Dan works on a Montana cattle ranch as a green hand. He has to bear the teasing and rough treatment from older experienced hands, the bullying of Wag- another guy his age who feels he should be favored as the cook’s son- and some subtle resentment from all because he is the ranch owner’s nephew. Never mind that his stern uncle gives him no favoritism at all. Dan tries hard to hone his skills and do his work well, finding better company with one Native American man who lives on the ranch with his family, and brunting occasional fights with Wag. But he realizes what he really wants when he finds a hidden path to the top of the Rainrock Mesa and spies a beautiful sorrel Appaloosa mare. She has a reputation for a nasty temper, but Dan is determined to ride her someday. The wild horses on the mesa are unlike other horses on the range, they’re spotted descendants of the Nez Perce Appaloosa stock. The ranch owner decides he must catch and sell some of these wild horses to get badly-needed funding for the ranch, feed his cattle in the winter and pay off loans to the bank- even if it means that the horses go to slaughter for dog food. Some of the cattle hands are outraged that good horses would go to such an end, so Dan determines to break in a few colts on his own, that could be sold as saddle stock. And other men have more devious plans, including to trap the proud wild Appaloosa stallion, who Dan feels deserves to stay free.

There’s so much else to this story- it was far more complex and interesting than I’d expected. From details on how the ranch work was handled, cowboy traditions, prejudice against the Natives, descriptions of different horse types and their qualities, scorn against the sheep herders, some dishonest lazy cowboy bums contrasted to the other hard-working and honest men. Even the banker whom I expected to be portrayed as a flat more-or-less evil and greedy character, was more nuanced and sympathetic when DAn got to know him. The wolves however, were always shown as just bloodthirsty, ravenous and vicious creatures. And the sheep were very much looked down on, horses praised, cattle well-liked but considered boring after a while. It all made me chuckle. I was surprised at how much the men often solved with outright fistfights though! (Seems typical of these older stories). And the ending wrapped up a bit too quick, leaving me thinking: what? ( )