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Above the Palo Duro
This book is written by Noel M Loomis. Beecher was a large man, so big that he made his sorrel gelding look like a pony. He was a man who had experienced many triumphs and many disappointments, which had served to make him cautious. Death could be waiting for him anywhere - behind the next tree, in a nearby gulley, up on a ridge - for the gun-crazy Dillon brothers were on his trail.
223 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2000
About the author
Noel Loomis
67 books1 followerNoel Miller Loomis was an editor, printer, newspaperman, teacher and writer of western, mystery and science-fiction, winner of the Spur Award in 1959, President of Western Writers of America between 1954 and 1955, Director of Writers Workshop between 1963 and 1969, member of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, American Association of University Professors, American Historical Association and PEN International.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 10, 2024
What started as a pretty run-of-the-mill beleaguered rancher story escalated into a pretty tight little noir-ish drama.
John Beecher has been raising cattle in one of the only water-rich spots on the prairie. He's got a good relationship with the Mexican shepherds who live nearby and had his eyes on one of the dons daughters. All of that is tested when he starts getting bullied by some new ranchers who want his water and a local strumpet claims they wed while he was blacked out after a fight. There's also dozens of bars of missing gold hiding around somewhere.
But aside from the crackerjack story, I was further impressed by two things: 1) That Loomis clearly knew his stuff. He includes dozens of little details in the story to show knowledge of real cowboy life, like how horses behave, what substitutions cowboys used when they ran out of flour and coffee, or what menial tasks ranchers had to suffer through on a day to day basis. 2) The book's character is remarkably not-racist for a book from the 50s. He has a good relationship with his Mexican shepherd neighbors and wants them to be treated fairly by others. That was refreshing after a few recent western reads where every non-caucasian character was a villainous savage daring to challenge the white man's supremacy. Noel Loomis, you've sold me. I'll seek out more of your work.
John Beecher has been raising cattle in one of the only water-rich spots on the prairie. He's got a good relationship with the Mexican shepherds who live nearby and had his eyes on one of the dons daughters. All of that is tested when he starts getting bullied by some new ranchers who want his water and a local strumpet claims they wed while he was blacked out after a fight. There's also dozens of bars of missing gold hiding around somewhere.
But aside from the crackerjack story, I was further impressed by two things: 1) That Loomis clearly knew his stuff. He includes dozens of little details in the story to show knowledge of real cowboy life, like how horses behave, what substitutions cowboys used when they ran out of flour and coffee, or what menial tasks ranchers had to suffer through on a day to day basis. 2) The book's character is remarkably not-racist for a book from the 50s. He has a good relationship with his Mexican shepherd neighbors and wants them to be treated fairly by others. That was refreshing after a few recent western reads where every non-caucasian character was a villainous savage daring to challenge the white man's supremacy. Noel Loomis, you've sold me. I'll seek out more of your work.
Displaying 1 of 1 review