A Daughter of theDons by William Mcleod Raine
A Western story of romance and adventure, comprising a vivacious and stirring tale. A hunted man accused of murder witnesses a cattle stampede which results in the death of a herder, and seizes the opportunity to assume the dead man's identity.

William MacLeod Raine (June 22, 1871 - July 25, 1954), was a British-born American novelist who wrote fictional adventure stories about the American Old West.

William MacLeod Raine was born in London, the son of William and Jessie Raine. After his mother died, his family migrated from England to Arkansas when Macleod was ten years old, eventually settling on a cattle ranch near the Texas-Arkansas border.

In 1894, after graduating from Oberlin College, Macleod left Arkansas and headed for the western U.S. He became the principal of a school in Seattle while contributing columns to a local newspaper. After leaving Seattle, he moved to Denver, where he worked as a reporter and editorial writer for local periodicals, including the Republican, the Post, and the Rocky Mountain News. At this time he began to publish short stories, eventually becoming a full time free lance fiction writer, and finally finding his literary home in the novel.

His earliest novels were romantic histories taking place in the English countryside. However, after spending some time with the Arizona Rangers, Macleod shifted his literary focus and began to utilize the American West as a setting. The publication of Wyoming in 1908 marks the beginning of his prolific career, during which time he averaged nearly two western novels a year until his death in 1954. In 1920 he was awarded an M.L. degree from the University of Colorado where he had established that school's first journalism course. During the First World War 500,000 copies of one of his books were sent to British soldiers in the trenches. Twenty of his novels have been filmed. Despite his prolificness, he was a slow, careful, conscientious worker, intent on accurate detail, and considered himself a craftsman rather than an artist.

In 1905 Mr. Raine married Jennie P. Langley, who died in 1922. In 1924 he married Florence A Hollingsworth: they had a daughter. Though he traveled a good deal, Denver was considered his home.

William MacLeod Raine died on July 25, 1954 and is buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.

Tappan's Burro by Zane Grey

And Other Stories Contains a Number of Novellas
Zane Grey has an amazing sense of what the life of an alone prospector in the old was like. In this book, a man named Tappan is out and about looking to strike riches in the prospecting trade. He is blessed with the gift of friendship from a burro, otherwise known as a mule. This burro is very intelligent and intellectual. It has a very good sense of companionship. Tappan calls his friend a “Beast of Burden.” 
Tappan and his beast of burden treked all over the American Southwest Their journeys take place in mountains, valleys, and deserts. They have to battle the heat in the first section of the story. This takes place in Death Valley. Here, they have to deal with robbers that try to steal their bags of gold. Tappan tries to scare them away, but his giant stature doesn’t allow cunning for him. Tappan and his burro are resorted to battle the heat through Death Valley.
Tappan cashes his gold in a western town and goes on a shopping spree. Later in his journey, he meets two lonely travelers. The pair is apparently brother and sister that owns a ranch that is willing to be sold to Tappan for a more than fair price. The three all decided to travel together and accompany each other on their journeys. Tappan bonds very strongly with the sister. Their bonds get stronger and the two fall in love. One day on an outing, the sister admits to Tappan that she was supposed to fall in love with Tappan and set him up to buy the ranch. She tells him that in doing so, she has actually fallen in love with him. They both decide to run off together one night without telling the brother who was the leader of a dangerous gang. 
When Tappan and his love run off she grows scared for Tappan’s safety and ditches him. She is scared that the gang would find them two and kill them both. Tappan searches for a long while trying to find where his love had gone. He searches casinos, towns, and hotels. His heart soon grows weary for her.