Lonesome Dove series

Larry McMurty was born into a cattle ranching family, and some of his uncles were old enough to have participated in the end of the cattle driving days. Before railroads went across the country, cattle drives had to be put on in order to move cattle to their set destinations. This timeframe is where the history of the cowboys originated from and eventually became romanticized. Larry McMurty realized being a cowboy was not as good as people made it out to be and decided to write a novel showing the hardships cowboys really faced.

Larry McMurtry originally planned to create a western screenplay called Streets of Laredo, which would star John Wayne. This plan did not happen, and Larry McMurtry turned the screenplay into a novel. McMurtry took inspiration from Charles Goodnight's 1860 cattle drives, The Log of a Cowboy, and Nelson's stories about the 1866 drive from Texas to Montana.[1]

The Milk River is where the Hat Creek Cattle Company sets up their ranch.

Lonesome Dove follows two retired Texas Rangers, Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae who run the Hat Creek Cattle company. Woodrow Call realizes retirement does not suit him and grows restless. Gus does not mind retirement too much, but he does miss Clara, the love of his life, who currently lives up north in Nebraska. Then Jake Spoon, another former Ranger, tells them about the Milk River up in Montana and how beautiful it is up there. From this info, he convinces them to embark on a mission to drive cattle up to Montana. Here they would set up a ranch and live there. Jake Spoon would not go on this drive with them, but other notable people would. These people include, Pea eye, a former Ranger who worked under Call and Gus; Joshua Deets, a tracker and a former Ranger; Newt Dobbs, a boy who works for the Hat Creek Cattle Company; Lorena, a prostitute who resided in the town; and Bolivar a cook. Along their way they deal with crossing rivers, getting attacked by snakes, fighting off bears, and evading thunderstorms. However, an Indian known as Blue Duck causes many problems for the Hat Creek Cattle Company along the way. Eventually the group does complete their mission, but many of the men who embarked on the mission would die. In the end the cattle drive was seen as a failure.

In Streets of Laredo, Woodrow Call is hired by a railroad company, and is tasked with taking down Joey Garza, a skilled sniper who has been killing railroad workers. Ned Brookshire, a salaried man who works with the railroad company, accompanies Call on his mission. Call attempts to recruit Pea Eye, but he declines, as he now has a family and is married to Lorena. However, shortly after Call leaves, Pea eye’s guilty conscience convinces him to go after Call. As they get closer to Joey Garza they encounter more foes, such as Mox Mox, a man who used to work under Blue Duck. In the end Joey Garza is defeated, thus concluding the Lonesome Dove series.

Dead Man's Walk follows Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae (Gus) back in their younger days. On their first expedition the Rangers are stalked by Buffalo Hump, a Comanche Chief. After this expedition concludes, Call and Gus join another expedition led by a man named Colonel Cobb. The expedition started with 200 men, but quickly drops to 40 after many of them are either killed or desert. Shortly after being reduced to 40 men, they are captured by Mexican soldiers. Here, they are forced to march through the Dead Man's Walk, treacherous terrain which results in only 10 men making it through. Here they encounter French troops practicing military maneuvers. This scares 3 of the prisoners, which results in their deaths. The final 7 are then forced to grab a bean from a jar. If they grab a black bean they will die, but if they grab a white bean they will survive. Luckily Call and Gus manage to survive, and the book ends with Gus and Call making it back to town where Clara lives.

Comanche Moon follows Gus and Call in the middle of their ranger years. This book also reintroduces Joshua Deets and Pea Eye. Here they work under Captain Inish Scull where they attempt to track down Kicking Wolf, a Commanche horse thief. However, a Mexican bandit named Ahumado captures Kicking Wolf before Inish Scull can. Eventually Inish Scull finds Kicking Wolf but frees him. Scull gets captured by Ahumado where he is put into a cage where he is expected to die. While this is going on Buffalo Hump leads an assault onto Austin. Before Inish Scull dies, or goes completely crazy, Call and Gus save him. The group then returns to Austin where Inish Scull is promoted General. Meanwhile, Ahumando is bitten by a poisonous spider and dies. After this, Blueduck kills his father after he finds out that Buffalo Hump left them to go die.

Actors for characters based on the chronology of the series. Note that Wes Studi played two roles, Famous Shoes in Streets of Laredo and Buffalo Hump in Comanche Moon.