A Man to Cross Rivers With
Thus starts chapter one of A Man to Cross Rivers With, a historical novel based on Gunnison, Colorado Sheriff Doc Shores. Raised on a Michigan farm, Doc Shores moved west as soon as he was old enough. He became a frontiersman, gunman, and eventually one of the most noted and respected lawmen in Gunnison County. This fictionalized novel describes adventures on the frontier from Montana to Kansas and Texas and Doc Shore's move to Gunnison with his beloved wife.
- Published
- 1999
- ISBN
- 1-890437-09-3
- Pages
- 192
- Place
- Gunnison
- Publisher
- Western Reflections
- Listed at
- $12.95
Publication details from Open Library. The price shown is the last one on record and is historic, not a current offer.
- Direct from us info@westernreflectionspublishing.com or (336) 565-6915. We pack and post from Lake City.
- Amazon Buy from Amazon.
- Any bookshop Quote ISBN 1-890437-09-3 and your local bookseller can order it.
About this book
A Man to Cross Rivers With is a historical novel based on the life of Doc Shores, sheriff of Gunnison County, Colorado. Richard Davis built the story on a real lawman and then fictionalized his adventures, so the book mixes documented history with invented scenes and dialogue.
According to the description, Doc Shores was raised on a Michigan farm and went west as soon as he was old enough. He became a frontiersman and gunman, and eventually one of the most respected lawmen in Gunnison County. The book follows him across the frontier from Montana to Kansas and Texas, then to Gunnison, where he arrives with his beloved wife.
Our catalogue lists the book at 192 pages, and the catalogue subjects are fiction, frontier and pioneer life, and sheriffs. It was first published in 1999 under the Western Reflections imprint.
Who it is for
Readers who like Western fiction rooted in a real person will find a novel built around a Colorado sheriff. Gunnison County history fans can compare the story with the record of the man behind it. Because it is fictionalized, it is a story to enjoy first and a source second.
Ways to use this book
Separating the real sheriff from the story
The novel mixes documented history with invented scenes. If you want to know which parts happened, write to the university archives with the sheriff's name and ask what local records exist.
Making a Gunnison stop
If you travel through Gunnison, check the Pioneer Museum's current season on its site first. It lists its buildings, which helps you plan how long to stay.
Comparing with other frontier fiction
Look through our /library/ pages for other novels of frontier life. Reading two together shows how authors fill gaps in the record differently.
Go deeper
Doc Shores worked as a lawman in Gunnison County, so the best places to learn about that country are in Gunnison itself. These two hold local history that a reader of this novel could use.
Gunnison Pioneer Museum
Its website describes over 30 buildings and a stated aim of preserving the history of the people who came to Colorado and the Gunnison Country, with railroad exhibits and an antique car museum.
Western Colorado University Archives and Special Collections
The Leslie J. Savage Library holds manuscripts and photographs from the Gunnison community, and a Western Colorado Collection of local books and maps. Visits are by appointment, according to its website.
Good to know
Is the book fiction or nonfiction?
Who was Doc Shores?
Where does the story take place?
How long is it?
Have a book of your own?
This is the kind of book the house publishes: regional history, biography, memoir and the stories that belong to a place. Send us yours and a person will read it.