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The Ranch at The Wolverine
• Two of B.M. Bower's Wild West Classics are in this Kindle eBook: The Ranch at The Wolverine (1914) & The Lure of the Dim Trails (1907)
The Ranch at The Wolverine (1914)
A story about gold-panning, cattle rustling, hardship and heartache.
The Lure of the Dim Trails (1907)
Phil Thurston was born on the range. When he was five, after his father's death, he grew up in the city and became a writer. But he always longed for the Wild West and returns to discover what is important in his life.
About The Author
American author Bertha Muzzy Sinclair (1871–1940) was known by her pen name B. M. Bower. She wrote novels and screenplays, mainly about the American Wild West. Her books featured cowboys, cowpunchers and cows of the Flying U Ranch in Montana. She wrote about working cowboys usually on western ranches, with the occasional visit of an eastern types. Her books were known for their factual attention to detail such as cattle branding.
She grew up in Otter Tail County, MN and lived in Big Sandy, Montana. At one point she was married to fellow author Bertrand William Sinclair. Several of her dozens of western books were turned into Hollywood films. Her novels include:
The Lonesome Trail: 1904
The Range Dwellers: 1906
The Lure of the Dim Trails: 1907
The Long Shadow 1908
Her Prairie Knight: 1909
Rowdy of the Cross L: 1912
Good Indian: 1912
Lonesome Land: 1912
The Gringos: 1913
The Uphill Climb: 1913
Jean of The Lazy ‘A’: 1915
The Ranch at the Wolverine: 1914
The Phantom Herd: 1916
The Heritage of the Sioux: 1916
The Lookout Man: 1917
Starr of the Desert: 1917
Cabin Fever: 1918
Rim O' the World: 1919
The Quirt: 1920
Casey Ryan: 1921
Cow Country: 1921
The Trail of the White Mule: 1922
Chip of the Flying U: 1906
The Happy Family: 1910
Flying U Ranch: 1914
The Flying U's Last Stand: 1915
The Thunder Bird: 1919
The Ranch at The Wolverine (1914)
A story about gold-panning, cattle rustling, hardship and heartache.
The Lure of the Dim Trails (1907)
Phil Thurston was born on the range. When he was five, after his father's death, he grew up in the city and became a writer. But he always longed for the Wild West and returns to discover what is important in his life.
About The Author
American author Bertha Muzzy Sinclair (1871–1940) was known by her pen name B. M. Bower. She wrote novels and screenplays, mainly about the American Wild West. Her books featured cowboys, cowpunchers and cows of the Flying U Ranch in Montana. She wrote about working cowboys usually on western ranches, with the occasional visit of an eastern types. Her books were known for their factual attention to detail such as cattle branding.
She grew up in Otter Tail County, MN and lived in Big Sandy, Montana. At one point she was married to fellow author Bertrand William Sinclair. Several of her dozens of western books were turned into Hollywood films. Her novels include:
The Lonesome Trail: 1904
The Range Dwellers: 1906
The Lure of the Dim Trails: 1907
The Long Shadow 1908
Her Prairie Knight: 1909
Rowdy of the Cross L: 1912
Good Indian: 1912
Lonesome Land: 1912
The Gringos: 1913
The Uphill Climb: 1913
Jean of The Lazy ‘A’: 1915
The Ranch at the Wolverine: 1914
The Phantom Herd: 1916
The Heritage of the Sioux: 1916
The Lookout Man: 1917
Starr of the Desert: 1917
Cabin Fever: 1918
Rim O' the World: 1919
The Quirt: 1920
Casey Ryan: 1921
Cow Country: 1921
The Trail of the White Mule: 1922
Chip of the Flying U: 1906
The Happy Family: 1910
Flying U Ranch: 1914
The Flying U's Last Stand: 1915
The Thunder Bird: 1919
223 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1914
52 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
B.M. Bower
565 books25 followersBertha Muzzy Sinclair or Sinclair-Cowan, née Muzzy, best known by her pseudonym B. M. Bower, was an American author who wrote novels, fictional short stories, and screenplays about the American Old West. Her works, featuring cowboys and cows of the Flying R Ranch in Montana, reflected "an interest in ranch life, the use of working cowboys as main characters (even in romantic plots), the occasional appearance of eastern types for the sake of contrast, a sense of western geography as simultaneously harsh and grand, and a good deal of factual attention to such matters as cattle branding and bronc busting.
Born Bertha Muzzy in Otter Tail County, MN and living her early years in Big Sandy, Montana, she was married three times: to Clayton Bower, in 1890; to Bertrand William Sinclair,(also a Western author) in 1912; and to Robert Elsworth Cowan, in 1921. Bower's 1912 novel Lonesome Land was praised in The Bookman magazine for its characterization. She wrote 57 Western novels, several of which were turned into films.
Born Bertha Muzzy in Otter Tail County, MN and living her early years in Big Sandy, Montana, she was married three times: to Clayton Bower, in 1890; to Bertrand William Sinclair,(also a Western author) in 1912; and to Robert Elsworth Cowan, in 1921. Bower's 1912 novel Lonesome Land was praised in The Bookman magazine for its characterization. She wrote 57 Western novels, several of which were turned into films.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 7, 2022
July 19, 2020 ~~ I found a print edition of this book and am starting it tonight! I am sure that nothing will need to be added to this review when I am done except reading dates and a couple of more sighs for the hero's voice. lol
Jul 23, 2020 ~~ Yep, nothing to add, still loved both the story and the hero's voice. Sigh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
I have been gradually working my way through the list of Bower titles at Gutenberg, reading by their original publication dates. This 1914 book is number 14 of 29, and my favorite so far. And yes, I know I have said that about nearly every Bower title as I've gone along, but this one inspired me to a five star rating so I must really mean it this time!
I liked everything about this story, from the people to the horses, from the romance to the mystery. I laughed, I got teary-eyed, I held my breath, I puzzled over strange events as much as the people in the book did. And I sighed, giant-sized sighs for a hero who could speak to the woman he loved "in a voice that was like a spoken kiss." And that was just when he was saying hello!
Bower introduces us first to the Idaho countryside itself, along the Wolverine river, where a pioneer couple decide to make their home. Years later another family moves in a bit further downriver, and that is when our main character arrives on the scene.
" Do you like children? In other words, are you human? Then I want you to meet Billy Louise when she was ten and had lived all her life among the rocks and the sage and the stunted cedars and huge, gray hills of Idaho. Meet her with her pink sunbonnet hanging down the back of her neck and her big eyes taking in the squalidness of Marthy's crude kitchen in the Cove, and her terrible directness of speech hitting squarely the things she saw that were different from her own immaculate home. Of course, if you don't care for children, you may skip a chapter and meet her later when she was eighteen—but I really wish you would consent to know her at ten."
By the end of Chapter One Billy Louise is eighteen and has given up her childhood 'pretend' play and her schooling in order to run the ranch after her father dies in an accident. She still goes over to visit Marthy often and on the way home one winter day she meets a young cowboy who is homesteading a few miles from her own ranch. He is on his way to a friend's place 18 miles away, but a blizzard changes his plans and he ends up staying with Billy Louise and her mother for the winter, as hired man.
But our hero has a secret that sends him into long silent times of staring into space. Billy Louise feels sorry for him, but also annoyed that he can spend so much time in their cabin lost in either a book or his own thoughts. But one evening she accidentally triggers an unexpected reaction that leads to Ward Warren telling her all about his past. But he just tells her, the reader doesn't get to hear any of the details. This baring of his soul creates a bond between them that she feels but is too naive to recognize. But he knows he is in love. Hence those greetings that were like spoken kisses. Sigh.
Of course the book is not all romance. Events begin that might (or might not) have to do with that mysterious past Ward told Billy Louise about, some people die, others show their true character or lack thereof. There are wolves to deal with (human and animal), a perfect revenge to be had, gold to be discovered, some missing cattle, and even some found cattle for Blue the horse to chase:
"Blue had caught sight of the moving specks far down next the river and up the stream half a mile or more. He was a cow-horse to the bone. He knew those far-off specks for cattle, and he knew that his lady would like a closer look at them. That's what cattle were made for: to haze out of brush and rocks and gullies and drive somewhere. So far as Blue knew, cattle were a game. You hunted them out of ungodly places, and the game was to make them go somewhere else against their wishes. He prided himself on being able to play that game, no matter what were the odds against him."
But with all if this going on, I have to admit I enjoyed the relationship between Billy Louise and Ward most of all. And oddly enough, when Billy Louise was a solitary girl still playing 'pretend' she had discovered a paragraph in one of her father's newspapers that told about Ward Warren and the things he had done. She had saved that clipping because she liked the name, and she created an imaginary hero to use in her games with her other imaginary playmate Minervy. She confessed this to him, and one day they are out riding together and she showed him where she used to play:
And she had the doubtful satisfaction of seeing him doubled over the saddle-horn in a paroxysm of laughter when she led him to the historical washout and recounted the feat of the dead Indians with which he had made a safe passing for her.
"Well, they did it in history," she defended at last, her cheeks redder than was perfectly normal. "I read about it—at Waterloo when the Duke of Wellington—wasn't it? You needn't laugh as if it couldn't be done. It was that sunken-road business put it into my head in the first place; and I think you ought to feel flattered."
"I do," gasped Ward, wiping his eyes. "Say, I was some bandit, wasn't I, William Louisa?"
Billy Louise looked at him sidewise. "No, you weren't any bandit at all—then. You were a kind scout, that time. I was here, all surrounded by Indians and saying the Lord's prayer with my hair all down my back like mommie's Rock of Ages picture—will you shut up laughing?—and you came riding up that draw over there on a big, black horse named Sultan (You needn't snort; I still think Sultan's a dandy name for a horse!). And you hollered to me to get behind that rock, over there. And I quit at 'Forgive us our debts'—daddy always had so many!—and hiked for the rock. And you commenced shooting— Oh, I'm not going to tell you a single other pretend!" She sulked then, which was quite as diverting as the most hair-raising "pretend" she had ever told him and held
Ward's attention unflaggingly until they were half way home.
I can't help it, I think this is cute. And it is exactly the sort of thing I would have done. Well, except for telling my real life hero about it. I don't think I am heroine enough for that even yet.
I loved this book and have already started the next one on the list, because it will take me back to the Flying U Ranch where I have spent many wonderful hours in other volumes. I am very happy to have discovered Bower's books and I'm glad I have another year's worth of titles to read!
Jul 23, 2020 ~~ Yep, nothing to add, still loved both the story and the hero's voice. Sigh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
I have been gradually working my way through the list of Bower titles at Gutenberg, reading by their original publication dates. This 1914 book is number 14 of 29, and my favorite so far. And yes, I know I have said that about nearly every Bower title as I've gone along, but this one inspired me to a five star rating so I must really mean it this time!
I liked everything about this story, from the people to the horses, from the romance to the mystery. I laughed, I got teary-eyed, I held my breath, I puzzled over strange events as much as the people in the book did. And I sighed, giant-sized sighs for a hero who could speak to the woman he loved "in a voice that was like a spoken kiss." And that was just when he was saying hello!
Bower introduces us first to the Idaho countryside itself, along the Wolverine river, where a pioneer couple decide to make their home. Years later another family moves in a bit further downriver, and that is when our main character arrives on the scene.
" Do you like children? In other words, are you human? Then I want you to meet Billy Louise when she was ten and had lived all her life among the rocks and the sage and the stunted cedars and huge, gray hills of Idaho. Meet her with her pink sunbonnet hanging down the back of her neck and her big eyes taking in the squalidness of Marthy's crude kitchen in the Cove, and her terrible directness of speech hitting squarely the things she saw that were different from her own immaculate home. Of course, if you don't care for children, you may skip a chapter and meet her later when she was eighteen—but I really wish you would consent to know her at ten."
By the end of Chapter One Billy Louise is eighteen and has given up her childhood 'pretend' play and her schooling in order to run the ranch after her father dies in an accident. She still goes over to visit Marthy often and on the way home one winter day she meets a young cowboy who is homesteading a few miles from her own ranch. He is on his way to a friend's place 18 miles away, but a blizzard changes his plans and he ends up staying with Billy Louise and her mother for the winter, as hired man.
But our hero has a secret that sends him into long silent times of staring into space. Billy Louise feels sorry for him, but also annoyed that he can spend so much time in their cabin lost in either a book or his own thoughts. But one evening she accidentally triggers an unexpected reaction that leads to Ward Warren telling her all about his past. But he just tells her, the reader doesn't get to hear any of the details. This baring of his soul creates a bond between them that she feels but is too naive to recognize. But he knows he is in love. Hence those greetings that were like spoken kisses. Sigh.
Of course the book is not all romance. Events begin that might (or might not) have to do with that mysterious past Ward told Billy Louise about, some people die, others show their true character or lack thereof. There are wolves to deal with (human and animal), a perfect revenge to be had, gold to be discovered, some missing cattle, and even some found cattle for Blue the horse to chase:
"Blue had caught sight of the moving specks far down next the river and up the stream half a mile or more. He was a cow-horse to the bone. He knew those far-off specks for cattle, and he knew that his lady would like a closer look at them. That's what cattle were made for: to haze out of brush and rocks and gullies and drive somewhere. So far as Blue knew, cattle were a game. You hunted them out of ungodly places, and the game was to make them go somewhere else against their wishes. He prided himself on being able to play that game, no matter what were the odds against him."
But with all if this going on, I have to admit I enjoyed the relationship between Billy Louise and Ward most of all. And oddly enough, when Billy Louise was a solitary girl still playing 'pretend' she had discovered a paragraph in one of her father's newspapers that told about Ward Warren and the things he had done. She had saved that clipping because she liked the name, and she created an imaginary hero to use in her games with her other imaginary playmate Minervy. She confessed this to him, and one day they are out riding together and she showed him where she used to play:
And she had the doubtful satisfaction of seeing him doubled over the saddle-horn in a paroxysm of laughter when she led him to the historical washout and recounted the feat of the dead Indians with which he had made a safe passing for her.
"Well, they did it in history," she defended at last, her cheeks redder than was perfectly normal. "I read about it—at Waterloo when the Duke of Wellington—wasn't it? You needn't laugh as if it couldn't be done. It was that sunken-road business put it into my head in the first place; and I think you ought to feel flattered."
"I do," gasped Ward, wiping his eyes. "Say, I was some bandit, wasn't I, William Louisa?"
Billy Louise looked at him sidewise. "No, you weren't any bandit at all—then. You were a kind scout, that time. I was here, all surrounded by Indians and saying the Lord's prayer with my hair all down my back like mommie's Rock of Ages picture—will you shut up laughing?—and you came riding up that draw over there on a big, black horse named Sultan (You needn't snort; I still think Sultan's a dandy name for a horse!). And you hollered to me to get behind that rock, over there. And I quit at 'Forgive us our debts'—daddy always had so many!—and hiked for the rock. And you commenced shooting— Oh, I'm not going to tell you a single other pretend!" She sulked then, which was quite as diverting as the most hair-raising "pretend" she had ever told him and held
Ward's attention unflaggingly until they were half way home.
I can't help it, I think this is cute. And it is exactly the sort of thing I would have done. Well, except for telling my real life hero about it. I don't think I am heroine enough for that even yet.
I loved this book and have already started the next one on the list, because it will take me back to the Flying U Ranch where I have spent many wonderful hours in other volumes. I am very happy to have discovered Bower's books and I'm glad I have another year's worth of titles to read!
December 8, 2020
My previous "cowboy" book was rather a disappointment, and I gave up on it. However, some kind soul on GoodReads convinced me not to give up and suggested I try this effort from Bower. It was much better, and interesting enough that finishing it was no chore. It deserves a plus on the 3*s.
Anyway, we have some remote place in Idaho. Marthy and Jase Meilke find a pleasant valley into which to settle. Jase is rather a lazy bum, so most of the work falls to Marthy. A few years later on, the MacDonald's settle in the area, and, eventually have a daughter whom they name Billie Louise. Billie Louise's father wanted a son, the mother was happy with a daughter, hence the split name.
Well, Billie Louise grows up. She becomes a sort of surrogate daughter for Marthy, who had lost her only child, a daughter named Minervy. Billie Louise played lots of games with her imaginary friend, Minervy, and also with an imaginary man named Ward Warren, a name she found interesting after reading about such a person in an old newspaper.
Well, some years later, Billie Louise is grown up and is essentially running the MacDonald ranch, because her father had passed away. One night, in a snow storm, she comes upon a stranger, and guides him to shelter at her house. Big surprise, the guy is Ward Warren, and he's obviously got a lot of things to hide.
Eventually, Ward Warren files a claim some ten or so miles away. A dashing young man named Charlie Fox comes out west to help Marthy on her ranch.
So, then we get lots of flirting between Ward Warren and Billie Louise. It was a bit silly, but not so abominable as the flirting in The Thunderbird, so was bearable. We also get some hints as to whether or not Ward Warren had a sketchy past, whether or not Charlie Fox is on the up and up, and so forth. Oh yeah, there's cattle rustling as well. Over all, this was a pretty GoodRead.
3½* were that possible.
Anyway, we have some remote place in Idaho. Marthy and Jase Meilke find a pleasant valley into which to settle. Jase is rather a lazy bum, so most of the work falls to Marthy. A few years later on, the MacDonald's settle in the area, and, eventually have a daughter whom they name Billie Louise. Billie Louise's father wanted a son, the mother was happy with a daughter, hence the split name.
Well, Billie Louise grows up. She becomes a sort of surrogate daughter for Marthy, who had lost her only child, a daughter named Minervy. Billie Louise played lots of games with her imaginary friend, Minervy, and also with an imaginary man named Ward Warren, a name she found interesting after reading about such a person in an old newspaper.
Well, some years later, Billie Louise is grown up and is essentially running the MacDonald ranch, because her father had passed away. One night, in a snow storm, she comes upon a stranger, and guides him to shelter at her house. Big surprise, the guy is Ward Warren, and he's obviously got a lot of things to hide.
Eventually, Ward Warren files a claim some ten or so miles away. A dashing young man named Charlie Fox comes out west to help Marthy on her ranch.
So, then we get lots of flirting between Ward Warren and Billie Louise. It was a bit silly, but not so abominable as the flirting in The Thunderbird, so was bearable. We also get some hints as to whether or not Ward Warren had a sketchy past, whether or not Charlie Fox is on the up and up, and so forth. Oh yeah, there's cattle rustling as well. Over all, this was a pretty GoodRead.
3½* were that possible.
January 12, 2018
I loved this story! It has all the ingredients of fantasy, romance, adventure and danger. Billy Louise has been pioneering with her ma and pa, to Ihio where they find a nice place to 'start out'. Billy Louise was expected to be born a boy but she was all girl. Pa wanted his boy and ma wanted her girl and they each got what they wanted in the little package, full of adventure and fantasy.
As she grows she befriends their closest neighbor who soon settles after them, nearby (if you can call 15 miles nearby) in the form of a tough-task master wife, pushing her passive and rather lazy husband along this harsh pioneering land.
As Billy Louise grows up, she creates the perfect hero in her mind (named Ward Warren) to help her while away the days with daring rescues and fights with those imaginary ingun's (Indian's) until one day, when she is a young woman, Ward Warren comes walking into her life bold as brass and real as the harsh land around her.
The story rolls into her adulthood where cattle rustling begins to happen and Ward Warren's dark past sheds him in a light where he becomes suspect number 1. But because of Billy Louise's love and integrity she tries to protect him and help him through this attack on his character, with unpredictable results.
I highly recommend this involved book. The story line is never dull and so much fun and adventure is jam packed within.
As she grows she befriends their closest neighbor who soon settles after them, nearby (if you can call 15 miles nearby) in the form of a tough-task master wife, pushing her passive and rather lazy husband along this harsh pioneering land.
As Billy Louise grows up, she creates the perfect hero in her mind (named Ward Warren) to help her while away the days with daring rescues and fights with those imaginary ingun's (Indian's) until one day, when she is a young woman, Ward Warren comes walking into her life bold as brass and real as the harsh land around her.
The story rolls into her adulthood where cattle rustling begins to happen and Ward Warren's dark past sheds him in a light where he becomes suspect number 1. But because of Billy Louise's love and integrity she tries to protect him and help him through this attack on his character, with unpredictable results.
I highly recommend this involved book. The story line is never dull and so much fun and adventure is jam packed within.
February 25, 2023
Bower is one of my go to authors when I’m mentally tired and worn. Reading her books is a bit like cuddling up by a fireplace with blankets. The only thing about her that doesn’t leave me happy is her casual racism. It’s not as bad as most old westerns, but it’s still bad enough.
September 27, 2023
Pure Reading Enjoyment
This story is excellent ❗️The characters are people i'd love to have as neighbors. They are rugged, hard working, take the bull by the horns kinda people with hearts as big as the moon filled to the brim and runnin over with Love for life and everyone.
This story is excellent ❗️The characters are people i'd love to have as neighbors. They are rugged, hard working, take the bull by the horns kinda people with hearts as big as the moon filled to the brim and runnin over with Love for life and everyone.
March 4, 2020
Bertha Muzzy Bower was a new author to me. This was a very enjoyable story with some mystery, some romance, and some action. I like these characters, particularly the protagonist Billy Louise. It feels like a great portrait of rural Idaho in the very early 20th Century.
April 14, 2013
I've only rated this three stars because I didn't enjoy this much at all. It's just okay. However, I don't think that that's necessarily because there's anything wrong with this book. I think it's because I just didn't like it that much and it isn't to my taste. It's a western and although I do love a good western, this one was just a bit too western for me, if you see what I mean. It was written with "broad strokes and bold colours", which the author asserts is the only way to portray the wild west of the time. This might be the case, certainly it would be an extreme place to live and survive in, but it was just a bit too much for me. There were some good characters in the story, but overall, I liked the horses - who were all strong characters in their own rights - more than the actual people. The character of Billy Louise and Marthy during Billy's childhood years at the very beginning was also a strong point. If you do like westerns, you will probably like this. There's a bit of everything after all - gold-panning, cattle rustling, horse-breaking, extreme weather and hardship. Plus it's free on kindle so you haven't got anything to lose.
August 15, 2015
It was unexpectedly awesome, very romantic and dreamy; I really appreciated the writer's style. Naive, naturally, but it didn't prevent me from enjoying it - in fact, I never noticed that. Not before finishing the book, not before finding the happy ending, which does not exactly fit.
Anyway, if you want to believe in love once more, that's just what you need.
Anyway, if you want to believe in love once more, that's just what you need.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews