Central Kansas Library System

A newly expanded edition of personal writings by American frontier women, which includes a new introduction by the author. "Important for anyone who wants a clearer understanding of the people, and particularly the women, who shaped a good part of the nation"--NY Times. "A major revelation in the recording of American history"--

A light-hearted look at some of the difficulties faced by the pioneers who traveled by wagon train across the United States to settle in the West.

Luke Ransom was just eighteen years old when he answered an ad in a St. Louis newspaper that would change his life forever. The American Fur Company needed one-hundred enterprising men to travel up the Missouri River -- the longest in North America -- all the way to its source. They would hunt and trap furs for one, two, or three years. Along the way, they would face unimaginable hardships: grueling weather, wild animals, hunger, exhaustion, and hostile...

Describes the life and activities of the trappers and fur traders in the Old West in the first half of the nineteenth century and recounts stories of such colorful individuals as Jim Bridger and John Colter.

Annie Ruff was born on 29 August 1824 at Fort Atkinson on the Missouri River, the most distant U.S. Army outpost at that time. She was the daughter of John Dougherty, Indian agent of the tribes of the upper Missouri River, and his Phiadelphia-bred wife, Mary Hertzog. Her husband, Charles F. Ruff, was an officer and veteran of the Mexican War, Indian Wars, and the War Between the States. Subsequently widowed, Annie Ruff capably performed her duties...