The Green River Trail: The Trail Drive, Book 13 by Compton, Ralph Format: Mass-Market PaperbackPublished by St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1999 The year was 1853. For handful of cowboys turned California Gold Rushers, it was time to go home. Then Lonnie Kilgore and his fellow Texans met Western legend and former mountain man Jim Bridger, who told them of a lush range waiting to be claimed in northern Utah. Now, the Texans have purchased land on the Green river and come to San Antonio to gather up some longhorns. But with Indian trouble, law trouble, and woman trouble along for the ride, the cowboys are finding out the truth about this paradise: to live on land you bought and paid for, you have to be willing to die... Publishers Weekly Hardheaded Lonnie Kilgore and three fellow Texans race against time in the newest installment of the Trail Drive series. The men must reach their recently purchased land in northern Utah before winter or Mormons settle in first. Flush with California gold and new brides, the friends foresee a bright future in ranching, but before they can stake their claims, they must fight angry Paiutes, horse thieves, drunks, and even other settlers. After two harrowing months of travel, the party reaches the banks of the Green River--only to find that the Mormons have already arrived. The settlers prepare for an uncomfortable battle, with the harsh winter just around the corner. Luckily for the Texans, legendary mountain man Jim Bridger and a troop of Shoshone come to their aid. Compton's latest western (after Old Spanish Trail) plods along as reliably as Kilgore's quarter horse, serving occasional surprises from the women who determinedly save their husbands at every dangerous turn. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
