The frontiersmen were a remarkable breed of men. They were often rough and illiterate, sometimes brutal and vicious, often seeking an escape in the wilderness of mid-America from crimes committed back east. In the beautiful but deadly country which would one day come to be known as West Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, more often than not they left their bones to bleach beside forest paths or on the banks of the Ohio River,...

In the early 1800s, a Kentucky farm boy abandons the security of home, and his girlfriend, for a life of adventure. At 16, Titus Bass runs away to become a deckhand on a Mississippi flatboat, the first of many frontier escapades. But he tires of adventure and becomes a blacksmith.

With anxiety, Mr. Sheppard, his nephew, and daughter set up camp in the gathering darkness. They were trying to reach Fort Henry before nightfall but lost their way in the shades of the forest. Their guide had mysteriously deserted them that morning. Suddenly, a band of Indians appeared at the edge of the firelight brandishing tomahawks. As quickly as they appeared, they disappeared. Moments later, a man clad in fringed buckskins silently slipped...

Recreates a long outmoded way of life whose participants played an important part in the settlement, trade, and development of America's frontier. Describes what the flatboatmen wore, how they celebrated, and how they passed their days on the river.