Elder Conklin and Other Stories

In Short

This collection of short stories presents a stark, unsentimental look at life in the American West during the late nineteenth century. Through tales of settlers, politicians, and drifters, the narratives explore the collision between raw human desire and the rigid structures of social and political power. The stories are marked by their sharp dialogue, psychological realism, and a refusal to offer easy moral resolutions. Because they capture the brutal, isolating reality of frontier life with such unflinching precision, they remain a significant window into a period of American history often mythologized but rarely analyzed with such clinical detachment.

The Story

The collection opens in the heart of the Kansas prairie, where the quiet life of Elder Conklin and his daughter, Loo, is disrupted by the arrival of a new schoolmaster, Bancroft. As the frontier landscape shifts with the arrival of modern influence, the narrative explores the tangled web of jealousy and expectation that develops between Loo, the schoolmaster, and a local rival, Seth Stevens. The Elder, driven by a protective, almost fragile love for his daughter, finds his own values tested as he struggles to navigate his daughter’s shifting affections and the encroaching outside world.

The scope then widens to include the grim pragmatism of the frontier through the eyes of a Sheriff and his reluctant deputy, who are tasked with lethal enforcement in a world where "the work chooses us." Further stories examine the inner lives of men and women trapped by their own weaknesses, such as a minister in Kansas City whose faith is continuously undermined by his own restless, carnal desires.

In the final, most politically incisive stories, the focus shifts to the power dynamics of a growing town, where a formidable political "Boss," Jonathan Byrne Gulmore, maneuvers to protect his dominance against an idealistic young professor, Roberts. The conflict is not merely one of opposing politics, but of clashing philosophies: Roberts seeks to challenge the corruption of the "ring" through intellectual rigor and moral exposure, while Gulmore operates on the chilling, Darwinian principle that the "big potatoes" naturally rise to the top through the displacement of those beneath them. As the professor finds himself outmaneuvered by the cynical compromises of his own allies, the narratives conclude on a note of sober disillusionment. The stories reveal a world where triumph is rarely a matter of merit, but rather a byproduct of the rough, shaking roads of life that inevitably force some to the top and others to the bottom.

How It Unfolds

The prairie idyll The initial tension arises between the schoolmaster and the Elder’s daughter, Loo, as they navigate the social unspoken rules of a house-warming and the intrusive presence of a local suitor. Their domestic environment serves as a microcosm for the larger, more dangerous world waiting just beyond the cornfields.

The weight of the wilderness An unexpected shift introduces the harsh realities of the law, where a Sheriff recruits a reluctant youth for a task that demands violence rather than justice. This transition highlights the ease with which the mundane becomes lethal in an environment governed by force.

The struggle of the spirit A clergyman in Kansas City attempts to reconcile his public sermons with his private, corrosive obsession with a woman who treats his faith as a mere convenience. His slow descent from moral certainty into intellectual paralysis mirrors the broader societal erosion of traditional values.

The rise of the machine In the concluding narrative, the battle between a corrupt political boss and an idealistic professor reveals the inner workings of municipal power. The professor’s attempts to use reason against the boss’s entrenched influence serve as the final, futile confrontation between individual integrity and systemic manipulation.

The People

Elder Conklin is a man defined by a profound, quiet devotion to his daughter, Loo. His protective nature is his most striking trait, yet it leaves him vulnerable to the shifting tides of Loo’s own volatile, youthful desires. Loo, in contrast, is a figure of restless energy who seeks a life beyond the prairie, often manipulating those around her to escape her father’s provincial world.

Professor Roberts stands as the primary foil to Jonathan Byrne Gulmore. Roberts represents the intellectual idealist, armed with education and a belief in truth, but he is fundamentally hampered by his inability to navigate the cynical reality of political compromise. Gulmore, by contrast, is the "Boss"—a man of immense physical and psychological presence who possesses an intuitive, cold understanding of social hierarchy. He sees the world as a system of forces, viewing his own rise to power as a natural, almost biological phenomenon.

Hutchings, a lawyer who initially aligns himself with the professor, represents the "womanish weakness" of the political class. His desire for personal advancement and comfort ultimately leads him to betray his ideals, choosing the security of a deal with Gulmore over the uncertainty of a principled fight. Together, these figures form a landscape of people defined by what they want—whether it be status, love, or power—and the moral concessions they are willing to make to secure it.

In Its Own Voice

The following lines illustrate the author's precise, unsentimental observation of the characters’ inner lives:

“His great love for his child had developed in the Elder subtle delicacies of feeling which are as the fragrance of love's humility.”

Elder Conklin’s quiet, observant nature is established through his profound, almost painful attachment to his daughter.

“When I think of you and that coarse brute together, I shall always remember this moonlight and the hateful zig-zagging snake-fence there that disfigures and defiles its beauty.”

Bancroft, the schoolmaster, expresses his bitter, aesthetic disgust at the prospect of Loo choosing a rival over him.

“It isn't that the big potatoes want partic'lar to come to the top; it is that the little potatoes are determined to get to the bottom.”

Gulmore, the political Boss, explains his callous, Darwinian worldview regarding his own success in the face of his opponents.

What It's Really About

The central concern of these stories is the fragility of the individual in the face of entrenched, often indifferent power. The author explores how environments—whether the wild, unforgiving prairie or the corrupt, paved streets of a growing town—shape and ultimately erode the human spirit. The book argues that survival and success are often divorced from moral worth, suggesting that the "survival of the fittest" is not just a scientific theory, but a grim reality of social navigation. The stories interrogate whether idealism can ever survive in a world where, as the characters frequently discover, the "road" is long, rough, and designed to sort the strong from the weak without regard for character or truth.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate the sparse, observant prose of the late nineteenth century will find much to admire in this collection. It is a book for those who prefer the sharp edges of reality to the softening influence of nostalgia. The writing is remarkably precise, focusing on the psychological landscape as much as the physical, and it avoids the romanticized tropes of the "Wild West" in favor of something far more unsettling.

The modern reader should be aware that the collection reflects the period’s specific dialect and social attitudes, which may occasionally feel abrupt or jarring. The dialogue, heavy with regional speech, demands a bit of patience, but it provides a grounded, immersive quality that makes the characters feel distinctly alive. The stories are not comfortable—they deal with the reality of failure, the inevitability of corruption, and the loneliness of the individual against the machine. However, they stay with you precisely because they do not offer the easy comfort of a moral victory. If you value literature that treats its subjects with intellectual honesty and a refusal to look away from the darker side of human ambition, this collection offers a challenging, resonant experience that remains strikingly relevant in its depiction of power and its discontents.