Books with title The Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of the Old Trail Days

The Log of a Cowboy was written in response to the unrealistic western adventures being written in the early 20th century. Adams wrote extensively about cowmen and the cattle business. His stories have an authenticity of detail and style that sets them apart. Having spent 12 years in the saddle, Adams is able to give a compelling first-hand account about cowboy life and a cattle drive he made from Texas to the Blackfeet Agency in his early 20s. His "log" is a classic and authentic description of trail men and their work, cow horses and range cattle. The Log of a Cowboy is an account of a five-month drive of 3,000 cattle from Brownsville, Texas, to Montana in 1882 along the Great Western Cattle Trail. Although the book is fiction, it is firmly based on Adams's own experiences on the trail, and it is considered by many to be the best account of cowboy life in literature.

A true-to-life narrative of the escapades and challenges of the frontier’s legendary event: the cowboy cattle drive.The Log of a Cowboy brings to life an important, yet short-lived, piece of the American Old West. It’s here that the cowboy earned his reputation and admiration, and it’s through protagonist Tommy Moore that we learn of some of the challenges of the legendary cattle drive. Run-ins with Indian tribes, cattle hustlers, shoot-’em-ups, and the lure of “good whiskey and bad women,” are just some of the troubles that Moore faces, all told with that classic cowboy swagger.It’s not just the thrill of adventure that makes this such a fascinating tale; The Log of a Cowboy is often seen as a narrative of Andy Adams’s own life after twelve years in the saddle, and although some liberties were taken, it remains one of the most reliable accounts ever written, helping cement the lawless, and revered, Wild West into a national subconscious. Through Moore we learn cowboy colloquialisms like “drifting” and “cutting,” the perils of stampedes, and the innate intuition of these frontier men.Adams deftly weaves stories within a story, bringing fabled cattleman Shanghai Pierce into this literary world, spinning tales of occult sciences, hitchhiking ox, and astonishing “bear signs.” Much like the Pony Express, the cattle drives of the Old West remain an essential part of American culture, and Adams’s narrative helps to keep it alive through the generations.This is a must-read for any fans of the Old West, a time when courage and adventure were all part of a day’s work.Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction that takes place in the old West. Westerns—books about outlaws, sheriffs, chiefs and warriors, cowboys and Indians—are a genre in which we publish regularly. Our list includes international bestselling authors like Zane Gray and Louis L’Amour, and many more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

A true-to-life narrative of the escapades and challenges of the frontier’s legendary event: the cowboy cattle drive.The Log of a Cowboy brings to life an important, yet short-lived, piece of the American Old West. It’s here that the cowboy earned his reputation and admiration, and it’s through protagonist Tommy Moore that we learn of some of the challenges of the legendary cattle drive. Run-ins with Indian tribes, cattle hustlers, shoot-’em-ups, and the lure of “good whiskey and bad women,” are just some of the troubles that Moore faces, all told with that classic cowboy swagger.It’s not just the thrill of adventure that makes this such a fascinating tale; The Log of a Cowboy is often seen as a narrative of Andy Adams’s own life after twelve years in the saddle, and although some liberties were taken, it remains one of the most reliable accounts ever written, helping cement the lawless, and revered, Wild West into a national subconscious. Through Moore we learn cowboy colloquialisms like “drifting” and “cutting,” the perils of stampedes, and the innate intuition of these frontier men.Adams deftly weaves stories within a story, bringing fabled cattleman Shanghai Pierce into this literary world, spinning tales of occult sciences, hitchhiking ox, and astonishing “bear signs.” Much like the Pony Express, the cattle drives of the Old West remain an essential part of American culture, and Adams’s narrative helps to keep it alive through the generations.This is a must-read for any fans of the Old West, a time when courage and adventure were all part of a day’s work.Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction that takes place in the old West. Westerns—books about outlaws, sheriffs, chiefs and warriors, cowboys and Indians—are a genre in which we publish regularly. Our list includes international bestselling authors like Zane Gray and Louis L’Amour, and many more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Straightforwardly told, rich in detail, and laced with appealing campfire humor, Andy Adams's realistic The Log of a Cowboy is a classic portrayal of the western cattle country. Drawing on his own experiences as a cowboy working in cattle and horse drives, Adams presents a vivid portrait of the challenges of trail life on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana—the daily drudgery of cattle trailing, as well as the dramatic stampedes and other treacherous disruptions. Populated by a wide variety of well-drawn, lively characters, The Log of a Cowboy remains the landmark novel of the American West a century after its first appearance. First time in Penguin Classics

A classic fictional chronicle of life on the open trail, THE LOG OF A COWBOY has long been considered the best and most reliable account of real cowboy life ever written. In the years following the Civil War, sixteen-year-old Andy Adams left his home in the San Antonio Valley and took to the range. Here he charts his first journey as a bona fide cowboy, from south Texas to Montana along the western trail. Guided by his plainspoken, sure-saddled voice and the living, breathing feel of firsthand experience on every page, we relive dusty cattle drives, perilous river crossings, honor-based gunfights, and narrow escapes from buffalo stampedes, not to mention tall tales passed around the campfire and such unforgettable characters as Bull Durham and Bill Blades. THE LOG OF A COWBOY, newly introduced by Thomas McGuane, offers a true depiction of a cowboy's life and work as well as a classic adventure story of the great American frontier.

This is arguably the most authentic account of cowboy life ever written, a compelling narrative that traces the events of an 1882 cattle drive, during which 3,000 longhorns traversed the Great Western Cattle Trail from Texas to the Blackfoot Indian Reservation in Montana. The author, real-life cowboy Andy Adams worked as a cattle driver on the Western trails. Although The Log of a Cowboy crackles with the energy and excitement of fiction, it is based on Adams' own true experiences. The Chicago Herald noted, "As a narrative of cowboy life, Andy Adams' book is clearly the real thing. It carries its own certificate of authentic firsthand experience on every page."Fascinating details of day-to-day life on the trail emerge as a team of a dozen cowhands set out on the long trek. Days are marked by dangerous river crossings and buffalo stampedes as well as encounters with Indians and cattle thieves. Evenings find the crew exchanging tales around the campfire and occasionally hunkered down at saloons. This Old West classic adventure story remains a remarkable historical resource and fascinating portrait of American frontier life.

Before the herd was brought in for the night, and during the supper hour, Flood announced the guards for the trip. As the men usually bunked in pairs, the foreman chose them as they slept, but was under the necessity of splitting two berths of bedfellows. "Rod" Wheat, Joe Stallings, and Ash Borrowstone were assigned to the first guard, from eight to ten thirty P.M. Bob Blades, "Bull" Durham, and Fox Quarternight were given second guard, from ten thirty to one. Paul Priest, John Officer, and myself made up the third watch, from one to three thirty. The Rebel and I were bunkies, and this choice of guards, while not ideal, was much better than splitting bedfellows and having them annoy each other by going out and returning from guard separately. The only fault I ever found with Priest was that he could use the poorest judgment in selecting a bed ground for our blankets, and always talked and told stories to me until I fell asleep. He was a light sleeper himself, while I, being much younger, was the reverse. The fourth and last guard, from three thirty until relieved after daybreak, fell to Wyatt Roundtree, Quince Forrest, and "Moss" Strayhorn. Thus the only men in the outfit not on night duty were Honeyman, our horse wrangler, Barney McCann, our cook, and Flood, the foreman. The latter, however, made up by riding almost double as much as any man in his outfit. He never left the herd until it was bedded down for the night, and we could always hear him quietly arousing the cook and horse wrangler an hour before daybreak. He always kept a horse on picket for the night, and often took the herd as it left the bed ground at clear dawn.A half hour before dark, Flood and all the herd men turned out to bed down the cattle for our first night. They had been well grazed after counting, and as they came up to the bed ground there was not a hungry or thirsty animal in the lot. All seemed anxious to lie down, and by circling around slowly, while gradually closing in, in the course of half an hour all were bedded nicely on possibly five or six acres. I remember there were a number of muleys among the cattle, and these would not venture into the compact herd until the others had lain down. Being hornless, instinct taught them to be on the defensive, and it was noticeable that they were the first to arise in the morning, in advance of their horned kin. When all had lain down, Flood and the first guard remained, the others returning to the wagon.The guards ride in a circle about four rods outside the sleeping cattle, and by riding in opposite directions make it impossible for any animal to make its escape without being noticed by the riders. The guards usually sing or whistle continuously, so that the sleeping herd may know that a friend and not an enemy is keeping vigil over their dreams. A sleeping herd of cattle make a pretty picture on a clear moonlight night, chewing their cuds and grunting and blowing over contented stomachs. The night horses soon learn their duty, and a rider may fall asleep or doze along in the saddle, but the horses will maintain their distance in their leisurely, sentinel rounds.- Taken from "The Log of a Cowboy: A Narrative of the Old Trail Days" written by Andy Adams

J. Frank Dobie, in his Guide to Life and Literature of the Old Southwest, has declared that "if all other books on trail-driving were destroyed, a reader could still get a just and authentic conception of trail men, trail work, range cattle, cow horses, and the cow country in general from The Log of a Cowboy." First published in 1903, Andy Adams' classic narrative, based on his own experiences during the days of the "long drive," continues to be used and cited by historians of the Old West as the best and most reliable account of its kind. The Bison Book edition is reproduced from the first edition, with illustrations by E. Boyd Smith.

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The Log of a Cowboy is an account of a five-month drive of 3,000 cattle from Brownsville, Texas, to Montana in 1882 along the Great Western Cattle Trail. Although the book is fiction, it is firmly based on Adams's own experiences on the trail, and it is considered by many to be the best account of cowboy life in literature. Adams was disgusted by the unrealistic cowboy fiction being published in his day; The Log of a Cowboy was his response. It is still in print, and even modern reviewers consider it a compelling classic. The Chicago Herald said: "As a narrative of cowboy life, Andy Adams' book is clearly the real thing.