Wildest Lives of the Frontier: America Through the Words of Jesse James, George Armstrong Custer, and Other Famous Westerners

by John Richard Stephens

Overview

By and about the greatest celebrities of frontier America, these are the stories of their adventures told in their own words through excerpts from autobiographies, articles they wrote, newspaper interviews, private journals, intimate letters, and court testimony. Read these personal accounts as told by Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea, Davy Crockett, Black Hawk, John C. Frémont, Kit Carson, John Sutter, Buffalo Bill, Mark Twain, Jesse James, Cole Younger, Frank James, George Armstrong Custer, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull. This book offers a rare glimpse into the world of these legendary figures as they describe their own heroic exploits, dangerous rescues, fierce battles, deadly gunfights, horrible crimes, thrilling discoveries, and harsh dangers of life on the frontier of the American West, while revealing the roles they played in the notable events that made them famous.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493024414
Publisher:	TwoDot
Publication date:	10/03/2016
Edition description:	New
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

John Richard Stephens began writing books in 1987. Prior to becoming an author, he held a wide variety of occupations ranging from work as a psychiatric counselor in two hospitals to being an intelligence officer and squadron commander in the U.S. Air Force. John has had twenty-one books published so far, including Wildest Lives of the Wild West: America through the Words of Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, and Other Famous Westerners, Gold: First-Hand Accounts from the Rush that Shaped the West (both by TwoDot), Commanding the Storm (Lyons Press), Weird History 101, and Wyatt Earp Speaks.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments iv

A Note About the Text v

Going West (introduction) John Richard Stephens vii

Claiming the Kentucky Wilderness Daniel Boone 1

Sacagawea Lewis Clark 16

Red Hair and Long Knife Sacagawea 43

Brushes with Death Davy Crockett 76

The Black Hawk War Black Hawk 88

Indians, Buffalo, and Kit Carson John C Frémont 115

Kit Carson Pursues Horse Thieves John C. Frémont 131

Chasing Horse Thieves Kit Carson 137

Indian Conflicts and the War in California Kit Carson 143

Discovering Gold John Sutter 161

Riding for the Pony Express Buffalo Bill Cody 175

A Black Speck Against the Sky Mark Twain 184

Smitten with the Silver Fever Mark Twain 189

Rebel Guerrillas and Bank Robbers Jesse James 210

The Disastrous Northfield Bank Robbery Cole Younger 240

Breaking Off from My Bohemian Life Frank James 257

The Massacre of Some of Custer's Men George Armstrong Custer 266

Custer and Little Bighorn Buffalo Bill Cody 281

Crazy Horse's Deathbed Statement Crazy Horse 310

Little Bighorn and Custer's Death Sitting Bull 318

Recommended Reading Bibliography 357

Index 359

About the Author/Editor 376