LYON HUNTS & HUMOR
True Life Hunting and Adventure Stories

      “In this book, a man whose name is LYON tells us of his experience hunting the mountain LION. Shorty Lyon worked 25 years as a trapper and lion hunter for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. His adventures in this job provided him with many interesting escapades which he has put down on paper. His stories have been published in various outdoor-oriented magazines over the past several years.
            “This book is a compilation of some of these published articles, along with a few poems, which could give him the current-day title of “Cowboy poet/humorist.” Humor is interspersed just often enough to provide the reader with an enjoyable evening or two of reading. The stories put the reader into the action; you feel as though you were along with Lyon on his lion hunt.
            “Lyon tells of instances in which he followed his prey into mines or caves as the lion tried to elude the hunter. The wile and cunning of mountain lion and bear are central to these stories and provide an educational element in the book. Indeed, this book should be required reading for “animal rights activists” who think the wild animal does not stand a chance against the hunter and his dogs. As an outdoor person, I found the stories to be especially entertaining, although everyone could be intrigued by these bits of lore.”
      —Edward S. Helmuth, P.M., Denver Westerner’s ROUNDUP
     
            “This book is a collection of true life hunting stories written by hunter Shorty Lyon in the prime of his life. They give a unique insight into a period of the American West that had a philosophy and humor all its own when hunting was as much a means of survival as it was a source of high adventure.”
      —Wisconsin Bookwatch
     
     
            “‘Shorty’ Lyon has been a hunter and trapper, logger and oil field worker, freighter, miner and millworker. Homesteading in the Mogollón area in the mid-1930’s, Lyon eventually went to work for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish as a trapper and lion hunter. He expanded his land holdings as a rancher when the Mogollón mines closed and continued working for the state government until his retirement in 1972. In 1986 he was inducted into the New Mexico Trappers Hall of Fame. This book is a compilation of unpublished poems and stories previously published in “Outdoor Life, New Mexico Stockman,” and “New Mexico Wildlife” magazine.
            “Tolbert is a natural storyteller and his relaxed manner makes for enjoyable reading. The stories are short and filled with wonderful details of the plants and animals, geography, and interesting inhabitants of the mountains of southwestern New Mexico. His admiration for the natural world around him and for the dogs, horses and mules which were his constant hunting companions are a constant theme. There’s a healthy dose of humor in each of the stories. Illustrations were contributed by five artists and the author’s daughter.
            “Recommended for libraries with extensive regional history or oral tradition collections or where hunting and trapping are popular topics. Several of the stories could be edited for oral interpretation speeches.”
      —Judy Crocker, New Mexico Library Association Newsletter
     
            “Have you ever been in Mogollón? It’s a ghost town over by the Arizona border amid some of the most spectacular scenery on God’s little green footstool.
            “Back when Mogollón was still a gold mining town Shorty Lyon moved there with his young family. He was never a typical miner or hunter or trapper or woodsman or conservationist, although he was all those. What he is remembered for fondly is his gift for storytelling. Some of his best are included here.”
      —Fern Lyon, New Mexico magazine