The Hunters of the Ozark

Deerfoot #1

by Edward Sylvester Ellis

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1887

About the author

Edward Sylvester Ellis was an American author who was born in Ohio, and died at Cliff Island, Maine. He served as editor of Public Opinion (a daily newspaper), Golden Days and Holiday (both children's magazines). He specialized in boys' stories, inspirational biography, and history for both children and adults. He was a major author during the era of inexpensive fiction of the nineteenth century (dime novels).

Besides books published under his own name, Ellis' work was published under various pseudonyms, including:

Captain James Fenimore Cooper "Bruin" Adams
Boynton M. Belknap
Captain Latham C. Carleton
Capt. R.M. Hawthorne
Lieut. Ned Hunter
Lieut. R.H. Jayne
Captain H.R. Millbank
Billex Muller
Lieut. J.H. Randolph
Seelin Robins
Emerson Rodman
E.A. St. Mox

Reviews

[Mike Bull · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came across this book only because my parents (who are in their 70's) were cleaning out their vast "3rd floor" attic of five rooms, in which there were a number of old books. This must have been my grandfather's book when he was a kid since it's a pioneer adventure story suitable for children perhaps 10 to 12 years old.

It's one of a series published in the 1880's but is set in the late 1700s in and near the Ozark mountains in America. In this installment, teenage boys Fred Linden, who is American, and Terry Clark, who is Irish, make a three day journey from their small village south to the Ozark mountains to join Fred's father and two other men to go hunting for the winter.

The story also involves Deerfoot, an 18-year-old native who is a Christian and, unlike most natives, is on the side of the whites.

The novel is a typical old adventure story involving plenty of wild animals, scrapes with natives, weather, raging rivers, and feats of strength and endurance. The writing style is folksy.

I wouldn't normally go out of my way to read a book like this, but since it was my grandfathers there was an emotional attachment to it. It was a quick read, and I learned a few things about pioneer life that I didn't know before. It made me think of when I was a young teenage boy and liked adventure stories, and made me miss my grandfather, who was a big part of my life when I was a teenager.

If you'd like to read the book, it's available free if you search for it on Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org) where you can download it for e-Reader (Kindle or other e-reader versions are available).

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah snap! Gutenberg doesn't have the sequel and I'm left hanging with no finish to the story.