William Drannan began life as a young boy who is orphaned and raised among the slave children on a plantation until he ran away at 15 to be taken in by Kit Carson, a trapper and respected frontiersman. Carson took Drannan under his wing and taught him the ways of trapping and self-reliance, effectively becoming Drannan's adoptive father, though he insisted Drannan call him "Uncle Kit". Drannan soon begins traveling the frontier, learning to build shelters, trap animals, trade with or fight various tribes of Indians, escort emigrant wagon trains, scout for the army, and even try his hand at a little undercover detective work. It's a wonderful, historic glimpse into frontier life in 19th century America, with vivid descriptions of the distinctive personalities of various sorts of soldiers and settlers, as well as fascinating reflections on the characteristics and temperament of many different tribes of Native Americans. Of course, the unifying element is Drannan's maturation from boyhood to manhood as he makes his way through the rugged, ever-changing landscape of the western United States, with a few trips to Mexico and the Midwest as well. Skillfully woven, plainly but vividly told, Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains is Drannan's historic account of a life spent trekking across the American frontier.

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Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains is autobiographical account of Captain William F. Drannan, Scouts Chief. The author has narrated in his own blunt way the incidents of his life in the West. He starts out with the most notable events of his boyhood days, 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. The author also gives 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. This book represent one of the classics of frontier literature.

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Excerpt from 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 In writing this work the: author has made no attempt at romance, or a great literary production, but has nar rated ih his own plain, blunt way, the incidents of his life as they actually occurred. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.