John Legg (1)

Fast paced western about a wild young man named Jack Guthrie who fought in the Civil War, became a bounty hunter but made enemies of the Taggart brothers. When he stopped in Apache Springs, he was looking for food, drink and shelter before heading for California. He met whore Addie Heller in the local brothel and eventually found himself in love. While the towns people do not like him because he is a gunfighter and they do not like Addie because she is a whore, the two young people carry on their love affair despite all.

Eventually the Taggart brothers were led to Apache Springs by two men whom Jack had made to look like fools and one of which had his eye on Addie. This leads to the novel's ending gunfight in which Addie also proved her worth.… (mer)

Early in the fall of 1834 Colonel Leander Melton recruited Nathaniel Squire to assemble a party of young men to head west to the Rockies to trap beaver. Squire was a mountain of a man, an experienced trapper, and very knowledgeable about the numerous risks they would encounter.

He knew they were starting late in the season, the men for the most part were inexperienced, and the obstacles many. So, Squire advised Melton to give up on his plans. But, Melton was persistent, and Squire relented.

This is the thrilling story of their trek to the mountains; on the way hunting buffalo, which were then still plentiful; their encounters with several Native American tribes, some friendly, some otherwise; and the terrible hardships of the journey West without railroads or roads.

This book needs an R rating for language and sexual situations, which is unfortunate. While I expect the book to appeal to adults and people in their late teens, younger readers likely would enjoy it too. Most of the men (and one woman who masqueraded as a man) that were recruited were in their mid teens.

Overall, I liked this book a lot, and heartily recommend it.

I received a free copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.… (mer)