The Riflemen of the Ohio: A Story of the Early Days Along ''The Beautiful River''

The Young Trailers #6

by Joseph Alexander Altsheler

"Two boys, Henry Ware and Paul Cotter, and three scouts are the chief characters in these books dealing with frontier life and adventures with the Indians about the time of the Revolutionary War."

Genres: Historical Fiction

182 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1910

About the author

Joseph Alexander Altsheler was an American newspaper reporter, editor and author of popular juvenile historical fiction. He was a prolific writer, and produced fifty-one novels and at least fifty-three short stories. Thirty-two of his novels were part of his seven series:

The Civil War Series (8 volumes)
The French and Indian War Series (6 volumes)
The Gold Series (2 volumes)
The Great West Series (2 volumes)
The Texan Series (3 volumes)
The World War Series (3 volumes)
The Young Trailers Series (8 volumes)

Although each of the thirty-two novels constitutes an independent story, Altsheler suggested a reading order for each series (i.e., he numbered the volumes). The remaining nineteen novels can be read in any order. [Note, however, that A Knight of Philadelphia was later expanded through the addition of nineteen chapters and some minor tweaks to become Mr. Altsheler's novel In Hostile Red.]

The short stories, of course, can be read in any order. However, some readers might prefer to read them in the order in which they were published. The short story list below is displayed in chronological order with the publication dates shown alongside the titles.

Reviews

[Jonathan Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

HOW CAN YOU LIKE THIS BOOK?!??!?!?!

I mean, the story line is so ridiculously cheesy, and I cannot count the number of times the main character miraculously escaped from "certain danger". He has the luck of Simon Lewis, and the animals are more than happy to help him escape almost every time he is in danger. Absolutely pathetic and unrealistic.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't remember how I came across this book. It has been sitting on my e-reader for a while. I don't remember running across the author before, but I will definitely be reading more of his works. The basic premise reminds me a bit of G.H. Henty's work-- a boy or young man has amazing adventures set in history. Mr. Altshelter has a more friendly writing style than Mr. Henty. The story flows quickly, with a nice sense of the area around the upper Ohio. A ripping good yarn.

[Gary Land · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue to read this series, The Young Trailers, by one of the favorite authors of my boyhood. This volume, for the first time in the series, introduces historical characters into the story, Daniel Boone and Simon Girty. It also appears to me that Altsheler is presenting the Native Americans more sympathetically than in earlier volumes. Though juvenile books written early in the twentieth century, I still find Altsheler's works readable and wish that there were a way to bring them to the attention of today's youthful readers.