When a Man S a Man

When a Man's a Man (1916), focuses explicitly on the theme of the Southwest's beneficial effects on a man physically, intellectually, morally, and spiritually. Written while Wright was recuperating from tuberculosis in the seclusion of his Hole-in-the-Mountain Camp near Tucson, the novel realistically details the management of a range and its cowboys, and pictures the Arizona terrain where the story is set. The story begins when a young man, who calls himself Patches, walks (an unusual event in a country where everyone rides horses) into the Baldwin ranch seeking a job as a cowhand. Modeled after Wright's millionaire friend from Hiram College, the tenderfoot quickly learns the ranch work under the guidance of Baldwin and his foreman, "Wild Horse" Phil Acton, and becomes a good cowhand. He gains the respect of the cowboys, but some of the neighbors, especially Jim Reid, are suspicious of the stranger because of an increase in cattle stealing and because he associates with Yavapai Joe, a partner of Nick Cambert's, the suspected cattle rustler. Harold Bell Wright (1872-1944) was a self-taught man who founded permanent churches in Missouri, California, and Kansas. His religious practices led him to write. His books address moral and social problems.