Zane Grey gave up dentistry to become the prolific writer of the purple sage from whose works a record 109 films were produced. This tale, written in 1934, was rejected by magazines because of its vivid portrayal of the hardships of pioneer life, including the rape of Grey's heroine by a renegade Apache. A heavily edited version called 30,000 on the Hoof was finally published in 1940, a year after the author's death. This version, completely restored by Grey's son, Loren, recounts the trials and tribulations of Arizona rancher Logan Huett, his heroic wife, Lucinda, their three sons, and a girl named Barbara, who is abandoned by wagon-train travelers and raised by the Huetts. It begins well before the turn of the century and goes on until shortly after the World War I, during which two of the Huett sons are lost.
