The Santa Fe Trail (The Trail Drive Series Book 10) [Mass Market Paperback]

Ralph Compton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2010

An extraordinary saga of the trail-blazing cowboys who made their fortune
driving cattle from Texas to the Great Frontier.

They left Missouri and were headed to Santa Fe. Standing in their way was a parched desert, a land of outlaws and enemies-and one man's dangerous past.

He was a wealthy englishman with two beautiful daughters. They were five dusty texans and a gambling man. And they were all on the ride of their lives.

The only riches Texans had left after the Civil War were five million maverick longhorns and the brains, brawn and boldness to drive them north to where the money was. Now, Ralph Compton brings this violent and magnificent time to life in an extraordinary epic series based on the history-making trail drives.

The Santa Fe Trail

Gavin McCord and his brawling cowboys came to Missouri with a problem: 3,500 longhorns and not one buyer. That's where Gladstone Pitkin came in. A man with money and a dream of ranching in New Mexico, Pitkin bought McCord's cattle and hired his Texans for a trail drive from Independence to Santa Fe. But with an ill-fated gambler on the drive, the courageous, hardened riders weren't just a thousand brutal miles from Santa Fe-they were heading into a death trap.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

He was a wealthy Englishman with two beautiful daughters. They were five dusty Texans and a gambling man. And they were all on the ride of their lives.

The only riches Texans had left after the Civil War were five million maverick longhorns and the brains, brawn and boldness to drive them north to where the money was. Now, Ralph Compton brings this violent and magnificent time to life in an extraordinary epic series based on the history-making trail drives.

The Santa Fe Trail

Gavin McCord and his brawling cowboys came to Missouri with a problem: 3,500 longhorns and not one buyer. That's where Gladstone Pitkin came in. A man with money and a dream of ranching in New Mexico, Pitkin bought McCord's cattle and hired his Texans for a trail drive from Independence to Santa Fe. But with an ill-fated gambler on the drive, the courageous, hardened riders weren't just a thousand brutal miles from Santa Fe-they were heading into a death trap.

About the Author

Ralph Compton stood six-foot-eight without his boots. His first novel in the Trail Drive series, The Goodnight Trail, was a finalist for the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer Award for best debut novel. He was also the author of the Sundown Rider series and the Border Empire series. A native of St. Clair County, Alabama, Compton worked as a musician, a radio announcer, a songwriter, and a newspaper columnist before turning to writing westerns. He died in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1998.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (December 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312962967
• ISBN-13: 978-0312962968
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #394,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Another great Ralph Cotton novel., July 23, 2005

By 

Philip A. Griffith "Gunslinger" (SW Asia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Santa Fe Trail (The Trail Drive Series Book 10) (Mass Market Paperback)

A captivating novel that would be enjoyed by all true western lovers.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 3,500 Longhorns, March 17, 2003

By 

Max Inman (holland, mi. U.S.A) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Santa Fe Trail (The Trail Drive Series Book 10) (Mass Market Paperback)

This trail drive lead by Gavin McCord with help from his brawling cowboy friends take 3,500 longhorns to Missouri but the only buyer who has the money wants Gavin and his friends to push them West by Southwest to Santa Fe. Now they will be on a treacherous drive to earn their money after a 1000 mile drive. I rated this as a great cattle drive story.