{"product_id":"the-california-trail-the-trail-drive-book-5-9781250827470","title":"The California Trail: The Trail Drive, Book 5","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn extraordinary saga of the trail-blazing cowboys who made their fortune \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003edriving cattle from Texas to the Great Frontier.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAcross the Pecos, the Rio Colorado and La Panza mountains, the Texans and their longhorns kept charging-all the way to California gold  \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBetween The Bandera Range And California, They Faced All The Challenges Of Man And God, But Nothing Could Ever Make Them Quit. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe only riches Texans had left after the Civil War were five million\u003cbr\u003emaverick longhorns and the brains, brawn and boldness to drive them\u003cbr\u003enorth to where the money was. Now, Ralph Compton brings this violent and magnificent time to life in an extraordinary epic series based on the history-making trail drives. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe California Trail\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eGold fever had hit California, and suddenly, the land was full of hungry pioneers. For Gil and Van Austin, two Texas brothers, it meant the chance to sell well-grazed longhorns after years of hard ranching and a treacherous cattle drive up through Mexico. The only trouble was that California was on the other side of a searing desert, swollen rivers, a barrage of Indian attacks, and a whole passel of outlaw trouble. And while the Texans and their men were ready and willing to take it all on, there was one thing they weren't prepared for: the ultimate act of treachery and deceit in a land of schemers, dreamers and gold \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRalph Compton\u003c\/b\u003e stood six-foot-eight without his boots. His first novel in the Trail Drive series, \u003ci\u003eThe Goodnight Trail\u003c\/i\u003e, was a finalist for the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer Award for best debut novel. He was also the author of the Sundown Rider series and the Border Empire series. A native of St. Clair County, Alabama, Compton worked as a musician, a radio announcer, a songwriter, and a newspaper columnist before turning to writing westerns. He died in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1998.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"St. Martin's Griffin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50495364137234,"sku":"9781250827470","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_e02e37d5-3ebb-4591-b01c-c17788aba63d.jpg?v=1730683066","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-california-trail-the-trail-drive-book-5-9781250827470","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}