“But in the West few men would risk bothering a woman. It was the one thing the frontier would not accept - Kilkenny”

“The cause of right is never lost, Leal. I've often thought the biggest damned fool in the world could to down in history as a great man if he would just consistently vote for the greatest good of the greatest number - Kilkenny”

“No man can put a rope on the past and hope to snub it down. The best thing is to learn to it ride the new trails - Kilkenny”

“After a few days, I mused, I would have no trouble. Whoever heard of a revolution of fat men?”

“Do not let yourself be bothered by the inconsequential. One has only so much time in this world, so devote it to the work and the people most important to you, to those you love and things that matter. One can waste half a lifetime with people one doesn't really like, or doing things when one would be better off somewhere else.”

“This here's a hard country. If a man ain't fit, he can't last - Kilkenny”

“If you write a book set in the past about something that happened east of the Mississippi, it's a 'historical novel.' If you write about something that took place west of the Mississippi, it's a 'Western'- and somehow regarded as a lesser work. I write historical novels about the frontier.”