The Lost Frontier: Momentous Moments in the Old West You May Have Missed

by Rod Miller

Overview

This collection of short, action-filled stories of the Old West goes beyond the tales everyone knows of the OK Corral and the Dead Man’s Hand to focus on the gunfights, massacres, and daring deeds that are the stars of local historians but not featured in general histories of the old west. These events, while less well known, offer new territory for the Wild West buff to explore. Each chapter in this book tells a story that deserves to be remembered—either because of its importance, its intrigue, or just because it’s interesting. From cowboys and Indians to explorers and electricity to warfare and gunfights to royalty and rogues, the stories here cover a frontier West your education may have missed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493007356
Publisher:	TwoDot
Publication date:	05/01/2015
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	958,021
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Rod Miller is author of three books of history (Go West: The Risk & The Reward; Massacre at Bear River: First, Worst, Forgotten; John Muir: Magnificent Tramp) and contributed several articles for The Settlement of America: Encyclopedia of Westward Expansion. He is also author of three novels, two books of poetry, and numerous essays, magazine articles, and book reviews. He is winner of two Western Writers of America Spur Awards and the Westerners International Poetry Award, along with other awards and recognition as a writer.

Table of Contents

Introduction viii

Head 'Em Up and Move 'Em Out: Trail Driving (1546-1865-North America) 1

Alexander Mackenzie: Crossing the Continent (1792-1793-North America) 8

Zebulon Pike: Lost in the Louisiana Purchase (1806-1807-Western Frontier) 21

Maximilian and Bodmer: Science and Art in the Old West (1833-1834-Missouri River) 28

"Corralled for Defense": Indian Attacks on Wagon Trains (1840-1860-Emigrant Trails) 33

Porter Rockwell: God's Gunfighter (1840-1878-Western Frontier) 40

Edward Fitzgerald Beale: A Frontiersman for All Reasons (1846-California) 54

The Free and Independent State of Deseret (1847-Great Basin) 61

Samuel Brannan: The Man Who Started the Gold Rush (1848-California) 74

Before Civil Rights: The Chinese in America (1849-California) 80

Dear Sir: Corresponding via the Jackass Mail (1851-1860-California and the Great Basin) 88

Ships of the Southwest Desert: Camels Join the Army (1856-Texas) 95

American Royalty: Emperor Norton I (1859-San Francisco) 104

Root Hog or Die: The Pig War (1859-San Juan Island) 112

Randolph B. Marcy: Tour Guide for the Westward Emigration (1859-Emigrant Trails) 116

The Comstock Lode: A Silver-Lined Mountain (1859-Utah Territory) 123

Barney Ford: From Runaway Slave to Wealthy Businessman (1860-Colorado) 134

Battle of Glorieta Pass: The Gettysburg of the West (1862-New Mexico Territory) 138

Massacre at Bear River: First, Worst, Forgotten (1863-Washington Territory) 145

Adobe Walls: Ruins of a Way of Life (1864 and 1874-Texas) 155

The End of the Civil War: Battle at the End of Texas (1865-Texas) 163

First Blood: Showdown in the Street (1865-Missouri) 168

Jacob Brodbeck: First Flight, First Crash? (1865-Texas) 175

Mass Murder: Circleville Massacre (1866-Utah Territory) 181

Black Hawk's Last Ride: Reconciliation (1869-Utah Territory) 188

The Métis: Gone the Way of the Buffalo (1869-Prince Rupert's Land, United States and Canada) 197

Making Barbwire Famous: Tie Frying Pan Ranch (1881-Texas) 202

Surviving a Lead Storm: Elfego Baca (1888--New Mexico Territory) 207

The Birth of the Modern World: Electricity (1891-Telluride, Colorado) 211

Bibliography 219

Index 233

About the Author 246

Editorial Reviews

Durn it—I’ve long known Rod Miller was a much better bareback rider, poet, novelist, journalist, essayist, reviewer, screenwriter, and general all-around cowboy and storyteller than I could ever hope to be. Now the many momentous moments I first learned about in The Lost Frontier make it look like I need to add biographer and historian to the long list of Rod’s astonishing talents. Will Bagley, award-winning author and historian

The Lost Frontier is the way history should be written: riveting, involving, and filled with verified facts that make the era of the Old West come alive. Miller is a talented writer and a first-rate historian—a combination rarely present in the same person. Chris Enss, New York Times bestselling Western history author

Rod Miller’s humdinger of a new book, The Lost Frontier, is a jam-packed roundup of the most overlooked, underappreciated people, events, episodes, and accomplishments—good, bad, and ugly—of the Old West. No dry history here: The award-winning author’s subjects are fully fleshed, clothed, and howling for attention! I pity the reader—young or old, history buff or casual page-flipper—who overlooks this book. Give Rod Miller three minutes and you’ll sign on for the whole trip, an eye-opening tour through an Old West you only thought you knew. If this is history, make mine a double, barkeep! —Matthew P. Mayo, Spur Award-winning author of Hornswogglers, Fourflushers & Snake-Oil Salesmen

From the Publisher