
Set on the edge of Indiana’s untamed forests in the early 1900s, a modest log cabin watches over the winding Blue River. The surrounding meadow teems with bass, sunfish, and the bright‑scaled redeye, while the woods beyond echo with the calls of deer, wolves and bears. Life here revolves around the rhythm of the river, the livestock penned in a sturdy fence, and the ever‑present whisper of wilderness.
Into this world steps Balser, a spirited boy whose days are filled with fishing and wandering the riverbanks. When a massive black bear appears, Balser’s quick thinking and a makeshift weapon of fish‑on‑a‑string turn a frightening encounter into a daring struggle for survival. His narrow escape sets the stage for further trials—wolf hunts, fiery confrontations, and the mysteries hidden in the forest’s shadows—promising an adventure that blends courage with the raw beauty of frontier life.
Language
en
Duration
~4 hours (235K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Richard Tonsing, Larry B. Harrison and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2017-06-15
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1856–1913
A lawyer turned novelist from Indiana, he found a huge audience with swashbuckling historical romances and frontier tales. His books mixed fast-moving adventure with a strong sense of time and place, helping make him one of the better-known American popular writers of his era.
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