Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Trails Of An Arkie Cowboy Book Review
FARMINGTON — A buck starts to climb a hill, then pauses as a hunter peering through the trees takes aim.
The excitement of the hunt as well as a description of trying to out-drive a tornado with a frightened bride clutching their two- month old baby in a 1969 Pontiac GTO with a high-powered 427 motor on country roads are among the “Trails of an Arkie Cowboy,” the self-published autobiography of Weldon Johnson, of Prairie Grove.
Johnson has a wealth of experiences to share and his book includes black and white photographs taken on various hunting and fishing expeditions as he narrates account after account of landing a fish or hunting adventures.
The biggest drawback besides being out of print is the book isn’t divided into chapters. While Johnson has penned a concise, actionpacked first-hand narrative, the story would be easier to digest if broken into chapters. The prose is far from unreadable but those who check it out will want to be sure to have a bookmark on hand.
Johnson is the grandson of a Swedish immigrant. He was raised in the Blackburn area and grew up hunting the hills and hollers of Northwest Arkansas. Johnson’s enjoyment of hunting and fishing has taken him on sporting excursions to Alaska, Montana, Oregon and the Yukon as well as fishing off the Florida coast.
Printed by ARC Press of Cane Hill, the book can be checked out from the Lincoln, Prairie Grove, West Fork and Winslow libraries and is among the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society and Princeton University Library.
Since the publication of Trails of an Arkie Cowboy, Johnson has printed a 30-page addendum to the book, which is broken into chapters and easier to read because the events and settings are separated by page breaks. The original work would have benefited from having an editorial review prior to publication and should Johnson decide to publish a revised edition with the addendum included perhaps he will break the story up into chapters.
On a scale of five, Trails of an Arkie Cowboy rates three stars, which could be improved with a revised edition. The book represents an important contribution to local history and describes in vivid detail an American lifestyle thoroughly enjoyed by previous generations and those who have the means and desire to hunt for sport globally.