The name after each title in the X Bar X Boys series is James Cody Ferris. Since the series was a Stratemeyer production, we know that this is a pseudonym, doubtless purposely reminiscent of William Cody, a.k.a. Buffalo Bill. There are at least two individuals involved the actual authorship of the volumes produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate: the person who originated the story and wrote the plot in summary form, and the ghostwriter who penned the words from the summary. Until the files of the Stratemeyer Syndicate were opened by the New York Public Library to researchers (see the section of this web site called "The Phantom Title, Etc."), the best one could do was use internal evidence in the stories to make an educated guess as to the ghostwriter. The words you are reading now were written June 6, 1999, and publicize the fruit of the initial researches in this area of James Keeline and his friend Geoff Lapin, both of whom have had access to the Stratemeyer files; James has shared their discoveries with me whenever they involved the X Bar X Boys series. James provided the information for volumes 1-10 and 21-22, and Geoff provided it for volumes 11-20. I am grateful to James, and through him to Geoff, for kindly sharing their research with me. This new article replaces the educated guesses I made and publicized in 1998, before these files became accessible.

Although my guesses were right in a few cases, I have had to make many revisions—sometimes reluctantly, I must admit. Internal evidence had to be squared with the information in the Stratemeyer files, and in a couple of places I had to be convinced. Although there are two "unknowns" in the list of outliners, James has patiently convinced me of the accuracy of the names which his and Geoff’s research has discovered. It is remotely possible that new evidence may surface as research continues. For example, if we learn that one ghostwriter was initially given the outline (as indicated in Stratemeyer files) but couldn't or wouldn't write the story, and someone else did, then this would change who really wrote a particular book. This kind of information will emerge from studying the correspondence from a particular time period—a very time-consuming procedure.

Another factor which can introduce variations in the writing is the length and detail of the manuscript. As Edward Stratemeyer’s daughters, Harriet and Edna, became more experienced in the business, they supplied more complete outlines to the ghostwriters, and applied a heavier hand in editing the result. Ghostwriters, depending on how busy they were at the time of writing, could supply a manuscript of varying length or quality, which might need rewriting.

According to the information in the Stratemeyer files, the outliners and ghostwriters of the books of the X Bar X Boys series are as follows. The biographical information was provided by James Keeline.

Outliners: .

Edward Stratemeyer, Volumes 1-10.

The X Bar X Boys on the Ranch (1926).

The X Bar X Boys in Thunder Canyon (1926).

The X Bar X Boys on Whirlpool River (1926) .

The X Bar X Boys on Big Bison Trail (1927) .

The X Bar X Boys at the Round Up (1927) .

The X Bar X Boys at Nugget Camp (1928) .

The X Bar X Boys at Rustlers' Gap (1929) .

The X Bar X Boys at Grizzly Pass (1929) .

The X Bar X Boys Lost in the Rockies (1930) .

The X Bar X Boys Riding for Life (1931) .

Edward Stratemeyer (1862-1930) was the founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate. In addition to managing the business and plotting most of the early books it produced, he wrote under his own name and two main personal pseudonyms, "Arthur M. Winfield" and "Capt. Ralph Bonehill."

Howard Garis, Volume 11.

The X Bar X Boys in Smoky Valley (1932) .

Howard Roger Garis (1873-1962) was the most prolific ghostwriter for the Syndicate, with more than 285 book-length manuscripts, and was a close friend of Edward Stratemeyer. His son Roger told of how Edward and Howard would act out scenes from books to make sure that they made sense. Some of the major series for which Garis contributed volumes include the Motor Boys series (1-22), Great Marvel series (1-5, 8-9), Jack Ranger series (2-6), Tom Swift series (1-24, 28-36, 38), Bobbsey Twins series (4-28), and many others. In addition to his incredible Syndicate work, Garis created the Uncle Wiggily stories about a rheumatic gentleman rabbit which were syndicated in newspapers across the country on a weekly basis for more than fifty years (between 1910 and 1962). He also invented the Uncle Wiggily board game which was a best-selling children's game for several decades.

Edna Camilla Stratemeyer Squier, Volumes 12-13, 15-16, 18-20

The X Bar X Boys at Copperhead Gulch (1933)

The X Bar X Boys Branding the Wild Herd (1934)

The X Bar X Boys With the Secret Rangers (1936)

The X Bar X Boys Hunting the Prize Mustangs (1937)

The X Bar X Boys and the Sagebrush Mystery (1939)

The X Bar X Boys in the Haunted Gully (1940)

The X Bar X Boys and the Lost Trooper s (1941)

Edna Camilla Stratemeyer Squier (1895-1974) was the youngest daughter of Edward Stratemeyer and Magdalene Baker Van Camp Stratemeyer (1867-1935). After Edward's death in 1930, Edna and her elder sister, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (1892-1982), first tried (unsuccessfully) to sell the Syndicate, then began to run it themselves. Edna was the Syndicate's most prolific outliner, creating twice as many as Harriet did. She also wrote one volume in the Kay Tracey series (13). After 1942, she moved to Florida and became a silent partner in the Syndicate.

Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, Volumes 14 and 17

The X Bar X Boys at the Strange Rodeo (1935)

The X Bar X Boys at Triangle Mine (1938)

Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (1892-1982) was the eldest daughter of Edward Stratemeyer and eventually became the CEO of the Syndicate. For the most part, her early work was centered around managing the writing of others. However, she began writing extensively for the Syndicate after Edna left in 1942. She wrote most of the later volumes of the Nancy Drew series (31, 35-59), many in the Bobbsey Twins series (36-40, 42-48), and many in the Dana Girls series (18-30), among others.

Unknown, Volumes 21-22

The X Bar X Boys Following the Stampede (1942)

The X Bar X Boys With the Border Patrol (not published)

Ghostwriters:

Roger Garis, Volumes 1-6

The X Bar X Boys on the Ranch (1926)

The X Bar X Boys in Thunder Canyon (1926)

The X Bar X Boys on Whirlpool River (1926)

The X Bar X Boys on Big Bison Trai l (1927)

The X Bar X Boys at the Round Up (1927)

The X Bar X Boys at Nugget Camp (1928)

Roger Carroll Garis (1901-1967) was the son of Howard Roger Garis (1873-1962) and Lilian C. McNamara Garis (1873-1954). He wrote several books for the Syndicate, including volumes in the Nat Ridley series (5, 14-16), Bobby Blake series (12), and Randy Starr series (1-2). He wrote a memoir of his family's writing career called My Father Was Uncle Wiggily (published by McGraw-Hill, 1966).

Frank Dorrance Hopley, Volumes 7-12

The X Bar X Boys at Rustlers' Gap (1929)

The X Bar X Boys at Grizzly Pass (1929)

The X Bar X Boys Lost in the Rockies (1930)

The X Bar X Boys Riding for Life (1931)

The X Bar X Boys in Smoky Valley (1932)

The X Bar X Boys at Copperhead Gulch (1933)

Frank Dorrance Hopley (1872-1933) wrote volumes in the Bob Chase series (1-5) and Jerry Ford series (1-4). He also wrote one book published under his own name called At the Crossroads (published by Augustana Book Concern, 1931). A letter in The Mystery and Adventure Series Review, Volume 22, page 29, revealed Hopley’s existence for the first time and listed the date of his death as 1930; however, later research in the Stratemeyer files indicates that he died in August 1933.

Walter Karig, Volume 13

The X Bar X Boys Branding the Wild Herd (1934)

Walter Karig (1898-1956) was a Captain in the U. S. Navy and wrote a number of books referring to World War II. He was also an author of television scripts for war-related programs like "Victory At Sea." For the Syndicate, he wrote volumes in the Perry Pierce series (2-4), Doris Force series (3-4), and Nancy Drew series (8-10). He earned a bad reputation with the Syndicate by writing to the Library of Congress and requesting authorial credit for the three Nancy Drew volumes he wrote. The Library staff assumed that he wrote all of the books. Both the fact that he revealed himself as "Carolyn Keene" and the mistake on the part of the library catalogers were a source of tremendous consternation for the Syndicate. At one point, Harriet S. Adams wrote to Mildred Wirt (the author of the first 25 volumes in the Nancy Drew series, except for the three written by Karig) and said that the Syndicate would rue the day that they ever hired Karig, and that if anyone could claim to be "Carolyn Keene" it would be Wirt.

Grace May North Monfort, Volumes 14, 16-17

The X Bar X Boys at the Strange Rodeo (1935)

The X Bar X Boys Hunting the Prize Mustangs (1937)

The X Bar X Boys at Triangle Mine (1938)

Grace May North Monfort (1876-1960) was born in Utica, New York and between 1919 and 1931 wrote a number of books under her own name as well as her personal pseudonym, "Carol Norton." In addition to the three volumes in the X Bar X Boys series, she wrote a short series of unpublished western stories for young children, called the "Southwest Stories for Children." This is the first indication of any kind that she wrote for the Syndicate.

John W. Duffield, Volume 15

The X Bar X Boys With the Secret Rangers (1936)

John W. Duffield was a particularly prolific ghostwriter for the Syndicate, including volumes in the Radio Boys series (1-12), Bomba the Jungle Boy series (1-20 and one unpublished), and the Ted Scott series (1-12, 15-20). He lived in Queens, New York. His daughter, Elizabeth D. Ward, also wrote extensively for the Syndicate. Before writing for the Syndicate, he created the Bert Wilson series under his own name and wrote volumes in a Boy Scout series under the "Maitland" pseudonym.

Dr. John Conyers Button Jr., Volumes 18-21

The X Bar X Boys and the Sagebrush Mystery (1939)

The X Bar X Boys in the Haunted Gully (1940)

The X Bar X Boys and the Lost Troopers (1941)

The X Bar X Boys Following the Stampede (1942)

Dr. John Conyers Button, Jr. (1911-1967) was mainly known as a physician who specialized in Parkinson's Disease. He was born in Hackensack, New Jersey and maintained a general practice in medicine and surgery between 1938 and 1958 in Newark and Maplewood, New Jersey, including the Button Neurological Institute (1949-1958). He also wrote five volumes in the Hardy Boys series (17-21).

Leslie McFarlane, Volume 22

The X Bar X Boys With the Border Patrol (not published)

Leslie McFarlane (1902-1977), a prolific Canadian writer, is best known to series book fans as the author of the early Hardy Boys series (1-16, 22-26). He wrote several volumes in the Dave Dashaway series for the Syndicate under the pseudonym "Roy Rockwood" before becoming "Franklin W. Dixon." He also wrote the first four volumes in the Dana Girls series, and the phantom title in the X Bar X Boys series. He wrote of his experience in the Syndicate in his autobiographical work, Ghost of the Hardy Boys (published by Methuen in 1976).

With this information provided, it is helpful to reflect a little on the internal evidence of the stories. The first nine volumes inaugurate the series with an excellent standard. They are some of the most superior books in series book literature. The attribution of the first six of these to the authorship of Roger Garis surprised me, since the other writing by him with which I am familiar has seemed to me to be only average. These books feature high quality in three areas: delineating and developing characters, crafting movingly beautiful descriptions of the grandeur of the West, and producing clever scenarios and conversations marked with subtle and wry humor.

In the first nine volumes, the high moral standard called "the code of the West" is established through many situations. The authors use an unusual but attractive style in writing dialogue—a combination of erudite vocabulary and the slang of the West. There is no discernible racism; in fact, it is deliberately rejected when the Chinese cook, Sing Lung, is overtly included with the ranch hands in family celebrations. In these first books the compellingly attractive Manley family is introduced, with its strong interconnectedness and mutual affection. The overall standard of excellence in the first volumes was likely set by the creator of the series, Edward Stratemeyer.

In volumes 10 and 11, The X Bar X Boys Riding for Life and The X Bar X Boys in Smoky Valley, the change in style is almost jarring to a reader familiar with the first nine episodes. The personalities of the characters are altered almost out of recognition. Although some of the elements in the plots are interesting and exciting, nearly every other aspect of these two stories is shallow and, in some cases, even disturbing. The names remain the same, but the boys and the ranch hands become narrow-minded overall and lawless in their attitude toward malefactors. Most characters, even the good guys, show a hostile and vindictive attitude. After the first nine volumes have established the Manleys as a strong and loving family, bound by the "code of the West," a passage such as the following is upsetting:

"Let's shoot him and get rid of him," suggested Teddy, holding his pistol in line with Skinny's heart and causing the puncher to wince at its nearness. "Nobody would ever know, Roy, but ourselves."

( Riding for Life, page 179)

A moment later, when Skinny escapes by rolling down a hill, still tied up, the boys shoot at him, apparently to kill (page 182). In volume 11, once again the narrow, even vindictive, nature of the X Bar X hands is presented. Pop must be restrained more than once when he is eager to beat an injured and delirious stranger because, in his delirium, he describes Pop as a "red monkey."

Descriptions of the settings are minimal and at best average. There is little or no erudition in the vocabulary. Although the plotting has some great moments, overall it is poor, with many nonbelievable elements. The characters throughout are two-dimensional, and there is almost no humor of any kind. The boys’ horses, so central and affectionately considered in the first nine volumes, in these two books are referred to in the neuter. In almost every appearance of Belle Ada, the word "shriek" is used whenever she has something to say. There is a strong element of racism evident, with Mexican heritage considered something to be lied about since it is automatically suspect; Sing Lung shows humiliating deference to Caucasians—even the villains.

How can this abrupt change be explained? John M. Enright, in his article "Series Subjects" in The Mystery and Adventure Series Review (issue #21, Summer, 1989) suggests that Edward Stratemeyer, and subsequently his daughter Harriet, brought "scenes from the Buffalo Hunters series of the 1880's back to life at the X Bar X ranch." Enright adds that the Syndicate owned the copyrights to some of the dime novels of the era.

Someone who is familiar with both the Buffalo Hunters (I've never encountered anyone who has heard of that series) and these middle volumes of the X Bar X series may be able to draw a definitive conclusion. However, since the personalities of the characters in volumes 10 and 11 are both developed and different from those established in volumes 1-9, it’s a good guess that these books were adapted from earlier sources, especially when the "code of the West" may have been accepted with a much higher level of violence, and the law was frequently taken into one's own hands.

Thankfully, the problems in volumes 10 and 11 are overcome in volume 12, The X Bar X Boys at Copperhead Gulch. This book is built securely on the foundation of the series, but develops the characters and provide new information about them and the ranch life. This adds interest and depth without any sense of discontinuity. With some exceptions, the plotting is very good, generally better than the first nine volumes. Some conversations and situations verge on the melodramatic, but generally the high standard of the first volumes is admirably approached. There is no racism; although the term "half-breed" is utilized once, it is used as a description and not as a pejorative. There is no vindictiveness in the good guys, and much of the original bunk house banter has returned. As quoted above, descriptions of natural beauty are found occasionally in this book, although not so well written as in the first nine.

Volume 14 introduces a new character who remains with the series (singing ranch hand Eskil Alpheus Brown, known as "Ranny," a cowboy word for a "wanderer") and provides some new information about the X Bar X Ranch.

Internal evidence with volume 18, The X Bar X Boys and the Sagebrush Mystery, should lead us to conclude that another author has assumed the mantle of James Cody Ferris. This conclusion is not difficult to make (and the Stratemeyer files bear out this conclusion), since this book receives the dubious distinction of being the worst of the lot. A plot marked by wildly improbable and disjointed events, head-spinning changes of scene, movement of characters more rapid than the Whirlpool River in flood, almost zero character development, and embarrassing stereotypes of Indians prove that we have dropped far from the high standard set in the first books of the series. The first appearance of that bane of the genre, the reprehensible "coincidence," makes the discriminating reader look eagerly for a six-shooter to put the poor creature out of its misery. The best line in the book is uttered by the town lawyer, when he tells Roy and Teddy, "You'd better cut out the detective business and stick to bein' cowboys" (page 129).

Any hope that another ghostwriter has taken over the series when we move on to volume 19, The X Bar X Boys in the Haunted Gully, will, alas, be unfulfilled. Although the book starts out with some modest signs of improvement, the quality is not sustained. From time to time, this writer shows some skill in creating "western dialogue," and makes a commendable effort at producing a little bunk house banter which had been absent for several volumes. A completely unforeseen surprise ending had a lot of potential, but regrettably the story is just as disjointed and marred by "coincidence" as its predecessor. Seeking the Lost Troopers, the twentieth and penultimate volume in the series, shows similar signs of improvement, but at the end also falls short. One theme common to these three books is the finding of long-lost individuals, a device which is apparently a favorite of this particular writer.

Recent information discovered in the Stratemeyer files shows that this same writer penned the words also of the last published volume in the series. It is a delight to open the pages of The X Bar X Boys Following the Stampede, and find that the quality goes up significantly in every department. Two stories, of stolen jewels and fraudulently sold property, are blended together well. A Chinaman, a cousin of Sing Lung, appears, and is presented as a well-educated individual worthy of respect who speaks fluent and correct English. Sing Lung himself moves out of the bothersome stereotype in which he had appeared for many volumes. It is unfortunate that no information has yet been found to identify the outliner of this book or its unpublished successor.