The End Of The Trail: Western Stories

by Robert E. Howard, Rusty Burke (Introduction)

"I was born in the little ex-cowtown of Peaster [Texas],” Robert E. Howard wrote to a friend, and the first story he ever published (in 1922) was a Western sketch. Although he went on to write hundreds of fantasy tales set in Conan’s Hyborian kingdoms, Kull’s ancient Atlantis, and Solomon Kane’s darkest Africa, his heart always remained in the West. In 1929 he began publishing Western tales, but they were unlike any the genre had ever seen—they didn’t have happy endings or perfect heroes. They were grimmer, more action packed, even cataclysmically violent.
 
Howard was fascinated by outlaws and gunmen, especially those who “crossed over” to become lawmen, and he knew and interviewed many “old-timers—old law officers, trail drivers, cattlemen, buffalo hunters, and pioneers.” The twelve stories collected here show a West stripped down to essentials, where internalized codes of personal honor, loyalty, and courage matter more than laws, progress, or civilization. Also included are four articles, suggestive of his wide-ranging interests—from Billy the Kid to the eerie and unexplained happenings on the frontier.
 
“To me the annals of the land pulse with blood and life,” Howard wrote, and his Western stories are full of memorable characters, heart-pounding action, and the distinctive prose generations of fans have come to know, and expect, and appreciate.

"Introduction" by Rusty Burke
"'Golden Hope' Christmas" 
"Drums of the Sunset"  
"The Extermination of Yellow Donory" 
"The Judgement of the Desert"
"Gunman's Debt" 
"The Man on the Ground" 
"The Sand-Hill's Crest"  (poem)
"The Devil's Joker"
"Knife, Bullet and Noose" 
"Law-Shooters of Cowtown"
"The Last Ride"   (with Robert Enders Allen)
"John Ringold" (poem)
"The Vultures of Wahpeton" 
"The Vultures of Wahpeton"   (alternate ending)
"Vultures' Sanctuary"
"The Dead Remember"
"The Ghost of Camp Colorado" (article)
"The Strange Case of Josiah Wilbarger" (article)
"Beyond the Brazos River" (letter excerpts)
"Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War" 
(letter excerpts)
"The Ballad of Buckshot Roberts" (poem)

Genres: Westerns, Short Stories, Pulp, Anthologies, Adventure

320 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

Robert Ervin Howard was an American pulp writer of fantasy, horror, historical adventure, boxing, western, and detective fiction. Howard wrote "over three-hundred stories and seven-hundred poems of raw power and unbridled emotion" and is especially noted for his memorable depictions of "a sombre universe of swashbuckling adventure and darkling horror."

He is well known for having created—in the pages of the legendary Depression-era pulp magazine Weird Tales—the character Conan the Cimmerian, a.k.a. Conan the Barbarian, a literary icon whose pop-culture imprint can only be compared to such icons as Tarzan of the Apes, Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and James Bond.

—Wikipedia

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Mohammed Abdikhader Firdhiye · Rating 5 out of 5]

The serious, hardcore western stories in this collection fit the writing style of Howard like a glove. Like his horror stories, historical fiction,straight adventure like El Borak does.

The reason i rate this collection so highly are these stories:

"The Vultures of Wahpeton" - I found it to be so full of twists like the best hardboiled PI stories, the gunman turned deputy was great REH hero. Epic,Plot,character,hardboiled sensibility wise its easily the best Howard western i have read. Its like he wrote a hardboiled PI story.

"The Man on the Ground" - A powerful weird western story that show what a master of atmosphere,mood REH was. I got drawn to protagonist feud,his situation so vividly. A great ending.

"Knife, Bullet and Noose" - A really short story but Sonora Kid was a different, young, fun REH hero. He was both hardcore, still not amoral gunman,outlaw like most of other stories.

"Law-Shooters of Cowtown." - I dont like the hero Grizzly Elkins as much as i like John Kirby of Gunman's Debt but this story was so grim. The fist fight in the jail, Grizzly Elkins attacking a mob on his own with his fists was something special to read.

"Gunman's Debt" - A bit traditional western but with REH bent, i liked the hero John Kirby.

[Vincent Darlage · Rating 3 out of 5]

An uneven mix, but given that it includes some early efforts, that is to be expected. The later stories in the book are downright awesome. It's hard to rate a collection of short stories. The best ones should be rated a four or five, but the worst rate a two, easily. I gave it three stars, but some of the stories should be read by any fan of Westerns.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's all about "Vultures of Whapeton" here. One of Howard's best but the collection is a little uneven over all. Not as solid as "Boxing Stories" but "The Black Stranger and Other American Tales" (which does cheat by leading off with a Conan yarn), but it does include a few classic Howard stories.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of Robert E. Howard's more serious western stories. This doesn't include the humorous tales. Many of these are very good, especially the longish Vultures of Whapeton.

[Stuart Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cowboy stories by the author of Conan. No white hats here, these guys are hard men in a hard country. They have their own kind of morality, which means it's OK to shoot some people and OK to steal, but not always. Not every ending is a happy one. The tales are well written with lots of action and sometimes complex plots. Corrupt sheriffs, angry drunks, honest outlaws, even an occasional singing cowboy. Does not make me wish I lived in the Old West.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

The best thing about this lackluster Robert E. Howard collection is the cover (which doesn't actually depict any scene in the book.) Howard may have given the world Conan the Barbarian but also gave the world some really crap Westerns and nonfiction articles about his part of Texas. Incredibly repetitive and stereotypical. The final "stories" are selections from his letters. I had to stop reading there.

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really excellent. Romantic, a little over-wrought, maybe even cliched - but good stuff. The serials in here the strongest, as well as the essay on Billy the Kid. Again, romantic, the stuff of pulp high drama - but awesome.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent unedited collection of Howard's western stories. No one beats Howard for fast paced action. No matter if he is writing about Conan or some cowboy in Texas Howard always sweeps you through the story with his writing. Very recommended