Cattle Country and Back Trail: Two Tales from Thompson Western Series

This is from the author's note for Cattle Country-the first novelette of the three.There are many things here that can be found in nearly any Western; for it is not a calm book. But I hope you will feel:The courage of John Wade as he tries to fill a job that he knows is far too big for him; The strain of the decision Wells has to make of whether to get out of town safely himself or help the sheriff who will probably arrest him when the shooting is over;The sting of Wade's words as he tells Jim Halleran, "I'd like to think you were still a man I could be proud to know;"The frustration of Katherine Wade as she stamps her foot on the floor of the sheriff's office and says, "Damn Cowards;"The bigness of Henry Ashburn as he gives Bob Darlington a hand in a fight that does not concern him at all. This is Cattle Country!"I grew up in times and places much like Erwin Thompson paints in Cattle Country, Back Trail, and The Invincible Three. Although those times are gone, Thompson's well-written voice rings true with the memory and flavor of a world that should not be lost."-Jim Lyle, author of Things Seen in the Dessert

Erwin Arthur Thompson was born November 9, 1915 in Schuyler County, Illinois. He is a poet, novelist, fiddler, noted folk artist, and hoe-down square dance caller. He has lived on the bluffs of the Mississippi River for nine decades in the house that his grandfather built in 1863 and named Evergreen Heights. Erwin is a combat veteran of World War Two. He earned the Combat Infantry Badge, and was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries sustained near Stohlburg, Germany. He also received the Silver Star for "Gallantry in action above the call of duty," in this same contact with the opposing forces. Erwin has been writing poetry, family history, music and lyrics to original songs for three-quarters of a century. He furnished music for local square dances,the National meeting of the Kaiser-Fraiser Club at the Museum of Transportation in Saint Louis, the re-enactment of the Lincoln-Douglas Debate in Alton, the annual Calhoun County Antique Quilt and Car Show, the Alton Historical Society, church socials, and local nursing homes. Erwin's poems have been featured on two radio programs, and are well-known to an informal network of admirers. They cover his rich heritage, his sensitive response to life experience, and express his phioosophy and love of life. Erwin was named a folk trasure by Arts Across Illinois, featured on their TV broadcast, and website. The letters he documents for his mother and father and extended family network archived at the University of Illinois illuminate the living history of the early 1900s. They are considered by the collectin curator as an invaluable resource for researchers of that time period. They supplement and interlock with the written history of that era. Erwin's poems, songs, and stories provide deep links to the past while telling timeless tales of loss, love, struggle and triumph.