Jump to ratings and reviews

In The Great Apache Forest: The Story of a Lone Boy Scout

Enjoy this classic tale by author James Willard Schultz, where a Lone Boy Scout – aided by his sister Hannah and Hopi friend “Singing Frog” – defends his mountain outpost against sabotaging firebugs, the legendary grizzly bear “Double Killer”, and a marauding deserter. It is an exciting First World War adventure based on true events that takes the reader on trails across the White Mountains of Arizona. Through Schultz’s extraordinary skills as a storyteller, we are reacquainted with the ageless virtues of patriotism and bravery as they are brought to bear in our Scout’s battle against the forces of evil lurking in The Great Apache Forest !

This copy of In The Great Apache Forest is published by the Butterfly Lodge Museum, based in Greer, Arizona – the birthplace of this story. The museum operates within the walls of an over 100-year-old hunting cabin that belonged to author James Willard Schultz himself. With original cover art, illustrations by Harold Cue, and a preface put together by the museum when they first published the book in 2000, this is a truly unique copy that is a must-have for any James Willard Schulz fan. Purchasing this copy will support the Butterfly Lodge Museum, a non-profit run mostly by volunteers. Learn more about James Willard Schultz and the Butterfly Lodge Museum by visiting the

170 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1920

Loading...
Loading...

About the author

James Willard Schultz

144 books31 followers
James Willard Schultz, or Apikuni, (born August 26, 1859, died June 11, 1947) was a noted author, explorer, Glacier National Park guide, fur trader and historian of the Blackfoot Indians.

James Willard Schultz (J.W. Schultz) started writing at the age of 21, publishing articles and stories in Forest and Stream for 15 years. He did not write his first book until 1907 at age 48. The memoir: ''My Life as an Indian tells the story of his first year living with the Pikuni tribe of Blackfeet Indians East of Glacier. In 1911, he associated himself with publishers Houghton Mifflin who published Schultz's subsequent books for the next 30 years. In all, Schultz wrote and published 37 fiction and non-fiction books dealing with the Blackfoot, Kootenai, and Flathead Indians. His works received critical literary acclaim from the general media as well as academia for his story telling and contributions to ethnology. Sometime after 1902, while living in Southern California, Schultz worked for a while as the literary editor of the Los Angeles Times.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
70 (40%)
4 stars
61 (35%)
3 stars
31 (17%)
2 stars
8 (4%)
1 star
3 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for Julie Barrett.
9,375 reviews217 followers
November 26, 2020
In the Great Apache Forest, The story of a Lone Boy Scout by James Willard Schultz
Story starts with intro to the main hero: George Crosby and he always wanted to be a boy scout but growing up he was never even near close enough to the boy scout troops. He applied to become one and they agreed he could and then as the war went on and his uncle was off to fight in France, he wanted to do his part in the US.
His tribe lives in AZ and he was able to get a job guarding for fires in the Apache National Forest.
I was so happy to learn of this and that there was even a forest dedicated to the Apache. Love all the super descriptive details of the area and how he had help getting his items to the cabin up the mountain.
He finds many things out of place one day when he returns to his cabin, food missing. There is also trouble in the area, some firebugs are setting fires near the sawmill. They are able to get help from other tribes and police in the area but are never able to find them.
George also watches a trail of blue smoke each morning and puts it all together and he knows who the culprit is.
An Indian from Hopi tribe appears and they become friends and they are there to summon rain gods as their crops in the desert need rain, badly.
So does the Apache forest. What a lot of excitement and mystery and clues over the course of this book, so cool. Animals are throughout the book also.
Author made it so real for me as if I was there to experience it all first hand. Love the caves and things found and the sacred lands.
Profile Image for Robert VanBuhler.
88 reviews1 follower
March 22, 2019
Being a denizen of the wilds of Arizona, and experienced mountain top worker for many years, I related completely to this short book. Schultz usually writes from his own experience, but I can't tell if he did in this case, as I have yet to fully study his biography. Most of his writings are about time with the Blackfeet indians, but his story has historic details about the wobblies or Socialist unionists that caused lot of issues in early 20th Century Arizona.
Profile Image for Alita.
197 reviews
January 16, 2023
Once my eyes and ears got used to the cadence, vocabulary and phrasing of the characters in this book, I really enjoyed. A short novella, it was a perfect bedtime read and I learned a lot about some Hopi customs.
Profile Image for Ray York.
105 reviews4 followers
February 19, 2019
A Summer Adventure

A very enjoyable read. There are some spelling and typo errors, but they do not detract from the story and what a great history lesson.
4 reviews
January 24, 2020
Excellant older biography

Wonderful story of a different time . Do not expect minute to minute excitement. I have been to this country and the story sounds true. I hope it is.
Profile Image for Daniel L Snider.
42 reviews1 follower
February 10, 2020
Fiction of the west

At first I thought this book was a true story b the more I read I read it was just fiction. But not that bad of fiction.
Profile Image for Lauree.
87 reviews4 followers
March 23, 2023
I now call home the mountains where this story takes place. It’s a beautiful depiction of our beautiful Arizona White Mountains!
109 reviews
April 24, 2023
Superb reading

Fantastic true life stories of a young American youth sent to the mountains to work as a fire scout.

That is just the beginning of an incredible adventure.
48 reviews2 followers
October 11, 2007
I enjoyed this book. I think his books are easy reads. His cabin home in Greer is about 25 minutes from my home. I have visited it as the Butterfly Lodge Museum several times. The principle character in the book is George Crosby who married Hannah Butler, daughter of John and Aunt Molly Butler. George was on the lookout for any movement of German spies during the First World War. He found some and it was exciting to read about how he handled the situation.
200 reviews4 followers
July 30, 2020
Great story

She'll tell us does a good story. This is my second read of this book and I enjoyed it both times.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews