Ferguson Rifle Book Review Summary

Section 1:The book I read, The Ferguson Rifle, was written by Louis L’Amour. This book is in a Western form and is full of suspense. I really enjoy reading books by Louis L’Amour, because they are full of action, and there’s never a dull moment. I have read a few of his other books before reading The Ferguson Rifle; however, this book amazed me and was a very good book to read. One reason I love reading books by Louis L’Amour is the way he uses imagery and makes you feel as if you are inside the book. When I read this book, I got a sense of urgency and excitement because the way he used Western dialect and imagery made me feel as if I went back in time and was the Hero that came out on top in this story. Like this story, many of his other stories end in similar fashion, with the Hero being successful. My only complaint is it makes the outcome nearly predictable.

Section 2:The author tells you about four main characters at the beginning of the story to give you some background and understanding of the book. The first character that you are introduced to is Ronan Chantry. Chantry is a young man who is very brave and falls in love with the antagonist’s niece, Lucinda. He is the hunter of the house with his mother and is a very good shot. As the story progresses, Chantry grows into a gentleman. He becomes a very loyal friend and stays brave alongside his friends in a time of need. After growing up further, Chantry moves west with the Ferguson rifle that Major Patrick Ferguson gave him when he was a young boy.

When he moves West, Chantry has accompanying him what he calls his lot, which includes Bob Sandy, Solomon Telly, Davy Shanagan, Degory Kemble, and Isaac Heath, who are all very loyal and brave friends. No real specific character traits are given about these men, other than they are very brave.

Throughout the story two different antagonists are described. The first antagonist we are introduced to is the Otoe Indian. In hopes of becoming noticed by his tribe, he betrays the lot and attempts to set up the lot for ambush. He is never mentioned again after this failure; however, we learn about another antagonist named Captain Fernandez. This Spanish general tried
to arrest the men of the lot for trespassing onto his land. He is also a character who isn’t discussed in great detail, but is very important.

The second major character that we are introduced to is Lucinda Falvey. Lucinda is an Irish woman who is searching for treasure. She and her companion, Jorge Ulibarra, were being hunted by an ex-pirate and military man named Rafen Falvey when they were rescued by the lot of men.

Another important character that you learn about is Rafen Falvey. Rafen is an antagonist who is always trying to attack Ronan and his lot. Rafen is Lucinda’s uncle, and Lucinda is always being persuaded by Rafen to do various things such as leave her lot.

The third main character we are introduced to is Ripley Van Winkle. This is the man who saved Ronan when he was being chased by Rafen’s men, and he dwells in caves throughout the mountains. Section 3:This story contains a few major settings, due to the amount of movement that takes place. The story starts in Missouri where Chantry lives with his mother, and he suddenly becomes poor and slips into poverty. After he becomes poor, his family moves out East to Boston.

This is where he spends the majority of his life, until he loses his son and spouse. After he loses his family, the story changes direction and follows Ronan throughout the West and Southwest of the US. Section 4:The first time conflict arises in the story is when Ronan Chantry lived out East. Chantry is accused of starting the fire that killed his wife and son. He then decides to run away from all the pressure and start a new life out West. Once he moves out West, he meets his lot, whom he stays with for the remainder of the story. The only person in the lot whom he doesn’t stay with for the rest of the story is the Otoe Indian. The Otoe Indian in his lot betrays his men in the lot and allows his Indian tribe to ambush them. The tribe is unsuccessful and doesn’t kill any of the members of the lot, and the Indians run off.

Following this, Captain Fernandez rides up to the men’s fire where he tries arresting the Indians, saying they were on his land, and he’s going to take them all into custody. Fernandez is forcefully persuaded to leave, and following this, the Ute Indians attack. Again, Chantry’s lot is victorious and the Ute Indians flee.

After the second attack, the lot rides on, feeling as if they are being followed. Chantry goes to scout the trouble and finds that five men are trailing them. Chantry and the five men converse, and he runs the followers off without any trouble or bloodshed. While doing this, he finds a man who had been murdered, along with his two missing companions. The missing companions, Lucinda and Jorge, join the lot again that night, and while sleeping, Lucinda’s uncle tries to kill her. The reason Lucinda’s uncle is following the lot is because he knows of treasure and wants to find the treasure before Ronan’s lot does. One day he tries to take Lucinda with him and ride into camp; however, he is unable to persuade the men to let her go.

Since Rafen was after them, their lot becomes constantly on the run. One day while they are on the run, Bob Sandy was trailing behind, and he finds himself surrounded by men with guns. When Chantry went back to find him, a gun battle took place, and both Chantry and Bob escape. Section 5:There was a very small amount of minor conflict that also took place throughout the book, because nearly every conflict that took place had a major effect on the outcome of the story. One small conflict took place when Ronan and his lot run into a Cheyenne tribe. The Cheyenne tribe wasn’t very friendly at first. However, they become friends shortly after because the tribe gathers food for Ronan’s men. There are a few accounts throughout the story where Ronan and Rafen have arguments about seeking treasure; however, there is no real fighting that takes place, so these skirmishes have no effect on the outcome of the story.

Major conflict takes place after Ronan and Rafen see each other on a mountain top. While on the mountain, Rafen tries to persuade Ronan to leave his friends in the lot, and he refuses. Ronan is nearly captured by a group of men that Rafen sends after him; however, he escapes and makes it back to camp where nothing remains. As he looks around, he sees two men riding towards him with his entire lot trailing behind, and with Rafen bringing up the rear. When the two men in front run after Ronan, he shoots them and runs. As he runs away, he is grabbed by a man. When the man grabs Ronan, he tries to grab for his Ferguson rifle; however, it’s no longer there. The man had taken his gun away from him to prevent Ronan from killing anyone. The man that grabbed him is named Ripley Van Winkle, and he isn’t trying to bring harm to Ronan. Ronan understands this a little bit later, and they begin to talk with each other. While they are together, they talk about how to escape from the caves they have been living in, and they watch the countryside from a lookout spot.

One day while Ripley and Ronan are watching over the countryside, they spot Lucinda and Rafen. Davy Shanagan and Jorge Ulibarra were also with them, and both their hands and feet were tied together. This event begins the climax of the story. When he sees this, Ronan runs into Rafen’s camp and is able to break Lucinda free. After freeing Lucinda, he takes her back to where Ripliey was, and Rip tells Ronan that he is going to hide her. Ronan then goes back to find Davy and is wounded in the process. When he goes back to find where Lucinda and Rip were hiding, he finds Lucinda in a cave next to the cross that marked Rip’s death. Lucinda and Ronan return to their camp; however, their lot had been completely split, so Ronan goes back to try to find the gold in the caves, hoping that he could strike riches for his lover, Lucinda. As he arrives at the cave, he runs into Davy, who tells him that he has found the gold.

Rafen, however, hears this and steps in with a gun, trying to kill both of them. Rafen is unaware that Ronan’s men were waiting outside of the cave for him, and his men had left him alone, because they believed there was no treasure to be found. Rafen is on his own, and Ronan wins a swift victory over him. Section 6:At the conclusion of the battle between Ronan and Rafen, Rafen tells Ronan that he is a good man and that his men are very honest. He tells Ronan to leave because he wants to die alone, considering he had lived his entire life alone. Ronan and his men pack up most of the gold and leave. Davy says the gold they left behind was picked for Ripley, because he deserved this since he had saved Lucinda. As the men arrive at their destination of Mandan Village, Ronan had nothing to call his own because he was fighting for his men. He didn’t accept any of the riches, and his family was nowhere to be found. The only thing that Ronan had left to care about was the love of his life, Lucinda.