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

About the Books

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 world, 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 early 20th century behind—or at least read about others who had done so. 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 West as a literary object. Editors Gow and Rak, for their part, guide the reader with a framing introduction to the work, as well as to each article.

About the Authors

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 Associate Professor of English at the University of Alberta. Her current work explores the links between the public sphere, auto/biography, and popular culture in Canada and the US.

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Copyright: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. It may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that the original author is credited.

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DownloadForeword
by Ted Bishop

DownloadIntroduction
by Andrew Gow and Julie Rak

DownloadONE
Fifth Avenue Pilgrims Amid the Goats
The Sportsman, February 1930, 63 and 102

DownloadTWO
This Guiding Game
The Sportsman, April 1930, 5859 and 78

DownloadTHREE
The Last Great Buffalo Drive
The Sportsman, June 1930, 75, 86 and 88

DownloadFOUR
William, Prepare My Barth
The Sportsman, July 1930, 55 and 78

Download FIVE
Us Winter Sports
The Sportsman, January 1931, 4445

Download SIX
Rams
The Sportsman, April 1931, 6768

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Tepee Tales
The Sportsman, September 1931, 5254 and 58

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An Early Ski Attempt on Mt. Ptarmigan
Canadian Alpine Journal, vol. 21 (1932), 135137

DownloadNINE
Pipestone Letters No. 1
Hunting and Fishing, September 1932, 16

Download TEN
An All We Do Is Hunt
National Sportsman, March 1933, 1011

DownloadELEVEN
The Latest From Pipestone
Hunting and Fishing, February 1934, 11

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Dried Spinach or Moose Steak?
Hunting and Fishing, June 1935, 11

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Tex Reads His Permit
Hunting and Fishing, August 1935, 13

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The Guide Knows Everything
National Sportsman, June 1936, 1415

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Tex: Gentlemans Gentleman
Hunting and Fishing, August 1936, 14

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Its Good to Be Alive
National Sportsman, September 1936, 1617

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Tex Takes a Trophy
Hunting and Fishing, October 1936, 7

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Sawback Cleans a Laker
Hunting and Fishing, December 1936, 12

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Sawback Changes His Mind
Hunting and Fishing, April 1937, 9

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Tex Tangles With Horribilis
Hunting and Fishing, May 1937, 15 and 46

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Navigatin for Namaycush
National Sportsman, May 1937, 1415

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Whats in a Name?
National Sportsman, February 1938, 67 and 21

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Sawback and the Sporting Proposition
National Sportsman, May 1938, 14 and 26

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The Wild Goose Chase by Ramon Chesson
National Sportsman, October 1938, 1011

DownloadTWENTY-FIVE
Its a Womans World
National Sportsman, October 1938, 13 and 26

Download APPENDIX A
Tex Vernon-Wood
Recollections by his grandson, John R. Gow

DownloadAPPENDIX B
A Gift from Grandad Vernon-Wood
Recounted by his grandson, Harry W. Gow

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An Interview with Andrew Gow and Julie Rak

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