A Thousand Miles of Mustangin' — Ben K. Green

It was the "late days of the Depression," times were hard and money scarce, and Ben Green "had about used up all the hard ways to make a living a-horseback." So when he heard talk of wild mustangs free for the taking in the Big Bend country of West Texas, he saddled a road horse, put his camp on a pack horse, and headed west from Weatherford, Texas. Eventually, he rides, ropes, trades, and talks his way through the mountains and deserts of West Texas, northwest Mexico, and Arizona, gathering horses, mules, and an assortment of characters along the way. More than a year and a thousand miles later, he will try to cut the deal that will make it all worthwhile. Displaying a wry wit, sharp opinions and a measure of luck, Ben emerges from the wild unknown a survivor. But his greatest accomplishment will be to tell A Thousand Miles of Mustangin', a range classic that rides the Western Myth well into the 20th Century. "Ben Green was an expert story-teller, one of the best I have ever listened to, and having grown up around cowboys, I have listened to some of the great ones . . . I have seen him start telling a story to one or two people in a hotel lobby, and in a short time he would have a goodly crowd gathered around, listening. A master of the oral story-telling art, he simply transferred that knack to the written page." From the Foreword by Elmer Kelton