In the following romance the author has attempted to picture the life of the Scotch-Irish pioneers of the American frontier during the close of the eighteenth century. The Colonial immigrants and their scions of this vigorous stock were the chief pathfinders of our then Western border. They opened the wilderness to civilization. They formed a barrier between the hostile Indians and the growing settlements of the seaboard. They laid the foundations of the New West, the Greater America. Whatever throws light upon their history in this formative era should interest not only their descendants but all who have profited by their labors and sufferings.
In prosecuting his purpose the author has diligently studied this people, their habits, characteristics and environment. Local histories have been read. Papers, manuscripts, pamphlets, church and county records have been examined. The scenery described has been personally visited, photographed and sketched, and topographical plots and maps copied and drawn. The flora and fauna and weather conditions have been noted. The biographies of leading and typical men and women of the various sections have been read. The dialect has been especially studied. For several years the author has been engaged in preparing a vocabulary of Scotcli-Irishisms which contains many hundreds of words, phrases and sayings. The results of this research are shown in the language of some of the characters who figure in the story.
The period in which the narrative is located was one of the most important in the history of our national and social development. The Old West, as known to our Colonial ancestors, was about to disappear, or to recede further towards the great prairies. The last decisive conflict between the white men led by General Anthony Wayne, and the aborigines, was impending in the Northwestern territory.
