My Arizona Adventures is the true first-person account of an authentic American pioneer. When Tom Sanders came to Arizonas central highlands there was nothing there; there were no roads, no towns, no law, and no protection from marauding Indians. There was nothing there but opportunities for the strong, resolute and lucky.The year was 1863, Arizona had just become a separate Territory and its vast central interior was the last unknown area of the United States. That change...

Despite being neighbouring provinces with long ranching histories, British Columbia and Alberta saw their ranching techniques develop quite differently. As most ranching styles were based on one of the two dominant styles in use south of the border, BC ranchers tended to adopt the California style whereas Alberta took its lead from Texas. But the different practices actually go back much further. Cattle cultures in southwestern Spain, sub-Saharan Africa and the British highlands all shaped...

Remarkable cattle drives, famous ranches and legendary characters are at the heart of Ken Mather's account of the early days of ranching in British Columbia. These are stories about drovers, ranchers, cowboys and "mud pups" (the remittance men of the ranching industry). You'll meet such people asthe flamboyant Harper brothers, drovers who went on to become the biggest landowners in BC, with interests in the Harper, Perry, Hat Creek and famous Gang ranchesJohnny Wils...

Bronc Busters and Hay Sloops tells the story of ranching in the West from the beginning of the Great War until 1960. Cowboy soldiers, bronc busters, First Nations, upper-crust Englishmen and the strong, capable women of ranching country . . . theirs are the stories told in this book. Some of these characters are larger than life, such as:Joe Coutlee, cow boss of the Douglas Lake Ranch, whose booming voice gave him the nickname “Roaring Bill”;Grover Hance, w...

Getting three trucks and two horses stuck in the mud on "a good road" into BC's wild, remote interior was just the start of Bruce Watt's Chilcotin adventures—and it was his honeymoon, too. The wildlife, landscape and quirky, down-to-earth people captivated Bruce, and despite the hard work and challenging conditions, the Watts put down roots, raising a family, alongside herds of cattle and horses.A consummate storyteller, Bruce tells it like it was—and perhaps still is for many peop...

With prospectors, trappers, and whalers pouring into northwestern Canada, the North West Mounted Police were dispatched to the newest frontier to maintain patrols, protect indigenous peoples, and enforce laws in the North. In carrying out their duties, these intrepid men endured rigorous and dangerous conditions.On December 21, 1910, a four-man patrol left Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories, heading for Dawson City, Yukon, a distance of 670 kilometres. They never arrived. The ha...

These true stories of people who work and live in the spectacular mountain wilderness of Alberta and British Columbia are filled with humour, keen observations about man and nature, and memorable human and animal characters. Old-time cowboys Johnny and Cal offer their no-nonsense brand of homespun wisdom. Wasp, the talented saddle horse, teaches his rider more than just horsemanship. From life-and-death drama to peaceful meditations, these tales capture the danger and beauty of the mountai...

This book is a celebration of life. Its astonishing view is from the perspective of someone living a simple, isolated life in the Rocky Mountains as a mountain man. Sylvan Ambrose Hart was born in the Oklahoma Territory in 1906. In the 1930's, while still a young man, he walked into the Rocky Mountains and designed a unique life for himself in the wilds - hunting, fishing, trapping, panning gold, crafting his own tools, weapons, shelter, and clothes. For almost fifty years he lived the lif...

Del Burk farmed, ranched and guided big-game hunters in some of the richest wild-life areas of Canada.  The biography covers a recent patch of history, but a patch already gone.  The farm equipment he knew now belong in museums, and the ranching practices of the fifties and sixties have largely simply disappeared.  Where Del's big-game guiding experiences took him over trails meant only for horses, there are now paved roads or the rutted paths of ATVs.   Del's s...

Like many other pioneering North West Mounted Police officers, Cecil Denny was a colourful, independent man with a career full of conquests and controversy. He and his comrades played key roles in the taming of Canada's wild and woolly west, and in this compilation of selected writings from his books The Law Marches West and The Riders of the Plains, we get that story straight from the horse's mouth. Denny relates the fascinating saga of the newly formed police force's 80...

"Vividly rendered disasters and close calls" fill this collection of true adventures. . . . as well as "valuable lessons about character, loyalty and courage" ( Publishers Weekly).Alaska is like no other state and few countries; men experience greater risk in her arms. This one-of-a-kind anthology captures the spine tingling adventures of daring men and women who venture into Alaska's vast wilderness and look death in the eye. Danger Stalks the Land

The West was a lawless domain when Jerry Potts was born into the Upper Missouri fur trade in 1838. The son of a Scottish father and a Blood mother, he was given the name Bear Child by his Blood tribe for his bravery and tenacity while he was still a teen. In 1874, when the North West Mounted Police first marched west and sat lost and starving near the Canada-U.S. border, it was Potts who led them to shelter. Over the next 22 years he played a critical role in the peaceful settlement of the...