The White Bird

by Lauran Paine

Sam Sloan, an old buffalo hunter, finds his quest and spirit vision from the four directions of the wind, when an old Navajo, a Lakota woman, and a young girl join forces with him in a search for survival

296 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

aka John Armour, Reg Batchelor, Kenneth Bedford, Frank Bosworth, Mark Carrel, Claude Cassady, Richard Clarke, Richard Dana, J F Drexler, Troy Howard, Jared Ingersol, John Kilgore, Hunter Liggett, J K Lucas, John Morgan (many more).

Lauran Bosworth Paine (born February 25, 1916 in Duluth, Minnesota – 2003 in California) was an American writer of Western fiction. Paine wrote over 900 books, including hundreds of Westerns as well as romance, science fiction, and mystery novels. He also wrote a number of non-fiction books on the Old West, military history, witchcraft, and other subjects.

His apprenticeship as a Western writer came about through the years he spent in the livestock trade, rodeos, and even motion pictures where he served as an extra because of his expert horsemanship.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This is a wonderful novel about the changing western frontier. Sam Sloan is an old buffalo hunter who sets off walking into the wilderness looking for a place to die at peace with nature. Along the way, he mets Cameron who owns the land he is squatting on, an old Navajo Indian, an old Lakota women and a young Crow Indian. Soon they are all existing in an odd communal relationship that includes an old buffalo cow and her calf. Their existence is threatened by the approach of winter and the discovery of gold in the area that they attempt to keep secret, with little success.

The author manages to write an intelligent novel about old age and a changing frontier at the same time. He doesn't rely on violence to drive the novel, but instead handles plot, historical details and attitudes, and a fine cast of characters as deftly as Davy Crockett handled "Old Betsy." The dialogue is well written and believable. The story progresses at a careful but complain pace and gets better with each turned page.

The only actual drawback is extremely minor. The superstition/mystical aspect was a bit more than I would have like, even though it was kept to a minimal level. Still, that was the only drawback. Paine manages to consistently use strong verbs that really do a great job of evoking the feel of the action.

This one is well-written and very enjoyable.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and elegiac.

[Juliet Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enlightening story about old Indian ways, beliefs, customs, and spirit world . Loved the character descriptions of scraggly old rancher, with wealth of ranch acreage, cattle, Homestead & surrounding buildings. Wonderful story.

Provides insight into a persons character. You never know what their former life was like. What shaped their beliefs. Once they reach eighty years, many life lessons have occurred along the way. Ending was unexpected and rather quick. But would love to know what took place after rancher passed on.

[Kellyt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given it a 4.25 if possible. A fine well written story set in the intermountain west near the Colorado/New Mexico line about the end of an era intertwined with lives of an old buffalo hunter, a well off rancher, an aging Navajo, and two other Indian women who have escaped from the Crow tribe. There is an organic and almost visceral feel to it. As Paine writes you can smell the forest and feel the air. It is fairly slow moving and different than most of his other books, of which I have read many.

[Al Meeds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rewarding

As a man who grew up in the 40s and 50s in a small ranch town I find this book a reflection on how it used to be. No bad language, no cheating, just honest people living as we are supposed to live. Great Book!

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little read. Very much enjoyed the folklore woven into the story. I look forward to reading more books by this author, as he has written close to 1000 books in his lifetime. What an accomplishment.

[Joel Berti · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’ve not read all of his books, but this probably has to be one of the best

Usually, I’m pretty critical of books because they follow things up so much but this one was really good all the way through. No complaints little bit sad sometime, but it was really fun.

[Walter Breyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Different

I don’t know about this one. Not a lot of action, instead a lot of time spent on mundane issues, such as aging, a young girl with pet mice , and an old buffalo that was injured and survived only to die in the end.

[Peter Charleston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable and entertaining.