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The Chickasaw Rancher

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First published in 1960, Neil R. Johnson's The Chickasaw Rancher, Revised Edtion, tells the story of Montford T. Johnson and the mixed and intermarried Chickasaw settlements of Oklahoma (and Indian Territories). Abandoned by his father after his mother's death and then left on his own following his grandmother's passing in 1858, Johnson had control of a piece of land in the northern part of the Chickasaw Nation (and some in the Oklahoma Territory that was often occupied by the Boomers) in what is now Oklahoma.
The Chickasaw Rancher follows Montford's family and friends for the next fifty years. Neil R. Johnson (Montford's grandson) describes the work, the ranch parties, cattle rustling, gun fights, tornadoes, (the unexpected return of Montford's father after a thirty-three year absence, trips to Florida and New York City), encroachment of white settlers, the run of 1889, the hard deaths of many along the way, and the rise, the fall, and the revival of the Chickasaw Nation. (The original edition ends with Montford's death in 1896. The revised edition covers the next generation's continued expansion of the family's business ventures ending with E. B. Johnson's death in 1935).
Including more than fifty previously unavailable photographs, illustrations, and maps, (and more than 20% new material) this revised edition of The Chickasaw Rancher, edited by C. Neil Kingsley-grandson of Neil R. Johnson-is the perfect addition to any reader's collection of the history of the American West. Cover illustration based on painting done by Oklahoma City artist, Greg Burns.

This book is a most unusual account of life on the range. It describes the life of Montford Johnson, a friend of Jesse Chisholm, from around the time of the Civil War until after the land runs in Oklahoma prior to 1900.
The unique value lies in the specifics of living on the range, the daily routine of the cattle drive, and the reality of cowboy life.
Taken largely from the journal of his son, it's a story that Hollywood could use.