Wolf Tracker and Other Animal Tales

This collection published by Santa Barbara Press contains five stories, "The Wolf Tracker" being the most important as it is hard to locate in its original 1930 printing which was a small sized book of only 98 pages. And the Walter J. Black printing is a rare book as well but not to be confused with this one, as The Wolf Tracker and Other Stories has different stories than is presented here. As to the title story, The Wolf Tracker, it deals with one man's obsession to track down and kill Old Gray a killer wolf destroying ranchers' cattle. It's quite a psychological drama as the mysterious trapper, Brink, chases the wolf for several months before being able to finally kill him. A whole lot of respect is called forth from Brink for the wolf during this time of the pursuit, and the reward money becomes secondary to what drives him in this quest. "Roping Lions in the Grand Canyon" is a firsthand account of Zane Grey's first trip to the Grand Canyon with Buffalo Jones which inspired him to write "The Heritage of the Desert" and "Riders of the Purple Sage". Without this trip Zane Grey might not have written the stories he did. It also inspired a fictionalized version featuring Ken Ward—one of his boy's books. "Land of the Musk Ox" can also be found in Zane Grey's "Last of the Plainsmen", his biographical story about Buffalo Jones. "Strange Partners of Two-fold Bay" and "Of Whales and Men" are companion pieces. The first was written by Zane Grey, the second by his younger son, Loren. Both stories tell a tale so fantastic, but absolutely true, that many who first read it could not believe it. That is why Loren wrote the second one, returning to the place where the story actually occurred many years later. These are five great fiction and non-fiction stories.