Boys' Book of Frontier Fighters   By: Edwin L. Sabin (1870-1952)

[Frontispiece: Custer's Last Stand]

BOYS' BOOK OF

FRONTIER FIGHTERS

BY

EDWIN L. SABIN

Author of "Boys' Book of Indian Warriors," etc.

PHILADELPHIA

GEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANY

PUBLISHERS

Copyright, 1919, by

George W. Jacobs & Company

All rights reserved

Printed in U. S. A.

Ah, where are the soldiers that fought here of yore? The sod is upon them, they'll struggle no more, The hatchet is fallen, the red man is low; And near him reposes the arm of his foe. . . . . . . . . Sleep, soldiers of merit; sleep, gallants of yore. The hatchet is fallen, the struggle is o'er. While the fir tree is green and the wind rolls a wave, The tear drop shall brighten the turf of the brave. From an Old Poem.

FOREWORD

The BOYS' BOOK OF INDIAN WARRIORS told of the deeds by the red Americans in defense of their lives and to keep their homes. This second book tells of the deeds by the white Americans, in defense of their lives and also to clear the way for their homes. It commences with the pioneers and hunters in the East, and continues on to the frontiersmen and soldiers in the West.

These are stories of bravery and of pluck amidst great odds. In many of the stories victory was won by the aid of powder, ball and steel, used manfully. In others it was won by sheer nerve and wit alone for a good fighter fights with his heart and head as fully as with his hands.

Americans have always been great fighters, when called upon to fight in self defense. They never quit until they are killed or triumphant; and although many may be killed, those they leave press forward again. In France the Americans "never gave up an inch." We Americans of to day, looking back, may be proud not only of the part played by our blood in the World War, but likewise of the part it played in the days when, rifle in hand, we were hewing the peace trail in our own country.

Clothes do not make the soldier. Whether in buckskin, wool, cotton gown or army uniform, those men and women yes, and boys and girls of frontier times in the forest and upon the plains and prairies were soldiers all, enlisted to face danger.

It is largely the quick, dauntless spirit inherited from the American pioneers, hunters and Indian fighters of the old days that shone so brightly in the recent days when, in record time, we raised a gallant army of fighters, at home and abroad, against a desperate enemy.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I THE CAPTURE OF OLD CHIEF ANNAWAN (1676) Bold Captain Church in the Lion's Den

II THE ATTACK ON LOGAN'S STATION (1777) And the Noble Deed of Captain Logan

III IN THE STOCKADE AT WHEELING (1777) And the Great Leap of Major McColloch

IV BIG TURTLE BREAKS THE NET (1778) And Meets His Father at Boonesborough

V SCOUT KENTON HAS A HARD TIME (1778 1779) How He Paid for his Horse Stealing

VI THE SCRAPE OF LEWIS AND JACOB WETZEL (1778) And the Nerve of Two Boy Scouts

VII CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY SWEARS VENGEANCE (1780 1781) And Broad Jumps Like a Wild Turkey

VIII THE FLIGHT OF THREE SOLDIERS (1782) On the Trail with the Crawford Men

IX THE BRAVE WOMEN OF BRYANT'S STATION (1782) And the Defeat of the Villain Girty

X BETTY ZANE'S "POWDER EXPLOIT" (1782) How a Girl Saved the Day

XI THE FIVE BOY CAPTIVES (1785) Adventures of "Little Fat Bear" and All

XII ODDS AGAINST HIGGINS THE RANGER (1814) And his Rescue by Heroine Pursley

XIII JOHN COLTER'S RACE FOR LIFE (1808) The Trapper and the Blackfeet

XIV HUGH GLASS AND THE GRIZZLY BEAR (1823) "As Slick as a Peeled Onion"

XV A FRACAS ON THE SANTA FE TRAIL (1829) And the Building of Bent's Fort

XVI A SEARCH FOR A SILVER MINE (1831) And the "Bowie Indian Fight"

XVII THROUGH THE ENEMY'S LINES (1846) The Three Kit Carson Couriers

XVIII THE HOTTEST CHASE ON RECORD (1864) Two in an Army Wagon

XIX RELIEF FOR BEECHER'S ISLAND (1868) And a Rattle Snake in the Way

XX THE DEFENSE OF THE BUFFALO HUNTERS (1874) When the Comanche Medicine Failed

XXI WHITE MEN AT BAY AGAIN (1874) The "Fight of the Privates"

XXII BUFFALO BILL AND YELLOW HAND (1876) A Plains Day Duel

XXIII THE "SIBLEY SCOUT" (1876) A Famous Army Tale

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS