Mountain Masculinity The Life and Writing of Nello “Tex” Vernon-Wood in the Canadian Rockies, 1906-1938

In 1906, Nello Vernon-Wood (1882–1978) reinvented himself as Tex Wood, Banff hunting guide and writer of “yarns of the wilderness by a competent outdoorsman.” His homespun stories of a vanishing era, in such periodicals as The Sportsman, Hunting and Fishing, and the Canadian Alpine Journal, have much to tell us about the west as envisioned by those who wanted to leave the industrialized world behind. In the writings of his persona “ Tex,” Vernon-Wood created an image of the frontier that blended the West of his guiding experiences with the old West as imagined by those who flocked to the Canadian and American frontiers in search of adventure in an uncivilized wilderness. Editors Gow and Rak, guide the reader through this collection of Vernon-Wood’s stories, providing a framework for both the writer and his alter ego, Tex.

About the Editors

Andrew Gow is professor in the Department of History and Classics at the University of Alberta. He is a cultural and intellectual historian with a special interest in literary, social, and cultural theory. Julie Rak is professor of English at the University of Alberta. Her work explores the links between the public sphere, autobiography, and popular culture in Canada and the United States. She is the co-editor (with Keavy Martin) of Life Among the Qallunaat (2015) by Mini Aodla Freeman.

Table of Contents

1. Acknowledgements
2. Foreword by Ted Bishop
3. Introduction by Andrew Gow and Julie Rak
4. 1. Fifth Avenue Pilgrims Amid the Goats
   The Sportsman, February 1930, 63 and 102
5. 2. This Guiding Game
   The Sportsman, April 1930, 5859 and 78
6. 3. The Last Great Buffalo Drive
   The Sportsman, June 1930, 75, 86 and 88
7. 4. William, Prepare My Barth
   The Sportsman, July 1930, 55 and 78
8. 5. Us Winter Sports
   The Sportsman, January 1931, 4445
9. 6. Rams
   The Sportsman, April 1931, 6768
10. 7. Tepee Tales
    The Sportsman, September 1931, 5254 and 58
11. 8. An Early Ski Attempt on Mt. Ptarmigan
    Canadian Alpine Journal, vol. 21 (1932), 135137
12. 9. Pipestone Letters No. 1
    Hunting and Fishing, September 1932, 16
13. 10. An All We Do Is Hunt
    National Sportsman, March 1933, 1011
14. 11. The Latest From Pipestone
    Hunting and Fishing, February 1934, 11
15. 12. Dried Spinach or Moose Steak?
    Hunting and Fishing, June 1935, 11
16. 13. Tex Reads His Permit
    Hunting and Fishing, August 1935, 13
17. 14. The Guide Knows Everything
    National Sportsman, June 1936, 1415
18. 15. Tex: Gentlemans Gentleman
    Hunting and Fishing, August 1936, 14
19. 16. Its Good to Be Alive
    National Sportsman, September 1936, 1617
20. 17. Tex Takes a Trophy
    Hunting and Fishing, October 1936, 7
21. 18. Sawback Cleans a Laker
    Hunting and Fishing, December 1936, 12
22. 19. Sawback Changes His Mind
    Hunting and Fishing, April 1937, 9
23. 20. Tex Tangles With Horribilis
    Hunting and Fishing, May 1937, 15 and 46
24. 21. Navigatin for Namaycush
    National Sportsman, May 1937, 1415
25. 22. Whats in a Name?
    National Sportsman, February 1938, 67 and 21
26. 23. Sawback and the Sporting Proposition
    National Sportsman, May 1938, 14 and 26
27. 24. The Wild Goose Chase by Ramon Chesson
    National Sportsman, October 1938, 1011
28. 25. It’s a Woman’s World
    National Sportsman, October 1938, 13 and 26
29. APPENDIX A: Tex Vernon-Wood – Recollections by his grandson, John R. Gow
30. APPENDIX B: A Gift from Grandad Vernon-Wood – Recounted by his grandson, Harry W. Gow
31. Index

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 CA). It may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that the original author is credited.