Bad Man Ballad

by Scott Russell Sanders

The time is 1813, during America's last war with England; the place is the Ohio Valley, the thickly wooded, hilly, creek-carved highway of western settlement. Wolves still howl at midnight on village greens. Each log cabin is a fortress, and no one travels without a knife and gun. Through this armed and fearful countryside, three people―Ely Jackson, a 17-year-old backwoods boy; Owen Lightfoot, a lawyer from Philadelphia with a romantic view of the frontier; and Rain Hawk, a half-breed girl living on her own in the wilderness―chase an awesome quarry, a mysterious giant-like figure who is on the run for murder. Ely and Owen set out on the trail of the "Bearman" with the intent of bringing him "to justice," while Rain Hawk struggles to protect him from the public's wrath. Bad Man Ballad is a riveting tale by a masterful storyteller and an appealing contemporary addition to the Library of Indiana Classics.

Genres: Historical Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Scott Russell Sanders is the award-winning author of A Private History of Awe, Hunting for Hope, A Conservationist Manifesto, Dancing in Dreamtime, and two dozen other books of fiction, personal narrative, and essays. His father came from a family of cotton farmers in Mississippi, his mother from an immigrant doctor’s family in Chicago. He spent his early childhood in Tennessee and his school years in Ohio, Rhode Island, and Cambridge, England.

In his writing he is concerned with our place in nature, the practice of community, and the search for a spiritual path. He and his wife, Ruth, a biochemist, have reared two children in their hometown of Bloomington, in the hardwood hill country of southern Indiana. You can visit Scott at www.scottrussellsanders.com.

In August 2020, Counterpoint Press will publish his new collection of essays, The Way of Imagination, a reflection on healing and renewal in a time of climate disruption. He is currently at work on a collection of short stories inspired by photographs.

Reviews

[Cora · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes me realize laws have been made out of fear. Fear of the unknown. What we do not know or do not understand seems to unsettle us. Big foot makes the town fearsome and it seems the only thing that eases the fear is violence and murder. The irony being the English killing the natives because they looked different, talked different, and had different beliefs but were still human-beings that never deserved to be killed. The English are pointing a finger at a giant man who “may have” killed another. The English men are the true murderers and savages but feel they are entitled to judgement when their hands are dirty with murder and violence themselves.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It’s an amazing story.