Few people today are aware that the West of legend was so brief. It began in 1865, with the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the great trail-drives where herds of longhorns were rounded up in South Texas and driven north to railroad yards; it ended with the two worst winters in American history (1887-88 and 1888-89). Those winters brought ruin to thousands of ranchers across the West. As if that wasn’t bad enough, at the same time, barbed-wire changed everything—the free range cowboys loved so much was rudely snatched away, one strand of wire at a time. No wonder cowboys teared up when they sang that mournful lament, “Don’t Fence Me In.”

Grey set his story in 1889, and not coincidentally a centerpiece of the book is the hundred-mile-long barbed-wire drift fence Jim Traft is ordered to build, in the process dramatically changing the western way of life in the region.

Drift Fence is a seminal Western classic in that it quite possibly provides Grey’s most complete depiction of the Western cowboy: what makes him tick; his sense of humor; and his attitude towards the tenderfoot, work, money, loyalty, horses, and women. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the so-called Code of the West; here is what Grey had to say about it:

First of all, I’d go to town an’ buy the best cowboy outfit I could get, an’ that means saddle, bridle, spurs, chaps, sombrero, gun, boots, ‘and so on. That would be for special occasions. Then I’d wear most of the time just plain overalls. I’d pack a gun an’ begin to learn how to shoot it. I’d have a little straight talk with the boys [most cowboys were young] who was to work under me an’ I’d let them know I was the boss. I’d always do my share of any an’ all kinds of work. I’d show a disposition not to give any boy a job I wouldn’t try to tackle myself. I wouldn’t be too nice to take a drink, on occasions where it might be wise, but I’d leave drink alone. Also … I’d leave the town slatterns alone. I’d lend my money free, but never my hoss or saddle or spurs. I’d always stand the brunt of any trouble directed against my outfit. That’ll be hard, for you’ll find every one of your cowboys keen to do the same thing. Last, an’ I reckon most particular an’ hard, I’d stand up under the hell the Westerners will make for a tenderfoot. I’d run the gauntlet. I’d make all the decent fellows like me—an’ most of them are decent—an’ I’d make the others respect me.

You will discover as you read, that the younger Traft does indeed endure the hell his uncle predicted, a hell that never lets up until the last pages of the book. This is what gives the book its unrelenting suspense—well, half of it is: the other half of the suspense comes from Molly’s desperate flight for the survival of her self-respect and dreams of a better life.

As Grey wrote The Drift Fence, he had no way of knowing he was living his last days on the crest of his personal Mount Olympus, or that his prodigal spending habits would soon catch up with him when the torrent of gold spewing out at him would be suddenly reduced to a trickle. Barely twelve months afterwards, the Great Depression would hit, and keep on hitting for the rest of his life. When the book was serialized in the pages of American in April 1929, Grey and his fellow Americans were unknowingly living on a precipice; but by the time Harpers published the book, on January 3, 1933, the worst depression in American history was raging; Dolly Grey would eventually be forced to fiercely battle for the rest of her husband’s life to stave off bankruptcy. Though his books continued to sell, most readers were forced to read Grey’s books in public libraries rather than purchase their own copies. Interest was so great that libraries were forced to double their orders to keep up with the demand. Later, it would be discovered that the continuing sales of Grey’s books during the Great Depression would enable the august house of Harpers to escape going under.

Characters you’ll find difficult to forget (besides the two lead characters), include the astute Jim Traft, Sr., Molly’s semi-outlaw brother Arch (Slinger) Dunn; faithful Andy Stoneham; kind-hearted Mrs. See; the rollicking cowboy, Curley Prentiss; the despicable villain, Hank Jocelyn; the supposedly deaf cook, Jeff Davis; Molly’s embittered mother; Ring Locke, the range boss; and a host of other characters who play cameo parts.

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All in all, by the time you read the last page of this book, you will not only have experienced one of your life’s great reads, you will also have gained a new appreciation for turn-of-the-twentieth-century rural Southwest America. The Drift Fence represents one of the few instances in Grey’s canon where he all but guarantees a sequel—and there would be: The Hash Knife Outfit.

—Joseph Wheeler, Ph.D

Conifer, Colorado

February 2016

CHAPTER

1

MOLLY Dunn sat waiting on the rickety old porch of Enoch Summers’ store in the village of West Fork. For once she was oblivious to the approach of the lean-faced, long-legged young backwoodsmen who lounged there with their elders. Molly was sixteen and on the eve of a great adventure.