CONTENTS. CHAPTER 1. A Boy Escapes a Tyrant and Pays a Debt
CHAPTER I. A BOY ESCAPES A TYRANT AND PAYS A DEBT WITH A
CHAPTER II. BEGINNING OF AN ADVENTUROUS LIFE. FIRST WILD
CHAPTER III. HUNTING AND TRAPPING IN SOUTH PARK, WHERE A BOY,
CHAPTER IV. A WINTER IN NORTH PARK RUNNING FIGHT WITH A BAND
CHAPTER V. ON THE CACHE-LA-POUDRE. VISIT FROM GRAY EAGLE,
CHAPTER VI. TWO BOYS RIDE TO THE CITY OF MEXICO. ELEVEN HUNDRED
CHAPTER VII. BATTLING THREE DAYS' BATTLE BETWEEN THE COMANCHES
CHAPTER VIII. KIT CARSON KILLS A HUDSON BAY COMPANY'S TRAPPER,
CHAPTER IX. MARRIAGE OF KIT CARSON. THE WEDDING
CHAPTER X. ROBBER GAMBLERS OF SAN FRANCISCO. ENGAGED BY COL.
CHAPTER XI. A LIVELY BATTLE WITH PAH-UTES. PINNED TO SADDLE
CHAPTER XII. COL. ELLIOTT KILLS HIS FIRST DEER, AND SECURES A
CHAPTER XIII. SOMETHING WORSE THAN FIGHTING INDIANS. DANCE AT
CHAPTER XIV. DRILLING THE DETAILED SCOUTS. WE GET AMONG THE
CHAPTER XV. A HUNT ON PETALUMA CREEK. ELK FEVER BREAKS
CHAPTER XVI. MORE FISH THAN I HAD EVER SEEN AT ONE TIME. WE
CHAPTER XVII. DISCOVERY OF INDIANS WITH STOLEN HORSES. WE KILL
CHAPTER XVIII. TRAPPING ON THE GILA. THE PIMAS IMPART A
CHAPTER XIX. A WARM TIME IN A COLD COUNTRY. A BAND OF BANNOCKS
CHAPTER XX. CARSON QUITS THE TRAIL. BUFFALO ROBES FOR TEN
CHAPTER XXI. A FIGHT WITH THE SIOUX. HASA, THE MEXICAN BOY,
CHAPTER XXII. A TRIP TO FORT KEARNEY THE GENERAL ENDORSES US
CHAPTER XXIII. BRIDGER AND WEST GIVE CHRISTMAS A HIGH OLD
CHAPTER XXIV. FACE TO FACE WITH A BAND OF APACHES. THE DEATH
CHAPTER XXV. THREE THOUSAND DEAD INDIANS. A DETECTIVE FROM
CHAPTER XXVI. THROUGH TO BANNOCK. A DANCE OF PEACE. FRIGHT OF
CHAPTER XXVII. ORGANIZATION OF A VIGILANCE COMMITTEE. END OF
CHAPTER XXVIII. TWENTY-TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS IN GOLD DUST. A
CHAPTER XXIX. FIND SOME MURDERED EMIGRANTS. WE BURY THE DEAD
CHAPTER XXX. A WICKED LITTLE BATTLE. CAPTURE OF ONE HUNDRED
CHAPTER XXXI. TO CALIFORNIA FOR HORSES. MY BEAUTIFUL MARE,
CHAPTER XXXII. SOME MEN WHO WERE ANXIOUS FOR A FIGHT AND GOT
CHAPTER XXXIII. THE MASSACRE AT CHOKE CHERRY CANYON. MIKE
CHAPTER XXXIV. MASSACRE OF THE DAVIS FAMILY. A HARD RIDE AND
CHAPTER XXXV. BLACK BESS BECOMES POPULAR IN SAN FRANCISCO. A
CHAPTER XXXVI. THE MODOC WAR GEN. WHEATON IS HELD OFF BY THE
CHAPTER XXXVII. THE CRY OF A BABE. CAPTURE OF A BEVY OF
CHAPTER XXXVIII. STORY OF THE CAPTURED BRAVES. WHY CAPTAIN
CHAPTER XXXIX. AN INTERESTED BOY. THE EXECUTION OF THE MODOC
CHAPTER XL. IN SOCIETY SOME MORE. A VERY TIGHT PLACE. TEN
CHAPTER XLI. WE LOCATE A SMALL BAND OF RED BUTCHERS AND SEND
CHAPTER XLII. "WE ARE ALL SURROUNDED." A BOLD DASH AND A BAD
CHAPTER XLIII. POOR JONES MAKES HIS LAST FIGHT. HE DIED AMONG
CHAPTER XLIV. A GRIZZLEY HUNTS THE HUNTER. SHOOTING SEALS IN
Title: Thirty-One Years on the Plains and In the Mountains
Author: William F. Drannan
Edition: 10
Language: English
Robert Rowe, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
THIRTY-ONE YEARS ON THE PLAINS AND IN THE MOUNTAINS
OR,
THE LAST VOICE FROM THE PLAINS. AN AUTHENTIC RECORD OF A LIFE TIME OF HUNTING, TRAPPING, SCOUTING AND INDIAN FIGHTING IN THE FAR WEST
BY
CAPT. WILLIAM F. DRANNAN,
WHO WENT ON TO THE PLAINS WHEN FIFTEEN YEARS OLD.
PREFACE.
In writing this preface I do so with the full knowledge that the preface of a book is rarely read, comparatively speaking, but I shall write this one just the same.
In writing this work the author has made no attempt at romance, or a great literary production, but has narrated in his own plain, blunt way, the incidents of his life as they actually occurred.
There have been so many books put upon the market, purporting to be the lives of noted frontiersmen which are only fiction, that I am moved to ask the reader to consider well before condemning this book as such.
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 plainsmen as Gen. John Charles Fremont, James Beckwith, Jim Bridger and others, and gives 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. Connor, 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 an insight into the lives of the hardy pioneers of the far West, and the 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. W. F. D.
CHICAGO, August 1st, 1899.
