Long considered one of the best of the captive narratives from the 19th century, Abbie Gardner's thrilling and graphic tale of her abduction by a band of Santee Sioux in 1857 will captivate you from beginning to end. Barely 14 years old, her family was butchered before her eyes and she witnessed the deaths of two other women captives before her release by Chief Inkpaduta.Gardner suffered years of illness after her return to white culture but eventually made a successful and prosper...

In this classic Western travelog, the author leaves his native Boston for an unforgettable journey across the disappearing American frontier.In the spring of 1846, Francis Parkman, headed west to experience the untamed regions of America, to acquaint himself with the wild mountain men in the Rockies, and to visit the surviving Indian tribes before all were absorbed by the relentless advance of Western civilization. The Harvard-educated aristocrat had been preparing...

Few people represent the spirit of the Old West like Colonel William "Buffalo Bill" Cody! From Indian fights to buffalo hunts to his now-legendary touring Wild West Show, Buffalo Bill brought the legend of the Wild West to the world. Modern readers can enjoy the exploits of this larger-than-life hero through "The Buffalo Bill Megapack," which assembles 5 classic works on the life of Buffalo Bill: "Adventures of Buffalo Bill from Boyhood to Manhood," by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham; "The Life ...

Ever wonder how everyone made it west? They used trails beaten by such men as Osborne Russell. In 1830, sixteen-year-old Russell left his farm in Maine and ran away to the sea. He didn’t like it. He ended up joining an expedition headed to Oregon by way of the Rocky Mountains. Along the way, he acquired the skills necessary for survival. He also hunted buffalo and trapped beaver, looked for new trails west, and kept a journal that forms the basis of this vigorously authentic book, only inc...

An Eastern Correspondent spends the summer on duty with Hancock's 1867 Indian Expedition, following Hancock and Custer as they attempt to make peace with the warring Indians on the plains. Good examples of real life in the Indian Wars.

In 1836, Irving published " Astoria ; or, Anecdotes of an Enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains ;" a somewhat curious example of literary skill. A voluminous commercial correspondence was the dull ore of the earth which he refined and wrought into symmetry and splendor. Irving reduced to a regular narrative the events to which it referred, bringing out the picturesque whenever he found it, and enlivening the whole with touches of his native humor. His nephew, Pierre M. Irving, lightened his...

John Tanner's fascinating autobiography tells the story of a man torn between white society and the Native Americans with whom he identified.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introduc...

The diaries and letters of women who braved the overland trails during the great nineteenth-century westward migration are treasured documents in the study of the American West. These eight firsthand accounts are among the best ever written. They were selected for the power with which they portray the hardship, adventure, and boundless love for friends and family that characterized the overland experience. Some were written with the skilled pens of educated women. Others bear the marks of ...

In the years 1804, 1805, and 1806, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark commanded an expedition which explored the wilderness that stretched from the mouth of the Missouri River to where the Columbia enters the Pacific, and dedicated to civilization a new empire. This book relates that adventure from it’s inception through it’s completion as well as the effect the expedition had upon the history of the United States (Roger Melin).William Rheem Lighton

In "On The Border With Crook," John Gregory Bourke offers a compelling eyewitness account of the Indian Wars in the American West, specifically focusing on General George Crook's campaigns during the late 19th century. Bourke employs a vivid and engaging narrative style, blending meticulous observation with personal experience, bringing to life the tumultuous atmosphere of the borderlands. His work stands as both a historical document and a literary piece, richly detailing the complexities...

Fanny Kelly’s memoir, first published in 1872, is an intelligent and thoughtful narrative. Kelly spent five months as a prisoner of Ogalalla Sioux in 1864 when she was nineteen years old. A woman of her time, there was no reason she should feel sympathy toward her captors, but the introduction points out examples of expressed favor toward the Sioux, however unconscious. This narrative is a valuable part of literature not only for its historical importance but its depiction of the conflicti...