Happy New Year!
CoffeeMug - Just fyi, Amelia Benkinsop supposedly also has a fight in Blonde Genius. I don't have that one yet myself so I can't comment on it. If you don't have them, a couple of other good fights are in Waco's Badge, which you may have, between Belle Starr and Sarah, and Cold Deck, Hot Lead, between Calamity Jane and Sal Banyon. Also, Oklahoma Outlaw is the same book as Wanted! Belle Starr, so be careful not to duplicate that one. Keep looking for affordable copies of Quiet Town and Trouble Busters. The "Acceptable" least expensive, level of book quality is probably good enough to get the fight descriptions.
sinclairfan - I'm still intrigued by your idea that Eve Coniston and Pauline Cushman could be the same person. I went back to check Chapter 7 of Bloody Border. There's a paragraph on page 69 that seems to indicate that they are different with Eve being annoyed by the amount of publicity given to Pauline's more famously known exploits. That said, I may be missing what you're seeing in that chapter. Also, the events in Bloody Border take place in April, 1865 where Eve is described as being in her mid-thirties. In Back to the Bloody Border, which takes place just after the end of the War, and is probably still in 1865, Eve is killed by Sylvie Caillard in Mexico. In The Texan, there's a chapter called "The Major" and it's mainly about Pauline Cushman. She is described as having been in a theatrical troupe that toured the country and after the War married Jere Fryer, who was also in the troupe. They then bought the Casa Grande Hotel, which I think is in New Mexico, and she also acted as the unofficial mayor there for some time. She is about 40 then and continues to live in that town at the end of that story. From all of this, I'm tending to think they are not the same person. What makes this comparison interesting to me though is that they both have black hair, are described as being about the same height, build and look. Their ages are also similar and the timelines of the stories could possibly match up. The fact that Eve is killed right after the war, and Pauline is described as being married, owner of a hotel and still alive at forty seems to indicate that they are two different people though. I'm interested in hearing if you have more insight that they are the same person though.
Also, I did do a little checking on your suggestion of "Tomboy". I'm an older guy and since this is about juvenile gangs, it's probably not what I'm looking for. My preference is for more mature women fights. I know some (many) of the women (girls) in JT's westerns are only in their twenty's, but some are older than that and I just love the western catfight theme. For now, I'll keep with my "hobby" of tracking down more of JT's books until I get closer to the end of that trail (no western pun intended). But I'll make note of your suggestion as a future possibility.
Lastly, I just finished Young Ole Devil. There's a fight outdoors near the end between good girl Diamond (Di) Hitch Brindley and bad girl Madeline de Moreau. It's not too bad but it's not a major battle. Men are fighting at the same time and the catfight description alternates over a few pages along with the male fights. It is however, as sinclairfan would say, a realistic fight and is pretty good on that level. The fight does not come to a conclusion, with the two women being separated as other outlaws approach the fighting group. "Di" actually takes a rifle shot at Madeline but misses and Madeline escapes by horseback. The reader is left thinking that they could meet again for a rematch. Enticing thought, only I don't know if that ever actually happens, or if it does, what book it would be in.
Let's hope the new year uncovers some real catfight story gems out there!
Thanks again for all of your input on this subject. Keep posting updates if you come across anything of interest.
