Daniel Boone may have said that all a man needs to be happy in life is a good gun, a good horse and a good wife — but he damn sure packed a well-thumbed copy of Gulliver’s Travels in his possibles. Books are as important as powder and lead, as necessary as a sharp knife a good ax and a good pair of boots; for some of us as vital as food and … [Read more...] about To Arms! To Arms! Save Your Indie Bookstore!
Working The Trapline — April 2020 — Wild Cats And Bones Of Wolfe
As we navigate through the cascade of impacts from COVID-19 and the effort to quell its spread, I’ve been thinking a whole lot about the unfathomable impact disease had on the First Nations peoples in North America. “Novel” viruses tore through native populations like tornadoes. Smallpox in particular had an absolutely devastating effect on … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — April 2020 — Wild Cats And Bones Of Wolfe
Women In Arms
* “Dress suitably in short skirts and strong boots, leave your jewels in the bank, and buy a revolver.” — Constance Markievicz, Irish Rebel, c. 1909 * A whole lotta women are deciding to arm themselves. That trend, which has been accelerating for several years, blew up in the Great Gun Rush of 2020 spurred by the COVID-19 shutdown. While it’s … [Read more...] about Women In Arms
The Times That Try Men’s Souls
THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. — Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, December 23, 1776 * There is something profoundly surreal about the … [Read more...] about The Times That Try Men’s Souls
Apaches And Martians — A Frontier Partisans Tribute To Edgar Rice Burroughs
Deuce Richardson has long held aloft the torch in honor of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Lane Batot will extoll the joys of the Tarzan novels at the drop of a hat — and he’ll drop the hat himself. This is as it should be, for ERB was a genuine Frontier Partisans literary giant — one that I have somehow never fully connected with. That needs to be … [Read more...] about Apaches And Martians — A Frontier Partisans Tribute To Edgar Rice Burroughs
Quarantine Me
It don’t take no virus to make me want to hole up with this book. Taylor Brown is a badass. He’s as good as they come. I devoured his River of Kings in great bloody chunks, and I know damn well I’ll do the same with his new one. Pride of Eden drops on March 17. Retired racehorse jockey and Vietnam veteran Anse Caulfield rescues exotic big cats, … [Read more...] about Quarantine Me
More From The Trapline — Mohicans, Falafel And A House Of Wolves — March 2020
The Last of the Mohicans series has landed at HBO. I wish H-wood would move past its predilection for re-boots and delve deeper into the vast, rich trove of Story that is frontier history. I’d be more than happy to give them a treatment for a series built around Allan W. Eckert’s The Frontiersmen, say. You could do a lot with Simon Kenton and Blue … [Read more...] about More From The Trapline — Mohicans, Falafel And A House Of Wolves — March 2020
Knysna — A Mountain Forest ‘Restless And Spooky’
There is nothing more piquant for me than Frontier Partisan history spiced with a dash of the weird, wild, and fantastical. Blame the early Robert E. Howard influence if you like, but H. Rider Haggard and Bertram Mitford offer evidence that the fantastical is baked in the biltong. Last Tuesday night I ran through multiple episodes of Des … [Read more...] about Knysna — A Mountain Forest ‘Restless And Spooky’
The Yaqui Resistance — Part I
By Rick Schwertfeger, Captain, Frontier Partisans Southern Command, Austin, Texas “It’s for the land and power.” – Dr. Larry Len Peterson “Kill people and take their land and resources.” – Jim Cornelius RUNNING IRON REPORT podcast, December 18, 2019 * And it’s to serve God: to convert the savage heathens to The One True Faith. After … [Read more...] about The Yaqui Resistance — Part I
The Raid On Deerfield
By Captain Paul McNamee, Frontier Partisans, New England Command Another European Pot Boils Over In 1700, Charles II of Spain died, pulling Europe into the War of Spanish Succession, which would last through 1714. England and France failed to reach a neutrality agreement concerning their American colonies. Hope for neutrality … [Read more...] about The Raid On Deerfield
