Riders of the Purple Sage (PDF)

This Western written in 1912 by Zane Grey marks the beginning of a different enterprise of heroic undertakings by rugged cattle ranchers than had ever been portrayed before. The unvarnished representation of life on the western plains of the Utah-Arizona border shows a realistically rough existence tolerated by its inhabitants rather than merely displays their gallantry which was the subject of earlier cowboy adventures. Grey presents a conflicted wealthy Mormon rancher who wants to protect her estate from being overtaken by the Church. The beautiful Jane Withersteen is approached by members of the Church asking her to hand over a gentile worker she has hired to help attend the herds and maintain the fields. Jane desperately prays for guidance, and Lassiter (a gun-slinging sage-rider) gallops in from the horizon. He drives off the calculating persecutors, battles cattle rustlers, and eventually discloses the tale of a perpetual search for a woman kidnapped long ago. The story unfolds revealing seduction, silence, bondage, and escape on the desert-swept open country. Incidents of bravery, chivalry, spectacular horsemanship, and ready shooting produce the framework of this story. The Mormon Church's attempt to marry off Jane against her will adds a breathtaking element to the plot.