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Feb 5, 2015 · Patrick Dearen, today’s guest writer, takes us behind-the-scenes of his award-winning story, The Big Drift, which takes place during the open-range days of 1884. The Academy of Western Artists (AWA) named The Big Drift its Elmer Kelton Fiction Book of the Year Award.
Sep 22, 2022 · His nonfiction has focused on the Pecos and Devils rivers, while his books drawn from his 76 interviews with pre-1932 cowboys document the last generation of cowhands before mechanization. In 2015, he received the Spur Award of Western Writers of America for his novel The Big Drift.
Known as the Big Drift of 1884-85, this massive migration cost cowmen thousands of cattle, but the losses would have been greater if not for Christopher Augustus “Gus” O’Keefe, who ramrodded the subsequent roundup along the river.
Mar 31, 2015 · Patrick Dearen’s novel The Big Drift is set during the deadly blizzard and subsequent die-off of cattle in West Texas in 1884-’85. In addition to being a realistic historical account of the catastrophe, it is the story of two men, one black and one white, who are driven by guilt and a need for repentance.
Will Brite is a Slash Five cowboy working in the Middle Concho region of Texas in the winter of 1884 when a blizzard descends upon him—the likes of which he has never seen.
Among the treasures was the only known photograph relating to the Big Drift, an amazingly detailed picture of a dozen cowboys holding a portion of a herd of 20,000 cattle en route back from the Pecos. Fittingly, the photo pays homage to Gus O’Keefe’s vital role in saving these animals.
Follow Will, Zeke, and the rest of the Slash Fives as they ride through West Texas in search of stray cattle in an unforgettable tale during the Big Drift.
