Never heard of this story by Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49), America's renowned master of Gothic horror, suspense and detective stories -- and author of some of the most beautiful poems ever written? You are not alone. It was published anonymously in Burton's Gentleman Magazine, and not until many years after Poe's death letters were found, written by his own hand and proving his authorship beyond doubt. Scholars are fully aware that this is authored by Poe himself, but still it is often omitted from editions with such titles as Complete Tales...

The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840) tells the story of the first expedition over the Rocky Mountains, which was still largely unexplored during Poe's lifetime. Ljfe-threatening adventures, encounters with isolated tribes of Indians, strange animals and hints of a lost world... It was an attempt by Poe to write a serialized novel, but only six installments were published. Still it is one of Poe's most lengthy work of fiction, only surpassed by his novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym (1838).