Thirty-one Years on the Plains and in the Mountains

Résumé du livre

"The author starts out with the most notable events of his boyhood days, among them his troubles with an old negro virago, wherein he gets his revenge by throwing a nest of lively hornets under her feet. Then come his flight and a trip, to St. Louis, hundreds of miles on foot, his accidental meeting with that most eminent man of his class, Kit Carson, who takes the lad into his care and treats him as a kind father would a son. He then proceeds to give a minute description of his first trip on the plains, where he meets and associates with such noted planismen [sic] as Gen. John Charles Fremont, James Beckwith, Jim Bridger, and others, and gives the incidents of his association with them in scouting, trapping, hunting big game, Indian fighting, etc. The author also gives brief sketches of the springing into existence of many of the noted cities of the west, and the incidents connected therewith that have never been written before. There is also a faithful recital of his many years of scouting for such famous Indian fighters as Gen. Crook, Gen. Conner, Col. Elliott, gen. Wheaton and others, all of which will be of more than passing interest to those who can be entertained by the early history of the western part of our great republic. This work also gives us insight into the lives of the hardy pioneers of the far west, and many trials and hardships they had to undergo in blazing the trail and hewing the way to one of the grandest and most healthful regions of the United States.--From the preface.