The Danger Trail

by James Willard Schultz, Bryan R. Johnson (Introduction)

Thomas Fox and his Blackfeet friend Pitamakan are back again on another adventure. It is early in the 1860s and Tom's uncle, the factor of the American Fur Company trading post Fort Benton, is worried that the Northern Blackfeet and Kaina tribes will not come down to trade. To help secure their trade, he asks Tom and Pitamakan to go visit those far-off tribes and speak with their chiefs. In doing so, they must not only protect themselves from roaming war parties of enemy tribes but the agents of the competing Hudson's Bay Company. The factor of the British traders, called Terrible Tongue by the Blackfeet, has vowed to find and imprison any Long Knives – American Fur Company traders – who enter his territory. Their path is filled with perils, but these plucky young men will use all of their skills to fulfill their mission as they take… the danger trail! Originally published in 1923, The Danger Trail is the seventh book in the adventures of young Thomas Fox and his great Pikuni friend, Pitamakan. Filled with detailed accounts of the life and culture of the Blackfeet Indians and description of the wild, free Plains, this classic novel brings to life a time and place that has long since disappeared. James Willard Schultz (1859 – 1947) knew the Montana frontier well. Arriving at Fort Benton in Blackfeet territory in 1877, he spent decades as a trader, rancher and hunting guide in what is now western Montana. Living among the Blackfeet, he came to consider one of them. Later in life, after the death of his dear Pikuni wife Natahki, he began to write, eventually publishing 37 books, many of them novels about his friends, the Blackfeet Indians, and other adventures of the Montana territory. This new digital edition of The Danger Trail features a special introduction and footnotes by Bryan R. Johnson to provide detailed background on Blackfeet culture and history in this exciting tale of adventure set in the old West.

342 pages, Paperback

Published December 9, 2016

About the author

James Willard Schultz, or Apikuni, (born August 26, 1859, died June 11, 1947) was a noted author, explorer, Glacier National Park guide, fur trader and historian of the Blackfoot Indians.

James Willard Schultz (J.W. Schultz) started writing at the age of 21, publishing articles and stories in Forest and Stream for 15 years. He did not write his first book until 1907 at age 48. The memoir: ''My Life as an Indian tells the story of his first year living with the Pikuni tribe of Blackfeet Indians East of Glacier. In 1911, he associated himself with publishers Houghton Mifflin who published Schultz's subsequent books for the next 30 years. In all, Schultz wrote and published 37 fiction and non-fiction books dealing with the Blackfoot, Kootenai, and Flathead Indians. His works received critical literary acclaim from the general media as well as academia for his story telling and contributions to ethnology. Sometime after 1902, while living in Southern California, Schultz worked for a while as the literary editor of the Los Angeles Times.