The Uphill Climb

by B.M. Bower, 1stworld Library (Editor)

Ford lifted his arms above his head to yawn as does a man who has slept too heavily, found his biceps stiffened and sore, and massaged them gingerly with his finger-tips. His eyes took on the vacancy of memory straining at the leash of forgetfulness. He sighed largely, swung his head slowly from left to right in mute admission of failure to grasp what lay just behind his slumber, and thereby discovered other muscles that protested against sudden movement. He felt his neck with a careful, rubbing gesture. One hand strayed to his left cheekbone, hovered there tentatively, wandered to the bridge of his nose, and from there dropped inertly to the bed. "Lordy me! I must have been drunk last night," he said aloud, mechanically taking he straight line of logic from effect to cause, as much experience had taught him to do.

Genres: Westerns

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1913

About the author

Bertha Muzzy Sinclair or Sinclair-Cowan, née Muzzy, best known by her pseudonym B. M. Bower, was an American author who wrote novels, fictional short stories, and screenplays about the American Old West. Her works, featuring cowboys and cows of the Flying R Ranch in Montana, reflected "an interest in ranch life, the use of working cowboys as main characters (even in romantic plots), the occasional appearance of eastern types for the sake of contrast, a sense of western geography as simultaneously harsh and grand, and a good deal of factual attention to such matters as cattle branding and bronc busting.

Born Bertha Muzzy in Otter Tail County, MN and living her early years in Big Sandy, Montana, she was married three times: to Clayton Bower, in 1890; to Bertrand William Sinclair,(also a Western author) in 1912; and to Robert Elsworth Cowan, in 1921. Bower's 1912 novel Lonesome Land was praised in The Bookman magazine for its characterization. She wrote 57 Western novels, several of which were turned into films.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata]

This is the 12th Bower western romance I have read out of the 29 available at Project Gutenberg. She is quickly becoming my go-to author when I have been deep into either serious titles or disappointing ones, and this one lived up to expectations.

Wild (but good at heart) cowboy? Check. Meet Ford. Wonderful guy when sober but a real rootin' tootin' ring-tailed snorter when drunk. And last night is all a blur, except he seems to remember someone getting married. Was that someone Ford himself? And if so, who was the lady? And why did Ford beat up the preacher before the night was over?

He gets a little more information from his roommate Sandy:
"The way I heard it," [Sandy] explained further, "this lady come to town looking for Frank Ford Cameron, and seen you, and said you was him. So—"
"I ain't," Ford interrupted indignantly. "My name's Ford Campbell and I'll lick any darned son-of-a-gun—"
"Likely she made a mistake," Sandy soothed. "Frank Ford Cameron, she had you down for, and you went ahead and married her willing enough. Seems like there was some hurry-up reason that she explained to you private. She had the license all made out and brought a preacher down from Garbin. Bill Wright said he overheard you tellin' her you'd do anything to oblige a lady—"
"That's the worst of it; I'm always too damned polite when I'm drunk!" grumbled Ford.

Mysterious woman from back East? Check again. Meet Josephine, who has been thrown from her horse and is lying on the ground with a badly sprained ankle when Ford comes along on his way to an old friend's ranch. Josephine (nicknamed Phenie, which I am assuming is pronounced Feenie because otherwise it just makes no sense at all) is an awfully pretty creature, but bristly and abrupt, making Ford so mad that he tells himself he is glad he is married even though he cannot remember a thing about his wife, not even what she looks like or where she ran off to right after the ceremony.

Patient, loyal horse? Triple Check. Meet Rambler, who does his best to jump across the coulee so Ford can 'rescue' Miss Josephine. But he doesn't quite make it and in the fall hurts his shoulder, earning him an eventual 'hospital' stay in the barn at the ranch that belongs to Ford's friend. But he came this close to getting shot. If he hadn't nickered when he did....I was ready to close my eyes, let me tell you!

A new element in this book was Ford's battle against whiskey. Could he change his ways? Would working for his old pardner, a man who he had not seen for eight years, give him the push he needs? And what about that pretty Miss Josephine? Does she think anything at all about him....and why does it matter anyway? He's married, remember?!

This was a fun story and as always, I look forward to the next Bower on the list!

[Julia]

This was a good read about a cowboy trying to get out from under the devastating control of alcohol. He’s an honest, hard working ranch hand, but when he’s drunk he is a hard-fightin’ terror. When his town hastily builds a jail to throw him into because of his latest nasty fighting spree (during which he was tricked into marrying a mysterious stranger) he high-tails it out of town. He heads for the ranch of an old, trusted friend, falls in love, and tries to find out who he married, so he can divorce her and marry his true love. Clean romance, some cuss words, and a good look at the struggle with alcohol. This audio version was beautifully read by narrator Tom Penn.

[Larry Piper]

Tough at the beginning, but got more appealing once I figured out where it was going. Basically, we have a cowboy with a serious drinking problem and it's an "uphill climb" to overcome it.

[Rhonda Mast]

Oh how I love Bower. I’ve always had a weakness for old westerns, and no one writes a better western than she does.

[Dorcas]

Ford is a man with a problem. A drinking problem. When he drinks he can't stop and when he's drunk he has a raging temper. (I actually couldn't figure out if Ford is in a drunkard or an alcoholic -cos there is a difference. I would guess he's a compulsive drunkard) Anyway, the town has learned to tred warily around him because while he's a very cheerful, hardworking and reliable person sober, he tears the town apart when he's not.

One morning after a particularly violent rampage the night before, he finds out that in the rukus he got married. He has no idea who the person is and no one can seem to tell him. She left soon afterwards.

On learning that the town has built a jail cell especially for him he leaves town in disgust. He remembers a friend whose life he saved many years ago and who runs a ranch not so far away and decides he'll bunk down there for a while.

What follows is Ford's journey to stability and sobriety. And perhaps romance..

So this kind of read like a "love inspired" story. It was good, but a little "washed" and by that I mean, while alcohol abuse is portrayed as serious, it doesn't seem to have a lot of real life consequences etc. The side effects are generally black eyes and a bad memory. Even after beating up all his friends and trashing a bar while in a rampage they forgive him when he comes to himself the next day because he's so good natured. Hmmmm

However I did enjoy the second half of the book as he grapples with his addiction (or is it compulsion, still not sure) and his relationships aren't so smooth sailing. A hopeful future is within arm's reach but a bad choice is only a glug away.

[Douglas Wingert]

Very good short read. I really like the writing style of Ms. Bower.