Frontier Partisans

The Adventurers, Rangers and Scouts Who Fought the Battles of Empire

Working The Trapline — Into The Wild Frontier

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A new docudrama will arrive in February from INSP, which is a new one on me.  It seems to be very much a niche channel catering to Westerns. It’s not available on any platform I have, but I may go to some lengths to seek this out. Here’s the caper:

Early pioneers, scouts, hunters, and traders fulfill America’s destiny to expand Westward, exploring uncharted territory to blaze new trails. While dangers of deadly predators, starvation, bad weather, and unwelcoming Native Americans linger around every corner, the promise of land and opportunity push brave men like Daniel Boone, Kit Carson, and John Colter to keep going. Within the epic adventures and survival of the early settlers lies the origins of Western lore and the creation of legends that live on forever.

What gets my attention is that they’re talking about John Colter — and the glimpse we get of Jim Beckwourth shows a dead ringer. It’s intriguing enough for me to at least try to cut sign out there in the cyberwilds.

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David Morrell, creator of Rambo, posted an excellent interview from Flashback Files. The interviewer knows his stuff, which makes for a great deal more depth than these things usually offer. Morrell is a thoughtful, highly intentional writer who understands that the thriller genre can offer much more than mere thrills. First Blood was and remains a remarkable book. He talks about the translation of his character from page to screen, and the differences between the book character and the iconic action hero he became. It’s kind of a long, strange trip.

David Morrell and Sylvester Stallone.

I examined the character of Rambo in my college thesis on the frontier hero as archetype (it was built around the real-life exploits of Simon Kenton). I always felt bad about the way the character became a caricature, as Stallone swelled to bodybuilder proportions (and his signature knife became more fantastical) with each succeeding sequel. Let’s just say that I would have love to see the original script for Rambo III (the Afghanistan caper) realized, in place of the unwatchable thing that was actually produced.

Anyway, the interview is worth the time. I like it that Morrell gives props to Ulzana’s Raid. Anybody who digs that picture has his moccasins firmly planted on the path of righteousness.

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Speaking of thrillers, one of our readers scouted up a heist yarn by the esteemed British military thriller writer, Max Hennessy (pen name for John Harris). I’ll have to replace my defunct Kindle device to get this one:

The Second Boer War is finally ending, and for three thieves there is the unexpected bonus of stealing an army payroll so large that they have to bury it outside a Free State town until the heat cools off.

While they wait for an opportunity to return to their stolen bounty, the entire might of the army gives chase, giving rise to a riotous set of events.

Based on a true story, John Harris’ adventure entertains and delights in a series of incredulous scenarios brought to glorious life against the backdrop of South Africa’s diamond mines.

Love this epigraph:

 

Truer words never spoken — with classic British understatement.

Then there’s this one:

South Africa, 1914. Diehard Boer generals led a new rebellion against the British-friendly governments of both Jan Smuts and Louis Botha.

General Christiaan De Wet’s attempt to join up with the Germans in South-West Africa failed, but the threat of the rebel forces was real to all of the men who lived through it.

This is a story which began with fervent patriotism and ended in more bloodshed than anyone ever meant to spill. This is the story of the Battle of Sheba.

These aren’t new books, just newly made available through Kindle. Which just goes to show that the East India Company Amazon does have its merits. Damn their eyes…

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Comments

  1. Matthew says

    The thing about thrillers is that for a lot of both readers and writers is that they only seem to care about is a fast pace and lots of action. That’s how James Patterson and Dan Brown are considered top writers. Morrell, however, is head and shoulder above most thriller writers. That doesn’t mean that it is wrong to enjoy even some of the shallower thrillers, but the genre could be so much more. (One thing: I differentiate the thriller from the crime genre which is usually solid and at times produced some real masters like Hammett, Chandler, and Westlake.)

    Glad to see that the documentary is dealing with lesser known figures on the frontier along with the likes of Kit Carson.

    Reply

    • JimC says

      My wife devoured The DaVinci Code and persuaded me to give it a go. It was… not good. I saw the Big Plot Twist coming like a Texas blue norther. And the less said about the writing the better. Nevertheless, it hit a chord. There was a time when everybody was reading that book. Of course, 50 Shades of Grey was a big hit, too. But hey, it’s a big ol’ world, and people like what they like.

      Reply

      • Matthew says

        It is and there is a place for “guilty pleasures” (and you should not feel guilty about them) I just think that thrillers could be so much more than a guilty pleasure. Not that they are all like that (i.e. Morrell) but the standards are low.

        Of course, I am a science fiction fan which as a genre is all over the place in terms of quality. Gene Wolfe is equal to Cormac McCarty in my opinion, but there are some awful writers. Then there’s Jack Vance whose a great stylist and a great world builder but has flat characters. There’s Dune which has an awful style, but is a hell of a great story.

        Reply

  2. Quixotic Mainer says

    Rambo III was pretty ridiculous, though I read somewhere that he charges the Russian tank mounted on the same horse Ford chased his tank in Indy III. Probably less of a coincidence and more of the rarity of a horse that would come at an armored vehicle.

    I really hope the story of Beckworth getting his nomme du guerre Bloody Hand is in that show, apparently he was quite handy with a sword in a tight spot.

    Reply

    • JimC says

      Thanks for the heads up — hadn’t heard about this one.
      There’s enough pucker factor in the trailer alone to let you know this ain’t gonna be a soft ride.

      Reply

  5. wayne says

    Jim Beckwourth and John Colter! I’m in. I’ll order the Harris books on my Kindle – that’s what I have it for. You could hunt thru used books stores for a month and maybe find one of them.
    ‘Just bought David McCullough’s The Pioneers. Hard to beat a history of the Ohio River Valley frontier by a 2 time Pulitzer prize winner.
    As always, thanks for keeping all of us abreast of the best in books, documentaries, music, etc.

    Reply

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