Bearly Reasonable

In the rough country around Piperock and the Silver Threads mine, Magpie Simpkins and Ike Harper are drawn into one of the most outrageous scientific ventures ever to blunder into the West. Professor Phinney, his wife, and Doctor Doolittle arrive with a "friendly" theory about rattlesnakes, prairie dogs, and grizzlies, and the cowboys soon discover they've been hired as guides for a scheme that makes as much sense as a badger in a bear den. What follows is a riot of frontier wit, with Magpie devising a fraud involving Mighty Jones, a sickly old bear named Abe, and a badger passed off as a cub. As the expedition barrels ahead, every attempt at order collapses into slapstick: a shotgun blast in the dark, a cactus in the foot, grouchy demands for hot water, a breakfast of accidental grouse, and a disastrous bear hunt that leaves everyone scratched, rattled, and half-dressed. Yet the scientists remain convinced of their own success, even as the men of the hills improvise, bluff, and patch together the next absurd plan. Blending tall-tale humor, danger, and affectionate frontier chaos, the story turns academic theory into lively wilderness comedy. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.