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Sundown Riders #1
North to the Bitterroot
Between Kansas City and Montana Territory were a thousand ways to die-and a few bold men who would never turn back.
Miners dug for fortunes. Soldiers died on open plains. And a few brave men drove the wooden freight wagons into the wild land. Now, master Western novelist Ralph Compton tells the real story of the touch-as-leather men who carried supplies, guns and gold into the untamed frontier.
Dutch Siringo rose from modest beginnings and proved his skill with a team of horses and a gun. Betrayed by a woman, hunted by a desperate man, Dutch led a group of hard-fighting teamsters where no other shippers would go-through the heart of the Sioux territory, into the teeth of winder along the murderous Bozeman Trail. Now, between Fort Kearny and the mining camps in the Bitterroot Mountains, Dutch and his teamsters faced Montana blizzards, hungry wolves and the kind of enemies you have to bury to outrun.
Miners dug for fortunes. Soldiers died on open plains. And a few brave men drove the wooden freight wagons into the wild land. Now, master Western novelist Ralph Compton tells the real story of the touch-as-leather men who carried supplies, guns and gold into the untamed frontier.
Dutch Siringo rose from modest beginnings and proved his skill with a team of horses and a gun. Betrayed by a woman, hunted by a desperate man, Dutch led a group of hard-fighting teamsters where no other shippers would go-through the heart of the Sioux territory, into the teeth of winder along the murderous Bozeman Trail. Now, between Fort Kearny and the mining camps in the Bitterroot Mountains, Dutch and his teamsters faced Montana blizzards, hungry wolves and the kind of enemies you have to bury to outrun.
- GenresWesterns
339 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 1996
17 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Ralph Compton
247 books84 followersRalph Compton (April 11, 1934—September 16, 1998) was an American writer of western fiction.
A native of St. Clair County, Alabama, Compton began his writing career with a notable work, The Goodnight Trail, which was chosen as a finalist for the Western Writers of America "Medicine Pipe Bearer Award" bestowed upon the "Best Debut Novel". He was also the author of the Sundown Rider series and the Border Empire series. In the last decade of his life, he authored more than two dozen novels, some of which made it onto the USA Today bestseller list for fiction.
Ralph Compton died in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 64. Since his passing, Signet Books has continued the author's legacy, releasing new novels, written by authors such as Joseph A. West and David Robbins, under Compton's byline.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/ralphc...
A native of St. Clair County, Alabama, Compton began his writing career with a notable work, The Goodnight Trail, which was chosen as a finalist for the Western Writers of America "Medicine Pipe Bearer Award" bestowed upon the "Best Debut Novel". He was also the author of the Sundown Rider series and the Border Empire series. In the last decade of his life, he authored more than two dozen novels, some of which made it onto the USA Today bestseller list for fiction.
Ralph Compton died in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 64. Since his passing, Signet Books has continued the author's legacy, releasing new novels, written by authors such as Joseph A. West and David Robbins, under Compton's byline.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/ralphc...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 8, 2020
Basically a re-read, plucked out of my library, have always liked Ralph Compton's writing, have read but a handful of his books, published before his death and decided to leave reviews for them.
The setting of 'North to the Bitterroot' starts in Kansas City, Missouri takes you to Montana Territory, gives you a pretty realistic look at how freighting goods happened in the old West, in winter and the hardship the freighters faced.
You have some great characters in this one, likable and Compton brings them vividly to life. Dutch, the crew he worked with at Beckwith Freighting now co-owners with his company, Pawnee, Bonita, Collins, Christie just to name a few.
What made this story so good, is that I read this one as if I was Dutch but the only two thing to change would be to leave out Sheriff Henry Plummer just do a gang and have Christie kill Sneed.
Also left me speculating, if they never rescued and saved Pawnee's life. Would they have made it to the gold fields in the Bitterroot Mountains in Montana territory without him? Between the gang following them, the Sioux, all the winter storms created obstacles they needed to over come. Think this is an element in the story that makes it all work.
Forget your worries! What's better than a good verse evil themed book, sitting on a wagon box, beating the odds freighting in the dead of winter and who knows you might find yourself a fan of one of the smallest yet the loyalest genre in reading. Being the Western genre.
The setting of 'North to the Bitterroot' starts in Kansas City, Missouri takes you to Montana Territory, gives you a pretty realistic look at how freighting goods happened in the old West, in winter and the hardship the freighters faced.
You have some great characters in this one, likable and Compton brings them vividly to life. Dutch, the crew he worked with at Beckwith Freighting now co-owners with his company, Pawnee, Bonita, Collins, Christie just to name a few.
What made this story so good, is that I read this one as if I was Dutch but the only two thing to change would be to leave out Sheriff Henry Plummer just do a gang and have Christie kill Sneed.
Also left me speculating, if they never rescued and saved Pawnee's life. Would they have made it to the gold fields in the Bitterroot Mountains in Montana territory without him? Between the gang following them, the Sioux, all the winter storms created obstacles they needed to over come. Think this is an element in the story that makes it all work.
Forget your worries! What's better than a good verse evil themed book, sitting on a wagon box, beating the odds freighting in the dead of winter and who knows you might find yourself a fan of one of the smallest yet the loyalest genre in reading. Being the Western genre.
January 16, 2023
Great story
Very good book full of action something different nice long read excellently written full of excitement from start to finish great book
Very good book full of action something different nice long read excellently written full of excitement from start to finish great book
April 25, 2015
Great reading. Loved the story...
Full of suspense and the unknown. The story kept you guessing and leading you more and more to the final end.
Full of suspense and the unknown. The story kept you guessing and leading you more and more to the final end.
April 22, 2016
Good Western. Lots of action and a good story.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews