The Buffalo Soldiers

New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1959 Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York. 1959. Hardcover. Stated First Edition. Book is tight, square, and unmarked. Book Condition: Very Good; slight shelfwear to head, tail, tips, and board bottoms. DJ: Good; NOT Price Clipped ($3.95); chipping to head; closed tear at head; wear to tips; light soiling to rear panel; light sunfading to spine. Brown patterned paper over boards with blue cloth overlay on the spine; bright gilt lettering on the spine. Clean internals; interior hinges are sound and not split. 256 pp 8vo. Ten vengeful men. A lost patrol in a pitiless pursuit across the arid hell of Comanche country. A story of the pursuit of a renegade Quahadi Comanche named Quasia by black cavalry troopers under the command of a recently-promoted brevet lieutenant, Garrett Byrne. Byrne is an Irish-born, no-nonsense type who clashes frequently with his second in command and struggles with his feelings over being placed in charge of such a squad. His troop is assigned the duty of guiding and protecting a band of reservation Comanches who want to hunt some Buffalo. Along the way, they encounter hide-hunters, a white homestead family with a mother and two small children, and a band of Indian-hunting Texas Rangers. It's a volatile mix, and sure enough disaster ensues. Garrett Byrne & his complement of black cavalry troopers deal with recalcitrant & mysteriously-motivated Comanches in Indian Territory (Oklahoma) just after the War Between The States. The tensions between all the characters --- white, 'colored', 'comanchero' or 'Indian' --- add a real bite to this story that has a power beyond its seemingly, familiar ingredients. The sudden, violent events which pepper the plot make this a ravenous feast of a short novel. A clean very presentable copy in a Brodart mylar jacket.