Trail of the Apache: And Other Stories Book

COUNTOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK/Short 160 (of 250)
Leonard's first story, "Red Hell Hits Canyon Diablo" (also titled Tizwan, 1951) wasn't his first published, as that would be "Trail of the Apache". But I gotta go with the "Canyon Diablo" story here: the canyons and hills of Southern California Pulp Fiction transfers perfectly to the canyons and mountains of Leonard's early writings. The alleys of NY, filled with mobs/gangsters/shootouts also transfers perfectly to hunts and shootouts in the "Wild West."
HOOK - 3 stars: >>>They called it Canyon Diablo, but for no apparent reason. Like everything else it had advantages and disadvantages...A fifty caliber buffalo rifle rested on a waist-high boulder in front of him...he watched with eyes that were slits against the glare...It is easy for a Chiracahua Apache to hate.<<< are lines from the opening 2 paragraphs of this story. There will be blood.
PACE - 3: Perfect for a short story: Leonard judges his material right-novel vs. novella vs. short.
PLOT - 3: Cavalry men, led by Lieutenant Gordon Tower, are "to locate and bring in Trooper Byerlein." Standard fare from hundreds of 1930s and 40s pulp fiction: a kidnapping of an enemy for any number of reasons.
Cast - 3:Sinsonte, an Apache, is the standout character. Private Huber makes a wrong move and is dead in seconds: "And when a man says one cavalryman is worth ten Apaches, he is a fool. It is certain he was not at Canyon Diablo that July day in [18] '78.
ATMOSPHERE-4: We're only slightly removed pulp fiction territory with lines like "...Sinsonte don't know if'n he's [Byerlein] alive or dead. I'd say he's half of either one." Stuck on the canyon and ridges, a character screams, "Keep shooting, dammit! They're moving up under fire cover." We could very well be in the valleys of L.A. Peace is attempted as "the rest strode from the dark into the light and followed the Indians to the other side, then through a narrow defile into a side canyon."
SUMMARY: 3.2. This first work by Leonard is pretty good for a debut. It's no "Tonto Woman" (a brilliant story) but you can see what Leonard has been studying: the style of the pulps, the gangs, the shootouts.