Manhunters

First published in 1974 by Ballantine Books, Manhunters, the tale of Chacho's legendary flight, was inspired by the story of controversial Mexican fugitive Gregorio Cortez. In 1901 Cortez, a young horseman, shot a sheriff during an argument, leading to the largest concerted manhunt in Texas history.

This novel is alive with the idiom of Kelton's native West Texas and freely punctuated with his trademark wry humor. His characters, both the ignorantly petty as well as the quietly strong, ring true to life.

Chacho is a young horse handler who, while being cheated by a trader, is forced into a gun battle and kills an Anglo sheriff. As the long-simmering hatred between Anglos and Mexicans erupt, Chacho becomes a hero to his own people and a fugitive from the law. Reissue.

As he flees to the sanctuary of Mexico, Chacho Fernandez is unaware of the fuel he has added to the already simmering racial hatreds in and around the quiet town of Domingo, Texas. Through events set in motion by a misunderstanding, Chacho becomes a folk hero to his people and a dangerous fugitive to a group of zealous lawmen.

First published in 1974 by Ballantine Books, Manhunters, the tale of Chacho's legendary flight, was inspired by the story of controversial Mexican fugitive Gregorio Cortez. In 1901 Cortez, a young horseman, shot a sheriff during an argument, leading to the largest concerted manhunt in Texas history.

This novel is alive with the idiom of Kelton's native West Texas and freely punctuated with his trademark wry humor. His characters, both the ignorantly petty as well as the quietly strong, ring true to life.

Library Journal

Kelton's 1974 novel is based on the story of Gregorio Cortez, a Mexican fugitive who was the object of the largest manhunt in Texas history. With a film of Kelton's The Good Old Boys currently in production, his star may be on the rise.

Elmer Kelton is the author of more than forty novels, published over more than fifty years. Three of Kelton's novels have appeared in Reader's Digest Condensed Books. Four have won the Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City: The Time It Never Rained, The Good Old Boys, The Man Who Rode Midnight, and the text for The Art of Howard Terpning. Seven have won the Spur award from Western Writers of America: Buffalo Wagons, The Day the Cowboys Quit, The Time It Never Rained, Eyes of the Hawk, Slaughter, The Far Canyon, and The Way of the Coyote. Kelton holds lifetime achievement awards from Western Writers of America, Inc., the Texas Institute of Letters, and the Western Literature Association.