Western Hendryx, James B: The Gold Girl. v1. 23 Feb 2013

[crutledge]

James B. Hendryx (1880-1963: James B. Hendryx wrote 40 novels, 13 anthologies of short stories, and many more short stories and non-fiction articles that have only appeared in magazines. These take place in settings from the Northern US and Canada to the Wild West, but the majority are set in the Yukon Gold Rush, with the best known series about Black John Smith of Halfaday Creek, published in 13 anthologies.
He really experienced the things he wrote about — he spent extensive time in the Canadian wilderness, had a ranch in the Badlands of Wyoming, sought his fortune in the Alaskan Gold Rush, and had an enormous range of other experiences, including "enough law school to stay out of jail". He was no armchair adventurer -- he was as tough as his characters, yet with a great sense of humor and gentle manner.

Excerpt
"I'm lost," she murmured. "Just plain lost. Surely I must have come fifty miles, and I followed their directions exactly, and now I'm tired, and stiff, and sore, and hungry, and lost." A grim little smile tightened the corners of her mouth. "But I'm glad I came. If Aunt Rebecca could see me now! Wouldn't she just gloat? 'I told you so, my dear, just as I often told your poor father, to have nothing whatever to do with that horrible country of wild Indians, and ferocious beasts, and desperate characters.'" Hot tears blurred her eyes at the thought of her father. "This is the country he loved, with its mountains and its woods and its deep mysterious valleys—and I want to love it, too. And I will love it! I'll find his mine if it takes me all the rest of my life. And I'll show the people back home that he was right, that he did know that the gold was here, and that he wasn't just a visionary and a ne'er-do-well!"

This work is in the Canadian public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution. It may still be under copyright in some countries. If you live outside Canada, check your country's copyright laws. If the book is under copyright in your country, do not download or redistribute this work.

To report a copyright violation you can contact us here.