Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - December - 2005 Issue
Western Books From Gene W. Baade
Left to right, Buffalo Jones, Pawnee Bill, and Buffalo Bill. Courtesy Wyoming Tales & Trails.
Her character, and that of Pa Kettle played by Percy Kilbride spawned a series of nine more "Ma and Pa Kettle" movies (Kilbride retired before the last two) that ran from 1947 to 1957. The Kettles seemed more characters one might expect from rural Tennessee than Washington. You get the picture. As a youngster growing up in the '50s, I can assure you there was nothing funnier than a Ma and Pa Kettle movie, except maybe one from Martin and Lewis. Maybe, but not definitely. Sadly, I have not seen a one of these classics since they were new, so I have no idea whether they would be as funny today as they were when I could still count my age on my fingers. Perhaps like the zany Lewis, their humor would be more appealing to the French today. I wish someone would rerun one of these films so I could see. Anyway, for those of you interested in the book which inspired the Kettle clan, and a first edition signed by the author no less, Gene Baade has one for you at the very reasonable price of $300. Item 94.
Everyone remembers Buffalo Bill, but not so many know Buffalo Jones. That's a shame. The two were actually friends in the Old West. Both made their name hunting buffalo, to provide food for railroad workers or caravans during the rapid settlement of the area. However, Bill would make a longer career of buffalo hunting, and then organize his Wild West Show. Jones did something very different. When he realized the buffalo were fast disappearing and heading towards extinction, he became their savior. He put down his guns and began capturing calves to start a preservation herd. He attempted to breed them with cattle, producing an animal he called "cattalo," but the animal was not self-sustaining. Jones would also establish numerous other herds, including one on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake, one in Yellowstone Park, and one on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. He went to Africa where he captured, rather than shot, big game. Among those who admired his work was Theodore Roosevelt, who named him the first game warden of Yellowstone Park. King Edward VII of England awarded him a medal for his work with animals. Perhaps his greatest admirer was famed western writer Zane Grey, who based some of his earliest characters on Jones. Jones also was a founder and promoter of Garden City, Kansas, which maintains a statue of this remarkable man in front of the courthouse. Charles Jesse "Buffalo" Jones died in 1919 and is buried in Garden City. For a look at his life, item 36 is Lord of the Beasts. The Saga of Buffalo Jones, written by Robert Easton and Mackenzie Brown, and published in 1961. $10.
There are many more fascinating stories within the pages of the latest Gene W. Baade catalogue, but you will have to get your own copy to see the rest. You may reach them at 425-271-6481 or bookwest@eskimo.com.
