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Greer, Hoss. Hoss Greer was created by Harry F. Olmsted (Blant Cutting, Don Muerte, Friar Robusto) and appeared in fifty-seven stories in a variety of magazines from 1936 to 1950, beginning with “The Fighting Peacemaker” (10 Story Western, Dec 1936).

Hoss Greer is a wealthy rancher who created his fortune in the “smoky, gory beginnings of Arizona’s cattle business” and now has his fortune spread in “horned cattle and far-flung land holdings.” He owns a big spread, with various capable ranch hands and a Cantonese cook. But he is “cantankerous,” “stiff-necked,” and difficult: “Old Hoss Greer’s temper was as unpredictable as the weather, though many men swore he was as stubborn as an army mule and as reliable as the sun. But one thing was certain, out of all the legends and opinions that surrounded him: Hoss Greer could be gauged only at the moment, and then with fingers crossed. And it was a wise man who did not try to size him up according to his past behavior.” However, he’s not a bad man, and “more often than not, Old Hoss Greer was thinking of another’s welfare when he staged one of his traditional gun eruptions.” He lives at the Square G Ranch in Tres Alamos, and rides the gray horse Traveler.

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