In the cattle country of northeast Texas in the late nineteenth century, a man had to be smart and tough.
Sam Chance was both.
He is the pioneer, just out of the Rebel army, who sets out West to seek his fortune in 1865—not an adventurer, but a man determined to make good. He does, and sees himself become a legend.
This rich, often moving novel probes realistically into the nature and methods of Sam Chance, pioneer. It finds a man who ravished the land and also built it, who was at once a materialist and a dreamer, who gained love and loyalty from those near him but hatred from those who saw him from a distance. He makes his fortune through trading, freighting, pelt gathering, ranching, buffalo hunting, land speculating; and he pays the price that the frontier demands for such success.
The drama of this powerful and influential cattle baron is played out on a richly furnished stage; it is full of sights and sounds, country and animals—a superb portrayal of life as people really knew it in that rowdy but essentially lonely time of our country's history.
With the publication of Sam Chance, Mr. Capps fulfills the exciting promise of his first work, and proclaims, unquestionably, the emergence of a major new writing talent.
Sam Chance
