murder of Crazy Horse and the recovery of over 400 Native American horses stolen by Con Jenkins and others, and how these events merged, is written with the usual Will Henry depth of understanding of his subject.
The book is a somewhat complex intermingling of events and characters, but Henry does a masterful job
telling the story in all its complexity. His ability to put the reader in the character’s lives is unmatched, especially the Native Americans. However, if there is a weakness in this book it may be the lack of reasonable explanation of why Con Jenkins changes from a horse thief/gunman out for himself to a man who becomes devoted to the Indian cause. Still, that seems a relatively minor point in an otherwise excellent novel.
The sad fate of both the Native Americans and their horses is well- and lovingly-told, and I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Westerns and Native American culture and history.