Buffalo Chasers: A Wild West Show is a short story in my Tailing Times series. At only ten episodes, it launched and completed in May on Vella. Don’t worry if you didn’t notice it, the series will be available there for a few months. Here’s a bit about the story and my inspirations for Buffalo Chasers: A Wild West Show.
Buffalo Chasers
Buffalo Chasers is a prequel to Tailing Times Mysteries, a western detective series about amateur sleuth, Chester, in the Colorado gold fields during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush in 1867. Buffalo Chasers describes how Chester gets to the Colorado Territory. More than an account of the mechanics of Chester’s westward move, Buffalo Chasers uses the setting of the first wild west show to reveal some of Chester’s character, his father’s character, their relationship, and some family history and flavor.
As a prequel, does that mean Buffalo Chasers doesn’t make sense without reading more of the Tailing Times series? As much as I would love you to read everything in Tailing Times, the answer is “no.” Buffalo Chasers is a stand-alone short story that has meaning whether you read anything else in Tailing Times. Reading it will enrich your understanding of the Tailing Times characters and setting, though, when you get the chance to read it.
Sharing Great Stories
Like you, as an avid reader of westerns and historical adventure fiction, I’m always looking for more. I’ve read several new westerns from the current popular authors and will share some recommendations for them in the future. Now, since Buffalo Chasers launched and completed last month on Vella, I want to share three of the influences for that story; one historical and two classic works of literature.
The Real Buffalo Chasers Wild West Show
In 1872, Wild Bill Hickok hosted the first wild west show. Although it was the only such show Hickok organized, later, his podna in many things, Buffalo Bill Cody, turned the concept into a gold mine. Hickok held his show in Niagara Falls, NY and called it “The Daring Buffalo Chasers of the Plains.” There isn’t much written about it from the time and online accounts of the event have it occurring in different years. I did confirm through an actual newspaper account from the time it happened in 1872, but I moved it to 1867 for my literary convenience. I usually try to stick to the historical facts, but wasn’t worried about the date for a minor event, and gave the facts in the author notes.
As it turned out, Hickok’s wife, Agnes Thatcher Lake (not Calamity Jane), was the first woman to own a circus. Unfortunately for Hikock, they didn’t marry until 1876. She might have been able to make his wild west show a success instead of the total bust that it was. I won’t speak to why it was because that would be a spoiler for Buffalo Chasers, the short story. But I tell all in the author notes of the last episode.
Classic Literary and Western Fiction
Of the literary and western fiction influences for Buffalo Chasers, one was specific and the other general.
The specific influence was the 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. Like much of Hemingway’s work, the story follows what some call the “lost generation.” The post-WWI Americans who traveled Europe with little to do, but drink strong coffee in the morning, strong cocktails at night, and sleep the daylight away. That doesn’t sound much like a western with buffaloes, but here’s where the influence came.
Hemingway’s group of expats go to the bullfights in Spain, and though the situation is very different from Buffalo Chasers, Hemingway’s method of storytelling is the admirable and influential aspect of the story. He uses the interaction of the bulls and steers (used to calm the bulls) as a metaphor for the relationships of the main characters. This is so well done in The Sun Also Rises. I hope my attempt in Buffalo Chasers is effective and satisfying.
Helpful links for The Sun Also Rises:
The general influence, which is true for most of my western fiction, is The Complete Western Stories by Elmore Leonard. I have this collection both in ebook and audiobook because it is worthy of study in both forms. To hear Leonard’s fluid and exciting storytelling and then to see how he pulls it off time and again. It is a bit of a cheat to mention this collection because I could mention it in all my westerns.
Leonard might be better know in modern times for his modern era stories that became movies and TV series, like Get Shorty and Justified, but his westerns are his best writing, like 3:10 to Yuma (also a movie) and The Bounty Hunters. Leonard’s writing is so sly in its “matter of fact” presentation. You forget you’re reading fiction. My favorite of his works is Cuba Libre, which is one of the best novels of all genres of the twentieth century. Yep, that good.
Helpful links for The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard:
If you enjoy westerns or mid-twentieth-century literary fiction, you might enjoy Buffalo Chasers: A Wild West Show on Kindle Vella.
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Cover image by Szczepan Klejbuk/shutterstock.com. Used under license from Shutterstock.com.