My wife bought me a copy of "THIRTY-ONE YEARS ON THE PLAINS AND IN THE MOUNTAINS OR, THE LAST VOICE FROM THE PLAINS." by
"CAPT. WILLIAM F. DRANNAN, WHO WENT ON TO THE PLAINS WHEN FIFTEEN YEARS OLD.", published by Rhodes & McClure Publishing
Company., 1900.
The book is a softbound photo copy of the 596 pages of the original and was recently published.
The book is well written and could be considered a historical item because it is an excellent example of the MANY books written following the Civil War which told of adventures in the far west during the middle of the 19th century.
In the story, the author, William F. Drannan (1832-1913) claims to have run away from the
slaves of a landowner who were raising him.
He goes on to tell of meeting Kit Carson in St. Louis.
Kit takes to him and ends up taking him to the mountains to trap fur and ends up raising him.
Because of this he refers to Kit as "Uncle Kit" throughout the book.
During this time, Drannan is exposed to many adventures and known historic happenings including the fight between the French trapper and Kit.
Later in the book, Drannan claims to have known "Jim Beckwith" (Jim Beckwourth), a free black man who trapped the Rocky's in the mid 1800's with Jim Bridger, Joe Meek and many other well known trappers.
As I read the book, several things started to be mentioned that didn't seem to fit based on my other readings. This became very obvious to me when he was describing how he, with the help of a brother and sister of the Pima tribe saved Olive Oatman from the Apaches and then he single handedly returning her to Fort Yuma in less than a one day ride on his horse.
(Although Olive Oatman was taken by the Apaches she was was living with the Mohave Indians in California at the time of her 'rescue' and this was done by the commander at Fort Yuma by making a trade for her. It took 20 days for her and her rescuing party to reach the fort.)
Other claims like a first hand viewing of Kits shootout with the French trapper also don't seem to work out.
The shootout happened in 1835 when the author was 3 years old.
The author was at Kits wedding if you believe the story and enjoyed the event.
History says Kit's last wife was Josena Jaramillo and they were married in 1843.
The author was 11 years old at that time and, according to the book wouldn't start on his adventure for another 4 years at the age of 15.
I mentioned Jim Buckwourth because he (Jim) also wrote his tales of adventure and in them he became the ultimate hero in everything he did.
While there is no real doubt that he claimed to discover and is honored with having Buckwourth Pass in California named for him and his being a War Chief with the Crow Indians tribe there is no doubt that he totally exaggerated his stature in most all of the other events he wrote about.
Whether Drannan knew him or not, Drannan seems to have learned how to copy Buckwourth's style.
Many times Drannan claims to have been the Chief Scout for the Military however there is no record of him ever being one or being paid for his services by the government.
Towards the end of the book the author writes a great deal about the Modac Indian war and if he is to be believed he was responsible for the final ending in the long drawn out contest.
Like the other claims, history has overlooked his contributions and given the glory to others but from my research on the web it is interesting to note that his book describes the race to deliver the news stories to the telegraph. Of course, he is selected to deliver his stories to Ashland and he wins the contest.
The problem is the rider to Ashland didn't win the contest and he arrived drunk, hours late.
The interesting part is this event was not widely publicized at the time and his description of the event was quite accurate suggesting that he may have been there during the happenings.
As I say, this book is a very good read and is very enjoyable.
Just don't use its information as gospel if your in a debate.
"CAPT. WILLIAM F. DRANNAN, WHO WENT ON TO THE PLAINS WHEN FIFTEEN YEARS OLD.", published by Rhodes & McClure Publishing
Company., 1900.
The book is a softbound photo copy of the 596 pages of the original and was recently published.
The book is well written and could be considered a historical item because it is an excellent example of the MANY books written following the Civil War which told of adventures in the far west during the middle of the 19th century.
In the story, the author, William F. Drannan (1832-1913) claims to have run away from the
slaves of a landowner who were raising him.
He goes on to tell of meeting Kit Carson in St. Louis.
Kit takes to him and ends up taking him to the mountains to trap fur and ends up raising him.
Because of this he refers to Kit as "Uncle Kit" throughout the book.
During this time, Drannan is exposed to many adventures and known historic happenings including the fight between the French trapper and Kit.
Later in the book, Drannan claims to have known "Jim Beckwith" (Jim Beckwourth), a free black man who trapped the Rocky's in the mid 1800's with Jim Bridger, Joe Meek and many other well known trappers.
As I read the book, several things started to be mentioned that didn't seem to fit based on my other readings. This became very obvious to me when he was describing how he, with the help of a brother and sister of the Pima tribe saved Olive Oatman from the Apaches and then he single handedly returning her to Fort Yuma in less than a one day ride on his horse.
(Although Olive Oatman was taken by the Apaches she was was living with the Mohave Indians in California at the time of her 'rescue' and this was done by the commander at Fort Yuma by making a trade for her. It took 20 days for her and her rescuing party to reach the fort.)
Other claims like a first hand viewing of Kits shootout with the French trapper also don't seem to work out.
The shootout happened in 1835 when the author was 3 years old.
The author was at Kits wedding if you believe the story and enjoyed the event.
History says Kit's last wife was Josena Jaramillo and they were married in 1843.
The author was 11 years old at that time and, according to the book wouldn't start on his adventure for another 4 years at the age of 15.
I mentioned Jim Buckwourth because he (Jim) also wrote his tales of adventure and in them he became the ultimate hero in everything he did.
While there is no real doubt that he claimed to discover and is honored with having Buckwourth Pass in California named for him and his being a War Chief with the Crow Indians tribe there is no doubt that he totally exaggerated his stature in most all of the other events he wrote about.
Whether Drannan knew him or not, Drannan seems to have learned how to copy Buckwourth's style.
Many times Drannan claims to have been the Chief Scout for the Military however there is no record of him ever being one or being paid for his services by the government.
Towards the end of the book the author writes a great deal about the Modac Indian war and if he is to be believed he was responsible for the final ending in the long drawn out contest.
Like the other claims, history has overlooked his contributions and given the glory to others but from my research on the web it is interesting to note that his book describes the race to deliver the news stories to the telegraph. Of course, he is selected to deliver his stories to Ashland and he wins the contest.
The problem is the rider to Ashland didn't win the contest and he arrived drunk, hours late.
The interesting part is this event was not widely publicized at the time and his description of the event was quite accurate suggesting that he may have been there during the happenings.
As I say, this book is a very good read and is very enjoyable.
Just don't use its information as gospel if your in a debate.
