Longarm 222: Longarm and the Backwoods

Fans of this series will find this June 1997 episode quite different from the 'normal' Longarm sagas. To start with, the story is set around Timber City in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon.Also, the time is quite late in the Old West as the wild days are being replaced by the developing of large cattle ranches and timber cutting companies. These two different types of businesses are often at odds,but when they are located adjacent to each other,people are getting shot,cattle are being stolen,unusual accidents are happening;and it seems to each of them that the other is trying to run them out;you get all the ingredients for some real trouble. Because the timber company has an important Federal contract,Vail sends Longarm out to see what's going on,to straighten out the problems and bring the troublemakers to justice. It is a well constructed tale with lots of colorful characters. The owner of the ranch has become well established ,even to the point where he has sent his daughter back East to Miss Hallowell's Academy for Young Ladies. The owner of the timber company is a widow whose husband was killed in an accident. Longarm gets involved with the people on both sides in trying to see who is behind the trouble,and this leads to some exciting and fast action experiences. Any time there is trouble around lumber companies ,there is usually action on log booms,sawmills,dynamite and water flumes;and you won't be surprised to find it here. I enjoyed the tale,but when I finished it,the thought came to mind that this was more like the type of story ,circumstances and characters that we used to get in those Saturday afternoon "horse Operas" starring Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. The biggest thing missing was Curtis getting out his guitar and serenading one of the lovely ladies in the moonlight. It might have been the later days of the Old West--but not that late!!!