Ride the Jawbone

Montana author, Jim Moore, teaches many history lessons in his debut novel, Ride the Jawbone, which effectively transports the reader to central Montana's ranching communities and the famous Jawbone Railroad as they were experienced at the turn of the twentieth century. Into this story of a young lawyer, T. C. Bruce, who is asked to defend an odious outcast that the citizens want to hang, author Moore weaves details about the way of life of ranchers and other citizens of that era. Richard A. Harlow employed much persuasion to finance his Montana Railroad from where it linked with the Northern Pacific at Lombard to the Musselshell River Valley. Because of Harlow's ability to accomplish this task on the strength of his jawbone, people called it the Jawbone Railroad. In Jim Moore's novel, the body of a young woman is allegedly thrown from this train after the murder was committed. The accused is a reprehensible trapper whom no established attorney in Montana wants to defend. T. C. Bruce is the son of a rancher who owns a large spread an easy horseback ride away from Two Dot, Montana. T. C. loves ranching and is torn between his father's wish for him to take over the ranch and his mother's insistence that he put his education to use and practice law. When the judge asks him to take on the role of defense attorney in the Jawbone murder case, his father encourages him to do so. Two young women who take an interest in the handsome T. C. add complication to the story.

JIm Moore (born Perry James Moore) came from a home where reading was encouraged; a home filled with reading material, of which he took advantage. Now, as a retired rancher and lawyer, he continues to read voraciously. Along the highway from their family ranch near Two Dot, MT to Bozeman, the old Jawbone road bed is visible in places. In passing by, it occurred to him that a good yarn could be wrapped around the story of the railroad. He decided to write it. Thus came into being Ride the Jawbone. In retirement he's continued to write and has completed four more novels and many short stories, several of them published. He was born Perry James (Jim) Moore III in Lewistown, Montana on December 21, 1927. As a child he lived ranches and small towns in Montana: Two Dot, Martinsdale, and Lewistown—and Santa Barbara, California before moving back to the Moore Ranch at Two Dot.He attended the Two Dot grade school, graduated from Harlowton High School in 1945 and enlisted in the navy. Discharged from the navy, he enrolled in the University of Montana at Missoula in the fall of 1946. He transferred to Montana State University in the fall of 1948 and graduated in 1952 with a degree in Agricultural Economics.At Montana State he met Kathryn Nash. They were married on June 28, 1954 in Holy Rosary Church in Bozeman and made their home on the Moore Ranch. Three children – Dianne, Perry and Steven were born to the marriage.Jim studied the law at their home on the ranch and was successful in passing the bar examination. He practiced law in Harlowton and then in Bozeman -- while maintaining his interest in the ranch.In addition to the ranch and his law practice, Jim was involved in a number of other activities. AGRICULTURE Director of Montana Stockgrowers Association Trustee of the Farm Credit Banks of Spokane Director of Montana Livestock Ag Credit Inc. LEGAL Board of Visitors to the School of Law at the University of Montana Trustee of Montana Legal Services State Bar of Montana -- Committee on Professionalism and Ethics.State Bar of Montana -- Fair Trial – Free Press Committee Recipient of the prestigious William J. Jamison Award (Presented each year by the Montana Bar Association to one lawyer in Montana for Distinguished legal service which exemplifies the essence of professionalism.) EDUCATION Adjunct Professor of Agricultural Law at Montana State University Trustee of the Museum of the Rockies Member of the Advisory Council for the College of Business at MSU Member of the President's Council of 50 at the University of Montana Selected, at the time of its centennial, as one of 100 Montana State University distinguished graduates CIVIC State Senator – Minority Leader two legislative sessions Member State Lottery Commission Member of the Governor's Committee on Education