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

William F. Drannan (Author)  

From an Amazon customer review: This is the true story of a boy who was orphaned at a young age and given to a farmer who treated him very poorly. In his early teens, he runs away and happens to meet Kit Carson, who takes him under his wing and treats him like an adopted son. (As he leaves, the revenge he takes on the housekeeper who had been so cruel to him is one of the highlights of the book.) He has many amazing adventures as a hunter, trapper, army and wagon train scout, indian fighter and so on. He barely escapes certain death on many occasions, rescues women captured by indians, etc. The book covers most of his life and shows his gradual development from an ignorant boy to a skilled and highly regarded frontiersman whose advice and assistance are sought by Army officers and others who have to brave the dangers of the "wild west." I've read the book twice and will no doubt read it again. Considering his scarcity of formal education, he writes quite well and with humorous understatement when describing experiences that would have most of us soiling our clothes. A real "guy's" book.