The Lonesome Dove series is a series of four Western fiction novels written by Larry McMurtry and the five television miniseries and television series based upon them.
The novels and miniseries follow the exploits of several members of the Texas Ranger Division from the time of the Republic of Texas up until the beginning of the 20th century. Recurring characters include Augustus "Gus" McCrae, Woodrow F. Call, Joshua Deets, Pea Eye Parker, Jake Spoon, Clara Forsythe Allen, Maggie Tilton, Lorena Wood Parker, Blue Duck, and Buffalo Hump. The series is set within historical events and characters, although they are often adapted or altered to accommodate the fictional timelines of the main characters.
Larry McMurty was born into a cattle ranching family, and some of his uncles were old enough to have participated in the end of the cattle driving days. Before railroads went across the country, cattle drives had to be put on in order to move cattle to their set destinations. This timeframe is where the history of the cowboys originated from and eventually became romanticized. Larry McMurty realized being a cowboy was not as good as people made it out to be and decided to write a novel showing the hardships cowboys really faced.
Larry McMurtry originally planned to create a western screenplay called Streets of Laredo, which would star John Wayne. This plan did not happen, and Larry McMurtry turned the screenplay into a novel. McMurtry took inspiration from Charles Goodnight's 1860 cattle drives, The Log of a Cowboy, and Nelson Story's 1866 drive from Texas to Montana.[1]
In order of publication:
In order of internal chronology:
Lonesome Dove follows two retired Texas Rangers, Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae who run the Hat Creek Cattle company. Woodrow Call realizes retirement does not suit him and grows restless. Gus does not mind retirement too much, but he does miss Clara, the love of his life, who currently lives up north in Nebraska. Then Jake Spoon, another former Ranger, tells them about the Milk River up in Montana and how beautiful it is up there. From this info, he convinces them to embark on a mission to drive cattle up to Montana. Here they would set up a ranch and live there. Jake Spoon would not go on this drive with them, but other notable people would. These people include, Pea eye, a former Ranger who worked under Call and Gus; Joshua Deets, a tracker and a former Ranger; Newt Dobbs, a boy who works for the Hat Creek Cattle Company; Lorena, a prostitute who resided in the town; and Bolivar a cook. Along their way they deal with crossing rivers, getting attacked by snakes, fighting off bears, and evading thunderstorms. However, an Indian known as Blue Duck causes many problems for the Hat Creek Cattle Company along the way. Eventually the group does complete their mission, but many of the men who embarked on the mission would die. In the end the cattle drive was seen as a failure.
In Streets of Laredo, Woodrow Call is hired by a railroad company, and is tasked with taking down Joey Garza, a skilled sniper who has been killing railroad workers. Ned Brookshire, a salaried man who works with the railroad company, accompanies Call on his mission. Call attempts to recruit Pea Eye, but he declines, as he now has a family and is married to Lorena. However, shortly after Call leaves, Pea eye’s guilty conscience convinces him to go after Call. As they get closer to Joey Garza they encounter more foes, such as Mox Mox, a man who used to work under Blue Duck. In the end Joey Garza is defeated, thus concluding the Lonesome Dove series.
Dead Man's Walk follows Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae (Gus) back in their younger days. On their first expedition the Rangers are stalked by Buffalo Hump, a Comanche Chief. After this expedition concludes, Call and Gus join another expedition led by a man named Colonel Cobb. The expedition started with 200 men, but quickly drops to 40 after many of them are either killed or desert. Shortly after being reduced to 40 men, they are captured by Mexican soldiers. Here, they are forced to march through the Dead Man's Walk, at the end of the journey only 10 men survived. They are forced to partake in a grim ceremony, involving beans, which results in half of them being executed. Luckily Call and Gus survive, and the book ends with Gus and Call making it back to town where Clara lives.
Comanche Moon follows Gus and Call in the middle of their ranger years. This book also reintroduces Joshua Deets and Pea Eye. Here they work under Captain Inish Scull where they attempt to track down Kicking Wolf, a Comanche horse thief. However, a Mexican bandit named Ahumado captures Kicking Wolf before Inish Scull can. Eventually Inish Scull finds Kicking Wolf but frees him. Scull gets captured by Ahumado where he is put into a cage where he is expected to die. While this is going on Buffalo Hump leads an assault onto Austin. Before Inish Scull dies, or goes completely crazy, Call and Gus save him. The group then returns to Austin where Inish Scull is promoted General. Meanwhile, Ahumando is bitten by a poisonous spider and dies. After this, Blue Duck kills his father after he finds out that Buffalo Hump left them to go die.
| Role | Actor | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lonesome Dove (1989) | Return to Lonesome Dove (1993) | Streets of Laredo (1995) | Dead Man's Walk (1996) | Comanche Moon (2008) | ||
| Starring | ||||||
| Captain Augustus "Gus" McCrae | ||||||
| Captain Woodrow F. Call | ||||||
| Joshua Deets | ||||||
| Lorena Wood | colspan="2" | |||||
| Jake Spoon | ||||||
| Blue Duck | ||||||
| Dishwater "Dish" Boggett | colspan="4" | |||||
| Newt Dobbs | ||||||
| Clara Forsythe Allen | ||||||
| Isom Pickett | colspan="3" | |||||
| Gideon Walker | colspan="3" | |||||
| Gregor Dunnigan | colspan="3" | |||||
| "Cherokee Jack" Jackson | colspan="3" | |||||
| Ferris Dunnigan | colspan="3" | |||||
| Corporal "Pea Eye" Parker | ||||||
| July Johnson | colspan="3" | |||||
| Sara Pickett | colspan="3" | |||||
| Agostina Vega | colspan="3" | |||||
| Judge Roy Bean | colspan="2" | |||||
| John Wesley Hardin | colspan="2" | |||||
| Famous Shoes | ||||||
| Ned Brookshire | colspan="2" | |||||
| Billy Williams | colspan="2" | |||||
| Joey Garza | colspan="2" | |||||
| "Mox-Mox" | colspan="2" | |||||
| Charles Goodnight | ||||||
| Deputy Ted Plunkert | colspan="2" | |||||
| Maria Garza | colspan="2" | |||||
| Caleb Cobb | colspan="1" | |||||
| William "Bigfoot" Wallace | colspan="1" | |||||
| Matilda Jane | colspan="1" | |||||
| Major Chevallier | colspan="1" | |||||
| Captain Salazar | colspan="1" | |||||
| Chief Buffalo Hump | ||||||
| Shadrach | colspan="1" | |||||
| Major Laroche | colspan="1" | |||||
| Inish Scull | ||||||
| Maggie Tilton | ||||||
| "Long Bill" Coleman | ||||||
| Governor Elisha Pease | ||||||
| Tudwal | ||||||
| Inez Scull | ||||||
| Also starring | ||||||
| Elmira "Ellie" Johnson | colspan="4" | |||||
| Deputy Roscoe Brown | colspan="4" | |||||
| "Lippy" Jones | colspan="3" | |||||
| Jasper Fant | colspan="3" | |||||
| Dan Suggs | colspan="4" | |||||
| Luke | colspan="4" | |||||
| "Big Zwey" | colspan="4" | |||||
| Allan O'Brien | colspan="4" | |||||
| Doctor | colspan="4" | |||||
| Old Hugh | colspan="4" | |||||
| Needle Nelson | colspan="3" | |||||
| Bolivar | colspan="3" | |||||
| Cholo | colspan="3" | |||||
| Isaac Pickett | colspan="3" | |||||
| Estrella | colspan="2" | |||||
| Beulah | colspan="2" | |||||
| Sheriff Doniphon | colspan="2" | |||||
| Gordo | colspan="2" | |||||
| Johnny Carthage | colspan="1" | |||||
| Captain Billy Falconer | colspan="1" | |||||
| Kirker | colspan="1" | |||||
| Jimmy Tweed | colspan="1" | |||||
| Wesley Buttons | colspan="1" | |||||
| Lady Lucinda Carey | colspan="1" | |||||
| Emeralda | colspan="1" | |||||
| Pearl Coleman | colspan="1" | |||||
| Ahumado | colspan="1" | |||||
| First Old Comanche | colspan="1" | |||||
| Elmira Forsythe | colspan="1" | |||||
| Captain Richard King | colspan="1" | |||||
| Therese Wanz | colspan="1" | |||||