The Yellowstone — Win Blevins

An adventurer's story told as never before. The Los Angeles Times. Imagine ... Exploration and the grace to surrender to the dark, delicious grasp of a river. Native Americans, the first few white people who dared to explore the West, and the settlers who followed-all braved a glorious, and treacherous, wilderness. And, all of them pinned their lives to the great rivers charging out of the Rocky Mountains, One such man, willing to risk it all, is Mac The Dancer Maclean, who finds his destiny high in the headwaters in the Yellowstone, the swift river that rumbles through two majestic waterfalls and charges across the vast plains of Montana.Mac Maclean came far ahead of the emigrants to that land with a few friends. For companionship they found Indians. They became husbands and fathers to Indian women and children. Mac hunted, he traded, he battled. He gave his all for a life that made his heart soar. Maclean has the sort of courage and deep compassion that made him a legend. As he creates a life fully his own, he has no idea that future generations will honor his memory and build upon the life he created on the fertile banks of the river he called home.Some believe that his spirit still inhabits the Yellowstone country. Others hear the joyous voice of the Dancer inside the Yellowstone-tumbling river of life, death, and dreams. Reviews Through the lives of Mac Dancer Maclean and his daring companions, delve here into the experiences of the few white men who ventured into the Rocky Mountains ahead of all others, their lives thunderous with danger, dazzling in with excitement, deeply satisfying in their creation of a new and ever-surprising way of life. In these pages ride with the true discoverers of the West, their story told as never before.-The Los Angeles TimesRichly told American historical fiction. The longings, determination, adventure and liberties that built the U.S. are richly and deeply experienced in the characters, events and luxurious descriptive writing. Read it. Live it. - Kennedy Library, Ball State University