Big Country, Vol. 1
Ride, You Tonto Raiders and War Party
Louis L'Amour said that the West was no place for the frightened or the mean. It was a "big country needing big men and women to live in it". The two stories in this collection provide a good sample of the kinds of people he had in mind. In "Ride, You Tonto Raiders", Matt Sabre is a young gunfighter who shoots a man who forces him to draw. To his surprise, the man on his deathbed gives him $5,000 and begs him to take the money to his wife, who is alone defending the family ranch. Guilt, regret, and wanting to do the right thing lead Matt Sabre to make that ride. In "War Party", a boy on the brink of manhood, a resourceful frontier woman who has beauty as well as fortitude, and a strong male character come together in this powerful, romantic, and strangely compelling vision of the American West.
