Shadow Mountain

by Dane Coolidge

Shadow Mountain is a novel written by Dane Coolidge and published in 1919. The story takes place in the American West and follows the adventures of a young man named Jack Flatray. Jack is a skilled horseman and hunter who lives in the shadow of a mountain that is said to be cursed. Despite warnings from the locals, Jack ventures into the mountain and discovers a hidden valley filled with wild game and untouched natural beauty.As Jack explores the valley, he encounters a group of outlaws who have been using the valley as a hideout. Jack must use his wits and skills to outsmart the outlaws and protect the valley from their destructive ways. Along the way, he meets a young woman named Mary who becomes his ally in the fight against the outlaws.Shadow Mountain is a thrilling adventure story that captures the spirit of the American West. It is a tale of courage, perseverance, and the power of nature to heal and transform. Coolidge's vivid descriptions of the landscape and wildlife of the West transport the reader to a time and place of rugged beauty and danger. The novel is a classic of Western literature and a must-read for fans of the genre.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

324 pages, Paperback

Published May 10, 2009

About the author

Dane Coolidge was born in Natick, Massachusetts, on March 24, 1873. He was brought up in Riverside, California, and received his higher education at Stanford and Harvard Universities. From 1895 to 1900 he was a field collector of mammals, birds and reptiles in Nevada, Arizona and Southern California for a number of institutions, including Stanford University, the British Museum, U. S. National Zoological Park, and the U. S. National Museum in Italy and France. On July 30, 1906, he married Nary Roberts, and the couple eventually made their home in Berkeley, California. In 1910, his first novel, Hidden Water, was published, and this was followed by a long succession of novels and some non-fiction, with California and Southwest locales. He and his wife collaborated on two books, The Navajo Indians (1930) and The Last of the Seris (1939). In addition, Coolidge contributed short stories and illustrated articles to several magazines, including Youth's Companion, Sunset, Redbook, Harper's and Country Life in America. Mr. Coolidge died in 1940; Mrs. Coolidge, in 1945.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this book. I really enjoyed Coolidge's The Desert Trail, and when it came time to pick an author for my March Literary Birthday Challenge, I decided Shadow Mountain would be a nice choice, mainly because years ago when I lived in El Paso, Texas, I worked at a store on Shadow Mountain Drive. Well, that is as good a reason as any, right?

But whether it was Carnaval, or the latest in-law visit, or April the giraffe (when is she going to have that baby?!) or the book itself, I could never get interested in the story. I struggled along to the halfway point, but at yet another chapter full of maths I gave up. I simply never had that 'ooh, gotta go see what is happening' feeling that usually keeps me turning pages.

The story revolves around a mine near Death Valley. The hero Wiley arrives in Keno, which used to be a booming mining town, but now is nearly a ghost town, with only a few people still hanging on. There is the requisite widow in dire straits, and her beautiful daughter Virginia, neither of whom trust our man Wiley, mainly because of the bad feelings his father left behind. There is a lot of information (a whole lot, way too much, over and over and over) about mining claims, shares, stocks, quit-claims, this thing and that other thing and percentages and so on and so forth. Crap, I hate trying to read math stuff. My brain just says Nope, don't wanna, ain't gonna.

The most intriguing character was Death Valley Charley, who knew something about Virginia's father, hinting that he was not really dead. But Death Valley Charley also was a bit touched in the head, insisting that he could see and feel the electricity in the earth, and that he heard the Germans coming. (The story was set during WWI, and Wiley was hoping to find materials in the mine to help the war effort.) One reason I kept on for as long as I did was that I wanted to see if DVC ever took control of the story but if he did, it was after the halfway point.

There are other Coolidge titles at Gutenberg, and I will try another one sometime later this month. Maybe I will have less distractions (are you listening, April?!) and maybe whichever story I pick will be as exciting as The Desert Trail was.

[PottWab Regional Library]

A