Ten Shoes Up: 1 (Book One of the Angus)

Angus is a 1880s cowboy riding and hiding on Ten Shoes Up a 10000 foot mountain straddling the border between New Mexico and Colorado. He rides straight-legged with a slack rein always on the lookout. Angus doesnt talk much except to Tucson his bay gelding. Men admire the way he sits a saddle and women wonder if hes going to dismount. As he rides into a new town any fool can see hes well-armed confident and riding a fine horse. Hes often taken for a scout or a trapper or an outlaw. Some say his coming down off his mountain was reluctant. Others say its about time. Anguss worldview depends on the horse he rides the trails he follows and the rivers he crosses. He lives by his own code-Hold true to nature hide your misery stay out of sight. In his early twenties hes on a mission and struggles to resolve issues he thought were buried with his young wife. His life bears little likeness to todays frenetic culture. Still what happens to him parallels choices made by many young people today. While the West is no longer wild todays culture owes much of its footing to men like Angus. Angus and Tucson are the same story-the onrush of civilization and its fated codes that clash with deeply held beliefs.