Twelve Quiet Men

by Michael Edward Little

Overview

In the 1880's, from central Montana into western Dakota Territory, hordes of outlaws terrorized the region, rustling, robbing and killing. Representatives of the law were non-existent. Finally, a secret group of determined cattlemen, led by Granville Stuart, abandoned their ranching responsibilities to hunt down and destroy the lawless predators. This is the story of the Vigilante cattlemen known as "Stuart's Stranglers."

First, the Vigilantes conducted a series of devastating River Raids along the Judith, the Musselshell, and the Missouri rivers. When the River Raids were completed, Stuart's Stranglers began their famous Train Raids. The Vigilantes with their horses boarded a special train in central Montana bound for Medora, Dakota. Along the way, the train made frequent stops to discharge groups of resolute cattlemen who stealthily approached various outlaw hideouts. In the dark of night, the Vigilantes attacked, catching the outlaws completely by surprise. When the Train Raids were concluded, the Vigilantes had wiped the Montana and Dakota territories clean! Nearly one hundred outlaws were killed in less than two years. Twelve Quiet Men is a remarkable historical Western based on real events in the lives of these remarkable cattlemen.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592995486
Publisher:	First Books
Publication date:	12/27/2010
Pages:	388
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

Editorial Reviews

Ranchers form a vigilante gang to run livestock thieves out of 1880s Montana. The story begins with a gunshot, the first of hundreds that whiz through this action/adventure Western set on the plains of Montana and North Dakota in the twilight of the 19th century. In the first scene of the novel, a gang of livestock thieves kills a rancher at DHS Ranch, one of the largest cattle wrangling operations in the area. Fed up with the lack of law and order after being terrorized, the ranchers join together to take on the cattle thieves using any means necessary. The novel sweeps across the high plains, skipping from scenes of action to comedy. Little's approach sets itself apart by including extensive regional histories, technical details and authentic depictions of ranch life. Despite the author's admirable commitment to historical accuracy, these overly long sections cause the novel to grind to a halt, as if sections from a history essay and a how-to manual for ranchers have been inserted haphazardly into a Louis L'Amour novel. These parts reflect the author's interests more than the demands of the story. More problematic, however, is the author's shallow investigation of the moral implications of vigilantism. Though framed as righteous cowboys clearing the area of lawlessness, the moralistic raiders come off as bloodthirsty, not particularly appealing heroes willing to commit murder, arson, corpse mutilation and public intimidation to avenge crimes as minor as cattle theft and bootlegging. In effect, the novel trades emotional accuracy for technical accuracy, with brutal results. An ambitious but deeply flawed look at life in the American West.

Kirkus Reviews