author

William Alonzo Allen

b. 1848

A frontier memoirist and dentist who turned his years in the Rocky Mountains into vivid adventure writing, he left behind firsthand accounts of hunting, travel, and encounters with Native communities in the American West. His books capture the mix of danger, myth, and rough daily life that shaped that era.

1 Audiobook

The Sheep Eaters

The Sheep Eaters

by William Alonzo Allen

About the author

Born on September 2, 1848, in Summerfield, Ohio, William Alonzo Allen was an American writer best known for books drawn from his experiences in the West. Library of Congress and catalog records identify him as the author of The Sheep Eaters (1913) and Adventures with Indians and Game, or, Twenty Years in the Rocky Mountains (1903). The Sheep Eaters credits him as "W. A. Allen, D.D.S.," suggesting he practiced dentistry as well as writing.

Allen’s work focused on frontier life in Montana and the Rocky Mountain region, blending personal reminiscence with stories about hunting, travel, and Native peoples. His writing reflects the interests and attitudes of its time, so modern listeners may notice that some descriptions are dated, but the books remain useful as period accounts of how the West was remembered and narrated in the early 20th century.

Available records indicate that he lived a long life, dying on January 27, 1944, in Billings, Montana, at age 95.