I first discovered the westerns of Wilbur C. Tuttle (1883–1969)—who wrote prolifically for the pulp magazines of the early 20th century as W.C. Tuttle—in the pages of Adventure magazine, where he seemed to have a never-ending stream of excellent stories, all set in the old west. In fact, I later learned he had published almost a thousand novels and stories, nearly all of which were westerns. This makes him one of the most prolific western writers of all time. He was also a screenwriter beginning in the silent era. In all, he wrote the screenplays for 52 films between 1915 and 1945.
AdventureMany of his stories featured a hero named Hashknife Hartley, a wandering cowpoke who always seemed to find trouble wherever he went. His best friend and constant companion was “Sleepy” Stevens, who jus
