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This is a truly rare and extremely hard-to-find early book documenting
principally the history and settlement of Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Pritts however begins his book by documenting the settlement of
New England and King Philips War, educating you about Indian white
contact prior to Penn's coming to America. It contains almost 300
pages on the border warfare history of Pennsylvania and Virginia
(including Northwestern VA and Kentucky), including many scarcely
documented skirmishes, raids and adventures. Interesting are the
many personal narratives and sketches of the remarkable exploits
of numerous early Frontier men such as Col. James Smith, Sam Brady,
the Wetzels, Moses Van Campen, Simon Kenton and more.
As Mr. Pritts says:
"From the material in our hands, we might have
attempted a general outline of the period we have undertaken to
illustrate; we might have given a more connected narrative of the
frontier events we wished to preserve; and conclude with a general
description of border life and border characters of the period.
Such attempts have been often made. But they are usually wanting
in interest; they fail to give any vivid impressions of what they
describe; and very frequently they are only calculated to mislead.
We have chosen rather to give our Incidents of Border Life in detached
pieces as we found them. And especially where adventurers themselves,
or those who were their contemporaries, have related the events
of their times, we have greatly preferred preserving their own words.
We have scarcely changed a syllable. To have altered the style of
the witnesses would have greatly marred and weakened their evidence.
To have attempted to improve the pictures they have drawn, would
only have destroyed their identity; they would have been no longer,
as they now are, perfect representations of border life - scenes
of days gone by, fixed, at the time in enduring colors, by the rude
but faithful artists who were witnesses of what they paint with
such untutored yet graphic skill."
728 pages including 16 plates (illustrations), hardback, 6x9 inches
and limited to 1,000 individually numbered copies. Was $49.95. Now $34.95

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