The Border Watch A Story of the Great Chief's Last Stand   By: Joseph Alexander Altsheler (1862-1919)

BOOKS BY JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR SERIES

The Hunters of the Hills The Rulers of the Lakes The Lords of the Wild The Shadow of the North The Masters of the Peaks The Sun of Quebec

THE YOUNG TRAILERS SERIES

The Young Trailers The Forest Runners The Keepers of the Trail The Eyes of the Woods The Free Rangers The Riflemen of the Ohio The Scouts of the Valley The Border Watch

THE TEXAN SERIES

The Texan Scouts The Texan Star The Texan Triumph

THE CIVIL WAR SERIES

The Guns of Bull Run The Guns of Shiloh The Scouts of Stonewall The Sword of Antietam The Star of Gettysburg The Rock of Chickamauga The Shades of the Wilderness The Tree of Appomattox

THE GREAT WEST SERIES

The Lost Hunters The Great Sioux Trail

THE WORLD WAR SERIES

The Forest of Swords The Guns of Europe The Hosts of the Air

BOOKS NOT IN SERIES

Apache Gold The Quest of the Four The Last of the Chiefs In Circling Camps The Last Rebel A Soldier of Manhattan The Sun of Saratoga A Herald of the West The Wilderness Road My Captive The Candidate

[Illustration: "He saw two warriors, and he lay in the bush while they passed only twenty yards away." Page 214.]

The BORDER WATCH

A STORY OF THE GREAT CHIEF'S LAST STAND

BY

JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER

AUTHOR OF

"THE YOUNG TRAILERS," "THE FREE RANGERS," "THE SCOUTS OF THE VALLEY," ETC.

D. APPLETON CENTURY COMPANY INCORPORATED NEW YORK LONDON 1941

COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY

Printed in the United States of America

PREFACE

"The Border Watch" closes the series which began with "The Young Trailers," and which was continued successively in "The Forest Runners," "The Keepers of the Trail," "The Eyes of the Woods," "The Free Rangers," "The Riflemen of the Ohio," and "The Scouts of the Valley." All the eight volumes deal with the fortunes and adventures of two boys, Henry Ware and Paul Cotter, and their friends Shif'less Sol Hyde, Silent Tom Ross and Long Jim Hart, in the early days of Kentucky. The action moves over a wide area, from New Orleans in the South to Lake Superior in the North, and from the Great Plains in the West to the land of the Iroquois in the East.

It has been the aim of the author to present a picture of frontier life, and to show the immense hardships and dangers endured by our people, as they passed through the wilderness from ocean to ocean. So much of it occurred in the shadow of the forest, and so much more of it was taken as a matter of course that we, their descendants, are likely to forget the magnitude of their achievement. The conquest of the North American continent at a vast expense of life and suffering is in reality one of the world's great epics.

The author has sought to verify every statement that touches upon historical events. He has read or examined nearly all the books and pamphlets and many of the magazine articles formerly in the Astor and Lenox, now in the New York Public Library, dealing with Indian wars and customs. In numerous cases, narratives written by observers and participants have been available. He believes that all the border battles are described correctly, and the Indian songs, dances and customs are taken from the relations of witnesses.