What's in a name?
GUN TRAIL TO HELL

Ian Parnham

This year has seen the publication of the 2000th Black Horse Western.

In celebration of this momentous event, I will take a look at the recorded titles of these colourful and compact novels to see what issues preoccupy BHW authors the most. And perhaps gain a glimpse into what constitutes a BHW.

BHW titles are short (mostly). They range from the specific Showdown at Dead Man's Gulch through those that offer no hint at the story, Crimson Dust, to the evocative Death Rides a Black Horse, to the fun The Gun-slingin' Gringo and even the occasional bizarre, Marshal of Borg City. (If anyone has read the last, I'd be grateful if you could tell me if the bad guys in it say: "Resistance is futile.")

As befits their action-packed nature, "gun" in all its many forms is mentioned in 161 titles, with the aftermath of shoot and shot (40), bullet (18), fire (15), and smoke (11) also popular. Knife, arrow and blade get only 6 mentions between them with Colt being the preferred weapon of choice for BHW titles with 14 books, although only one specifically mentions the Peacemaker and only one the rifle.

Although the good guys always win through in the end, good has never featured in a title, but bad has 21 mentions. Outlaws and, curiously, ghosts with 20 books apiece are more popular than bandits and gringos who muster 6 apiece.

And what those bad guys want is gold (44), followed by silver (12), and dollar (6). Their fate is perhaps suggested in the titles with 40 hells, 19 devils, but only 3 gods, and the only angels to feature were both avenging. Heaven never gets a mention, which is a pity as 79 books have featured dead, death or die, and 16 tomb or grave.

Amongst the good guys, marshals (21) are more common than sheriffs (17), and deputies (7) know their place. Rangers have featured only 3 times. Kid (19) is the most common other label, followed by stranger (10), and maverick (5). Soldier has appeared only once and cavalry never.

In 70 books the good guys opted for either law or justice, although lynching, hanging and the noose come a close second with 53. Hunting (31) is the next most popular activity followed by bounty (20), with the highest bounty on offer being ten thousand dollars. Native Americans feature in 28 titles. Apache had 11. Cherokee, Comanche, Navajo, Cheyenne (4 apiece), Choctaw (1).

For everyone else, killing is popular (48), as is showdown (30), revenge (28), vengeance (26), feuds (18), fights (17), trouble (17), war (12), battle (8), ambush (7) and even 4 duels. It's therefore appropriate that blood has featured 43 times and, with all that mayhem, it is perhaps sad that redemption has been considered only 3 times, and love has never come close to featuring in a title.

All this activity usually occurs somewhere under the big sky, with creek (34), canyon (33), valley (33), river (29), mountain (18), mesa (10), gulch (5), and in a more general way, land (27), country (17), and county (7). And when that big sky provides weather, it's usually bad with thunder (11), storm (6), and lightning (3). But it can't rain all the time as desert (10), and dust (8) also feature.

Settlements are unpopular with town (27), city (12), fort (5), suggesting that the cowpoke is far more eager to get back on the trail (81). When choosing which direction to go on that trail, west gets 21 mentions, south 6 and north 5. Nobody wants to go east, and when travelling, the stage (12) is more popular than the railroad (9) and wagon (5).

Sixty-six titles have included a state. The most popular being Texas with 17, followed by Montana (12), Arizona (7), Wyoming (6), Missouri (6), Colorado (6), Dakota (5), Kentucky (2), Kansas (2), Idaho (2), and Utah (1). Mexico is the most popular location outside the US with 7. Day (58) is more popular than night (38), with yesterday (4) being the most popular day. Sun (20) is more popular than moon (14), with sundown (10) being more common than sunset (4). Summer (4) is the most frequently used season and Fourth of July is the only title to feature a month.

Animals feature frequently. It's no surprise that horses are top with 27 titles, closely followed by cows (24). After that it's wolves (19), snakes (10), buffaloes (7), coyotes (6), dogs (6), and one bullfrog, but no sheep. Amongst birds, hawks (14) are the most popular, followed by eagles (5), buzzards (4), crows (3), and vultures (2).

Brand has featured 16 times and, with all those horses, it's not surprising that there have been 32 riders and 22 of them have actually been riding. Saddles have featured 12 times and spurs 7 times, but there has never been a single mention of a sore ass or manure.

Some miscellaneous items are that 419 titles have started with "The". High (25) is more popular than low (5), with plains (3) being the most common thing to find on high. Three (12) and six (11) are the most common numbers, with eight being the lowest number never to have featured. And black (25) is the right colour for a Black Horse Western, followed by green (14), red (12), yellow (8), blue (7) white (4). Pink has never been used.

All this analysis would suggest that the ideal BHW title (and it hasn't been used yet) is Gun Trail to Hell. Anyone considering writing Fluffy Love Bunny Goes East should perhaps consider another genre.

I'll leave you with one final thought: 145 titles have featured man or men, but only 16 woman or women. But that probably explains why the West was so wild.