Last of the Breed

In Last of the Breed by Louis L'Amour, Native American Air Force Pilot Major Joseph Maktozi's plane is shot down halfway between Russia and Alaska by Soviets. Joseph, or "Mack," is captured and must somehow make his escape across Siberia using the skills passed down by his ancestors. Bantam Books published the novel in 1987.

The introduction is a scene that takes place at the end of the story. A Russian soldier is delivering Colonel Zamatev, one of Mack's pursuers, a package from Mack. Zamatev asks what has happened to Alekhin, his tracker, but the soldier says he didn't see him. Mack ambushed the soldier and Alekhin, and the soldier was knocked unconscious. The intro ends just as the Colonel is beginning to open the package.

Chapter one finds Mack contemplating his imprisonment. Zamatev has planned all along to capture Mack, placing spies in the American government so that Mack would be testing an aircraft at the right place and time for Zamatev's men to shoot him down. Zamatev plans to get Mack's information on the United States Airforce's experimental aircraft and possibly draw Mack over to the Soviet side.



Zamatev has Mack brought to his office and the two converse about Mack's background, specifically that he's part Sioux and part Cheyenne. Zamatev introduces Alekhin, a man of Yakut descent. The Yakut's are essentially the Siberian counterpart to Native Americans. Alekhin is known for his tracking skills and for never allowing a prisoner to escape.

Zamatev tries to convince Mack to betray his country and gives him 24 hours to make his decision. Back at the prison, Mack meets fellow captive and chemist, Pennington. Pennington tells Mack to escape and gives him the layout of the compound. Pennington has been there for six months and is too weak to brave the Siberian landscape, but he asks Mack to take back word of him so that his country might rescue him.

That night, Pennington manages to get the lights off, and Mack picks his cell lock and escapes the prison. He uses a pole to vault himself over the wall.



On discovering their prisoner missing, Zamatev tries to convince Pennington to give them any information about Mack's escape before he freezes to death, but Pennington refuses.

Mack is traveling through the woods toward a mountain. He uses his ancestral knowledge to survive, finding berries and other edible plants. He comes upon a cabin and steals some warmer clothes, a knife, and some canned goods.

Alekhin is able to track Mack to the cabin, but by the time he arrives, Mack is already about 50 miles away.



Mack makes it to the mountains and is sleeping when a Russian man, Yakov, comes upon him. The man is also on the run from the Soviets and befriends Mack, aiding him on his journey for a few days. Yakov tells him to head for the village Taiga where a woman named Natalya will help him.

Mack manages to make a bow and arrow and kills a bear, affording him a warm coat for winter and the fatty food that he'll need to survive the harsh conditions.

Mack makes it to Taiga and stays with Natalya. The entire village benefits from Mack's hunting skills and the villagers agree to let him stay for a brief time. Yakov arrives at the village and informs Mack that Alekhin is tracking him.



While Mack is out on a road near Taiga, a man in a car tries to kill him. Mack kills the driver and drives him back into town, where Alekhin later finds him and realizes that Mack must be nearby. He meets with a prominent man in the village, Petrovich, and informs him of Mack's presence, asking him to keep a lookout. After Alekhin leaves, Mack visits Petrovich and leaves him tied to his bed.

Mack continues his journey up the mountain, setting grass fires and starting avalanches to slow his pursuers.

When another tracker comes upon Mack, he alerts Alekhin, who captures Mack. The men beat him, but Mack manages to escape once more. He steals a kayak that he intends to take across the Bering Strait 90 miles to Alaska.



Before he starts his journey, Mack returns to Taiga to faceoff with Alekhin. There, he defeats his nemesis and scalps him, sending the scalp to Zamatev in the package that's mentioned in the intro. A note with the package reads, "This was once a custom of my people. In my lifetime I shall take two. This is the first."

Last of the Breed was one of Louis L'Amour's last novels. He wrote 89 in his lifetime, most of them Westerns, selling 200,000,000 before his death. Many of his books have been adapted for film and TV, including Crossfire Trail in 2001, starring Tom Selleck.