Hanging Woman Creek

by Louis L'Amour

Barnabus Pike is no gunfighter and not much of a street fighter. Eddie Holt is a black boxer in a white man's world. They've both taken their share of hard knocks. Now they're looking to survive a brutal winter in a remote Montana line shack, collect their pay, and settle down for good. Then they cross paths with a hardworking Irish immigrant and his beautiful, spirited sister, who've been burned off their land. It's a fight Pike and Holt don't want, don't need, and don't dare turn their backs on—especially when one of the perpetrators might be one of Pike's old friends. Hunted like animals across the frozen countryside, Pike and Holt will risk everything—including their reputations, their dreams—and their lives.

Genres: Westerns, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Action, American

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1964

About the author

Louis Dearborn L'Amour was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels, though he called his work "frontier stories". His most widely known Western fiction works include Last of the Breed, Hondo, Shalako, and the Sackett series. L'Amour also wrote historical fiction (The Walking Drum), science fiction (The Haunted Mesa), non-fiction (Frontier), and poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into films. His books remain popular and most have gone through multiple printings. At the time of his death, almost all of his 105 existing works (89 novels, 14 short-story collections, and two full-length works of nonfiction) were still in print, and he was "one of the world's most popular writers".

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story set in Montana and centred around Pike (Pronto) a cowboy who likes to fight and rides for the brand. Him and his partner Eddie are employed to look after cattle during winter. They must battle the elements, rustlers and vigilantes. Pike also meets Ann an Irish woman visiting her brother Farley.

A good solid Western with a chase, fist fighting and a battle between good and evil. Guess who wins🤣

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louis L’Amour is one of the most popular author’s of Westerns—though he himself preferred the term “frontier stories”—and it is easy to see why: he clearly loves the American West, and shows his reader how the land itself—this beautiful and challenging environment—shapes the men and women who give it their lives.

Hanging Woman Creek is a good example of what L’Amour does best. Its hero Pronto Pike is a young cowboy hired—along with his partner Eddie Holt—to round up the straying stock of the Bar J Ranch and protect its cattle from the rustlers. Turns out that rustlers are only one of their concerns. Pronto and Eddie encounter vigilantes who suspect them of rustling, a few suspicious types fully capable of murder, and Ann Farley, a beautiful and intelligent young woman bound of her brother’s ranch.

One of the small pleasures of this novel is unexpected: a neat little murder mystery, with enough clues to suggest its solution. The principal enjoyment, though, comes from L’Amour’s two specialties: his delineation of the character of people under pressure, and the description of the land and work of its men.

Pronto Pike is an interesting character. Although he is sensible when it comes to doing his job, he is also capable of fighting just for the pure hell of it (which is how he got the nickname “Pronto”). In addition, he says he enjoys “rebuilding places in my mind,” the way a novelist might build up a scene:

[W]hen I had nothing else to do I would put a place together, every single thing in place, then bit by bit I’d recall the folks I’d known there and what was said—what we talked about, and the like … When a man sets out to recall in detail as I did, he sets more to working than he’s figured on, for he never looks at any thing after that without thinking how he’ll recall it in time to come. It also sets a man to thinking about himself, and when a man stands himself up to ponder at, he can’t always be pleased at what he sees.”

Here Proto and Eddie talk about the land:

Along in the late afternoon, we pulled up on a ridge near the head of Wolf Creek, and looked down the valley of the Tongue.

“It’s a fair land,” Eddie said softly, “a fair, wild land.”

“It is that,” I agreed.

The bright glare was gone, the shadows softening the distance, and the coolness of evening was coming on. Far off an eagle soared against the sky … soon he’d be leaving the sky to the owls and the bats. I saw a gray wolf loping along through the trees, head down, nose reaching out for the scent of game.

We sat motionless and not talking, just taking in the peace of springtime.

[George K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Στο ρέμα της Κρεμασμένης Γυναίκας", εκδόσεις Λιβάνη.

Τελευταία φορά που διάβασα βιβλίο του αγαπημένου Λουίς Λ' Αμούρ ήταν τον Σεπτέμβριο του 2020, οπότε σίγουρα μου έλειψε ολίγον τι. Και δεν μπορώ να καταλάβω γιατί δεν διαβάζω συχνότερα βιβλία του, αφού μπορεί με αυτό να έφτασα τα δεκαοχτώ βιβλία του συγγραφέα που έχω διαβάσει, εντούτοις με περιμένουν δεκάδες άλλα βιβλία του για να τα ξεκοκαλίσω. Τέλος πάντων, για άλλη μια φορά ο Λ' Αμούρ μου κράτησε πολύ καλή παρέα, μου προσέφερε λίγες ώρες αναγνωστικής ξεγνοιασιάς με μια αρκετά κλασική γουέστερν ιστορία γεμάτη με καουμπόηδες, ζωοκλοπές, φόνους, ξύλο και κυνηγητά στις ερημιές της Μοντάνα, με τη γραφή να είναι φυσικά πολύ καλή, λιτή και απέριττη, χωρίς φιοριτούρες και άσχετες λεπτομέρειες, με ρεαλιστικές περιγραφές και φυσικούς διαλόγους. Τέλος, ο πρωταγωνιστής και αφηγητής της ιστορίας είναι αρκετά καλά σκιαγραφημένος και γενικά συμπαθής, ενώ η ατμόσφαιρα είναι σούπερ. Τίποτα το τρομερό και το φοβερό (η αλήθεια είναι ότι έχω διαβάσει και καλύτερες ιστορίες από τον Λ' Αμούρ), όμως εννοείται ότι πέρασα και πάλι καλά.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is standard Louis L'Amour fare. He has said that he literally "walked the land my characters walk," and from time to time, I find myself researching and even visiting (upon occasion) places described in his books. I've never found him to claim historical events or geographical places as true when his claim wasn't supported. This version of Hanging Woman Creek came with a rough map in the front showing the locations of some of the places described in the book. On a recent vacation, we actually passed by or visited one or two...they are there, just as he described.

I especially enjoy the times when L'Amour waxes philosophical. There is some wisdom to what he says through his characters' words. Such a soliloquy occurs in this book, and I excerpt it here:

"A man has to face up to himself sometime or other. You can go on being satisfied or ducking the issue only so long, and then there comes a time when you start asking yourself, not what you've done with your summer wages, but with your whole life...And more often than not the answer you have to give yourself isn't a happy one."

"The thing a man has to realize is that it is never too late...About the worst thing a man can do is to let a dream die...An idea like that doesn't just lie fallow; it builds up and gathers background, trying to fit itself for realization...Every idea is a seed and, like a seed, it germinates. Only you have to feed it to make it grow properly."

"A man never starts to get old until he starts to forget his dream. Somebody said once that nature abhors a vacuum; well, from all that I'd seen, I would say that nature dislikes anything that doesn't produce."

These are thoughts worth pondering.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another plane ride...

I liked that the main character was a bit more ordinary than the usual L'Amour hero. But I wish that Eddie Holt hadn't been killed off. I liked him.

[Emily Arrowood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the development of characters in this L’Amour, as well as the excellent supporting characters to Pike. Eddie’s exactly what a right-hand-man should be, and the addition of Ann as a strong supporting woman was delightful. A few twists and turns in the plot that kept my interest, and a “happy ending.” All in all, a pleasure!

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic L'Amour frontier history, featuring a lone man in the west facing hardship and seeking to better himself. Its got some interesting and unique twists though, starting with two down on their luck guys riding the rails as hobos. One is a black man (who through the book is the most moral and humble, capable guy) and they take a risky job in a line shack tending cows over the winter. Rustlers and big ranchers are a constant problem, as is a vigilante force that forms to deal with the rustlers.

Little bits set it apart also. the hypcondriac rustler. The simple girl who think she is a romantic rival, the western attitude of justice and reaction. Its a fresh read even for L'Amour fans, flawed only by a small set of plots that were lost along the way, and it wanders a bit in places where the narrator waxes thoughtful. But the descriptions and locations are absolutely beautiful and the story is very entertaining.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can say what you want about Louis L'Amour--and I think it's a fair criticism to say that most of his books were formulaic--but the man knew his audience, he knew his subject matter, and he knew how to tell a story. This book is typical of L'Amour's westerns. The characters are simple but well-drawn, the dialogue mostly flows naturally, and you get just a little bit of cowboy philosophizing, all in a story that keeps you turning the pages. I went through a phase about 15 years ago of devouring these books, and it's good to revisit them now and again.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Pronto" Pike is drifting from one cowboy job to another. He and his partner land a job manning a line camp when he decides that he needs a ranch of his own. Life becomes difficult when he tangles with a band of outlaws.

[Paul F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Hanging Woman Creek" by Louis L'Amour has nothing to do with a hanging woman. That is simply the name of the creek near where the story takes place. This is Louis L'Amour at his absolute best. Barnabas Pike and his friend Eddie Holt are drifters who enjoy free rides on rail cars. However, they are looking to settle down, and they think they have when they are hired as winter help at a cattle ranch owned by an old acquaintance, Bill Justin. The problem is that Justin is in the middle of a range war with multiple others who will kill anyone who they figure would be better off dead and out of their way. Justin and his longer-term cowhands accuse Pike and Holt of stealing cattle that the bad guys actually stole. Sounds like standard stuff, right?, except that L'Amout introduces an unusual twist in this good guys vs. bad guys narrative...Barnabas Pike agrees to help a love interest, Irish immigrant girl Ann Farley, and her brother who are also being harassed by the bad guys. I can't say much more without giving away spoilers, but suffice to say, Barnabas Pike's motivations in this novel are (unlike some other L'Amour novels) not entirely self-interested.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louis L'Amour is one of my comfort authors. I began reading him when I was 13 or 14, and I've never stopped. I've read most of the Sackett novels several times. I'd only read Hanging Woman Creek once before. One of the things I liked so much about this was the setting. Most of L'Amour's books are set in the southwest--Texas, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah (my home state)--but this one is set in Montana (In the Daybreakers--a Sackett novel--sees Ty Sackett briefly in Montana.) and the western Dakotas.

Pronto Pike and his friend Eddie Holt sign on to run the line shack on Hanging Woman Creek. They fight rustlers and the local vigilantes. When those vigilantes turn on a h0mesteader from Ireland and his sister, Pronto, sees red and sets out to clean house. After all, in the West, women are sacred. Turn on a woman and you'll be hanging from the highest tree before you can spit.

This book was exactly what I was hoping for. A fast read, and a nice pallete cleanse. Another unique thing about this one is Pronto isn't a gun slinger. Wincester and his fists are his weapons.

Reading L'Amour is always like spending time with one of your best friends.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as I remembered. A blizzard of people and places as L'Amour tries to establish the historical context and create verisimilitude via research. Also plenty of soliloquies from his first-person narrator Pronto Pike to establish the L'Amour ethos of what it means to be a good man in the old west. Aside from that, we have here a bit of mystery, a whodunit amidst the core story of big outfits against the homesteaders, which is a crore theme of L'Amour's books. The whodunit here is something of a red herring as it really never figures into the core plot. The final third of the book was the strongest as the baddies hunt down Pike and he has to battle against all odds and his survival (except he is the narrator, right?) is in doubt until the end.

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another story about the bullies of the west (rustlers and ranchers) picking on the smaller farmers/nesters). The heroes are two young men who just happened to meet up, one white and one black, but make a good combination. They are hired to keep watch on cattle at a Montana camp but it doesn't last long. Their Irish friends are burned out and the bad guys have them in their sights, so they make a run for the nearest town, two or three days away in the dead of winter ... very entertaining.

[Michael Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

The bad guys always lose in the end, but sometimes the good guys die in the effort to find justice. Always a bit of a downer in the L'Amour books when that happens but then that is why his stories are so good. He tells things as they happen in real life. Everyone does not always survives or gets what they want. And often we are left with a bit of a mystery at the end making us want another story where these characters appear again. Not often do we get that follow up but then that is how it goes.

[Delonna Oskouee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read!

It was another version of a range war, but I liked it a lot. I read it in less than 24 hours. Every time I thought the chips were down for the hero, Barney Pike, he managed to get out of the scrape and come up swinging. It was the first time I'd heard a donut called bear sign. There was a lot of other old western
slang that I couldn't figure out, and Wikipedia didn't have a clue either. I was also hoping that at least in the end that Mr. L'Amour would tell why the place was called "Hanging Woman Creek," but maybe he didn't know either. No

[Cheruv · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what I have come to expect from a good L'Amour novel.
Realistic setting, tight story, strong characters and a plot that gallops along like a bucking bronco.

I can't recall other books from the author in first person perspective, so that was different, but it was executed well. I also enjoyed the dialogue in this book. I could "hear" them speak.
L'Amour had a knack for that.
This is another shorter book, but he packs a lot of story in just 150 pages.

I really enjoyed the book.

[EbetsIsReading · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first Louis L'Amour book I have read. I thought since it only had 150 pages that it would not take me long to read. I don't know what happened but it still took me a week to read. It wasn't bad, but the story line was just that I had to stop reading sometimes then go back. It was a book I just couldn't read for a long period of time. I'm not going to give up. I do enjoy westerns. I do have another one of his books I will eventually pick up.

[Paul Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the suspense and adventures of Hanging Woman Creek. This brought out some of those boxing skills that L'Amour was known for in his own career. I appreciated him bringing in the Black character; a man that adds richness to the story. Also many good messages about self-reliance and making your dreams happen instead of sitting around hoping and complaining. Another great one by our legendary storyteller! PKB

[Hank Hoeft · Rating 3 out of 5]

Louis L'Amour likes cramming a lot of characters and complicated situations into novels which aren't all that long. Hanging Woman Creek follows this pattern, but this yarn does a better job than many of his books of tying it all together. I would have rated this book with 4 stars, except there are a couple of plot threads that didn't get resolved, and the climax of the book was a little bit anti-climactic. Still, it was an entertaining read.

[Mollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still haven't read a Louis L'Amour I didn't like! I especially liked this one. Read in one sitting. Great action-packed plot where cowpuncher and amateur fighter, Barnabus Pike, and his new partner, Eddie Holt, find work out West that comes with a whole host of trouble they didn't sign up for but plan to stick out just the same. A mysterious murderer, a gang of vigilantes, rustlers, a town turned against them, and a pretty girl- a recipe for another perfectly rich and vivid L'Amour story.

[Matthew Taggart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great story. Fun characters, albeit a little simple, but in a good way. What I loved most about this particular book, was that everything had a fantastic planting and payoff. I also enjoyed the fact that it was such a visceral novel. I could see it all happening as if I sat in a darkened theater watching a movie. Well worth your time!

[Eric Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same formula, for the most part, as other L'Amour books, just way shorter. A drifter and his friend are asked to watch for rustlers, are accused of rustling themselves, are then fired, attacked by a rogue gang, and left for dead. Triumph occurs in startling fashion, of course. It's not a bad book, a quick read to pass an evening.

[Timothy Farrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great as Always!

L'Amour has been my favorite author ever since was teenager! True, his books are predictable. However, his ability to draw the reader into his story is incredible! Also, L'Amour tries to paint the struggle between the Indian culture and the white man honestly. His characters are painfully human and their inner struggle is often played out transparently.

[Steve Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was slightly different than a great many of L’Amour’s books. The protagonist has a partner, a black man of estimable character and great experience. The two get caught up in range war intrigue, and a mysterious set of murders confounds the two men.

It’s a good tale (albeit with a few flaws) and a refreshing change from the formulaic writing of so many of L’Amour’s works.

[Steve Belcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

1st 3 star review

I have read everything I can get my hands on by Louie LAmour. Most of his books several times. I reckon I would give most all of them 4 or 5 ***** reviews. Generally there's not excessive profanity. This book uses the Lords name in Vain several times.. No need for a man of his talent and skill with words to do this .

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining novel that starts a bit weakly and then goes into overdrive. Very much good versus evil and the cattlemen were portrayed through their leader more evil than most. The character of Eddie was actually a more interesting character than the lead and I kind of wish more time was spent with him rather than Pike. A likeable book and worth reading.

[Alyx Who · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fun read. The themes are simple, but interesting.

I liked the cinematic feel of the novel. The amount of detail is just right. Not too much, not too little.

The ending is kinda rushed and it could've been more satisfying overall.

I'd still recommend it and for only being a dollar, it is certainly worth the price.

[Dorian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun book to listen to while travelling through the western US on a road trip. L'Amour's writing style can keep you awake and engaged, albeit he often reuses certain phrases to the point that we wondered if we'd accidentally gone to a previous chapter.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A re-read from the 1980s. Keepers ...

"Long ago I learned that nothing gets done just by wishing. You have to do it."

"When evil takes up to violence, the good have no choice but to defend themselves."

"A man never starts to get old until he starts to forget his dreams."

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic L'Amour with bad guys, the strong introspective hero who does not see himself in the role, and a woman from Ireland who loves him. There are scrapes and scraps and a lot of people die, including characters you might like.