Louis L’Amour is now one of the most iconic Western writers of all time, but once upon a time he was Jim Mayo, a regular writer for the pulps. Some of the tales he wrote in those days stuck with him enough that he later revised and expanded them into novels. But there was a special magic to the originals, and after research and restoration, these stories appear here now in their original form. In “The Trail to Peach Meadow Cañon,” Mike Bastian, taken in by the legendary outlaw Ben Curry as an orphaned child and raised to one day take over his empire of crime, finds that day has come. As he prepares for his first criminal job, a gold-train robbery, Mike must decide whether to follow the path laid out before him or to carve out a destiny of his own. In the title story, Charles Rodney, shanghaied and forced into labor on a merchant vessel, eventually dies from repeated beatings—but not before deeding part of his ranch to Rafe Caradec, whom he hopes will protect his family.

From national bestselling authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone, a pioneering journey into the raw beauty and untamed dangers of the wild West, where the legendary American spirit is fired in true grit and bold determination . . . Wagon Master Clayton Scofield has led countless families across the dusty, wide-open territories of the West, helping the brave, sometimes reckless pioneers settle into new lives brimming with the promise of good lives. Accompanied by his nephew Clint Buchanan riding as scout and cook Spud Williams, Scofield’s latest trail finds him guiding a train of thirty wagons from Independence, Missouri, to the distant dream of Oregon. It isn’t long before the pioneers fall prey to the hazards of the countryside—both natural and man-made. The rough currents of the Kansas River tears a family apart. A fur trapper threatens Scofield in a foolhardy attempt to win the affections of an uninterested lady. Kill crazy Lakota Sioux warriors attack wagon train and slaughter without mercy. Scofield can’t remember the trail ride ever being this treacherous and unforgiving—and he knows there’s even worse things awaiting them along the far-reaching miles before they reach their destination . . .

Boys' Life is the official youth magazine for the Boy Scouts of America. Published since 1911, it contains a proven mix of news, nature, sports, history, fiction, science, comics, and Scouting.