Hough was educated at the University of Iowa and graduated in 1880. In 1882, he was admitted to the bar and in 1883 moved to New Mexico where he set up a law partnership. He published his first article in Forest and Stream Magazine in 1882 and contributed to various outdoor periodicals throughout the 1880's. Hough began to publish more and more and devoted less of his time to law, but it wasn't until 1897 that his work became well-known and successful. The Story of the Cowboy was published in 1897 and was followed by The Girl at the Halfway House (1900), The Mississippi Bubble (1902), a best-seller, and the Curly stories, which were a series of humorous western tales that appeared in the Post from 1902 to 1905, constitute the best fiction that Hough ever wrote. Other works of note were 54-40 or Fight (1909), The Purchase Price (1910), John Rawn (1912), The Covered Wagon (1922), and his last novel, North of 36 (1923). |
