Or, I Give the Squibdiddle a Thorough Fructifying (continued)

My name is Otto “Big Red” Amlingmeyer, I’m from Kansas, I’m a cowboy and I’m either the most charming talespinner you ever will meet or an insufferable flannel-mouthed blowhard, depending on who you ask. (Ask me, of course, and I’ll say I’m the former.) The reason I’ve been blessed (or is it cursed?) with my very own “website” is because I’m the hero of the new mystery yarn Holmes on the Range. My brother Gustav (or “Old Red” as he’s known in drovering circles) might try to claim that “hero” brand for himself, but I wrote the book and I’m writing this and he can’t even read, so I win.

In my book (which is being published as by one “Steve Hockensmith” because the publisher thinks the name has more “zip”), I heroically assist my brother as he uses the deducifying methods of his hero -- the late, great Sherlock Holmes -- to solve some mysteries and tangle with some very dangerous desperadoes. Which I guess does make him the real hero, but let’s not tell him that. He’s got a big enough head as it is.

What this website doohickey’s supposed to do, I’ve been told, is help folks learn a little more about Old Red and me and update them on our latest whereabouts and exploits. I’ve even been told that I’ll be “blogging” here from time to time, as well, which certainly doesn’t seem appetizing -- it sounds like what a fellow does out behind the saloon when he’s had more whiskey than he can handle.

I'm willing to give it a crack, though. From what I hear, charming talespinners and insufferable flannel-mouthed blowhards alike are thriving on this here Wild, Wild “Web.” So either way, I should fit right in.

Otto Amlingmeyer
Miles City, Montana
January 31, 1893