In the untamed mountains of Idaho's Smoky Land, a bull elk named Spread Horn rules a living kingdom of canyon, forest, salmon streams, and hunting predators, until the first human intrusion turns the wilderness from wonder into warning. Edison Marshall's Shepherds of the Wild plunges into a frontier where animals, ranchers, and drifters collide, and where every shadow can carry danger, greed, or the chance of transformation. When Hugh Gaylord, a soft city man numbed by drink and comfort, is sent west by the blunt, hard-eyed Old Colonel, he is urged to hunt the giant cougar Broken Fang and prove there is strength beneath his weakness. But the mountains have other lessons in store. Around him, corrupt cattleman Landy Fargo and his killer José wage a brutal range war against sheepmen, using murder, poison, and a savage pack of bear dogs to drive rivals off the land. As violence spreads and Alice ventures alone into the moonlit dark to recover her flock, the wilderness closes in, testing courage, conscience, and survival itself. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.