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Title details for The Buckskin Line by Elmer Kelton - Available

The Buckskin Line

#1 in series

by Elmer Kelton
George Guidall
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
On the Texas frontier in the 1840s, a red-haired child whose family has been massacred is captured by a Comanche war party led by a great warrior named Buffalo Caller. The boy is rescued by Mike Shannon, a Mexican War veteran riding with a "ranging company" of Texans dedicated to protecting settlers against Indian raids, and is adopted by the Shannon family. In 1861 his adoptive father is bushwhacked and murdered and the boy—now known as Rusty Shannon—follows Mike's footsteps, riding to Fort Belknap to join the Rangers. Texas is now in the throes of secession and Union sympathizers are treated as traitors. One such "traitor" is Lon Monahan, whose family befriends Rusty. Lon Monahan's particular enemy is Colonel Caleb Dawkins, a former army officer and Confederate zealot determined to conscript the Monahan boys and drive Lon and all Unionists out of Texas. When the youngest Monahan attempts to escape Texas and wait out
the war, Dawkins's thugs hang him and his father. Rusty Shannon carries heavy burdens. Both of his families are dead; he is haunted by Mike Shannon's murder, thinks he knows the culprit and intends to kill the man; his newfound friends have been lynched; and his duties as a Ranger conflict with his sense of justice. And he is fated to meet again the Comanche warrior whose band killed his family and took him captive over two decades ago: Buffalo Caller.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Texas Rangers

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 1, 2020

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781490679709
      • File size: 255342 KB
      • Duration: 08:51:57

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      In 1861, after his adoptive father is bushwhacked and murdered, Rusty Shannon joins a loosely organized group that turns out to be forerunners of the Texas Rangers. Expertly dramatized by Richard McGonagle, this traditional Western offers the usual elements of romance, Comanches, and cowboys. McGonagle easily and convincingly portrays young and old, male and female, as well as maintains a consistent volume and tempo. He narrates episodes with Indians or with young lovers with empathy and care, adding an audio dimension to Kelton's genuine characterizations. The Old West lives again. S.C.A. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 28, 1999
      Six-time Spur Award-winner Kelton, author of more than 40 westerns (The Smiling Country, etc.), once again presents a solid story of murder, revenge and Indian fighting, in which almost everyone but the unlikely hero is quick on the draw. Rusty Shannon is a young Texas Ranger in 1861, full of lofty ideals and a sense of duty. After his parents were killed in a Comanche raid, he was raised by Mike Shannon, a tough Ranger veteran. Now, as the Civil War looms and secessionist fever runs high, Mike is murdered for his outspoken political views, and some of Rusty's friends are lynched by a Yankee-hating zealot. Rusty vows revenge, but revenge must wait. With Union troops gone from Texas, there is a constant threat of bloody Comanche raids on the undefended frontier. Meanwhile, the Rangers must ride the dangerous middle ground between strong pro-South and pro-North sentiments. Still undecided about which side to take, Rusty makes his fair share of mistakes, but in the end, murder and lynching are resolved, and he finally meets his parents' killer in an Indian fight. This is a rousing tale of the Texas Rangers, early Texas history and of a brave and thoughtful young Westerner.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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