Friday, August 27, 2021

The Complete Northwoods Stories of Frederick Nebel

You will never find earnest mythology of Canadian Mountie fiction than the printed prose of the 1920s, 30s and 40s. Although it has been said that Canada had no Wild West because the Mounties got there first, the truth is that before their heralded arrival Canada's frontier was as wild as any Wild West dime novel. Native murders and whiskey traders were so common that such vandalism could never be depicted accurately on screen. Such adventure stories of a frozen Northern territory in which Mounties replaced the heroic sheriffs and gunslingers of the American Western, exorcized locales such as the Yukon, offering the local color of dogsleds, fur thieves, trappers, drunk gamblers and foolish gold prospectors.

While Canadian Mountie fiction from the first half of the 20th century is still in demand for a niche crowd, very little has been reprinted in paperback. And this is a darn shame when you consider James B. Hendryx still has not received his due for the large number of Connie Morgan novels published in such magazines as American Boy, or his Corporal Cameron Downey series. Among the notable pulp magazines that provided such adventures was North-West Stories, Complete Northwest and North-West Romances... but sadly most of them have never been reprinted over the years. Fans of the red tunic have had to resort to buying the original pulp magazines, not reprints, lending credence to the statement that "Canadian Mountie fiction is not yet forgotten, but it is crumbling into dust."

As a fan of Canadian Mountie fiction during that romantic era when the Mounties never always got their man, my bookshelf contains hardcover novel reprints and 1930s pulp magazines loaded with Canadian Mountie fiction. So you can imagine my surprise when I discovered Altus Press releasing the first of Frederick Nebel's forte, chronologically. It was from this reprint that I was introduced to Corporal Chet Tyson, who would appear in multiple stories for more than six years. There is also a serial novelette, Defiance Valley, which dramatizes the adventure of R.C.M.P. Pat Quinlin. My favorite story in the collection was the 1926 short story, "The Black Fox Skin," which told not a tale of Canadian Mountie law, but of two natives who competed for the hand of a beautiful woman... for the first person to catch the skin the elusive black fox. 

Regrettably, this book was published six years ago in 2015, which makes me suspect there will not be a volume two. I hope I am wrong because future volumes will be a welcome addition to my bookshelves. In the meantime, if anyone is looking for something to read by the fireplace during the cold winter months, click on the link below and make your purchase today.