Scout, soldier, lawman and tracker — follow Jacob Bartlett, a frontiersman history did not record, through the last wild years of the American Southwest.
Stories of the old west abound, and many books have been written depicting a time in American history roughly from 1830 to 1915. Some are historical accounts, documented from that time and used by authors to tell the tales of the era; others are fictional embellishments of true events known as dime novels. Still other fictional narratives follow historical accounts more closely, and are created to tell the story of a time many people find filled with adventure, hardship, lawlessness, death and triumph.
The west has a short history compared to much of our country, but that history is colorful, ruthless, and formative. Because the west is a landscape of size and diversity, the tales of western history are also large in scope.
Like most of my generation, our exposure to the old west was from TV shows — “Westerns,” as they were called. Many were inaccurate and often devoid of the harsh realities that living in the old west entailed. They were entertainment, and there was little effort to make life in the old west real; the aim was only to convey a story of struggle, right and wrong, with the good guys prevailing in the end. The other aspect of TV Westerns was the untrue and often brutal characterization of Native Americans, the Indigenous people.
It wasn’t until later in life that I took an interest in western history. The information that has come forth in recent years, from authors who have researched the records and written the history, is more accurate and unbiased. Most Americans have been fed a history that glorifies triumph, expansion, and exploitation, and paints a false picture of Native Americans as savage, uncultured, and often evil.
The truth is that it was the Euro-Americans coming west who were more often uncultured and savage, holding a belief that the west and all of its larger-than-life landscapes were to be conquered, and that the means of doing so were justified by the end. The close of the Civil War saw a population, predominantly men, head west. They were often “lost souls” who had lost their land or their families to the war. Many were bitter, some were mentally scarred, and others were psychotic killers. The unsettled nature of the west, combined with an influx of men free to make their own rules, created a period of ingenuity, self-reliance, adventure, conflict, greed, and brutality.
Historical fiction Arizona Territory, 1880s–1910s
Published by Old Western Tales
The son of Indian Agent parents, Jacob Bartlett was raised on the Apache Reservation and taught to hunt, track and shoot by an aging warrior and chief, Talkalai-tin. His trail leads from General Crook’s hunt for Geronimo to the Rough Riders in Cuba, the jungles of Panama, and ultimately the hunt for Pancho Villa in Mexico.
Think Lonesome Dove’s Gus McCrae living much like Forrest Gump — quietly involved in many of the major events of his time.
A retired water resource scientist with a 40-year career as a watershed hydrologist, environmental consultant and land use planner — most of it spent on Public Lands, Forest Service lands and National Wildlife Refuges across the West.
Gary claims Prescott, Arizona as home. It’s where he went to school, more or less grew up, and later discovered was at the heart of some of the great old west tales.
This site showcases books Gary has written and western books he’s read, with honest reviews to help readers find their next tale. A reader forum is on the way.