Emerson Hough

American author Emerson Hough (1857-1923) was an Iowa-born lawyer who wrote westerns and practiced in New Mexico. Hough graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor's degree in philosophy and was later admitted to the bar. His first article, "Far From The Madding Crowd," was published in Forest and Stream in 1882. He moved to New Mexico, practiced law and wrote for the White Oaks newspaper Golden Era. He later wrote Story of the Outlaw, A Study of the Western Desperado, which included profiles of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett. (Hough was a friend of Garrett's). He also worked as an editor for 'Forest and Stream', editing the "Chicago and the West" column. He was hired by George Bird Grinnell, the owner of Field and Stream, who founded the Audubon Society in 1886 which, along with Theodore Roosevelt's Boone and Crockett Club, was a leader in the conservation movement. Bobbs-Merrill Company (then Bowen-Merrill) published his first best-seller, The Mississippi Bubble. Hough began a trilogy on America when he published 54-40 or Fight in 1909, dedicated to Theodore Roosevelt. The second volume, Purchase Price, was dedicated to U.S. Senator Albert Beveridge of Indiana in 1910 and John Rawn was dedicated to Woodrow Wilson in 1912.His books include: 1. Girl at the Halfway House, 19002. The Mississippi Bubble, 19023. Way to the West, 19034. Law of the Land, 19055. Heart's Desire, 19056. King of Gee-Whiz, 19067. Story of the Outlaw, 19068. Way of a Man, 19079. 54-40 or Fight, 190910. The Purchase Price, 191011. Man Next Door, 191612. Broken Gate, 191713. Passing of the Frontier, 191814. The Sagebrusher, 191915. The Covered Wagon, 1