The Virginia City Trail

In the aftermath of the Civil War, a group of hard-fighting Texans embark on an extraordinary journey to build a ranching empire in Montana.
The only riches Texans had left after the Civil War were five million maverick longhorns and the brains, brawn and boldness to drive them north to where the money was. In The Virginia City Trail, Ralph Compton brings this violent and magnificent time to life in an epic tale of courage, grit, and the pursuit of the American Dream.
Nelson Story sets off with a bunch of misfits and renegades, war-bitten Texans with nothing left to lose, pushing his way through four harsh territories and three brutal seasons. With the Union Army to defy, a hundred Remingtons to acquire, and a thousand riled-up Sioux warriors to face, Story's journey is fraught with danger at every turn.
Brutal outlaws fix to bleed his trail drive dry, but Story won't stop until he reaches Virginia City—and comes face-to-face with the man who wants him dead. In this thrilling Western novel, the first in Ralph Compton's Trail Drive series, the action never stops and the stakes couldn't be higher.