Book Review: Popular Book of Western Stories edited by Leo Margulies
The title of this 1948 paperback may seem a trifle misleading (“if it’s so popular, why have I never heard of it?”) but makes more sense when you learn that it came out from the publishing company Popular Library. Leo Margulies, a long-time pulp editor who certainly knew what sold, picked ten stories from the Western genre that he liked and could get the reprint rights to. The introduction waxes lyrical about the Old West, then explains why he picked each story.
“The Lamb of the Flying U” by B.M. Bower starts us off with an example of cowboy humor. New hand Percival Cadwallader Perkins looks and acts like a greenhorn, so the boys of the Happy Family figure they’ll pull some pranks on the boy. They don’t savvy that he’s actually “Pink” from Milk River and enjoying his own private joke.
“The Orneriest Three” by Walt Coburn is a character study of human Old Zack, mule Diablo and dog Booger Face. Three of the orneriest cusses alive, and how they met and became best friends. Heartwarming stuff.
“In the Mexican Quarter” by Tom Gill takes us near the border as young Billy decides to go to hell because he’s become convinced he isn’t good for anything else. But he’s not as ready as he thought he was to look bad in the eyes of the woman who loves him. Content note: Ethnic prejudice towards Mexicans.
“Some Were Brave” by Ernest Haycox takes place in 1907, as one hundred square miles of reservation land have been taken from the natives and opened for settlers. There’s about four hundred claims to be had and over five thousand potential claimants, so the government is having a land lottery.
The story follows several potential landowners, but especially Letitia “Letty” Brewerton, a girl who has just turned old enough to be included in the lottery to give her family another chance. There are good people and bad people in the town, not all of them who they appear at first.
This story is high on the pioneer spirit, but spares not a thought for those who have been displaced so that Letty and those like her can have a new life in the West. For a modern reader, that may be uncomfortable.
“The Saga of Ragged McLean” by James B. Hendryx is another humorous piece. “Ragged” (so called because the seat of his trousers always had holes in it) is the biggest liar in the state. Which produces a bit of a conundrum when he outright confesses to murder. There’s a bit of meta-humor in that “ragged” isn’t the man’s full nickname, but the writer won’t repeat the rest in case there’s ladies reading.
“Fight at Painted Rock” by Alan LeMay is the tale behind the one notch on Gar Lacey’s gun he never knew he didn’t earn. It’s a sneaky story about an attempt to prove a man “yellow” and how it backfired.
“Hopalong’s Hop” by Clarence E. Mulford is the one most likely to have been reprinted elsewhere, as it is the origin of Bill “Hopalong” Cassidy’s distinctive gait. Bill was just scouting out some cattle his boss was planning to buy when he’s mistaken for a hired gunslinger. Bill may not know what’s going on, exactly, but he’s a tough customer with a wily streak and an accurate gun hand. Plenty of shooting at the end.
“The Timid Guy” by William MacLeod Raine has a greenhorn panic when captured by outlaws–and manage to kill two of them before escaping. Being naturally timid, he’s in a frothing worry about what to do if the rest of the gang ever catches up to him. But as we all know, courage is being afraid and doing it anyway.
“The Ace and the Two-Spot” by Charles Alden Seltzer is a romantic tale of how a sheriff pulls a fast one to get around a father’s dislike of him to get married. Honestly, it’s a dirty trick and if the woman in question weren’t in on it to some extent, it would give me the creeps.
“Clean Crazy” by W.C. Tuttle (of Tombstone and Speedy fame) brings us back to humor to close out the book, as two cowpokes decide to go skinny-dipping to bathe for an upcoming social event. They lose their clothes, which is bad enough, but at the same time the posse is looking for some naked outlaws, and none too careful about getting close enough to identify which nude person they’re shooting at! It’s pretty hilarious stuff.
Best stories are “Some Were Brave” (with that caveat I mentioned before) and “Clean Crazy”, though “Hopalong’s Hop” is also pretty good.
I don’t think this volume has ever been reprinted, so it’s something to watch for at estate sales, used book stores and checking to see if a particular story that sounds interesting is in another anthology.
