George Cory Franklin

George Cory Franklin (1872-?) wrote several children’s books, including a pair about Monte, stories about a real grizzly bear tamed, who would imitate his owner.  Franklin wrote four horse books, as far as I am aware, all of which appear to be ranch stories.  

Finding the book: All books are reasonably easy to find in the USA. None were printed in the UK.

Links and sources:

Terri A. Wear:  Horse Stories, an Annotated Bibilography, Scarecrow Press, 1987

Many thanks to Lisa Catz for the photographs.

Bibliography - horse books only

Wild Horses of the Rio Grande

Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1951, illus, William Moyers, 181 pp

“A collection of stories about wild horses, ranch horses, and mule trains including “Chief takes over” about a horse
that leads a mule train up and down steep trails and proves his worth during a snow storm and avalanche.”

Pioneer Horse

Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1960, illus. William Moyers, 115 pp

“ Pedro and Father Sanchez escape from the Aztec Indians in Mexico and lose their valuable Arabian horses as they flee, but when the horses turn up later, Pedro shows his new Zuni friends the usefulness of the horse.”

Shorty’s Mule

Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1952, illus, William Moyers, 45 pp

Smoky was the funniest looking animal on the Horsetrack Ranch - he is a mule, but he becomes the pet of the
cowboys, who love his tricks and his curiosity.  Smoky becomes Shorty’s pack mule, and when rustlers steal some
cattle and leave Shorty immobilised, tied up in his bedroll, it is Smoky who saves the day.

Pancho

Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1953, illus, William Moyers, 152 pp

“Tom buys a supposedly outlaw bucking horse and after gentling it, he trains it to be a good ranch horse, but he
doesn’t realize that some unscrupulous men still want the horse for the rodeo.”