Raymond Smiley Spears (1876–1950) was an author of western and adventure stories. He was born in Belleview,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

in 1876. The son of John Randolph Spears (1850–1936), a naval historian and Celestia Colette Smiley Spears, a teacher. Raymond was educated in

Philadelphia, NY Philadelphia is a town in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 1,947 at the 2010 census, down from 2,140 in 2000. The town contains a village also called Philadelphia. Both are in the northeastern part of Jefferson Co ...

. A move to the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...

to recuperate from a throat ailment lead to a great love of the outdoors. Raymond eventually moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to work as a reporter for the

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

. He worked there for five years before moving back to the countryside and doing freelance reporting. He took several cross-country trips and wrote about them in

Forest and Stream ''Forest and Stream'' was a magazine featuring hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities in the United States. The journal was founded in August 1873 by Charles Hallock. At the time of its 1930 cancellation it was the ninth oldest magazine s ...

. These trips provided the background information for many of his fiction and non-fiction writings. Raymond used up to eight pseudonyms for his writings, the most used of which was Jim Smiley. He was the president of the

American Trappers' Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

during the 1930s. He married C. Eleanor Shepard in 1904. They had two children, John and Charles. Raymond died in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

in 1950. He wrote 73 stories for

Adventure (magazine) ''Adventure'' was an American pulp magazine that was first published in November 1910Robinson, Frank M. & Davidson, Lawrence ''Pulp Culture – The Art of Fiction Magazines''. Collectors Press Inc 2007 (p. 33-48). by the Ridgway company, an ...

. Works include: * 1912:''Camping on the Great River'' * 1913:''Camping on the Great Lakes'' * 1913:''A Trip on the Great Lakes; Description of a Trip, Summer, 1912'' * 1920:''Diamond Tolls'' * 1920:''The River Prophet'' * 1921:''Driftwood'' * 1927:''The Flying Coyotes'' (previously serialized in ''Argosy'' magazine) *Many short storiesStories, Listed by Author; incomplete, lists titles starting from A to H
/ref>

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spears, Raymond S. Western (genre) writers 1950 deaths 1876 births Pulp fiction writers