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Comanche Captives
1961 Winner of the Oklahoma Writing Award.
1961 Winner of the Spur Award for Best Western Novel.
1961 Winner of the Levi Strauss Golden Saddleman Award for Best Western Writing.
Colonel Ranald MacKenzie is a good commander. He and his men have a reputation for achieving victory against incredible odds, but right now he needs every able-bodied man for action over the border and can't spare anyone for another vital mission he needs performed. So he calls in Lt. William Baldwin from sick leave and gives him an impossible lead 300 Comanche captives to Fort Sill, a harrowing, four-hundred mile journey through territory where hundreds of Comanches are still free and can be counted on to conduct a running fight every inch of the way. Not only that, but Baldwin will have to defend his prisoners against white attack, too -- from rabid, Indian-hating settlers to whom the only good Indian was a dead one. As if that wasn't difficult enough, MacKenzie can only assign Baldwin a single platoon of men to protect his captives. And not just any platoon, but one made up of tarnished men barred from active duty. It's a journey to hell and Baldwin is willing to lead it.
Fred Grove received the 1961 Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. He spent several years as a newspaper reporter in Oklahoma and Texas before becoming a full-time western novelist.
1961 Winner of the Spur Award for Best Western Novel.
1961 Winner of the Levi Strauss Golden Saddleman Award for Best Western Writing.
Colonel Ranald MacKenzie is a good commander. He and his men have a reputation for achieving victory against incredible odds, but right now he needs every able-bodied man for action over the border and can't spare anyone for another vital mission he needs performed. So he calls in Lt. William Baldwin from sick leave and gives him an impossible lead 300 Comanche captives to Fort Sill, a harrowing, four-hundred mile journey through territory where hundreds of Comanches are still free and can be counted on to conduct a running fight every inch of the way. Not only that, but Baldwin will have to defend his prisoners against white attack, too -- from rabid, Indian-hating settlers to whom the only good Indian was a dead one. As if that wasn't difficult enough, MacKenzie can only assign Baldwin a single platoon of men to protect his captives. And not just any platoon, but one made up of tarnished men barred from active duty. It's a journey to hell and Baldwin is willing to lead it.
Fred Grove received the 1961 Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. He spent several years as a newspaper reporter in Oklahoma and Texas before becoming a full-time western novelist.
- GenresWesterns
191 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1962
2 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Fred Grove
50 books8 followersFred Grove (born Frederick Herridge (July 4, 1913 – September 2008) was a Native American author and winner of five prestigious "Spur Awards" from Western Writers of America for his western novels.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 7, 2022
It saddens me that this author has, on Goodreads, so few followers, and that this book has so few ratings and reviews.
He and it deserve more.
"Comanche Captives" is really a good book. It is well written, has plenty of interesting characters, and presents a plausible and encouraging story that should keep a reader hooked to the end.
Author Grove does make -- with the connivance of an editor who should be fired, or at least gently horse-whipped -- an ignorant, and by me unforgivable, error: He has his Quaker character constantly saying "thee" when she meant "thou."
"Thou" is the nominative, or objective, form, and "thee" is the subjective: "Thou will perform an action and I will return to thee a favor." "Thou are the one I love. I love thee."
(That character's being Quaker is why I say "gently horse-whipped.")
That constant mis-use grates on me, an editor myself, but also a reader. But while lamenting the apparent lack of competent editors (who appear to be totally absent in the "news" paper business), I continued to enjoy "Comanche Captives."
Author Grove has other Westerns and I intend to find them all. I deeply regret that he died 13 years ago and that I hadn't discovered his work a lot sooner. For now all I can do is urge others to discover this very enjoyable author.
He and it deserve more.
"Comanche Captives" is really a good book. It is well written, has plenty of interesting characters, and presents a plausible and encouraging story that should keep a reader hooked to the end.
Author Grove does make -- with the connivance of an editor who should be fired, or at least gently horse-whipped -- an ignorant, and by me unforgivable, error: He has his Quaker character constantly saying "thee" when she meant "thou."
"Thou" is the nominative, or objective, form, and "thee" is the subjective: "Thou will perform an action and I will return to thee a favor." "Thou are the one I love. I love thee."
(That character's being Quaker is why I say "gently horse-whipped.")
That constant mis-use grates on me, an editor myself, but also a reader. But while lamenting the apparent lack of competent editors (who appear to be totally absent in the "news" paper business), I continued to enjoy "Comanche Captives."
Author Grove has other Westerns and I intend to find them all. I deeply regret that he died 13 years ago and that I hadn't discovered his work a lot sooner. For now all I can do is urge others to discover this very enjoyable author.
October 25, 2018
A collection of short stories by the author FG. He has researched the Comanche Indians until he begins to look like one. The stories arrogant the raids the Comanche conducted in ranches and killed all adults and took the children with then. Months later different hunters begin the hunt to find and identity the up missing people who are still alive. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
October 14, 2015
A beautiful book...great characters, great writing, real emotion. A work of art.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews