The Andy Adams Western MEGAPACK ™: 19 Classic Cowboy Tales Read online

  Table of Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series

  DRIFTING NORTH

  SEIGERMAN’S PERCENT

  “BAD MEDICINE”

  A WINTER ROUND-UP

  A COLLEGE VAGABOND

  THE DOUBLE TRAIL

  RANGERING

  AT COMANCHE FORD

  AROUND THE SPADE WAGON

  THE RANSOM OF DON RAMON MORA

  THE PASSING OF PEG-LEG

  IN THE HANDS OF HIS FRIENDS

  A QUESTION OF POSSESSION

  THE STORY OF A POKER STEER

  A TEXAS MATCHMAKER

  REED ANTHONY, COWMAN

  THE OUTLET

  WELLS BROTHERS

  THE LOG OF A COWBOY

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The Andy Adams MEGAPACK™ is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved. Cover art © Vencav / Fotolia.

  * * * *

  The MEGAPACK™ ebook series name is a trademark of Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  Andy Adams (1859-1935) was an American writer of western fiction. He was born in Indiana. His parents, Andrew and Elizabeth Adams, were pioneers. As a boy, he helped with the cattle and horses on the family farm. In the early 1880s he went to Texas, where he stayed for 10 years, spending much of that time driving cattle on the western trail. In 1890, he left the trail to try his hand at business, but the venture failed, so he turned his hand to gold-mining in Colorado and Nevada. In 1894, he settled in Colorado Springs, where he lived until his death.

  He began writing at the age of 43, publishing his most successful book, The Log of a Cowboy, in 1903. His other works include A Texas Matchmaker (1904), The Outlet (1905), Reed Anthony, Cowman: An Autobiography (1907), Wells Brothers (1911), and The Ranch on the Beaver (1927), most of which are included here.

  The Log of a Cowboy is an account of a five-month drive of 3,000 cattle from Brownsville, Texas, to Montana in 1882 along the Great Western Cattle Trail. Although the book is fiction, it is firmly based on Adams’s own experiences on the trail, and it is considered by many to be the best account of cowboy life in literature. Adams was disgusted by the unrealistic cowboy fiction being published in his day; The Log of a Cowboy was his response. Even modern reviewers consider it a compelling classic. The Chicago Herald said: “As a narrative of cowboy life, Andy Adams’ book is clearly the real thing. It carries its own certificate of authentic first-hand experience on every page.”

  We are also including an extensive selection of Andy Adams’s short western fiction.

  Enjoy!

  —John Betancourt

  Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  ABOUT THE SERIES

  Over the last few years, our MEGAPACK™ ebook series has grown to be our most popular endeavor. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”

  The MEGAPACK™ ebook series (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Shawn Garrett, Helen McGee, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)

  RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?

  Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the MEGAPACK™ ebook series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).

  Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.

  TYPOS

  Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.

  If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at [email protected] or use the message boards above.

  The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series

  MYSTERY

  The First Mystery Megapack™

  The Second Mystery Megapack™

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack™

  The Bulldog Drummond Megapack™*

  The Carolyn Wells Mystery Megapack™

  The Charlie Chan Megapack™*

  The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective Megapack™

  The Detective Megapack™

  The Father Brown Megapack™

  The Girl Detective Megapack™

  The Second Girl Detective Megapack™

  The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack™

  The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack™*

  The Third R. Austin Freeman Megapack™*

  The Jacques Futrelle Megapack™

  The Anna Katharine Green Mystery Megapack™

  The Penny Parker Megapack™

  The Philo Vance Megapack™*

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack™

  The Raffles Megapack™

  The Red Finger Pulp Mystery Megapack™, by Arthur Leo Zagat*

  The Sherlock Holmes Megapack™

  The Victorian Mystery Megapack™

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack™

  GENERAL INTEREST

  The Adventure Megapack™

  The Baseball Megapack™

  The Cat Story Megapack™

  The Second Cat Story Megapack™

  The Third Cat Story Megapack™

  The Third Cat Story Megapack™

  The Christmas Megapack™

  The Second Christmas Megapack™

  The Classic American Short Stories Megapack™, Vol. 1.

  The Classic Humor Megapack™

  The Dog Story Megapack™

  The Doll Story Megapack™

  The Horse Story Megapack™

  The Military Megapack™

  The Pirate Story Megapack™

  The Sea-Story Megapack™

  The Utopia Megapack™

  THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION

  1. Winston K. Marks

  2. Mark Clifton

  3. Poul Anderson

  4. Clifford D. Simak

  5. Lester del Rey

  6. Charles L. Fontenay

  7. H.B. Fyfe

  8. Milton Lesser (Stephen Marlowe)

  SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

  The First Science Fiction Megapack™

  The Second Science Fiction Megapack™

  The Third Science Fiction Megapack™

  The Fourth Science Fiction Megapack™

  The Fifth Science Fiction Megapack™

  The Sixth Science Fiction Megapack™

  The Seventh Science Fiction Megapack™

  The Eighth Science Fiction Megapack™

  The Ninth Science Fiction Megapack™

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack™

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack™

  The Fredric Brown Megapack™

  The Fred M
. White Disaster Megapack™

  The First Theodore Cogswell Megapack™

  The Ray Cummings Megapack™

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack™

  The Dragon Megapack™

  The Randall Garrett Megapack™

  The Second Randall Garrett Megapack™

  The Edmond Hamilton Megapack™

  The C.J. Henderson Megapack™

  The Murray Leinster Megapack™***

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack™***

  The Jack London Science Fiction Megapack™

  The Lost Worlds Megapack™

  The Mad Scientist Megapack™

  The Martian Megapack™

  The A. Merritt Megapack™*

  The E. Nesbit Megapack™

  The Andre Norton Megapack™

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack™

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack™

  The Mack Reynolds Megapack™

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack™

  The Science-Fantasy Megapack™

  The Robert Sheckley Megapack™

  The Space Opera Megapack™

  The Space Patrol Megapack™

  The Steampunk Megapack™

  The Time Travel Megapack™

  The Second Time Travel Megapack™

  The Utopia Megapack™

  The William Hope Hodgson Megapack™

  The First Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction Megapack™

  The Second Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction Megapack™

  The Willam P. McGivern Fantasy Megapack™

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack™

  HORROR

  The Horror Megapack™

  The Second Horror Megapack™

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack™

  The Second Achmed Abdullah Megapack™

  The E.F. Benson Megapack™

  The Second E.F. Benson Megapack™

  The Algernon Blackwood Megapack™

  The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack™

  The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack™

  The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack™

  The Ghost Story Megapack™

  The Second Ghost Story Megapack™

  The Third Ghost Story Megapack™

  The Haunts & Horrors Megapack™

  The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack™

  The M.R. James Megapack™

  The Macabre Megapack™

  The Second Macabre Megapack™

  The Third Macabre Megapack™

  The Arthur Machen Megapack™**

  The Mummy Megapack™

  The Occult Detective Megapack™

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack™

  The Vampire Megapack™

  The Weird Fiction Megapack™

  The Werewolf Megapack™

  The William Hope Hodgson Megapack™

  WESTERN

  The Western Megapack™

  The Second Western Megapack™

  The Third Western Megapack™

  The Andy Adams Western Megapack™

  The B.M. Bower Megapack™

  The Max Brand Megapack™

  The Buffalo Bill Megapack™

  The Cowboy Megapack™

  The Zane Grey Megapack™

  The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack™

  YOUNG ADULT

  The Bobbsey Twins Megapack™

  The Boys’ Adventure Megapack™

  The Dan Carter, Cub Scout Megapack™

  The Dare Boys Megapack™

  The Doll Story Megapack™

  The G.A. Henty Megapack™

  The Girl Detectives Megapack™

  The E. Nesbit Megapack™

  The Penny Parker Megapack™

  The Pinocchio Megapack™

  The Rover Boys Megapack™

  The Second Carolyn Wells Megapack™

  The Space Patrol Megapack™

  The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack™

  The Tom Swift Megapack™

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack™

  SINGLE-AUTHOR

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack™

  The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction Megapack™

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack™

  The E.F. Benson Megapack™

  The Second E.F. Benson Megapack™

  The Henri Bergson Megapack™

  The Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Megapack™

  The Algernon Blackwood Megapack™

  The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack™

  The B.M. Bower Megapack™

  The Max Brand Megapack™

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack™

  The Fredric Brown Megapack™

  The Second Fredric Brown Megapack™

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack™

  The Stephen Crane Megapack™

  The Ray Cummings Megapack™

  The Guy de Maupassant Megapack™

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack™

  The Frederick Douglass Megapack™

  The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack™

  The F. Scott Fitzgerald Megapack™

  The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack™

  The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack™*

  The Third R. Austin Freeman Megapack™*

  The Jacques Futrelle Megapack™

  The Randall Garrett Megapack™

  The Second Randall Garrett Megapack™

  The Anna Katharine Green Megapack™

  The Zane Grey Megapack™

  The Edmond Hamilton Megapack™

  The Dashiell Hammett Megapack™

  The C.J. Henderson Megapack™

  The William Hope Hodgson Megapack™

  The M.R. James Megapack™

  The Selma Lagerlof Megapack™

  The Harold Lamb Megapack™

  The Murray Leinster Megapack™***

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack™***

  The Jonas Lie Megapack™

  The Arthur Machen Megapack™**

  The Katherine Mansfield Megapack™

  The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack™

  The William P. McGivern Fantasy Megapack™

  The First William P. McGivern Science Fiction Megapack™

  The Second William P. McGivern Science Fiction Megapack™

  The A. Merritt Megapack™*

  The Talbot Mundy Megapack™

  The E. Nesbit Megapack™

  The Andre Norton Megapack™

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack™

  The Mack Reynolds Megapack™

  The Rafael Sabatini Megapack™

  The Saki Megapack™

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack™

  The Robert Sheckley Megapack™

  The Bram Stoker Megapack™

  The Fred M. White Disaster Megapack™

  The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack™

  The Virginia Woolf Megapack™

  The Arthur Leo Zagat Science Fiction Megapack™

  * Not available in the United States

  ** Not available in the European Union

  ***Out of print.

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  DRIFTING NORTH

  It was a wet, bad year on the Old Western Trail. From Red River north and all along was herd after herd waterbound by high water in the rivers. Our outfit lay over nearly a week on the South Canadian, but we were not alone, for there were five other herds waiting for the river to go down. This river had tumbled over her banks for several days, and the driftwood that was coming down would have made it dangerous swimming for cattle.

  We were expected to arrive in Dodge early in June, but when we reached the North Fork of the Canadian, we were two weeks behind time.

  Old George Carter, the owner of the herd, was growing very impatient about us, for he had had no word from us after we had crossed Red River at Doan’s crossing. Other cowmen lying around Dodge, who had herds on the trail, could hear nothing from their men, but in their experience and confidence in their outfits guessed the cause—it was water. Our surprise when we came opposite Camp Supply to have Carter and a stranger ride out to meet us was not to be measured. They had got impatient waiting, and had taken the mail buckboard to Supply, making inquiries along the route for the Hat herd, which had not passed up the trail, so they were assured. Carter was so impatient that he could not wait, as he had a prospective buyer on his hands, and the delay in the appearing of the herd was very annoying to him. Old George was as tickled as a little boy to meet us all.

  The cattle were looking as fine as silk. The lay-overs had rested them. The horses were in good trim, considering the amount of wet weather we had had. Here and there was a negro brand, but these saddle galls were unavoidable when using wet blankets. The cattle were twos and threes. We had left western Texas with a few over thirty-two hundred head and were none shy. We could have counted out more, but on some of them the Hat brand had possibly faded out. We went into a cosy camp early in the evening. Everything needful was at hand, wood, water, and grass. Cowmen in those days prided themselves on their outfits, and Carter was a trifle gone on his men.

  With the cattle on hand, drinking was out of the question, so the only way to show us any regard was to bring us a box of cigars. He must have brought those cigars from Texas, for they were wrapped in a copy of the Fort Worth “Gazette.” It was a month old and full of news. Every man in the outfit read and reread it. There were several train robberies reported in it, but that was common in those days. They had nominated for Governor “The Little Cavalryman,” Sol Ross, and this paper estimated that his majority would be at least two hundred thousand. We were all anxious to get home in time to vote for him.