Morgan Kane
Morgan Kane was a fictional "Wild-West" gunslinger created by Kjell Hallbing under the pseudonym Louis Masterson.
The Morgan Kane series has become the biggest success in modern Norwegian leisure reading literature. The 83 books in the series have sold 11 million copies in Norway alone, in addition to being published in ten other countries - totaling 20 million copies sold.
The first book, Without Mercy, was published in 1966.
The History of Morgan Kane
Morgan Kane is a fictitious figure, but the stories are set in partly historic circumstances. He was born in 1855 by a roadside in Santa Fe, and his parents, Brendan and Gwen Cairn, were Irish immigrants. His parents were killed shortly after his birth in an assault by American Indians.
Only 16 years old, Morgan Kane kills for his first time when stabbing a person who stood behind the killings of his parents. In 1874 he became a scout for the cavalry and was involved in the wars against the American Indians in Texas. Thereafter, he tried gold digging in South Dakota (without much luck) before hi enlisted in the cavalry again under General Custer. There he fought in the 1876 battle against the Sioux Indians at Little Big Horn, where General Custer died. After this battle, Morgan Kane left the cavalry to start his own career as a gunslinger with Billy the Kid's gang.
At the end of the 1870s, Morgan Kane operated under his nickname «El Gringo» as a gunslinger in the borderland between Arizona and Mexico where he was a member of the gang controlled by «El Coyote». After a dispute between the two, Morgan Kane wandered around until in the 1880s he was recruited by the Texas Rangers. Between 1882 and 1885 he met his future wife, Linda Swift, and was for the first time recruited as U.S. Marshal.
After 2 years of marriage, Linda was murdered and Kane returned his U.S. Marshal star to get his revenge, before returning as a U.S. Marshal fighting alongside or against many historic gunslingers; including Wyatt Earp, the Dalton Brothers and John Wesley Hardin. Kane's superiors worried for his extreme use of violence, his large alcohol consumption and mental instability and in the end of the 1890s he was transferred to Alaska, and later in 1898 fired as a U.S. Marshal.
After getting fired, Morgan Kane traveled around the United States, having many different jobs. He was among other things, a special agent and bodyguard for Theodore Roosevelt, and was involved in the invasion of Cuba.
Morgan Kane's health condition became worse over the years. In 1910 he was involved and supported Francisco "Pancho" Villa's side during the civil war in Mexico. It was here that he met his unknown (and only) son, «Diablito», Paco Galàn. Together, they traveled to Europe where «Diablito» became a famous matador. Later, Morgan Kane traveled back to America where he was reinstated as U.S. Marshal. In the last book Kjell Hallbing wrote, he was shot and killed in a deserted city close to Mexico facing overwhelming odds.
Description of the character
The books depict Morgan Kane as a womanizing character with sociopathic tendencies, with a star-shaped scar and damage to his shooting hand's tendons which had paralyzed two fingers on his gun hand. He shoots with the fingers tied together with a leather strap.
- Born: Autumn 1855, somewhere along the Santa Fe Trail
- Height: 192 cm
- Weight: n. 75 kg
- Hair: Dark, a grey streak on right temple
- Eyes: Smoke grey
- Of note: Draws his gun in 0.2 seconds. Weaknesses: women, alcohol and gambling.
External links
Links to Norwegian web sites: