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Ill-Fated Frontier

Peril and Possibilities in the Early American West

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Cryptic Earth Works and Pyramids Loomed

Prehistoric Indian Mounds at Marietta Ohio
Ancient earthworks greeted pioneers settlers, and hunters at well situated places along the entirety of the Ohio and lower Mississippi River valleys.

Abandoned, often extensive earthworks greeted travelers like the Forman pioneer party at numerous locations along rivers and inland. These added to an impression of awe with respect to the wonders of the trans-Allegheny West. Numerous theories arose as to their origin, including theories of Biblical lost tribes and extinct pre-Columbus European settlers. Eurocentric observers were very slow to acknowledge that Native Americans of the Mississippian cultures had created these cities, towns, and monuments long before Columbus set foot in in the Americas. See end note for the book’s Introduction, page xvii, par. 3, line 3.

Filed Under: Other

Native Americans’ “Middle Ground”

Northwest Territory USA 1787
The U.S. Northwest Territory was established during the Confederation period. Within decades it contributed to six new states.

The United States gained the Northwest Territory as part of the Treaty of Paris, ending the Revolutionary War. During its early years it was a dangerous borderlands, marred by war and terror, and characterized by Indian and residual imperial English disputations of American sovereignty. The Forman pioneers dared to travers this region at a time when Indians dominated on the ground. See end note for the book’s Introduction, page xviii, par. 1, line 1.

Filed Under: Other

“Mad, brutal action against the first available target” 

American militiamen slaughter Lenape Indian Christian converts at Gnadenhutten, March 1782, in the Ohio Territory.

See end note for the book’s Introduction, page xviii, par. 1, lines 6-7. 

Filed Under: Other

Winter breezes whipped Dr. Antoine Saugrain’s face

Ohio Rier Frozen_Cincinnati
The Ohio River frozen over at Cincinnati in 1977

Prior to the early 19th century the Ohio River was closed to navigation during most winter months. Accordingly, the Forman pioneer party’s progress in 1790 halted until the river was again navigable. Once the Ohio River had been tamed with series of locks, the river’s freezing has become a rare novelty. See end note for the book’s Introduction, page xviii, par. 2, line 1. 

Filed Under: Other

Commissioned the building of a small flatboat 

Flatboat
Flatboats were the most common form of transportation on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers prior to the advent of steamboats during the early decades of the 19th century

An active boat-building industry, sprung up around Pittsburgh and points down-river, provided a principle means of transportation for riverine settlers and traders. Others included keelboats, capable of being poled on return trips up-river, and adaptations of Indians’ canoes. The Forman pioneer party included a 70 feet long flatboat and a keel boat. See end note for the book’s end note for the book’s Introduction, page xix, par. 3, line 1.

Filed Under: Other

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Massachusetts Historical Society, Wednesday, April 13, 2022, 6:00-7:00 PM.  Author talk and reception. Live on site and remotely via Zoom.

About the Author

Samuel A. Forman is a historian, physician, educator, and businessperson. He is the president of Oak and Ivy Health Systems and a visiting scientist at Harvard University. Throughout his successful careers as a physician, military officer, and businessman, he has published and lectured on historical topics impacting current issues. His identical surname as the historical protagonists is entirely coincidental; he is unrelated to any of them.

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