The Ox-Bow Incident (novel)

Infobox Book
name = The Ox-Bow Incident
author = Walter Van Tilburg Clark


image_caption = First edition cover
publisher = Random House
pub_date = 1940

"The Ox-Bow Incident" is a 1940 western novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark, in which two drifters are drawn into a posse formed to find the murderer of a local man. The story is told in the first-person perspective by Art Croft.

In 1943, the novel was adapted into an Academy-award winning movie of the same name, directed by William A. Wellman and starring Henry Fonda and Harry Morgan.

tory

"The Ox-Bow Incident" takes place in 1885 and begins with two riders, Art Croft and Gil Carter, riding into the town of Bridger's Wells. They go into Canby's Saloon and find the atmosphere is subdued, in part because of the recent incidents of cattle rustling but also as the town is famously dull.

During a poker game, Gil's luck is unusually strong, which end in a fight between Gil, a local rancher named Farnley and Art. While Art takes Gil outside to clear his head, a young man named Greene came into town bringing news that Kinkaid has been murdered.

The townspeople begin to form a posse to pursue the murderers, who they think are also the cattle rustlers. Two local men, Osgood and Davies, attempt to deter the posse in fears that it will turn into a lynching. Art is sent to bring Judge Tyler. When Tyler questions Greene it turns out that Greene had not even seen Kincaid.

Tyler is almost able to diffuse the situation, until the arrival of Tetley, his son Gerald and one of Tetley's hands named Amigo. Amigo explains that he almost ran into the rustlers, but was able to avoid being seen. With this information in hand, and the sheriff being out of town, Deputy Mapes begins to illegally deputize the members of the posse. As the mob of 28 men sets out, Judge Tyler warns Tetley that the men must be brought back alive to stand trial.

On their journey, the posse encounters a stagecoach. They try to stop it, but the stagecoach guard assumes that it is a stickup, and shoots, accidentally wounding Art in the left shoulder. In the coach are Rose Mapen, Gil's old girlfriend, who was run out of town earlier, and her new husband, Swanson.

After tending to the stagecoach and Art's wounded shoulder, the posse finds three men sleeping on the ground. The posse interrogates the men: a young, well-spoken man named Donald Martin; an old, raving man named Alva Hardwick; and a Mexican named Juan Martinez who claims to be unable to understand English. Martin says that he purchased the cattle from Kinkaid, the murdered cattle rancher of Bridger's Wells, but that he received no bill of sale because the sale took place out on the ranch. Kinkaid was to later send the bill of sale to Martin. No one believes Martin, and the posse decides that the three men are guilty.

Martin, as his last wish, writes a private letter to his wife, and the hanging is postponed until dawn. Martin asks Davies to deliver it. Davies is vehemently opposed to the lynching and is the only member in the posse that Martin trusts. Davies reads the letter, and, hoping to save Martin's life, tries to have the others members of the posse read the letter. Because of the letter's eloquence, Davies believes that Martin is innocent and does not deserve to die. When Martin learns of this, he becomes angry at Davies.

During the argument between Martin and Davies, the Mexican, Juan Martinez, tries to escape, and is shot in the leg. The posse then discovers that Juan is able to speak "American," and ten other languages. When Juan's saddle bags are searched, they find a gun engraved with Kinkaid's name. This only makes the decision to lynch the men irrefutable.

With Davies still asking for reconsideration of the hanging, a vote is taken on whether the men should be hanged, or taken back to face justice in the town. Of the group, only five are opposed to the hanging.

When sunrise approaches, the condemned men are placed upon their horses with nooses around their next. Tetley orders three people to tend to the horses, one of them his son Gerald. When the command is given, Gerald Tetley hesitates and the horse simply walks out from under Martin, leaving him to slowly strangle. Farnley shoots Martin as he hangs. In anger, Tetley strikes his son to the ground.

After the lynching, the posse heads to town, where they they meet Sheriff Risley and much to their surprise, Lawrence Kinkaid, who was only wounded in the earlier incident. When Risley is informed of the posses actions, he informs everyone that he will denies knowledge of the incident. This angers Davies, but the sheriff overrides Davies. Sheriff Risley then takes ten men with him to form a new posse, who will go after the real attempted murderers of Kinkaid.

Once back in town, Tetley returns to his house and locks the door so his son cannot come in. His son, shamed by his father's treatment, goes into the barn and hangs himself. When Tetley hears of his son's death, Tetley takes his own life as well.

Later, Davies confesses to Art that he feels he is responsible for the deaths of three innocent men. Because of all the shame and guilt that plagues him, Davies feels he is unable to face Martin’s widow; so he asks Drew to deliver the letter to her, as well as a ring that Martin bade Davies to deliver.

ee also

The Ox-Bow Incident

References

* cite book
last=Lindroth
first=James R.
coauthors=Colette Lindroth.
editor=Lesley M. Krauss
title=Clark’s The Ox-Bow incident; a critical commentary
origyear=1966
url=http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=2&ti=1,2&Search_Arg=ox-bow&Search_Code=GKEY^*&CNT=100&PID=XGzgtuq3g2JPlYnagzVm6OuPUF6Ph&SEQ=20080715205908&SID=1
publisher=Monarch Press

External links

* cite book
last=Clark.
first=Walter Van Tilburg
title=The Ox-Bow incident
origyear=1940
url=http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=31&ti=1,31&SEQ=20080715205938&Search_Arg=ox-bow&Search_Code=GKEY^*&CNT=100&PID=6py2vPP6jVi5PBVMmu76KXI3WmUoB&SID=1
publisher=Random House