North to the Rails by Louis L’Amour (1971) – Borden Chantry Series, Book 4 (first in publication order)

In an effort to read a handful of the Louis L’Amour books I’ve collected over the summer, I’ve tried to choose those that are standalone novels (like Last Stand at Papago Wells), so as not to get caught up in a series and then stuck until I can find the next book in line. In fact, I’ve been able to acquire 15 novels over the past few weeks and plan to take the whole lot with me back overseas. There’s just something comforting about a good ol’ Western.

North to the Rails is the fourth of five books in the Borden Chantry series, which is not normally how I’d begin reading a series! It was the first in the series published, however, and thus began as a standalone novel when first released in 1971. For that reason, I didn’t feel like I was jumping unknowingly into an ongoing series when I picked it up.

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Quick Summary of North to the Rails

The book opens with Tom Chantry fleeing town in the middle of the night from a duel he didn’t ask for with a fighter he didn’t know. Besides that, he doesn’t carry a gun.

Although having grown up in the West, Chantry is now a businessman visiting from the East, hoping to round up some cattle for sale for his boss back in the cities. Thanks to his act of apparent cowardice, Chantry has a hard time convincing anyone to ride with him. That is, until he meets a shrewd driver named French Williams who makes a deal with Chantry: together they’ll drive 2000 head of cattle through Indian country to the rail line up north. If Chantry makes it, Williams gets his cut. If Chantry doesn’t make it to the end, Williams gets it all.

It’s a solid premise for a great novel, and I found myself commenting such to random people and strangers as I read it. Clearly hell-bent on making sure Chantry never makes it to the end, Williams uses hooligans, outlaws, and fear to earn the herd—yet he’s not prepared for the gusto Chantry’s got hidden away in himself.

A Relative Beginner to Western Novels

I’m an eclectic reader, but I’ve never really delved too deeply into Westerns. I absolutely loved Hal Borland’s When the Legends Die (1963) and have really enjoyed Frontier-style novels like Man in the Wilderness by Jack Dewitt (1971) and Centennial by James Michener (1974).

Yet when it comes to Louis L’Amour, I have not yet read much of his Western stuff. From childhood, I had engrained in my head some false impressions of the man and his books. My grandfather, Dad, and brother had all been avid fans, and I recall viewing the cover-art of their Western libraries and thinking, “These books are all exactly the same.” True, many books involve shootouts, fistfights, Indian attacks, and riders; but they’re most assuredely not the same. Louis L’Amour crafts well his characters with backstories and foibles that sets each apart from the rest.

Chantry’s aversion to guns, for example, is likely unique to this cowboy tale. It’s a memorable premise, spending half the book painting Chantry as a possible coward before revealing his hidden skills and reasons for avoiding shootouts. It kept me engaged, and I’ll definitely read the other Chantry books as I find them.

A Gun-Free Western?

Of course, this book isn’t totally gun-free. In fact, through his own side characters, L’Amour makes pretty solid arguments in favor of the 2nd Amendment. In two different spots, his characters say such things as this:

You can make laws against weapons but they will be observed only by those who don’t intend to use them anyway. The lawless can always smuggle or steal, or even make a gun. By refusing to wear a gun you allow the criminal to operate with impunity. (111)

The thieves and killers are goin’ to have guns, so if the honest men don’t have ’em they just make it easier for the vicious. (20)

Towards the end of the story, we realize that Tom Chantry has his limits, and he’ll use a gun (and skillfully!) when necessary, yet he spends much of his time unprotected and confident in the power of words. Of course, the West ain’t the East, and once he realizes this, well, a rifle in the scabbard is just step one towards full armament.

Conclusion

Two other great lines caught my eyes as I read this book, and I share them here in closing. First, about a father’s experience and legacy, he writes:

After all, what did a father have to pass on to his children but his own personal reaction to the world? Of what use was experience if one could not pass on at least a little of what one had learned? (31)

Then later, about a man’s strength in independence, he writes:

Don’t ever be afraid of being alone, boy. The strongest man is he who stands alone… To just that extent that you lean on somebody, or rely on them, to that extent you are a weaker man. (41)

I’m not sure yet if this year will eventually become “The Year of L’Amour,” but it’s starting to look that way. I’ll see you on the trail.

©2026 E.T.

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