Wagon Tongue

by Elmer Kelton

A novel by one of a new breed of Western writers tells the story of Isaac Jefford, a black Texas cowboy and former slave who wins the respect of his fellow ranchers--all except for a brash, unrepentant Confederate. Reprint.

Genres: Westerns

167 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published August 1, 1996

About the author

Elmer Kelton (1926-2009) was award-winning author of more than forty novels, including The Time It Never Rained, Other Men’s Horses, Texas Standoff and Hard Trail to Follow. He grew up on a ranch near Crane, Texas, and earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas. His first novel, Hot Iron, was published in 1956. Among his awards have been seven Spurs from Western Writers of America and four Western Heritage awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. His novel The Good Old Boys was made into a television film starring Tommy Lee Jones. In addition to his novels, Kelton worked as an agricultural journalist for 42 years. He served in the infantry in World War II. He died in 2009.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/elmerk...

Reviews

[Chrisl · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in paperback by Bantam in 1972. A Western.
In 1996 TCU Press added it to their 'Texas Tradition' series. The university press edition signaled that it was historical fiction, literature.

Quote from Author's Note:
"During the heyday of the open-range cowboy, the Jim Crow customs of segregation were still very much in effect. A great many men who rode the prairies and went up the long trails were black or of Mexican blood, and more often than not these worked in mixed outfits alongside Anglo cowboys. Many early black cowboys were former slaves, free to come and go more or less as they pleased but never quite so free as the men with whom they rode. Usually they worked together, riding the same rough horses, roping and branding the same snuffy calves, herding the same Longhorn steers northward to Kansas. Often as not the black cowboys were on an easy first-name basis with the rest of the men. Still, at least a trace of the color line always remained. The rules were seldom spoken, but they were understood.

"These men dragged their bedrolls to the edge of camp. When the crew went to the chuck wagon to eat, the minority hands usually waited until last to file by the Dutch overs and fill their plates. They usually sat apart while they ate. If the other men sat on their bedrolls, the black or Mexican hands might find a place on the wagontongue. As Texas folklorist Paul Patterson has noted, the wagontongue was the 'Jim Crow seat' in many a cow camp. ..."
***
The back cover describes the plot :

"As a slave, Isaac Jefford went to war and saved the life of his master, Major Lytton. As a free man, Isaac became one of the major's top cowhands, respected--but never totally accepted--by the fellow cowboys ...

"When Pete Runyan, a bitter southerner, joins the crew, Isaac has to swallow his rage more than once. But then Pete and Isaac are assigned the task of getting cash--profits from the sale of the herd--safely to the Fort Worth bank ... three gunmen on their trail are against them ...

" ... one of Elmer Kelton's classic novels, exploring racial relations on the West Texas plain in the low-key, wry and compassionate voice that characterized Kelton's novels. ..."
***
Had trouble getting interested in this one. Felt like a 'western.'
The 'Afterword by Judy Alter' reinforced the feeling.
"Some authors write the same way throughout their careers ... This may be particularly true of genre or category writers who find a workable pattern--or that dreaded word, formula--and repeat it time after time. One is tempted to name Danielle Steele or Louis L'Amour, both writers for whom success came in grand terms but whose writing demonstrates little growth.
"For others, though, writing is a process, and their work shows continual growth, enlargement, expansion. ... Elmer Kelton is certainly an author whose work has grown in depth and complexity over his forty-year career as a novelist. ...
... "In 1971 Kelton made what critics have variously called his break from formulary novels and his move into the mature novels of his canon. His first hardback novel, 'The Day the Cowboys Quit' ...
It and the novels that have followed use the western setting as a vehicle for studying mankind, rather than as an end in itself, and they are characterized thematically by the moral complexities wrought in men's lives by change and stylistically by a narrative voice that speaks clearly of West Texas and, to those who know him personally, echoes Kelton's own speaking voice.
"Wagontongue falls somewhere in the middle both chronologically and stylistically. ..."
... "Wagontongue fits easily into Frank Gruber's classic seven basic plots of the western: it is a novel of range life and, to a lesser extent, a trail drive novel. It is clearly a masculine novel. ...
"Moreover, like most traditional westerns, it fits the pattern of a morality play. ...
"Finally, many of the men in these pages are one-dimensional and most are fairly anonymous. ..."

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is quite different from his earlier novels. It is gritty, with tension that threatens to boil over at any moment. In many ways, this was a pioneering novel and it’s exploration of race relations and hell it might have felt to be a black cowboy in the 19th century. It was written at a time when most western featured quite or occasionally Hispanic heroes. Having a black man as the protagonist was unusual at the time this book was written. I can’t exactly say that I liked the book because I felt discussed at the bigotry and hatred of the white characters for the black cowboy. So I would say I respect this book more than like it. I like the fact that someone dared to break the mold into try to tell the story of a black man living in those times. Is it perfect? No. It was the start, and it was sort of like Kinley that catches a fire, leading other authors to begin writing about more diverse people in the western setting.

[Clara Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whereas LouisL'Amour did get research on guns and writes about specific weapons used in conquering the west, Kelton researches about social problems that were dealt with in conquering Texas. Wagon-Tongue deals with black cowboys on the trail drives of the late 1880's. There were certain social mores that the black and while cowboys observed.

[Alicia Daughtrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was good but not as good as Kelton’s book The Time It Never Rained.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay western, but not top drawer Kelton. Seemed like a rehash of "The Defiant Ones" with Tony Curtis & Sidney Poiter. However, average Kelton, is better than most writers could hope to accomplish.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story about a former slave who is a trusted ranch hand for Col. Litton. Colonel Litton’s life was saved by Isaac During the Civil War. Suddenly, there is a new horse trainer and hand on the place and he is a very surly man. He especially hates black people Nd never misses an opportunity to disparage Isaac. The other hands despise the new guy at first, but grow to respect him, even though he is no friend
Ire to them than he is to Isaac. This is not GUNSMOKE. This is filled with more realistic depictions of the West…being afraid to walk down the street unarmed, being robbed, being mistreated. I enjoyed the story and the fact that Isaac overcame much diversity to prove himself.

[CindySR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of action, lots of nasty talk about a former slave, now a trusted cowhand on a cattle ranch. He has to constantly prove himself to everyone. I watch a lot of old TV westerns so I could envision the action, but I think some might have trouble figuring out what's happening.

This is not the edition I read, so I didn't get to read the afterword by Judy A.

[Kraig Kinnamon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listed to the Recorded Books audio version of this story. I want to try some more Elmer Kelton!

[Robert Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely entertaining and accurate on culture and way of life based on the setting

[DocHolidavid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book about how men see each other, faith in God, and determination.

[Deedee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened in audio. 2.75 Stars...

[Nathan Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a book written 40 years ago by a white main from West Texas about a black cowboy dealing with racism, it wasn’t bad.

[Phil Lyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elmer Kelton surpassed all awards he has accumulated. Greatness again.

[David Brimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kelton never disappoints! Wagontongue tackles race relations on the western plains with the grace of a master. Not upper echelon Kelton, but close.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read. Not sure how this one was never made into a film.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent western tale set around a cattle drive not long after the Civil War and Reconstruction--when racial tensions were still very evident. I love just about anything Elmer Kelton wrote. This one ends quite predictably and abruptly--but I still enjoyed it.