Horse Mule Grizzly Indian Buffalo
Wrecks of the Frontier West 

By Mike Stamm
150 pages, illustrated, softcover: $15.95

Reviewed by Bill Scurlock

    Here's a lively and historic look at encounters with horses, mules, grizzly bears, Indians, buffaloes and nature in the frontier West. The author, Mike Stamm, uses "wrecks" as a catchall term to describe perilous and sometimes humorous incidents written in original journals and diaries of mountain men, explorers and other travelers in the West.
Stamm, a wildlife biologist and self described horse and mule person, became hooked on the journals and diaries of early Westerners while researching early records of wildlife. In this book he uses these resources to provide vivid descriptions of life when livestock was a necessity for travel and work. One of his reasons for writing the book was to dispel many of the myths about the early West by using the firsthand accounts. The book also takes an indirect look at the inherent dangers of using livestock and associating with these powerful but sometimes panicky and reactively explosive animals.
    Chapters include: "Mountain Men and Their Livestock," "Horse Injuns," "Fun with Mules," "Blowouts with Buffalo," "Fracases with Grizzlies," "Goofs with Guns," "Deadly Crossings," and "Wagon Wrecks, Unexpected Trail Hazards, and Other Outrageous Shenanigans." There are historical accounts from Jim Bridger, Joe Meek, Osborne Russell, Joe Walker, Jedediah Smith, Black Beaver, George Custer, Kit Carson, General George Crook, Jim Baker, Sitting Bull, Zenas Leonard and many others.
    Wrecks of the Frontier West is a thoroughly entertaining book that gives credence to the view that nonfiction can be more exciting than tall tales. I recommend this book to anyone who uses animals in their historical interpretations as well as anyone with an historical interest in the early West.
    Please add $3.00 for shipping and handling. Medicine Wolf Press, 4064 Safari, Kingman, AZ 86413.