author
Charles E. (Charles Edward) Young
b. 1846
A firsthand storyteller of the American West, this author turned a youthful 1865 journey across the plains into a vivid memoir of danger, travel, and frontier life. His writing offers a direct, personal window into the closing months of the Civil War era and the rough realities of overland travel to Colorado.
1 Audiobook
Dangers of the Trail in 1865: A Narrative of Actual Events
by Charles E. (Charles Edward) Young
About the author
Best known for Dangers of the Trail in 1865: A Narrative of Actual Events (published in 1912), he wrote from lived experience rather than distant legend. In the book, he recounts setting out from Geneva, New York, in July 1865 and traveling west to Denver just after the Civil War, describing the hazards, hardship, and excitement of the trip in a plain, engaging style.
Available catalog records identify him as Charles E. Young, or Charles Edward Young, born in 1846. A grave record commonly associated with the author gives his dates as April 22, 1846, to May 12, 1915, though detailed biographical information beyond that is limited.
What makes his work memorable is its immediacy. Rather than offering a polished myth of the frontier, he gives readers a personal narrative shaped by memory, movement, and survival, making his account especially appealing to listeners interested in Western travel, pioneer history, and eyewitness storytelling.