Merrano of the Dry Country is a classic gritty western that pits a young Mexican rancher named Miguel Merrano against Mirror Valley, New Mexico's three most powerful ranchers: Tom Drake, Joe Stangel and Jim Hill. Drought has come to the valley and the once magnificent ranches of these three men have wilted under the harsh heat and blowing winds. The water has dried up. Their cattle are gaunt, dying of thirst. And now their fortunes have dwindled away to nothing along with their prospects for the future. Pride, desperation, and prejudice create strong emotions leading to accusations of rustling followed by a heated confrontation between the three leading citizens of the area and Merrano. As tensions heighten Tom Drake's daughter Candy and local store owner Clouse Mayer hope to find a way to restore reason with these men before things get so far out of hand they can't be repaired.
This is one of L'Amour's best. A superb western tale that evokes strong emotions.
From Louis L'Amour:
When Miguel Merrano first came to Mirror Valley, the land was green and lush . . . and off limits to Mexicans. Ranchers such as Tom Drake and Joe Stangle tried to drive Merrano out, to fence him out; and when he warned them that greed and overgrazing would ruin their land, they refused to listen.
Now Merrano's predictions have come true. Mirror Valley is so dry it's about to blow away. The cattle are hollow-ribbed and dying. And the ranchers are broke . . . flat broke. Only Merrano's ranch is still thriving. As the ranchers watch him pay for goods in gold and sell his cattle at a mighty profit, their hatred grows and festers . . . until they draw their guns in a desperate act that will pit daughter against father, friend against friend - an act that could tear the valley apart... forever.
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