Eyewitness to the Old West: Firsthand Accounts of Exploration, Adventure, and Peril

Richard Scott

Roberts Rinehart, Feb 7, 2004 - History - 432 pages

A collection of over 150 vignettes from the journals and diaries of people who lived or traveled in the Old West, these accounts begin with the sixteenth-century collisions between the Spaniards and the Indians and conclude with Black Elk's mournful description of the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890. Storytellers include explorers, missionaries, India leaders, a poet, an artist, and a future president.

Contents

• Living among the Indians c 1531: 1
• Coronado Makes an Impression c December 1540: 4
• Explorers Draw Blood July 27 1806: 7
• The Pawnees Choose a Flag September 29 1806: 11
• Living Off of Paradise c April 1810: 13
• Encounter with Indians May 10 1810: 16
• Rambling through an Indian Village June 13 1811: 18
• I Heard My Skull Brake November 13 1821: 20
• An Artists Description of a Sioux Home c Summer 1832: 24
• Creasing a Wild Horse c 1832: 28
• The Effect of a Meteor Shower on the Crows c October 1832: 30
• Suffering in a Desolate Wilderness c February 1833: 34
• A Grave for a Trapper c September 1833: 37
• The Power of a Pawnee Bow May 22 1834: 41
• Getting Acquainted with a Grizzly August 20 1834: 42
• Why She Ran Away June 10 1835: 44
• A Buffalo Dance July 29 1835: 46
• Surrounded at the Alamo February 23 1836: 48
• Captured by Comanches April 4 1836: 51
• Christmas Frolicking at Fort Union c 1838: 54
• The Yearly Rendezvous c July 1839: 56
• WalksGallopingOn Falls from Grace c 1840: 60
• A Floods Aftermath c Summer 1846: 62
• Birthing at Bents Fort July 31 1846: 64
• Were Taking Your Country August 15 1846: 66
• A Funeral in Santa Fé c August 1846: 69
• The Power of the BlackRobes September 12 1846: 71
• Night Sounds of an Oglala Village c 1846: 73
• A Blizzard in South Park c Winter 1847: 76
• You Dont Know What Trubel Is Yet May 16 1847: 79
• Hanging Mexican Murderers c Spring 1847: 85
• A Scouts Experience Saves Lives c June 1848: 88
• The Painted Ladies of Santa Fé c Summer 1848: 92
• Southwestern Mirages September 1 1848: 94
• The Disaster of Frémonts Fourth Expedition February 10 1849: 96
• Being Apprehensive around Apache Warriors c February 1849: 100
• Unexpected Party Guests July 4 1849: 104
• A Gift for a Gift c Summer 1849: 106
• Inability to Save Mrs White c October 1849: 108
• Business Dealings in San Francisco c January 1850: 112
• Justifying Stealing a Gold Claim c January 1850: 115
• Captive Girls Brought into an Indian Village March 21 1851: 117
• Fighting Comanches on the Santa Fé Trail May 21 1853: 120
• Attending a Fandango September 29 1853: 123
• A Brides Possessions c May 1854: 126
• Day and Night Cannot Dwell Together c December 1854: 128
• Wanting to Minister to Another Woman August 31 1855: 132
• Wilderness FirstAid c 1855: 134
• Report on the Mormon Handcart Company November 2 1856: 136
• Provisions for Crossing the Plains c 1859: 140
• Overland by Stagecoach October 10 1858: 144
• Scalping Comanche Warriors c 1859: 147
• Burial at Mountain Meadows May 6 1859: 150
• A New Home at Gold Hill c July 1860: 153
• A Mysterious Corpse c 1860: 156
• Suspicious Shooting of an Officer c October 1860: 158
• Dissolution of a Partnership c Winter 1860: 160
• The Longest Pony Express Ride c May 1861: 163
• Everything Went Off Quietly December 24 1862: 166
• Beans Anyone? c 1863: 171
• The Greatest of Wrongs c 1863: 175
• Inflation Comes to the Frontier c May 1863: 179
• The Vigilante Committee Takes Care of Slade c January 1864: 181
• HandtoHand Fighting an Apache Brave c August 1864: 184
• Life Is Cheap on the Yellowstone October 1 1864: 187
• Testimony on the Sand Creek Massacre March 14 1865: 191
• Assault on a Prairie Dog Town c Fall 1866: 195
• A Cowboy Wedding Winter 1866: 197
• The Problem with Disobeying Orders December 21 1866: 201
• The Battle Scene of the Fetterman Massacre December 22 1866: 206
• Martial Law on the Plains June 16 1867: 209
• The Wagon Box Fight August 1 1867: 212
• Diary of a Horse Trader c 1867: 216
• Letter to a Bereaved Father August 23 1867: 218
• The Fight at Beecher Island September 17 1868: 221
• Why I Dont Mingle in Society September 22 1868: 230
• Just Desserts for a Mule c 1868: 232
• The Death of Innocents c November 1868: 236
• A Rose among Thorns c November 1868: 237
• The Golden Spike Is Driven May 10 1869: 239
• Paying Attention to a Good Pony c 1869: 241
• Floating the Grand Canyon August 14 1869: 243
• Being Fast on the Draw c January 1870: 246
• A Frontier House Beautiful April 11 1871: 248
• Concerns of an Officers Wife c Autumn 1872: 251
• Exchanging Courtesies c Autumn 1872: 254
• A Visit to Denver c October 1873: 256
• Double Perils of Frontier Women c 1873: 258
• A Buffalo Hunter Calculates His Earnings c 1874: 261
• Doctoring in the Seventh Cavalry July 21 1874: 265
• Capturing Wild Mustangs c September 1875: 268
• Searching for Stone Bones c Autumn 1875: 273
• The Fight on the Little Bighorn June 25 1876: 275
• The Spoils of War June 26 1876: 281
• The Murder of Wild Bill Hickok August 2 1876: 288
• The Great Northfield Raid September 7 1876: 290
• Two Hundred Shots in Four Minutes c October 1876: 295
• AWalk before Breakfast c 1877: 299
• The Death of Crazy Horse c September 1877: 301
• I Will Fight No More Forever October 5 1877: 303
• Geronimo Makes Demands c Spring 1878: 306
• GirlStealing c Summer 1878: 308
• Christmastime at Fort Dodge December 24 1878: 315
• Enforcement of Civil Rights Laws c 1879: 318
• A Navaho Grandmothers Medicine c 1879: 320
• Night Tranquility at Fort Elliott c 1879: 323
• Burro Punching in the San Juans c 1879: 326
• Racing with Silvertips c 1880: 328
• An Almost Hung Cowboy Is Jittery c Summer 1880: 331
• The Kid Died with His Boots Off July 13 1881: 334
• Making Headlines at the OK Corral October 26 1881: 339
• Celebrating Reaching Womanhood on the Run c April 1882: 343
• The Killing of Jesse James April 4 1882: 346
• Tales of Boots and the Wiles of Women c 1882: 355
• The Hazards of Teaching on the Rio Peñasco c 1882: 359
• The Death Sentence of Alfred Packer April 13 1883: 362
• Finding a Small Indian Mummy c Summer 1884: 365
• Advice to the Girls of Chillicothe c 1885: 369
• Winter Weather c 1887: 371
• Adios to the Coyote Kid c 1888: 375
• Practicing with the Bow c May 1889: 377
• A Priest Makes a Sick Call c April 1890: 381
• The Death of Sitting Bull December 16 1890: 385
• The End of a Dream December 29 1890: 389
• Bibliography: 393
• About the Author: 401

Bibliographic information

• Title: Eyewitness to the Old West: Firsthand Accounts of Exploration, Adventure, and Peril
• Editor: Richard Scott
• Edition: revised
• Publisher: Roberts Rinehart, 2004
• ISBN: 1461635373, 9781461635376
• Length: 432 pages
• Subjects: History / United States / General