The Long Trail

About the Book

The Long Trail truly depicts the life of a mountain man during the waning years of the fur trade in 1837-1838.

Will Baylor lives in the hills of North Georgia with his mother and uncle, Gus Moran.  He longs for adventure, but is tied to the life of a farmer because of his dedication to his mother.

When his mother dies unexpectedly, Will and his uncle head Westward.  In St. Louis, Gus is suddenly killed by a drunken trapper named Tilletson.  Will was saved by an old trapper, Silas Morgan.

Will struck a deal with Morgan, and they head up the Missouri River in a keelboat to trap and trade with the Indians.  Will gains a reputation as a hunter, and saves the life of an Indian boy named Blackbird.

Will whips a burly trapper named Beasley; has a brush with a Ree Indian, and outruns a group of Kaw Indians.  He often thinks of Amy Miller, the girl who tried to lure him into marriage before he left.

When they reach the Teton Sioux village, Will is given a beautiful squaw for returning Blackbird to his people.  Will catches her as she romances an Indian friend, and a fight ensues.  The trappers are forced to leave secretly by night.

Finally, they reach the Mandan Village, where they spend the winter.  Will falls in love with Antelope, the daughter of the Mandan Chief, and when he killed a white buffalo on his first buffalo hunt, he trades the valuable white buffalo skin to the chief for his daughter.  After the ceremony, Will saves the village from an attack by Ree Indians.

The following spring, Will leaves Antelope at the Mandan Village, and he and the trappers journey upstream to Crow country to trade for beaver and buffalo robes to sell at the yearly rendezvous.  Will encounters a grizzly bear; kills a Snake Indian Chief, and is wounded in battle.  While he and two friends are hunting, they are chased by a group of Snake Indians.  Will is forced to kill his wounded comrade to keep him from being scalped.

When they reach the rendezvous on Horse Creek, Will has a fight with a bully, and though wounded himself, kills the man.  He also meets Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, and other mountain men.

Upon returning to the Mandan Village, Will finds it decimated by smallpox.  Antelope is dead, and since Blackbirds own village was wiped out, Will takes him to St. Louis.

Will accidentally meets Tilletson in St. Louis, and in a fair fight, kills the trapper with a knife.  Later, he finds that Amy Miller has traveled to St. Louis on a wagon train in search of him, and she exacts a promise of marriage from him.

About the Author

Bud Jones is the author of five Western novels and one book about growing up in his hometown of Tallapoosa, Georgia. He has been in the Taxidermy business for over 60 years and has mounted trophies not only from North America, but South America, Mexico, Africa, and Canada as well. His hunting experience is considerable, and in all these years he has kept notes, photos, etc., of the many animals with which he has come in contact. Bud and his wife Jackie have three children, Hilly is an artist and does all the illustrations for Bud’s books. Robin is a physical therapist, and Cherry works in the family business. Bud is a Baptist deacon, and Jackie is the church organist at Bethany Baptist Church in Tallapoosa where they are members.