Book details
A municipal feud
Inspect the stored metadata, editorial profile, authors, categories, and local EPUB state.
Stored record
Metadata
- Gutenberg ID
- 78086
- Title
- A municipal feud
- Language
- en
- Book source
- Project Gutenberg
- Description max 80 words
-
In the dusty, lawless West, two unlikely partners navigate a bitter thirty-year rivalry between rival towns, Jingle Bell and Big Elk. Ernest Haycox crafts a gritty tale of feuds fueled by rustling gangs and civic pride, ultimately questioning whether true peace can ever take root in a landscape defined by violence and suspicion.
- Summary up to 500 words
-
In Ernest Haycox's "A Municipal Feud," partners Joe Breedlove and Indigo Bowers ride south toward the town of Big Elk. Indigo, a nervous and volatile man who claims to be peaceful, fears entering the town due to its reputation. However, they are soon drawn into a gunfight in the neighboring town of Jingle Bell. The conflict originates from a thirty-year feud sparked when Big Elk stole the county seat from Jingle Bell. Criminal elements, specifically Sweeny of Big Elk and Gabe Wales of Jingle Bell, manipulate the ongoing violence to protect their rustling operations. After the initial shootout, the towns agree to a peace banquet at the Three Pines ranch-house, located midway between them. Fifteen armed men from each side attend, but mutual distrust quickly causes the gathering to devolve into chaos. Accusations fly, furniture is overturned, and the event turns into a full-blown gunfight that spills outside until the factions retreat. In the aftermath, Indigo is discovered holding a pistol, revealing his hidden readiness for violence despite his professed desire for peace. Joe and Indigo decide to ride south, acknowledging that human nature remains immutable and that the cycle of feud is unlikely to end soon. The narrative highlights how civic harmony is often a fragile illusion, easily shattered by old grudges and the devious ways of a wicked world. Ultimately, the story suggests that while individuals may attempt to bury the hatchet, the deep-seated animosity between the towns, fueled by criminal opportunists, ensures that the conflict will persist.
- LLM editorial rating
- 4.2/5
- Download URL
- https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78086.epub.noimages
- Local file path
-
data/epubs/pg78086.epubRemoved after upload - Downloaded at
- 2026-07-02 11:21 UTC
People
Authors
- Ernest Haycox
Classification
Categories
- Short Stories
- Western stories
- Male friendship