Lost Trails »

Louis L'Amour's 115 title-plus bibliography is astonishing on its own; even more so given the fact that his writing career did not start in earnest until his 40s. Simply being prolific, however, does not a bestselling author make. L'Amour's Western stories, as written by a real-life adventurer, capture the survivalism and code of honor on which the American frontier mythology rests.

They are the stuff of legend, thundering out of the harsh landscapes and stunning vistas of the American West, vividly lodged in our collective imaginations. From Buffalo Bill to Billy the Kid, from Cochise to Jesse James, these names and so many others screamed across newspaper and dime store magazine headlines while theWild West was won.

Lost Trails features inventive, hard-riding, action-packed stories by America's bestWesternwriters. Louis L'Amour, Elmer Kelton, William W. Johnstone,Loren Estleman, Johnny Boggs, Don Coldsmith, and many more, share tales of the legends born out of the wild frontier.So sita spell and listen to a good ol' yarn about Mark Twain's meeting with Buffalo Bill, a man who shoed horses for Jesse James, or a little known nugget about Cochise by the legendary Louis L'Amour...and fora time, you can find yourself riding thoseLost Trails with thereal people that make the legends of the West come alive today.

Contents

Introduction Russell Davis.............................................................................9
Mark and Bill Loren D. Estleman........................................................................17
After Blackjack Dropped Karl Lassiter..................................................................36
To Shoe a Horse Don Coldsmith..........................................................................52
Dancing Silver Ken Hodgson.............................................................................66
Bear River Tom and the Mud Creek Massacre William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone.....................81
Blue Horse Mesa John D. Nesbitt........................................................................95
The Ones He Never Mentioned Jeff Mariotte..............................................................113
What Really Happened to Billy the Kid John Duncklee....................................................131
The Tombstone Run John Helfers and Kerrie Hughes.......................................................151
The Wild-Eyed Witness Lori Van Pelt....................................................................170
The Gift of Cochise Louis L'Amour......................................................................188
Younger and Faster Mike Thompson.......................................................................207
The Cody War Johnny D. Boggs...........................................................................224
Born to Be Hanged Elmer Kelton.........................................................................242