River of Many Fishes

About the Book

Years 1850 thru 1880 were both exciting and perilous times for our young country. The wilderness was giving way to settlers and trappers, while the Native American Indian was being pushed further from his home. Politics, slavery, and conflicting regional boundaries were feeding the flames of a fire that would become the War Between The States. During these turbulous years, the strong alone would survive. John Hanson, young son of a murdered Appalachian farming family is raised by the Cherokee Indians. He lives, fights, and loves as a big, strong mountain man with vengeance on his mind. He follows the trails of adventure thru Indian camps, trapper’s trading towns, and into the Civil War.

After taking a Cherokee bride and living with his good friend and adopted father, Bekkum the tribe’s leader, John heads off into many adventures while searching for the killers of his family. Throughout his journeys he is accompanied by the powerful presence of a red tailed hawk. It seems to watch over John as he lives the life of a trapper, hunter, fighter , and scout for the Confederate army. The Civil War finds John by way of a soldier’s mistake. He becomes caught up in a conflict that he wanted no part of. John proves, although, he wanted not to be a soldier, his strength and mountain knowledge of fighting and survival keeps him and those around him alive.

The ‘River of Many Fishes’ will carry the reader into rugged mountains, wilderness battles, the cruelty of the War Between the States, and all the while shines a love story between a frontiersman and his Cherokee wife. The battles, adventures, journeys and love for his family will sweep you and John deep into the Indian territories, the Appalachians, murderous fur trader camps, and survival in the war.

This is a family drama and adventure that you will enjoy while being carried perilously into the exciting story of Indians, trappers, slavers, death and love. Be prepared for an adventure that will keep you on the edge and into the high mountains of our country as it was over a hundred years ago.

About the Author

James Adkins, published author of short stories, was born into a rural Florida family of fishermen, hunters, and law enforcement. His love of adventure and the outdoors took him into the professions of Police Officer, Sheriff’s Deputy, and Wildlife Officer. After thirty years in law enforcement and public safety, he ended his career as Manager of Space Shuttle Safety Operations, and retired from the Kennedy Space Center in 1995. He credits his father and grand father with teaching him the ways of woodsmen, trappers, fishermen, and early American pioneers. The stories he writes are of those times and adventures.