The Buffalo Trace: A Hallie Mae Edson Indiana Ranger Story

by Larry D. Sweazy

Sixteen-year-old Hallie Mae Edson jumps at the chance to join the Indiana Rangers and prove she's as good at shootin' and huntin' as any boy in the Territory. Things go great for Hallie until Abagail Peterson, her rival for Will McIntyre's affection, goes missing and Hallie is left on the Buffalo Trace on her own to find the girl. The adventure tests all of Hallie Mae's survival skills, especially when she comes face to face with a trio of marauding Frenchmen who are determined to fan the flames of a war brewing between the settlers and the Indians.

The Indiana Rangers, also known as The Indiana Territorial Rangers, were a militia formed by Governor William Henry Harrison in 1807 after the Larkin family was attacked by Indians as they traveled the Buffalo Trace. Well-trained men and women made up the three divisions depicted in this story. The Rangers protected the Buffalo Trace for eight years. They were disbanded in 1815, a year before Indiana became a state, at the end of the War of 1812.

Don't miss this exciting novella, introducing a spunky new heroine by Willa Literary Award-winning author, Larry D. Sweazy!


PRAISE FOR LARRY D. SWEAZY

"A lively blend of mystery, action, and historical realism."
—John D. Nesbitt, Spur Award-winning author of Trouble at the Redstone

"Top-notch Western entertainment."
—James Reasoner, Spur Award-nominee and author of Trackdown

"Raw, wild, and all too human."
—Johnny D. Boggs, Spur Award-winning author

"Sweazy is a superb storyteller."
—Phil Dunlap, author of Cotton's Devil

93 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 17, 2024

About the author

Larry D. Sweazy (pronounced: Swayzee) is the author of nineteen novels and five series: the Trusty Dawson series (LOST MOUNTAIN PASS, THE BROKEN BOW), WHERE I CAN SEE YOU, a standalone thriller, the Marjorie Trumaine Mystery series (SEE ALSO MURDER, SEE ALSO DECEPTION, SEE ALSO PROOF), the Sonny Burton series (A THOUSAND FALLING CROWS, THE LOST ARE THE LAST TO DIE, WINTER SEEKS OUT THE LONELY), the Lucas Fume Western series (VENGEANCE AT SUNDOWN, ESCAPE TO HANGTOWN), the Josiah Wolfe, Texas Ranger series (THE RATTLESNAKE SEASON, THE SCORPION TRAIL, THE BADGER'S REVENGE, THE COUGAR'S PREY, THE COYOTE TRACKER, THE GILA WARS, and THE RETURN OF THE WOLF), and THE DEVIL'S BONES, a standalone mystery.

He won the WWA Spur award for Best Short Fiction in 2005 and for Best Paperback Original in 2013, and the 2011 and 2012 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western Fiction for books the Josiah Wolfe series. He was nominated for a Derringer award in 2007, and was a finalist in the Best Books of Indiana literary competition in 2010, and won in 2011 for THE SCORPION TRAIL. In 2013, Larry received the inaugural Elmer Kelton Fiction Book of the Year for THE COYOTE TRACKER, presented by the Academy of Western Artists. He received the Willa Award in 2019 and was shortlisted for the Indiana Authors Award in 2020, both for SEE ALSO PROOF. The Western Fictioneers (WF) awarded THE RETURN OF THE WOLF the Peacemaker Award for Best Western in 2020.

Larry has published over one hundred nonfiction articles and short stories, which have appeared in ELLERY QUEEN'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE; THE ADVENTURE OF THE MISSING DETECTIVE: AND 25 OF THE YEAR'S FINEST CRIME AND MYSTERY STORIES!; BOYS' LIFE; HARDBOILED; Amazon Shorts, and several other publications and anthologies. He is also a freelance indexer and written over 1000 indexes since 1998. He lives in Indiana with his wife, Rose, and is hard at work on his next novel.