The Life and Times of Col. Daniel Boone, Hunter, Soldier, and Pioneer

Ellis, Edward Sylvester, 1840-1916Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.9
Word count
429K words
Chapters
43

Tags

English Originals Historical Figures Nature SurvivalDaniel BooneLegendary LivesPioneersHunting AdventureHeroic BiographiesHistorical AccountPioneer EraAmerican WestFrontier Life

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Life and Times of Col. Daniel Boone, Hunter, Soldier, and Pioneer by EllisAuthor: Ellis, Edward Sylvester, 1840-1916,Language: English, Class: F396: United States local history: Old Southwest. Lower Mississippi Valley, Release Date: Jul 8, 2014

Editor's review

This is Edward Ellis's biography of Daniel Boone, a work of popular history written within the tradition of early American frontier and local history. Its value lies not in modern scholarly rigor but in showing how nineteenth-century Americans told and shaped frontier heroes: hunter, soldier, and pioneer intertwined into a classic Western narrative. The account of Boone's activities in Kentucky, his conflicts with Native Americans, and frontier life gives readers a vivid sense of the historical atmosphere and narrative voice of the time. It can serve both as an introduction to the American frontier myth and as a sample for observing how historical writing itself evolved. Because it was written early, the narrative inevitably carries period prejudices and legendary embellishment, and readers should approach it with a critical eye. Suitable for readers interested in early North American history, frontier narratives, and popular biography, to be read chapter by chapter in a quiet setting.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Read the table of contents and preface first to grasp the timeline and narrative focus, then proceed chapter by chapter.
  2. Note legendary and subjective passages as you read for later reflection.
  3. Read alongside basic references on American frontier history for background context.
  4. Summarize each chapter in two or three sentences to avoid confusing people and events.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43

FAQ

Is this a rigorous academic history? No. It is a nineteenth-century popular biography focused on Boone's life and frontier stories, with legendary coloring and period prejudice, lacking modern scholarly annotation and verification. It is suitable for understanding historical narrative style, not as a research source for direct citation.
What background knowledge is needed? No specialized knowledge is required, but basic familiarity with the history of westward expansion around American independence and early settlement in Kentucky will make the relationships and events easier to follow. Readers without background can also read it as a personal story.
How difficult is the original English? This is a public-domain English text from the nineteenth century, with period sentence structures and vocabulary and many long sentences, so reading may be slower than modern popular works. Readers with some English proficiency can read slowly by chapter, skipping unfamiliar place and personal names to follow the main thread.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Ellis, Edward Sylvester, 1840-1916 Author

Edward Sylvester Ellis (1840-1916) was an American author best known for adventure and historical works for young readers. Because public information about him is limited, biographical details remain difficult to establish with certainty, yet the library holds as many as 58 of his works, indicating that he was a prolific and long-active writer. His writing often centers on frontier settlement, mountain exploration, colonial warfare, and historical figures, as seen in The Great Cattle Trail, The Riflemen of the Miami, and The Cave in the Mountain; these works are tightly plotted and emphasize action and courage, making them well suited to younger readers. He also wrote character sketches such as Thomas Jefferson, a Character Sketch and reference works such as 1000 Mythological Characters Briefly Described, reflecting a broad interest in history, mythology, and popular knowledge.