Ohio River Trilogy

Set in the dangerous West Virginia frontier, this is the story of the heroic Betty Zane, the beautiful young sister of old Colonel Isaac Zane, one of the most courageous of the pioneers. Balanced against the grim incidents of the Indian War is the love story of Betty and Alfred Clarke, a handsome young soldier. Their romance, however, is plagued by troubles and endless interruptions before reaching its stirring climax. The exciting life around Fort Henry, an attack by Indians, Betty's heroic defense of the beleaguered garrison at Wheeling, the burning of the fort, and Betty's final race for life make up this remarkable story-a story filled with the life, color, and spirit of pioneer days. This novel, based on real people and events, is an evocative historical tale that will capture your heart and your mind.

Zane Grey is America's most beloved author of western novels. Set during the American Revolution, the Fort Henry Saga is based on the lives of Grey's own ancestors. The war is winding down when the pioneers at Fort Henry must fight off a fierce Indian attack. Their only hope lies with Betty Zane, who must run a deadly gauntlet.

Betty Zane is the story of the first settlers in the Ohio Valley and their fight for survival during the Revolutionary War. The British have organized and incited the various eastern tribes to attack American "Rebels" in this lesser-known theater of the war. Betty is a fiery beauty whose quest for romance with Alfred Clarke is interrupted time and again by Indian raids and battles. In an unexpected twist, it is Betty who turns the tide at the final battle of Fort Henry. Inspired by the life and adventures of his own great-great-grandmother, Betty Zane is Zane Grey's first novel. This and the other two books in the Ohio River series are considered some of Grey's best work.

In 1777, pioneers were faced with displaced Native Americans, and marauding white men who preyed upon settlers. But Wetzel, a great frontiersman, became their protector, known as "the Spirit of the Border."

The American frontier in the 1700s produced some men of utter ruthlessness, and Jim Girty was one of the worst. Living among the Delaware Indians in the Ohio Valley, Girty and his brothers incited acts of savagery and war against the white settlers. One of Jim Girty's targets was the Village of Peace, a settlement of Christian Indians who had been converted by Moravian missionaries. Girty and his ruffians, playing on the fear and hostility of surrounding tribes, incited them to gather at the village, where they threw the ominous war club on the ground. Lewis Wetzel, a lonely, taciturn hunter whose family had been the victim of Delaware atrocities, swore revenge on Girty. The intrepid Wetzel, called "Deathwind" by the Delawares, had saved Fort Henry from Indian attack, but was he any match for the odious Girty?

As the Revolutionary War draws to an end, the violence on the frontier only accelerates. The infamous Girty brothers incite Indians to a number of massacres, but when the Village of Peace, a Christian utopian settlement, is destroyed, the settlers know they will have to hunt Chief Wingenund down.Lewis Wetzel, known to the Indians as the Death Wind, undertakes this mission of revenge. The stakes increase when he learns of a planned attack on Fort Henry. Armed with only his long rifle and knife, Wetzel sets out to single-handedly turn the tide in this bloody border war.

The Last Trail is the third and final novel in Zane Grey's Ohio River trilogy. In many ways, this concluding volume of the saga is one of perpetuation. The wilderness along the Ohio has been rapidly disappearing. Forests have been replaced by farms. Woodsmen, hunters, and frontiersmen are becoming farmers. This is true, in fact, for almost everyone except that strange and wonderful character, the "mysterious, shadowy, elusive man, whom few pioneers ever saw, but of whom all knew," Lew Wetzel.Known by the Indians as Death Wind, Wetzel and his partner, Jonathan Zane, are hard on the trail of white rustlers led by Simon Girty and Bing Leggitt. One night at their campfire, Helen Sheppard and her father, who have become lost in the forest on their way to Fort Henry, are approached by Wetzel and Zane. For Zane and Sheppard, this accidental encounter is the beginning of a romance that will be fraught with many dangers. Betty Zane, whose dash for gunpowder in the defense of Fort Henry during the Revolutionary War is now legendary, and her brother, Colonel Ebenezer Zane, are also among the characters in The Last Trail-older now, sharing their wisdom and experiences with a younger generation.

After the American Revolution, Jonathan Zane became a celebrated scout on the frontier. His adventurous spirit and love of the wild led him to Fort Henry, scene of countless Indian attacks. Farmers had been murdered, women abducted, cabins burned. Zane teamed with legendary scout Lewis Wetzel to mete out justice to Indians and outlaws, and settlers began to enjoy the lush Ohio Valley in peace. But one pioneer hoped to end Zane's career as a tireless protector. Spirited and beguiling Betty Sheppard begged him to give up his lonely border-man existence. Duty commanded, however, that he resist all such charms. Zane could have only one sweetheart: the North Star. Then came the day that outlaws captured Betty.

A genuine and vivid chronicle of frontier days along the Ohio River when a cocked rifle and a soft step were the surest means of survival.