Riders of Judgement

Riders of Judgment (1957) is historical fiction, a retelling of the Johnson County, Wyoming range war in April, 1892. The University of Nebraska Press reprinted Frederick Manfred's novel in 1982. It is also available in various paperback editions. Although Manfred's account largely adheres to the actual historical event, he changed the names of the key characters. For example, Manfred's Cain Hammet replaces the actual Nate Champion that organized the small ranchers' Northern Wyoming Farmers and Stock Grower's Association (NWFSGA) to compete with the cattle barons' powerful Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA). The title of each chapter is a character - Cain, Dale, Harry, Rosemary (Rory), Hunt, Jesse, Mitch, and others. This structure allows the author to focus on characterization as well as on the action (confrontations, hangings, and ambushes). Manfred's shifting perspectives occasionally reveal deep misunderstandings and false assumptions made by both parties, although his account is largely sympathetic to the plight of the small ranchers. Cain Hammet is a reluctant protagonist. Link Keeler, the murderer of Cain's grandpa some years ago, has recently returned to Johnson County (under the name Hunt Larson) as a deputized inspector of cattle charged with eliminating rustling. Unable to goad Hunt into a gun fight, Cain lets his hated adversary walk away. While admittedly killing a peace officer would be foolhardy, Cain's inaction ultimately makes matters worse. Frederick Manfred's Riders of Judgment was the basis for the 2002 TV movie The Johnson County War. Caution: In 2001 another respected Western author, Ralph Compton, published a novel with the same title, Riders of Judgment, that is also based on the Johnson County range war. I have not read Compton's western; the reader reviews rank it highly.