Pioneers (Tales of the Wild West Book 11)

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To ask other readers questions about Oregon Trail , please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Dec 18, Denise Spicer rated it liked it. Sep 28, Amy rated it really liked it. A fun-to-read collection of stories from the pioneers of the Oregon Trail. Gives you a taste of the adventure, hardships, heartaches, and accomplishment of those hearty souls who traversed the Oregon Trail.

Feb 17, Zane rated it liked it Shelves: A delightful collection of outlandish tales from the pioneers who boldly traversed the untamed West and settled in Oregon. Dec 02, Rory rated it liked it Shelves: Nicole rated it really liked it Nov 14, Gale rated it liked it May 15, Lynne Radcliffe rated it really liked it May 01, Jaclyn rated it it was amazing Jan 19, Ruth rated it really liked it Jun 13, Renee rated it it was amazing Apr 04, Juniper rated it really liked it Jan 16, Eric rated it it was amazing Apr 02, Kristina Arnold rated it liked it Mar 07, Michael rated it really liked it Dec 23, Sandy Dillard rated it it was amazing Dec 04, Christi rated it liked it Oct 13, Mike rated it really liked it Apr 12, The heyday of the Oregon Trail occurred after gold was discovered in California in , it is estimated one-quarter million pioneers traveled overland on the Oregon Trail.

From these early emigrants the social fabric of the West was woven. Within a few years communities were established and schools and churches were built. Then came stage lines, mail deliveries, railroads, telegraph wires and the other trappings of the white man's civilization. The storyteller spins a web of fantasy while the campfire sends a shower of sparks leaping into the night sky to drift among the ancient stars.

It is in this manner that the history of mankind has been passed from one generation to the next. In North America the native people formed their cultures and spiritual beliefs through stories.

Stories described the origins of earth and mankind, of floods, fires, hunts, wars, heros, the supernatural, myths and legends. Young people knew what had happened in the world because their elders communicated it to them around the campfire. The first Europeans to make their way among the Indians were mountain men who told fantastic and mystifying tales of great cities to the east and other worlds that existed across the great shiny waters.

Each successive wave of white invaders brought with it a different blend of fact and fiction. In today's world it might appear that campfire stories can no longer compete with movies and television. But no special effect can ever come close to the power and impact of human imagination. Try reading or telling a story around the campfire. Watch the faces of your listeners and know the value and significance of keeping alive our time-honored traditions of oral history.

A tall tale begins innocently with convincing facts and a few trivial details thrown in. But in the course of the story the limits of believability are stretched to the breaking point. America's tall tales have been handed down through generations and are firmly rooted in character, situation and landscape. In the past a skillfully-told yarn was a diversion from the drudgery and monotony of everyday life and tellers of tall tales were held in high regard because their stories made people laugh.

A tall tale is best enjoyed when told aloud. Dialect, intonation and gestures add to the story.

Tales of the Wild West Series

A shake of the head there. A wink, a sly smile or a deadpan look provide seasoning and can communicate as much as a well-placed word. In our modern fast-paced world, dominated by instant communication, changing technology and constant entertainment, the tall tale is no longer considered an essential part of everyday life. As a result, the telling of tall tales has become a dying art form.

The names of the gunfighters are legendary: These men, and others like them, epitomize the image of the Wild West. The gunfighting era was born in the late s when Samuel Colt patented his single-barreled pistol with a revolving bullet chamber. But the gunfighter was not common on the frontier until after the Civil War when renegade bands of Confederate soldiers refused to surrender. Their lawless ways spread as they stole from the hated Union bankers and the monopolistic railroads, rustled from wealthy ranchers and killed anyone who dared stand in their way.

Railhead towns, where the great Texas cattle drives ended, generated more than their fair share of gunfights. In these towns the distinction between the law and the outlaw was a fine line and many times the men who wore badges worked both sides of the fence. It generally fell to the individual to uphold the law and nearly every western man strapped a six-shooter to his hip.

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If a man's cattle or horses were stolen, if his home was ransacked or his family attacked, it was up to that man to track down the guilty party and administer swift justice. Around the turn of the 20th century the free-roaming gunfighters found the wild country could no longer hide them as technology, in the form of telegraphs and telephones, cut off escape routes. Even though the era of the gunfighter had drawn to a close, writers and movie makers, using the colorful backdrop of the Old West, turned the frontier gunfighters into larger-than-life folk heros, folk heros who will never die.

Grandma grew up on a farm and, at a relatively young age, she fell in love and married Grandpa. They moved west, found the opportunities to their liking and together they raised a wonderful family. Grandma was the glue that held the family together. She performed the necessary domestic tasks of making a home - caring for the children, cleaning, cooking, baking, washing, sewing and darning.

She also tended the chickens, milked the cows and churned the cream to butter. And when necessity arose, like the time a horse rolled on Grandpa and he was laid up for nearly a year, Grandma demonstrated she could take on a man's work as well. The Grandma I remember was old.

Her domain was the kitchen, a room dominated by the cheery warmth of a wood stove and the sweet aroma of baking pies. While Grandma worked, frequently pausing to wipe her calloused hands on her freshly ironed white apron, she talked - telling stories of pioneering days, tales handed down from the Indians and interesting things that had happened to family members, friends and neighbors.

Every once in awhile she lowered her voice and shared some small secret. My children will know their great-grandmother because of the stories I will share with them and from the words Grandma carefully wrote in her journal. Every evening, no matter how trying her day had been, she would take a few moments to reflect and describe things from the day that were important to her - a laughing child chasing a butterfly across the pasture, the lovely fragrance of wildflowers in bloom, a field of wheat dancing in an afternoon breeze When Grandma finished the entries she would lay down her pen, close her journal, blow out the candle flame, and say to herself, 'And so ends another glorious day.

Buffalo Bill Cody died in and newspaper headlines around the world proclaimed: He had been the star of The Buffalo Bill Wild West Show and had brought the western frontier to the doorstep of the world.

Wherever he traveled, across the United States or abroad, Buffalo Bill always treated those he met with dignity and respect. He was as comfortable sitting around a campfire with cowboys as he was dining with European royalty. He spoke up for the rights of women and, even though he had fought in the Indian wars, he considered the Indian his equal.

He refused to allow the strong to bully the weak and in all instances he made sure justice prevailed.

Rick Steber

Although Buffalo Bill is considered to be the ideal role model of the Western Hero many others deserve that title. Benjamin Singleton started a movement that brought former slaves to the West. Annie Oakley showed the world that when it came to shooting, a woman could outshoot the men.

In writing the book, I travelled with them through a beautiful yet brutal terrain.

Often hailed as one of the great American novels, it is a staggering work. A stunning, meticulously researched book that is epic in scale, ambition, and historical sweep. Which is the point, of course: Kelly is such a compelling storyteller that he could say just about anything and we would fall for it, reading on breathlessly and no doubt laughing along.

News of the World by Paulette Jiles This elegant and deceptively simple tale of an ageing former army captain attempting to return a year-old girl to her family, is a moving and insightful road novel set on the Texas frontier. What follows is a convincing and moving story about their growing bond, and a subtle investigation of US politics at that time.

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Wake in Fright by Kenneth Cook A chilling outback horror and an Australian classic, first published in and still in print. Placid teacher John Grant finishes the term at his isolated bush primary school and heads to Sydney for the holidays but, on a stopover in the mining town of Tiboonda, loses his money on a game of two-up and finds himself sucked into an inescapable nightmare by the all-too-friendly locals. Never has the offer of a drink been so dangerous.

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