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

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

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. A move to the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains ( ) are a massif of mountains in Northeastern New York which form a circular dome approximately wide and covering about . The region contains more than 100 peaks, including Mount Marcy, which is the highest point in Ne ...

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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to work as a reporter for the

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American conservative news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) online-only publisher of political and economic opinion pieces, as we ...

. 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 magazine was founded in August 1873 by Charles Hallock. When independent publication ceased, in 1930, it was the ninth oldes ...

. 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 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, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

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, a ...

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