Cherie, Buddy and Dutch Salmon Photo by Carla DeMarco

On five quiet acres outside Silver City, M. H. Dutch and Cherie Salmon run a cottage industry book publishing business that serves the nation. High Lonesome Books features Southwestern themes, books written by Salmon, reprints of old and out-of-print books, original books by living authors and used books.

With a major in English and a background in journalism, Salmon, who started the business in 1986, is no stranger to the field. A long time freelance writer, he has reported for The Albuquerque Journal and the former Enterprise in Silver City. His first book, Gazehounds and Coursing, was published in 1977 by Northstar Press in Minnesota.

Salmon's impetus to start a publishing company came in 1986 when he tried to publish his second book, Gila Descending, and "publishers wanted to take all the good stuff out of it." He decided to self-publish and his first printing sold out in a year. "That's when I got the idea to become a publisher per se," he said. He started by reprinting select books that were out of print and in the public domain.

In 1989 he published another book he wrote, Home is the River, a story about a latter-day mountain man who returns from the wilderness to try to come to terms with civilization.

Another, Tales of the Chase, followed in 1991. It is a collection of essays and short fiction pieces about "hound-dogs, mountain men, wilderness, urban blight, hunting ethics, mules, chewing tobacco, troutline fishing and other scenes from a vanishing rural America."

As the company grew, it began to publish original books by living authors. In Gila Monster by David E. Brown and Neil Carmony, the authors "discover tall tales, debunk myths and reveal the known biological and historical facts about this secretive creature who spends more than 99 percent of its life underground."

Several years ago, Salmon decided to include with his catalog

a list of his personal used books that he no longer wanted. They sold so well he assembled a catalog that currently offers 650 used books. Prices range from $2 to $250.

New and used books focus on southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. "We feel that this part of the Southwest has a lot of rich human and natural history; we look for and mine that material," said Salmon. The face of their catalog advertises "Southwest, Wilderness Adventure, Natural History, Fishing, Sporting Dogs, Environment, and Country Living" books in "new, used, rare and out-of-print" categories.

Although the Salmons publish southwestern books, their wholesale and retail customers span the nation. Fifty percent of their business (and 90% of their activity) is generated from mail order. Their catalog is reprinted four times a year and sent to over 2,000 buyers. They also sell to bookstores, libraries and large book distributors. Locals who call ahead for an appointment may come "browse the bookshelves" in their home office.

High-Lonesome's current best sellers are Gila Descending, a true story about a 200-mile canoe trip Salmon took down the Gila River with a dog and cat, "Whiskey, Six Guns and Red-Light Ladies," a "ribald and genuine account of life in Tucson in the 1870's," and new releases A Hundred Years of Horse Tracks - A History of the Gray Ranch and Chasing Villa - The Last Campaign of the U.S. Calvary.

Salmon's most recent novel, Signal to Depart, was released in November of 1995. "It's a story with an environmental theme that takes place in a town similar to Silver City. It involves different people and groups competing for a parcel of land in which is hidden a Mimbres Indian ruin," he explained.

Salmon also teaches courses on self-publishing at Dona Ana Community College in Las Cruces and the University of Texas in El Paso. Mrs. Salmon designs pages, sets type, and helps other authors get their books camera-ready for self publishing.

When they aren't carrying out the many tasks involved in publishing, the Salmons stay busy with "homesteading" activities such as tending cows, goats, chickens, ducks and hounds. In fact, they drew their business' name from their dog kennel's name, High Lonesome Hounds. "With its outdoorsey feel, the name suits a company that publishes books about the West," said Salmon.

The two also grow organic produce, raise fishing bait and sell eggs and "Mimbres Indian beans," a hard edible bean that the Mimbres Indians used to grow.