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Hewey Calloway #3
Six Bits a Day
Hewey Calloway, the best-loved cowboy in all of Western fiction, returns in this novel of his younger years as he and his beloved brother Walter leave the family farm in 1889 to find work in the West Texas cow country.The brothers are polar opposites. Walter pines for a sedate life as a farmer, with wife and children; Hewey is a fiddle-footed cowboy content to work at six bits--75 cents--a day on the Pecos River ranch owned by the penny-pinching C.C. Tarpley. Hewey, who "usually accepted the vagaries of life without getting his underwear in a twist", is fun-loving and whiskey-drinking. He spends every penny he earns and regularly gets into trouble with his boss--and occasionally with the law--often dragging innocent Walter along.When Walter falls in love with a boarding house girl and begins dreaming of a farmer's life, Hewey jumps at the chance to rescue him from this fate worse than death. He convinces Walter to join him on a mission for Tarpley, driving 600 head of cattle from beyond San Antonio to the Double-C ranch on the Pecos.The journey is both memorable and dangerous: a murderous outlaw is searching for Hewey; and another ruthless character is determined to sabotage the cattle drive. When the drovers reach the Pecos they find Boss Tarpley in the midst of a vicious range feud with Eli Jessup, a neighboring cowman. Hewey and his brother Walter have to get the herd safely across Jessup's land-but how?The events of Six Bits a Day precede those of Kelton's best-selling The Good Old Boys (1978, transformed into the memorable 1995 movie starring Tommy Lee Jones and Sissy Spacek), and The Smiling Country (Forge, 1998).
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First published November 1, 2005
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About the author
Elmer Kelton
196 books257 followersElmer 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
April 25, 2023
REREAD
June 2014 is when I added the book at the time that I joined Goodreads, but I did not write a review then. I reread it this past November and posted my review today, December 25, 2022. And now I'm off to my third Christmas dinner in three days. Merry Christmas, everyone, or whatever holiday you celebrate.
I haven’t read all of Elmer Kelton’s forty books, but I’ve read about thirty of them and I like some more than others, but I have never read a bad one.
Among my favorites are the novels comprising the Hewey Calloway trilogy: The Good Old Boys (1982); The Smiling Country (1998); and Six Bits a Day (2005).
That’s the order in which they were published, but it isn’t the chronological periods in which they are set, for The Smiling Country is a sequel and Six Bits a Day, the subject of this review, is a prequel.
In Six Bits a Day we learn the back stories of the Calloway brothers: Hewey, at age twenty-two, and Walter, who is a year younger. In the year 1889, they have put the farming life in east Texas behind them, at least Hewey has, and have traveled to west Texas to become cowboys, at least Hewey wants to.
The brothers have different outlooks on life and do not share the same goals. Hewey is carefree, fun-loving, can’t remember how old he is, and can’t shoot straight.
But as a Kirkus reviewer wrote: “One has to appreciate a Western whose hero is so bad with a revolver that he couldn’t hit water if he was standing knee deep in a lake.”
Walter, on the other hand, has a more practical nature and is more grounded. He’s already tired of the wandering life and wants to settle down, especially after he meets Eve, a pretty girl working at a boarding house, whom he falls for like a ton of bricks, and tells Hewey that he is going to marry. Hewey feels that it is his obligation as the older brother (he’s not sure about how much older) to rescue Walter from a fate worse than death. If you have read The Good Old Boys you know if he succeeded or not.
Meanwhile, they are hired on by a tough, big rancher, and skinflint named C.C. Tarpley and because the brothers are rank amateurs when it comes to cowboying they are paid six bits a day (75 cents) rather than the going rate of a dollar a day.
The reader also learns C.C. Tarpley’s back story, a character whose name is familiar to readers of The Good Old Boys and The Smiling Country, and they will get the back stories of practically every character that appears in the other two books, including Snort Yarnell and Fat Gervin.
Hewey, as expected, gets himself into some scrapes of his own making and that of others, but through his wit and mostly dumb luck, he escapes, tattered at the edges, but more or less unscathed.
Like the other two books in the trilogy, this is not a shoot-em up Western. There is very little gunplay, and that’s a good thing for Hewey, because he would not have survived. It is also a little shy on plot, but that’s not a bad thing, since Kelton provides color and humor and memorable characterizations, along with the good writing that is the hallmark of his work.
It is my least favorite of the three books, but it’s still a 5-star read for me – and that ain’t bad atall.
.
June 2014 is when I added the book at the time that I joined Goodreads, but I did not write a review then. I reread it this past November and posted my review today, December 25, 2022. And now I'm off to my third Christmas dinner in three days. Merry Christmas, everyone, or whatever holiday you celebrate.
I haven’t read all of Elmer Kelton’s forty books, but I’ve read about thirty of them and I like some more than others, but I have never read a bad one.
Among my favorites are the novels comprising the Hewey Calloway trilogy: The Good Old Boys (1982); The Smiling Country (1998); and Six Bits a Day (2005).
That’s the order in which they were published, but it isn’t the chronological periods in which they are set, for The Smiling Country is a sequel and Six Bits a Day, the subject of this review, is a prequel.
In Six Bits a Day we learn the back stories of the Calloway brothers: Hewey, at age twenty-two, and Walter, who is a year younger. In the year 1889, they have put the farming life in east Texas behind them, at least Hewey has, and have traveled to west Texas to become cowboys, at least Hewey wants to.
The brothers have different outlooks on life and do not share the same goals. Hewey is carefree, fun-loving, can’t remember how old he is, and can’t shoot straight.
But as a Kirkus reviewer wrote: “One has to appreciate a Western whose hero is so bad with a revolver that he couldn’t hit water if he was standing knee deep in a lake.”
Walter, on the other hand, has a more practical nature and is more grounded. He’s already tired of the wandering life and wants to settle down, especially after he meets Eve, a pretty girl working at a boarding house, whom he falls for like a ton of bricks, and tells Hewey that he is going to marry. Hewey feels that it is his obligation as the older brother (he’s not sure about how much older) to rescue Walter from a fate worse than death. If you have read The Good Old Boys you know if he succeeded or not.
Meanwhile, they are hired on by a tough, big rancher, and skinflint named C.C. Tarpley and because the brothers are rank amateurs when it comes to cowboying they are paid six bits a day (75 cents) rather than the going rate of a dollar a day.
The reader also learns C.C. Tarpley’s back story, a character whose name is familiar to readers of The Good Old Boys and The Smiling Country, and they will get the back stories of practically every character that appears in the other two books, including Snort Yarnell and Fat Gervin.
Hewey, as expected, gets himself into some scrapes of his own making and that of others, but through his wit and mostly dumb luck, he escapes, tattered at the edges, but more or less unscathed.
Like the other two books in the trilogy, this is not a shoot-em up Western. There is very little gunplay, and that’s a good thing for Hewey, because he would not have survived. It is also a little shy on plot, but that’s not a bad thing, since Kelton provides color and humor and memorable characterizations, along with the good writing that is the hallmark of his work.
It is my least favorite of the three books, but it’s still a 5-star read for me – and that ain’t bad atall.
.
January 17, 2018
SIX BITS A DAY by Elmer Kelton features two brothers Hewey and Walter Calloway who leave their home on the farm to strike off on their own, yet with plans sketchy at best, and find themselves working for the measly sum of.. well, as the title suggests, ‘six bits a day’ after being hired on the spot by a group that seems to be more interested in the speed of the cattle drive than the health and condition of the herd, something that makes Hewey suspicious that all is not as represented by his employer.
Soon thereafter they find their suspicions have been well founded, and they are apprehended as cattle rustlers, which requires some sorting out with the assistance of a lawman they crossed paths with before joining the drive, who vouches for their innocence and asks Hewey to testify against the outlaws, something that makes Hewey spend many a restless night with nightmares as a result.
Typical western novel, and while it’s enjoyable, it doesn’t measure up to Kelton’s other novels such as The Time It Never Rained or The Day the Cowboys Quit, but not many books do. Still, it’s worth 4 stars in my book.
Soon thereafter they find their suspicions have been well founded, and they are apprehended as cattle rustlers, which requires some sorting out with the assistance of a lawman they crossed paths with before joining the drive, who vouches for their innocence and asks Hewey to testify against the outlaws, something that makes Hewey spend many a restless night with nightmares as a result.
Typical western novel, and while it’s enjoyable, it doesn’t measure up to Kelton’s other novels such as The Time It Never Rained or The Day the Cowboys Quit, but not many books do. Still, it’s worth 4 stars in my book.
June 24, 2020
Every once in a while, I like to change up my reading list and dip into an old favorite genre which for me is Westerns. I read lots of them in high school along with mysteries. Elmer Kelton is an author of Westerns I have previously enjoyed reading. He employs a smooth, fluent prose style and knows how to tell an intriguing story. His characters--in this title it's a pair of twentysomething brothers who couldn't be much more different--are well drawn, sturdy, and likeable. The male humor is an extra feature to entertain me. It's usually banter and no real curse words used as well as I can recall. I hope I can return to Mr. Kelton's Westerns again.
April 26, 2021
"A little danger flavors up your life, like salt flavors the beans. Just a pinch, though. Too much spoils the pot."
Hewey wants to be a cowboy, free as the wind. His brother Walter would like nothing better than to get married and be a farmer. Before they both get what they want adventure ensues.
There are too many characters but the main ones are lovable and there is a lot of humor in the story. Kelton is one of the best.
eta: Just so you know, one of the main characters is Gabe, a buffalo soldier, who is subject to racial slurs and prejudicial treatment in the story.
Hewey wants to be a cowboy, free as the wind. His brother Walter would like nothing better than to get married and be a farmer. Before they both get what they want adventure ensues.
There are too many characters but the main ones are lovable and there is a lot of humor in the story. Kelton is one of the best.
eta: Just so you know, one of the main characters is Gabe, a buffalo soldier, who is subject to racial slurs and prejudicial treatment in the story.
December 11, 2016
Six Bits a Day Elmer Kelton
A western that is true to cowboy life. Hewey Calaway and his brother Walter leave their east Texas cotton farm and head west to become cowboys. Hired by an old rancher they are sent south to bring a heard back to the ranch. Kelton is my favorite western writer.
A western that is true to cowboy life. Hewey Calaway and his brother Walter leave their east Texas cotton farm and head west to become cowboys. Hired by an old rancher they are sent south to bring a heard back to the ranch. Kelton is my favorite western writer.
July 30, 2009
Two brothers hire on as cowhands and end up on a cattle drive from San Antonio to the Pecos River. Because one of the brothers is an impulsive, clever and lucky spendthrift, the journey is filled with lots of action and fun. A pleasant read.
"A man ain't poor for not havin' money. He's poor from wantin' too much."
"But he found that the longer he stood back and looked at a bad horse, the tougher the ride when it finally came."
"A man ain't poor for not havin' money. He's poor from wantin' too much."
"But he found that the longer he stood back and looked at a bad horse, the tougher the ride when it finally came."
October 1, 2009
This was a lot of fun to read. I enjoyed not only how Elmer Kelton portrayed the cowboy point of view but also the way of speaking. I've gotten all my family to read it. Elmer Kelton did it again with this one.
November 16, 2013
A good entry to the Hewey Calloway series this is a prequel to The Good Old Boys. All your favorites are here: Hewey, Walter, C.C. Tarpley, Fats Gervin, Eve and even Snort Yarnell. A fun read and probably much truer to life than most westerns. Enjoyably recommended.
December 5, 2009
This first book of the Hewey Calloway series shows a typical cowboy and the Texas of 1889. Elmer Kelton truly paints a good picture of it.
March 29, 2024
A 2005 western from Elmer Kelton, "Six Bits a Day" is an adventure set in 1880 West Texas. Young brothers Hewey and Walter Calloway have made their way west seeking work but eventually discover they both want different things. Hewey (the older brother) is a fun-loving whiskey-drinking money-spending unattached adventure-seeker while Walter has more wholesome goals, saves his money, and hopes to one day farm and raise cattle on a homestead with a wife and kids. They sign on to work with a stingy rancher named CC Tarpley who is in a tense range conflict of suspicion with a neighbor that hasn't come to bullets quite yet, and then find themselves driving a herd for Tarpley while Hewey is being pursued by a vengeful outlaw.
Yet again my attempt to summarize a plot setup for a Kelton novel runs way too long lol. Let's just say it isn't as complicated as it reads above. Kelton is good at weaving all these various interesting characters in his novels with varying degrees of respect, responsibility, morals, and loyalty to each other, some good, some bad, and he creates an oftentimes lame and at other times fun dramatic adventure for his main protagonists that reads light and easy.
Some of the characters from Kelton's Texas Rangers series make appearances in "Six Bits a Day."
Verdict: Pretty standard Kelton fare. The stereotypically stubborn one-note placeholder characters aren't much but the two main protagonists have an interesting adventure and there are some weighty uncomfortable frontier justice decisions to be made. I was on the fence between "rating" this one between an Okay or Good but honestly like how it ended.
Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG
Yet again my attempt to summarize a plot setup for a Kelton novel runs way too long lol. Let's just say it isn't as complicated as it reads above. Kelton is good at weaving all these various interesting characters in his novels with varying degrees of respect, responsibility, morals, and loyalty to each other, some good, some bad, and he creates an oftentimes lame and at other times fun dramatic adventure for his main protagonists that reads light and easy.
Some of the characters from Kelton's Texas Rangers series make appearances in "Six Bits a Day."
Verdict: Pretty standard Kelton fare. The stereotypically stubborn one-note placeholder characters aren't much but the two main protagonists have an interesting adventure and there are some weighty uncomfortable frontier justice decisions to be made. I was on the fence between "rating" this one between an Okay or Good but honestly like how it ended.
Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG
September 6, 2022
While written last in order by Kelton, in terms of Hewey Calloway's life, this is the earliest one. The book details Calloway's early experiences as a young cowboy in the country around the Pecos River. Kelton's Upton City is based on the real Upland in Upton County/ Though his characters are all fictional, he bases them upon cattlemen and cowboys he knew. In a rather pleasant tale, with little real violence or intense action, Hewey learns aspects of the cowboy life, which he prefers, while attempting to thwart his brother from marrying a "city girl" and settling down. The central story of the novel is a trip to the San Antonio area to bring back a herd of cattle for rancher C. C. Tarpley. Along the way, Hewey encounters a former buffalo soldier, several disreputable types, and a wizened old cattleman near the end of the trail. I am reading these in the order of Calloway's life, rather than the written order. A fourth book detailing Hewey's story has just been written by Sam Kelton, Elmer's son.
June 23, 2025
Hewey and Water Calloway have left their East Texas home to seek their fortune as cowboys. Unfortunately, they do not have very many skills. They get a job with a rancher named CC Tarpley for six bits a day.
The brothers are very different. Hewey wants to have a good time and see the world. Walter wants to make a home and marry a fine woman. He meets Eve Pearson who runs a boarding house with her mother. Hewey decided Walter needs to be rescued.
Tarpley sends them off to San Antonio to pick up several hundred head of cattle. Along the way, they befriend Gabe, a buffalo soldier who recently mustered out of the Army. They spring a man named Padgett out of jail to lead the herd they have picked up.
This story is a collection of amusing adventures.
The brothers are very different. Hewey wants to have a good time and see the world. Walter wants to make a home and marry a fine woman. He meets Eve Pearson who runs a boarding house with her mother. Hewey decided Walter needs to be rescued.
Tarpley sends them off to San Antonio to pick up several hundred head of cattle. Along the way, they befriend Gabe, a buffalo soldier who recently mustered out of the Army. They spring a man named Padgett out of jail to lead the herd they have picked up.
This story is a collection of amusing adventures.
May 7, 2020
Honest, homespun wisdom; true-to-life toil and joys of the cattle days; no black hat/white hat cliches or shoot-outs: this is Western fiction done right.
In this, like in his other novels of the Calloway trilogy, Kelton gives us an authentic portrait of life as a cowpuncher, without too much sentimentality and without the violence or sex so prevalent in contemporary western fiction. It’s old fashioned, but it’s refreshing —and it’s authentic.
The protagonist, Hewey Calloway should earn a spot alongside Gus McCrae of Lonesome Dove, for most memorable cowpuncher in fiction.
Good stuff!
In this, like in his other novels of the Calloway trilogy, Kelton gives us an authentic portrait of life as a cowpuncher, without too much sentimentality and without the violence or sex so prevalent in contemporary western fiction. It’s old fashioned, but it’s refreshing —and it’s authentic.
The protagonist, Hewey Calloway should earn a spot alongside Gus McCrae of Lonesome Dove, for most memorable cowpuncher in fiction.
Good stuff!
January 22, 2020
The theme of this book is the greed and avarice of big ranchers in Texas. This show up in several of Kelton's books. Also a major theme in this book is two brothers who have different hopes and desires but the oldest seeks to subsume the hopes and desires of the younger brother into his. Therefore there is conflict.
January 6, 2022
Six Bits A Day Hewey Calloway up as just the man I know him as from The Good Old Boys!
Hewey has to get in just enough trouble to make life interesting, but his brother isn’t the same way. That’s something Hewey thinks he needs to do something about, but he better be careful or he’ll lose his brother deeper than he thinks he is.
Hewey has to get in just enough trouble to make life interesting, but his brother isn’t the same way. That’s something Hewey thinks he needs to do something about, but he better be careful or he’ll lose his brother deeper than he thinks he is.
September 24, 2024
An adventure that feels authentic. Texas 1880’s with lots of detail especially about food. The dialogue is good and is often locker room talk.
Many things happen in the story so it moves along well. Not the classic good guy vs bad guy climactic shoot out. None of the characters are perfect and some not even close, but they have more than one dimension which makes it interesting.
Many things happen in the story so it moves along well. Not the classic good guy vs bad guy climactic shoot out. None of the characters are perfect and some not even close, but they have more than one dimension which makes it interesting.
April 8, 2022
Quick read about two young boys who leave their home to explore the country. They end up working for a tight-fisted cow rancher and have many experiences along the way. The book is a quick and fun read.
July 5, 2022
Loved this book way more than I expected to. For it being 3rd in a series, I didn't have high expectations for it. May even be my favorite Hewey Calloway book. Loved the nod to the Texas ranger book series as well.
July 27, 2023
A thoroughly enjoyable dramedy about struggling to survive in the old west. Cattle driving, hard drinking and fisticuffs are mixed with commentary on racism, sexism, and more. The Graphic Audio: Movie In Your Mind version on Audible is outstanding, with a colourful and talented voice cast.
October 11, 2024
I always enjoy an Elmer Kelton western novel. This one, with no larger-than-life characters, was a welcome change after reading the four Lonesome Dove novels. Two dirt farmer brothers seek adventure and the cowboy way of life. I doubt that I will continue with the series sequels.
May 6, 2017
This was a very enjoyable book about the life of cowboys in the 1800,s. We had a great discussion at our book club meeting. Everyone enjoyed reading a light, funny book for a change.
December 30, 2019
Good depiction of how two brothers, cut from similar cloth, can encounter similar circumstances and find happiness in different fashions.
Good book.
Good book.
March 19, 2020
Amazing
Another amazing book by Elmer. This whole series is just outstanding. On to the next book. I'm thinking the man who rode midnight.
Another amazing book by Elmer. This whole series is just outstanding. On to the next book. I'm thinking the man who rode midnight.
November 3, 2020
Visiting Elmer Kelton's world is like visiting old friends. He tells a great story.
March 29, 2021
I found this book funny, I loved it
May 12, 2023
Pretty decent. It'd been a while since I read the other novels, but this one was a decent tale.
September 11, 2023
This book put a big silly grin on my face for its characters and the simple story it tells. Kelton is a master.
December 9, 2023
It was a decent read about cattle ranching and the 2 brothers adventures along the way.
January 5, 2024
Low key story with interesting characters.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews