LCC
Description
The Old West was populated by a host of colourful characters including gunfighters, cowboys, buffalo hunters, sod busters, and at least one cavalry officer with the eye of an eagle and a penchant for fine writing. Colonel James Meline was an educated New York journalist, turned pony soldier, who had fought for the Union during the recent Civil War. With the country lulled into an uncomfortable peace, the fifty-four year old Meline decided to partake of one last mounted adventure before he hung up his spurs. Lucky for the history of equestrian travel that he did. The resultant book, "Two Thousand Miles on Horseback" is a beautifully written, eye witness account of a United States that is no more. Meline was no fool. He sensed that the great American wilderness was about to be tamed. Setting out from Fort Leavenworth in the summer of 1866, Meline observed a nation on the move. In his first week in the saddle Meline counted 680 wagons heading west. Moreover, he warned, "the iron rail will soon clamp East and West, leaving no room for adventure or personal freedom." Yet before that dire prediction became a reality, Meline participated in one of the greatest equestrian adventures of the time. He noted everything from the price of pistols to the practices of Pawnees. Border land barbarities too hideous "to write in English," horses struck dead by lightning, forlorn graves, summer days so hot they drove men mad - Meline faithfully recorded the details of prairie life seen during his ride to Santa Fe. Once he reached fabled New Mexico the saddle-borne scribe fell in with Kit Carson. What followed was a three day marathon interview wherein the legendary frontiersman regaled the cavalry journalist with tales of fighting the Navajo, hunting gigantic grizzly bears, and eluding capture by Indians. Then, with his notebooks full, Meline headed home, experiencing a storm on the way that was so cold that "even my memory froze." Though the frontier they inhabited is a thing of the past, Meline and his cast of mounted characters still jump off the pages and dare you to ride down the road of adventure with them.… (more)