First Mountain Man (Johnstone)

The only man who can lead a wagon train through the last leg of the Oregon Trail, Preacher knows they're headed into renegade outlaws and bloodthirsty Indians. Somehow he has to get these pilgrims through safely - if he doesn't want to be buried along the trail with the rest of them...

This second book in William W. Johnstone's classic Preacher series finds Preacher leading a wagon train of settlers into the Rockies--and through dangerous territory. Trapped on the Continental Divide by a blinding snowstorm, Preacher must fend off the gunfire of the wicked Pardee gang, and a band of marauding Utes.

The Price of Gold A wagon train winding through the remote reaches of teh Rocky Mountain high country can attract plenty of scavengers--some of them human--like Vic Bedell and his gang of cutthroats. All he wants is the women, who can be traded for gold mine supplies...or used for whatever else he has in mind. But he didn't count on Preacher leading that train. The Color of Blood Bedell's first mistake is leaving the First Mountain Man for dead. His second mistake is underestimating Preacher's strength...and cunning. And Preacher needs all he can get to lead a hundred and fifty helpless ladies out of captivity...through fifteen hundred miles of unforgiving territory filled with hostile Indians--and the deadliest threat of all: Bedell and his wild avengers...

A Friendly Place... During a trip back east for a family reunion, Preacher learns that even the civilized midwest can attract a motherlode of trouble... especially when a gang of local bully boys decides to pick a fight. Now, wealthy landowner Elam Parks lies dead -- and there's a $5,000 reward on the head of the man accused: the first mountain man. ... To Die The fortune in blood money has dispatched a small army of bounty hunters after Preacher. Now, back in his once-peaceful homestead in the High Lonesome, as he sights down the barrel of his '33 Hall North breechloader, Preacher is ready for target practice. And he can't think of a more scenic place to pick off the bloodthirsty manhunters, one by one...

Blood in the Snow Mountain men are skilled at survival. Preacher, the greatest of all those warriors of the forest, will kill anything--beast or man--that threaters his survival. Ten years ago, he taught this violent lesson to gun-crazed Ezra Pease when he ran the outlaw out of town. But Pease and his trail-scum gang are back--shooting up trouble and crossing the Big Empty to nail Preacher's hide to a tree. So Preacher's riding out to teach Pease one final lesson. But it could be too late because Pease's vicious dealings have fired up an all-out Indian war. Now, with hard-riding death on both sides, Preacher and some old friends called Beartooth, Dupre, and Nighthawk are heading straight into lead-flying, scalp-slashing hell...

One Man And... No one remembered when he'd come to the mountains--it seemed that Preacher had always been there. He'd seen a great deal in the unmapped mountains and forests of the grand North American frontier. In fact, he'd just told a friend that he wasn't surprosed by anything anymore. But Preacher hadn't seen Nova Roma yet... ...A Deadly Dream of Glory Auddenly, Preacher is faced with the strangest, most dangerous army the High Lonesome has ever seen. It's leader is a blood-mad fanatic right out of the ancient history books. All Preacher's got on his side are his brother mountain men: tough as hardtack good old boys like Philadelphia Braddock and Frenchie Dupree; the Arapaho warrior Bold Pony; and his surefire Walker Colt...

In the seventh book in his bestselling Preacher series, William W. Johnstone gives his millions of avid fans exactly the kind of gritty, action-packed Western novel they look for from this prolific and hugely popular writer. "A Messiah Shall Lead Them...". In the Wyoming wild, Blackfoot warriors prepare for battle, their bloodlust stirred by a legendary prophet promising victory in a war that will forever rid the plains of the white man. To legendary mountain man Preacher, it isn't a promise - it's a threat. But being out-numbered in a savage frontier means justice will be as hard-earned and uncertain as...survival." ...To An Early Grave". With a loyal Cheyenne as his guide, and a spirited Dragoon squadron for cover, Preacher forges up the treacherous Sante Fe trail. But the only way to win this war is to unmask the hell-raising Messiah whose godforsaken message is leading a desperate people into certain massacre...

The Greatest Western Writer Of The 21st Century. Before he became a legend, Preacher was a trapper peacefully plying his trade in the Rocky Mountains. But people needed a hero. . .and Preacher was the only one around. Now a wagon train of pioneers is struggling westward toward Oregon through the howling winter--and a band of Arikara warriors are hot on their trail. Little do the Arikaras suspect that they're about to come face-to-face--and gun-to-gun--with a ferocious fight they never expected. . .courtesy of a wily mountain man. As Preacher struggles to bring the settlers to safety, he learns the real reason they were attacked--and begins to suspect that the secrets they've been keeping equal to a worse kind of danger. With treachery in the air, more Arikaras on the warpath, and a deadly deep freeze bearing down, trust is a thing of the past--and survival is all that matters.

They call him Preacher. And they call him when they need help. Now, a Mexican brother and sister have asked the legendary frontiersman to accompany them into the Sangre de Cristo mountains--to find a missing family fortune of gold and silver.

The harsh, unforgiving frontier is no place for innocents. And when an old friend of the Preacher's asks him to guide a gaggle of wide-eyed Easterners through the Rockies, Preacher responds with a polite: "Hell no." But the pilgrims are pursued by a gang of outlaws - and then ambushed by angry Indians. With his friend caught up in the melee, Preacher has no choice but to try to rescue him - and anyone else who happens to be within reach. Suddenly a battle turns into an all-out war as one of the Easterners has an explosive secret that could get them all killed. Add some stone cold cutthroats with a chilling plan, and this man of God will have a devil of a time saving some souls - and sending others to meet their Maker...

On A Journey For Dreamers In the bustling streets of St. Louis, two cousins have a dream: to travel west with a wagon train of supplies and make a fortune in trade. Since a rugged mountain man called the Preacher saved their bacon once before, they turn to him again... In A Land Full Of Danger Preacher needs a job and is heading west anyway. But he doesn't bargain on the beautiful woman who sneaks her way into the wagon train and the trouble she brings on board. Then, before he can wash his hands of the whole bunch, he's suddenly in a fight for his life. All Roads Lead To The Preacher.... Sensing easy prey, outlaws in a lawless land have swooped down on the band of pilgrims already bitterly divided by secrets, passions, and hatred. And for that, they will all answer to the Preacher...

Dreams Of Gold And Power The mountains are brimming with the lure of fortunes--from gold to a booming fur trade. A man at home in this once pristine wilderness, Preacher knows there's no turning back civilization now. What he doesn't know is that beyond the plans of some men is a deadly enemy with far more dangerous designs. . . Schemes Of Blood And Betrayal With vengeance-hungry criminals shadowing his every move, Preacher meets a beautiful woman working to bring a rail line to a remote settlement. And while Preacher is distracted by both the beauty and by beastly outlaws, Indians attack the outpost--and settlers fight furiously back for their survival. One Man's Fight For The Future Of A Land. . . When the smoke clears and blood dries, Preacher realizes that he's in a war more deadly and complex than any he's known. Agents of a foreign government ignited the Indian attack. And they've got far bigger plans--and only Preacher stands in their way. . .

The Greatest Western Writer Of The 21st Century A Woman For The Winter. Montana Territory and a band of Assiniboine Indians give Preacher shelter for the winter. A beautiful woman named Raven's Wing makes the sheltering even better--once he gets things straight with a jealous brave who wants to lift Preacher's scalp. A Fire In The Night. Across the border is another wanderer and another tribe. Preacher's old enemy, Willie Deaver, plies a band of Indians with the deadliest combination possible: whisky, guns and bullets--then directs them to try out their killing tools on the Assiniboine. The raid reaps a harvest of devastating death, bloodshed and helpless captives. Deaver is all the more delighted when he learns Preacher is among the fallen. And The Fury Of A Mountain Man... But in the driving, drifting snow, with a handful of bloodied survivors by his side, Preacher is rising: a rifle in his hands, red-hot fury in his heart, and icy vengeance in his gun sight...

THE GREATEST WESTERN WRITER OF THE 21ST CENTURY It's Springtime in Wyoming. Preacher is on the move, joining a trail drive led by freewheeling adventurer Wiley Courtland. Wiley has good horses to deliver to the American Fur Company at Fort Gifford. An Indian war party, led by the cunning and ruthless Red Knife, has other plans. Furiously fighting their way to safety, the horse traders make it to Fort Gifford, where the beautiful wife of the fort's commander makes a raid of her own, with the help of Preacher's newfound buddy Wiley. While jealousy erupts, Red Knife and his bloodthirsty legion of warriors come galloping over the horizon-and lay siege to the fort. Before help can come, an act of treachery opens the gates to a massacre… Only one man survives the carnage. From the smoke and blood, he emerges, clinging to his life and loaded for bear. On his own-the way he likes it-Preacher begins his war of revenge…

The Greatest Western Writer Of The 21st Century It's fur trapping season and Preacher is about to discover the Rocky Mountain trail holds more than wild game--it's also infested with murderers and trail trash quick to deceive, steal, and hunt Preacher down. Among them are Jebediah Druke, his ruthless band of killers, and most terrifying of all, the barbaric renegade Crow warrior known as Blood Eye. When Preacher shows up and gets on their bad side, he stirs up a clash that could lead to a brutal and bloody battle. Preacher gears up for his own brand of raw justice when he learns Blood Eye's been tracking him with nothing but bad intentions. There's a showdown coming and only one man will ultimately rise up out of the carnage. . .

The Greatest Western Writer Of The 21st Century. On the rolling Missouri River a riverboat of fur traders, a U.S. Senator and Prussian royalty are all heading to the Yellowstone from St. Louis. Preacher's onboard because the nation's fate depends on the passengers landing safe and sound. But it won't be easy. Two beautiful women make a play for Preacher. So does a killer. So does a band of river pirates. No sooner does Preacher beat back these threats than the riverboat lands in the middle of a blood-soaked Indian ambush--with a Prussian nobleman and his family taken hostage. Preacher has no choice but to go off in pursuit, even with a traitor trying to slaughter him. Someone wants to start a war and change the course of American history. Only a lone mountain man and the ambush of bullets he wields with deadly, unerring force stands in the way. . .

THE GREATEST WESTERN WRITERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY Preacher takes on the last of the Aztecs in his biggest, bloodiest showdown yet… There are a million ways to die in the Rockies-and a million predators, natural or otherwise. But even a seasoned mountain dweller like Preacher is shocked by the latest horror lurking in the hills. Trappers are being hunted down like animals. Captured. Murdered. Mutilated. Their hearts carved out of their chests. Some of the victims were Preacher's friends. Now two others-Audie and Nighthawk-have gone missing. Preacher is determined to track them down before they end up on the chopping block. But nothing can prepare him for what's waiting at the end of the trail… A secret cult as old as the Aztecs. A warrior priest with a lust for blood. And an epic battle that begins and ends-with the ultimate sacrifice …

THE GREATEST WESTERN WRITERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY For the sake of the son he never knew, Preacher goes on the warpath. Long ago, the legendary trapper known as Preacher took shelter with the Absaroka, and fell in love with a girl called Bird in the Tree. Twenty years later, he rescues a woman and her son from an ambush by the hated Blackfoot. The woman is Birdie, and the valiant young warrior is Hawk That Soars-Preacher's son. Now the greatest fighter on the frontier is about to go to war, to protect a family he never knew he had. Led by the vicious war chief Tall Bull, the Blackfoot are trying to wipe out the Absaroka. Hopelessly outnumbered by vicious warriors, Preacher and his son launch a war that will stain the Rocky Mountain snow with Blackfoot blood.

Johnstone Justice. Made in America. A fur trapper by trade, Preacher can smell a bad deal from any direction no matter how well it's disguised. It wasn't always that way-he's got the scars to prove it. Now he's ready to pass on his deadly survival skills to a boy named Hawk, who just might be his son . . . Preacher and Hawk ride out of the Rockies and into St. Louis, loaded with furs. It's Hawk's first trip to civilization and the moment he lays eyes on young Chessie Dayton he's lost in more ways than one. When Chessie unwisely signs on for a gold-hungry expedition into the lawless mountains, Hawk convinces Preacher to trail the outfit because they're all headed straight to the sacred Indian grounds known as the Black Hills-a land of no return. To come out of it alive a lot of people will have to die. And Preacher's going to need a heap of bullets for this journey into hell . . .

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE DEATH RIDES FASTER THAN THE WIND. For the greatest trapper in the country, there's no place like the Rocky Mountains. Preacher and his son Hawk are riding the High Lonesome when the clear mountain air is split by a girl's savage screams. A gang of ruthless trappers has kidnapped a Crow woman, but before they escape with her, Preacher and Hawk burst out of the tree line, guns spitting fire. They drive the trappers off, only to find that she's not Crow, but white. Caroline has been raised by the Crow since childhood, the only people she's ever known. To get her home, Preacher and Hawk will have to blast their way off this mountain, gunning down kill-crazy trappers and merciless Blackfeet warriors. Because it's never really quiet on the western front. The First Mountain Man PREACHER'S RAGE.

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE THE GOOD DIE YOUNG. AND THE BAD DIE SOONER. There are two kinds of traps in the Old West. One is the kind that Preacher and his buddy, Charlie, use to catch a mountain-load of fur pelts. The other is the kind that Charlie steps into-a trap set by a low-life gambler and his seductive partner in crime to swindle Charlie out of his fur money. Preacher hates to see a good friend get robbed. So he sets off after the grifters-on a riverboat bound for New Orleans. First, he infiltrates the criminal underworld of the French Quarter. Then, he's enslaved on a pirate ship heading straight to hell. Now there's only one way out for Preacher. Start a mutiny. Take over the ship. Then return to New Orleans to reunite Charlie with his money-and not to get butchered in the process. The First Mountain Man PREACHER'S FRENZY Live Free. Read Hard.

In the bloody aftermath of a wagon ambush, a suspect flees, a woman disappears, and a mountain man searches for truth, justice, and revenge. They call him Preacher . . . JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. STOP BY AND SAY HOWDY. Preacher is no hired killer. When a wagon train is brutally ambushed on the Sante Fe Trail though, he can't say no to the St. Louis businessman willing to pay him for justice. It's not the stolen gold that's convinced Preacher to take the job And it's not the missing body of one of the wagon train's crew, a prime suspect who may have plotted the ambush and taken off with the gold. No, it's the suspect's lovely fiance, Alita Montez. She believes her boyfriend is innocent-and has run off to find him. Preacher can't abide the idea of a young woman alone on the Sante Fe Trail. If the Comanche don't get her, the coyotes will. And Preacher can't have that. But to save the girl and get the gold, the legendary mountain man will have to forge a path that's as twisted as a nest of rattlers, face off with trigger-happy kidnappers, backstabbers, and bounty-hunters-and match wits with Styles Mallory, the biggest baddest frontiersman of them all . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

A village is destroyed. A vengeance is born. And, one man blazes a trail to hell and back to pay the devils their due-in bullets and blood. They call him Preacher... JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE. It starts as a happy reunion between Preacher and his fellow trappers in a peaceful Indian village. But, it ends swiftly in death and destruction when a rival tribe attacks the village, slaughters some of Preacher's Crow and mountain man friends, and carries off the women and children as prisoners. Preacher was off hunting when it happened. Now he's teaming up with old friend Lorenzo and half-breed Tall Dog, to get the prisoners back-and get revenge. But, the road to justice is paved with some very dark omens. And, the trail leads to the baddest place on God's good earth: the bubbling quicksand pits, hot springs, and geysers of the Wyoming wild country known as Colter's Hell... Here-where earthquakes shake the land and no man is safe-Preacher and his friends must wage a three-man war against one of the fiercest tribes this side of the devil's inferno. And once the shooting starts, it's going to get a hell of a lot hotter... Oh, and there's also a question of 100 missing rifles... Live Free. Read Hard.

When greed overtakes men's souls, it falls to the righteous mountaineer known as Preacher to rain fire and brimstone upon them from the barrels of his guns . . . JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. THE SPIRIT OF COURAGE AND TRUE GRIT. Preacher has agreed to escort Barnaby Cooper through Dakota Territory's hills to establish a trading post. Accompanied by his friends Lorenzo and Tall Dog, the mountain man hopes they'll be able to protect Cooper from Sioux warriors who don't want any white man trespassing on their sacred grounds. But the Sioux aren't the only hostiles staking their claim in the region. Englishman Albion Shaw knows there's gold in the hills. And with a band of cutthroat killers to do his bidding, Shaw has enough manpower and firepower to keep both trappers and tribes from settling on the land where he can build an empire. But Shaw didn't reckon on crossing a man like Preacher. A man who not only knows what it takes to survive in the wilderness, but a man who will fight for freedom and justice to his very last breath-and his very last bullet . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

When innocent people are threatened, Preacher punishes the guilty, dispensing his own brand of justice-one bullet at a time . . . JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE EVIL DWELLS . . . AND JUSTICE AWAITS. In a North American British province, a group of Norweigan settlers have carved a life for themselves in a lakeshore village called Skarkavik. Hunters and fishermen, they raise their families in peace under the natural cover of the surrounding forest. Decker Galloway believes the land's natural resources are being wasted on the few when so many have a greater need. Having made his fortune logging the wilderness of the eastern provinces, he wants to turn his axes and saws loose on the untouched western region. And no villagers are going to stand in his way. But then there's Preacher. He doesn't mind standing in Galloway's way. Together, Preacher and his friend, the warrior Tall Dog, will remind the Norwegians of their Viking ancestry and declare war on Galloway's gang of murderous gunslingers-with Preacher leading the charge. Live Free. Read Hard.

Preacher leads a search party for a missing woman-and finds himself caught in the crossfire of cutthroat kidnappers, savage Sioux warriors, and one cunning captive . . . JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. SEEK AND YOU SHALL DIE. Preacher is heading home to the mountains when he's approached by a wealthy European with an unusual proposition. He wants the legendary mountain man to track down his missing cousin-a reckless young woman who fled to America with her lover-and he's willing to pay a small fortune to find her. Preacher isn't one to get mixed up in the affairs of fancy foreigners, but he reluctantly agrees. The search is on. Striking westward from St. Louis, Preacher quickly begins to suspect that this search party is doomed. And this trail will lead to some very dead ends . . . First off, they discover that the missing woman's American lover was killed by Teton Sioux years ago. Secondly, the murderous Knox gang heard about the rich European's fortune and plan to kidnap him for a ransom. Thirdly, a fierce band of Sioux warriors launch an attack on Preacher and his men. Things are looking pretty grim. But the biggest shock of all comes when Preacher finally meets the missing woman herself-and sees what she did to survive . . .

Legendary bestselling western authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone return with the blazing new installment in their long-running series featuring Preacher, the First Mountain Man, in a classic showdown between Good and Evil, as he promises to protect two little angels from one devil of an outlaw . . . They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. For Preacher, that road begins at a remote trading post in the Bitterroot Mountains. At first, it's a friendly reunion with his old buddies Audie and Nighthawk. But then, a young Indian woman and her grandfather are attacked by a vicious gang of thieves-and all hell breaks loose. When the smoke clears, the gang's leader, who goes by the name Mack Ozark, .has escaped, the grandfather is dead, and the woman is mortally wounded. Before she dies, she begs Preacher to look after a bundle she is carrying. Inside, wrapped in a blanket, are two blond-haired, blue-eyed babies. They're clearly twins-and clearly not hers . . . Who do the babies belong to? And what is a man like Preacher supposed to do with them? The only clue is a pair of gemstone necklaces around the babies' necks. Preacher's friend Audie recognizes the stones as star garnets from a nearby valley, where they head off to find the twins' mother. Along the way, they realize they're being followed by Mack Ozark.. He knows the babies' father stole a fortune in jewels. He knows the babies' blanket contains a map to the hidden gems. But he doesn't know just how far a man like Preacher will go to protect those little angels-and send a devil like Ozark straight to hell . . .

JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE THE BULLET IS LAW. Of all the Western series by William Johnstone, the epic saga of the mountain man known as Preacher may be the most beloved and enduring. This special edition includes two of Preacher's greatest adventures-Cheyenne Challenge and Preacher and the Mountain Caesar-featuring two of the legend's bloodiest showdowns . . . TO HELL AND BACK Ten years ago, Preacher taught a bad man from the east a violent lesson he'd never forget. Today, that man returns to even the score by igniting an all-out Indian war. The battle lines are drawn. The players are cutthroat. And Preacher's scalp is the ultimate prize . . . OF GODS AND MONSTERS In the mountains of Montana, Preacher stumbles upon the town of Nova Roma, aka New Rome. It's ruled by a ruthless tyrant straight out of ancient history. But Preacher refuses to bow down to a power-mad Caesar who thinks he's a god-not if he bleeds like a man . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

Johnstone Justice. Made in America. An ordinary boy with extraordinary dreams. A man whose legend spreads across the frontier. Ride the epic saga of an American hero and the battles that forged his soul in these classic tales in the legendary Preacher series. In 1812, a boy filled with wanderlust and courage runs away from home, westward, into a vast, dangerous land. Along the way he learns the rule of the frontier: do whatever it takes to survive. By the time the boy-now a young man-is hired to lead a wagon train through the last leg of the Oregon Trail, he has acquired a nickname known throughout the West: Preacher. Armed with a long gun, he is as fierce as the land itself. For the brave pioneers who are counting on this mountain man to lead them to a Northwest paradise, the Preacher's cunning and fighting skills will mean the difference between life and death. But even Preacher can't see all the dangers ahead, or how his legend as a frontiersman will lead him into the most violent fight of all . . .