Bows, Bullets, and Bears
John L Moore
Non-Fiction
Frontier Pennsylvania Series Jack Armstrong died violently along the Juniata River in early 1744. Armstrong was a rough-and-tumble frontier trader whose sharp business practices antagonized one Indian too many. He and...
Out of stock
9781620065112
Frontier Pennsylvania Series
Jack Armstrong died violently along the Juniata River in early 1744.
Armstrong was a rough-and-tumble frontier trader whose sharp business practices antagonized one Indian too many. He and two men who worked for him traveled into the woods in early 1744 and never came out again. Word soon crossed the frontier that all three had been murdered. Obscure, but richly detailed documents tell how and why Iroquois Indians living along the Susquehanna River at present-day Sunbury developed evidence that exposed the Native Americans involved in Armstrong’s murder.
John L. Moore’s nonfiction book contains true stories of Armstrong and other real people caught up in the struggles that took place all along the Pennsylvania frontier throughout the late 1600s and 1700s. The stories are set mainly in the valleys of the Delaware, Juniata, Lehigh, Ohio and Susquehanna rivers.
Other chapters tell how:
- The Philadelphia jury in Margaret Mattson’s 1683 witchcraft trail delivered a split verdict. She was acquitted of bewitching her neighbors’ cows, but found guilty of being known as a witch. Presiding over the trial was William Penn, who let Margaret go home after her husband and son posted a bond for her “good behavior.”
- Moravian missionaries who traveled along the Susquehanna River’s West and North Branches during a famine in 1748 found many Indians sick with smallpox and suffering from starvation. The people in one native town were boiling tree bark for food. In another village they were cooking grass.
- Early in the French & Indian War, an influential Iroquois chief known as “The Belt of Wampum” urged Pennsylvania officials to build a fort on the Susquehanna River at the native town called Shamokin, present-day Sunbury. “Such Indians as continue true to you want a place to come to and to live in security,” The Belt said in early 1756.
- Frances Slocum, a small girl kidnapped by Indians from her home along the Susquehanna River during the America Revolution, spent most of her adult life as a Miami Indian. In 1839, her brother Joseph and his daughters traveled from Pennsylvania to Indiana to visit her. They traveled by stage coach, canal boat and horse-drawn railroad during their 19-day journey west.
Anecdotes throughout the book describe how Native Americans and Europeans hunted bears, ate bear meat, and used bearskins for blankets and mattresses.
WHAT OTHERS RE SAYING:
“Moore demonstrates his command of such subjects as relations between the Native Americans and English while drawing lively portraits of the individuals who shaped this tumultuous period in our nation’s history.”
~ Robert B. Swift
Author of “The Mid-Appalachian Frontier: A Guide to Historic Sites of the French and Indian War.”
“Once again, John Moore has managed to enrapture even those who detest history. With his story full of murder, wars with bears, witches placing spells on cows and lost hats, the author yet again takes the reader back in time in order to witness stories of old. His masterful weaving of historical accounts with vivid explanations helps the reader to not only understand but also enjoy the stories from the old frontier.
“For those looking for a relaxing evening with a good read and a strong cup of tea, I recommend picking up Bows, Bullets & Bears. You'll be glad to peruse the lives of old and hear about the adventures that not only entertain, but did actually happen.
~ Catherine Felegi of Cranford, N. J.
Writer, editor, and blogger at: cafelegi.wordpress.com/
“General Braddock and his European troops were unprepared for irregular (guerrilla) warfare in the forested mountains of Pennsylvania. They failed not because of incompetence, but because their competencies were mismatched to the environment in which they tried to apply them. There is a lesson here for moderns. Adapt or die. Braddock did the second. …
“Moore’s accounts of life on the Pennsylvania frontier quickly have me using Google Earth to swoop, hover and trace watercourses. As a backpacker I’m amazed at how fast and far both settlers and Indians traveled, usually on foot, over the rugged terrain. They routinely handled rain, snow, cold and disease as simply a part of life. Moore’s book … makes me appreciate how little human nature changes over the centuries – but also how tough those folks living at the edge of civilization were. Awesome writing!”
~ Thomas J. Brucia, Houston, Texas.
Bibliophile, outdoorsman and book reviewer
by John L Moore
Page Count: 96
Trim Size: 5 x 8
Publish Date: October 27, 2014
Imprint: Sunbury Press
Genre: History
Related Products
From this Collection
-
$19.95One Woman’s Remarkable Escape from Nazi Germany...One Woman’s Remarkable Escape from Nazi Germany The peaceful farm life of a teenage girl in Germany is abruptly upended when WWII comes knocking at her family’s door. One month before her sixteent...
-
$19.95Murder in a Small Pennsylvania Town and a Fami...Murder in a Small Pennsylvania Town and a Family's Fight for Justice Carl Wade Ryder—brother, son, and all-around good person—was murdered on August 5, 2006. Blood was found at his home in Frankl...
-
$19.95A 1970s Memoir: Commercial Fishing Out of Provi...A 1970s Memoir: Commercial Fishing Out of Provincetown and the Backwoods Counterculture Movement in Nova Scotia From the decks of off-shore scallop boats in the North Atlantic to the backwoods of t...
-
$19.95The History Of Southern Columbia Football High ...The History Of Southern Columbia Football High school football has been played in Pennsylvania since the late-1800s. The rich tradition of Pennsylvania scholastic football has produced legendary p...
-
$19.95Hemingway and the Rise of Modern Literature, Vo...Hemingway and the Rise of Modern Literature, Volume 1 The Modern Movement in art was an authentic response to a much-changing world. The rapid industrialization and urbanization of western society ...
-
$19.95The Forgotten Story of Pennsylvania’s Camp Disc...The Forgotten Story of Pennsylvania’s Camp Discharge and the Weary Civil War Soldiers It Served In the final year of the American Civil War, a special Union Army post was constructed just outside P...
-
$16.95The improbable true story of a nine-year-old Po...The improbable true story of a nine-year-old Polish boy’s Holocaust survival This biography traces the Holocaust through the eyes of young Nathan Poremba and examines the difficult emotional and ph...
-
$19.95Call Sign Dracula provides an outstanding, valu...Call Sign Dracula provides an outstanding, valuable and worthy in-depth look into the life of a US Army Infantry soldier serving with the famed 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One) in Vietnam. ...
-
$34.95Share in Francesco Da Vinci's dramatic transit...Share in Francesco Da Vinci's dramatic transition from bystander to nonviolent activist, and witness the triumphs and tragedies of the '60s. At the risk of a 5-year prison term, Francesco Da Vin...
-
$24.95The Islands of Chincoteague and Assateague are ...The Islands of Chincoteague and Assateague are travel destinations like no other. Many visit these islands on Virginia’s Eastern Shore to see the wild ponies made famous by the children’s classic ...
-
$19.95Dakota, the Buoys & Timothy The year 202...Dakota, the Buoys & Timothy The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the disturbing song “Timothy.” Banned by radio stations and called "the worst song ever recorded," its lyrics about ca...
-
$16.95How One Adoptee Used DNA Testing and Determinat...How One Adoptee Used DNA Testing and Determination to Uncover Family Secrets and Find her Birth Family Where does she come from? Who are her genetic parents? Who is she? Does she even want to know...
-
$14.95A road trip through American baseball history W...A road trip through American baseball history With a tankful of gas and a passion for baseball history, Jason Love hits the road to discover some of the most and least famous baseball sites in Amer...
-
$19.95“War pinches time,” he said. “And as with me, i...“War pinches time,” he said. “And as with me, it kills slowly.” A young man of no celebrity, John Moore Lancaster of Fayette County, PA, responded to Lincoln’s call to arms in 1862. Being the “tall...
-
$16.95by Jessica Weible Delivering Unopened Mail from...by Jessica Weible Delivering Unopened Mail from a Pennsylvania Ghost Town On assignment for a small-town newspaper in rural Pennsylvania, rookie reporter, Jessica Weible, meets Joan Swigart, a cre...
-
$19.95Volume 1 was Baseball Almanac's favorite read o...Volume 1 was Baseball Almanac's favorite read of 2021 When the Pros Played on the Sandlot Ever wonder what your favorite ballplayer’s childhood was like? Kelly G. Park is at it again with the secon...
-
$19.95The Story of Civilian Conservation Corps, Compa...The Story of Civilian Conservation Corps, Company 1333, Camp S-63, Poe Valley ~~ Employment prospects for many were bleak at the height of the Great Depression. For unmarried recent high school gr...
-
$16.95The United States in the mid-1800s boiled with ...The United States in the mid-1800s boiled with conflict and promise. The bloody Civil War raged. A ruminating President sat in the White House. William Gould Raymond (“W.G.”) was as complicated as ...
-
$19.95The Story and Tragedy of Pistol Pete Reiser ...The Story and Tragedy of Pistol Pete Reiser In 1942, Pete Reiser was on the road to baseball superstardom. Then, he crashed into a wall – an unpadded, concrete outfield wall as he tried to mak...
-
$19.95Roads Traveled, Lessons Learned, Villainy Expos...Roads Traveled, Lessons Learned, Villainy Exposed Being raised in the New York metropolitan region but living in the San Francisco Bay area exposed Martens to two worlds. One was inundated with Maf...
-
$19.95by Knorr, Troutman, Moran, Baum, Hipple, & ...by Knorr, Troutman, Moran, Baum, Hipple, & Adams+ A History of the Village at the Heart of the Mahantongo Valley The little village of Rough and Ready in Upper Mahantongo Township, Schuylkill C...
-
$19.95“War pinches time,” he said. “And as with me, i...“War pinches time,” he said. “And as with me, it kills slowly.” A young man of no celebrity, John Moore Lancaster of Fayette County, PA, responded to Lincoln’s call to arms in 1862. Being the “tall...
-
$16.95Think of this book as a GPS. A spiritual atlas...Think of this book as a GPS. A spiritual atlas to help you navigate the maze of life and be a joyful, peaceful, prosperous, and godly person. Follow God’s Path to Success and be an example to your...
-
$19.95The first to cross the Atlantic non-stop wasn’t...The first to cross the Atlantic non-stop wasn’t Charles Lindbergh, but two long-forgotten British airmen. This is their story. On June 14-15, 1919, Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten...
-
$9.99Author Cheryl Woodruff-Brooks introduces a new ...Author Cheryl Woodruff-Brooks introduces a new generation of children to the story about a once-segregated beach in New Jersey that was a hub of activity. Author: Cheryl BrooksPage Count: 24Trim ...
-
$16.95by Marlin Bressi If a Hall of Fame existed for...by Marlin Bressi If a Hall of Fame existed for Pennsylvania criminals, 19th century outlaw Red Nose Mike would have been inducted with the greatest of ease. After he was hanged in 1889, the blood-...
-
$19.95Biographies of Famous People Buried in Pennsylv...Biographies of Famous People Buried in Pennsylvania Joe Farrell and Joe Farley are back with more interesting biographies and unusual tombstones. Included in this volume: Nick ADAMS “Johnny Yuma W...
-
$19.95Baseball Almanac's favorite read of 2021 When t...Baseball Almanac's favorite read of 2021 When the Pros Played on the Sandlot Did you ever wonder what “your” childhood heroes’ childhood was like? I did, so I decided to find out. Just Like Me: Whe...
-
$19.95Biographies of Famous People Buried in Pennsylv...Biographies of Famous People Buried in Pennsylvania Joe Farrell and Joe Farley explore the cemeteries (and pubs) of Pennsylvania in search of interesting graves and stories about the interred. "Wh...
-
$9.99by John L Moore Revolutionary Pennsylvania Seri...by John L Moore Revolutionary Pennsylvania Series Throughout 1778, Iroquois war parties repeatedly raided the frontiers of Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. In 1779, General George Washington...
-
$9.99by John L Moore Revolutionary Pennsylvania Seri...by John L Moore Revolutionary Pennsylvania Series 1779 was the fifth year of the American Revolution, and many Iroquois Indians living in western New York sided with the British. Their war parties ...
-
$19.95Biographies of Famous People Buried in Pennsylv...Biographies of Famous People Buried in Pennsylvania Joe Farrell, Joe Farley, and Lawrence Knorr are back with more interesting biographies and unusual tombstones. Included in this volume: Enoch Br...
-
$9.99by John L Moore Revolutionary Pennsylvania Seri...by John L Moore Revolutionary Pennsylvania Series A wintry December 1776 forced General Washington’s army to struggle against the ice, snow, sleet, and wind as well as against Hessian and British s...
-
$9.99by John L Moore Revolutionary Pennsylvania Seri...by John L Moore Revolutionary Pennsylvania Series With the sesquicentennial of the American Revolution on the horizon, Tories, Terror, and Tea delves deeply into contemporary accounts of the times ...
-
$9.99Frontier Pennsylvania Series As the officer in ...Frontier Pennsylvania Series As the officer in charge at Hyndshaw’s Fort in the Pocono Mountains, Captain John Van Etten knew that few Indian war parties raided the settlements during the snowy win...
-
$9.99by John L Moore Frontier Pennsylvania Series Hi...by John L Moore Frontier Pennsylvania Series Histories can be two-dimensional; these contain information strung along timelines. Other histories are three-dimensional, fleshing the basics out with ...
-
$29.95If one man could be said to exemplify in his ch...If one man could be said to exemplify in his character the promise of America's greatness that man was Conrad Weiser, Pennsylvania frontiersman of the Colonial period. This biography of one of the ...
-
$18.95How to protect yourself and your community from...How to protect yourself and your community from COVID-19 and similar infections. COVID-19 is disrupting life around the world. People in every country are forced to adjust their lives and protect t...
-
$9.99by John L Moore Revolutionary Pennsylvania Ser...by John L Moore Revolutionary Pennsylvania Series One Sunday in 1782, white vigilantes suddenly appeared at a camp of Delaware Indians on an island in the Allegheny River near Fort Pitt in western...
-
$19.95Biographies of Famous People Buried in Pennsylv...Biographies of Famous People Buried in Pennsylvania Joe Farrell and Joe Farley explore the cemeteries (and pubs) of Pennsylvania in search of interesting graves and stories about the interred. Incl...
-
$19.95A History of a Scottish Family’s Ferries and Ta...A History of a Scottish Family’s Ferries and Tavern on the Susquehanna River ~~~ After the Northwest Territory opened in 1787, a wave of pioneer expansion took place in the Commonwealth of Pennsylv...
-
$16.95by Marlin Bressi Researcher and author Marlin B...by Marlin Bressi Researcher and author Marlin Bressi has compiled a panoply of unsolved mysteries and unusual happenings throughout the history of the Keystone State. From unsolved mysteries, headl...
-
$19.95Who is the winningest left-handed pitcher in Ph...Who is the winningest left-handed pitcher in Philadelphia baseball history? Who is the winningest left-handed pitcher in American League history? Who is third in wins all-time among left-handed sta...
-
$9.99by John L Moore Frontier Pennsylvania Series Ba...by John L Moore Frontier Pennsylvania Series Barbara Leininger and Marie LeRoy were teenage girls living along Penns Creek in central Pennsylvania in 1755 when an Indian war party captured them and...
-
$19.95The Long Road to the Bronx Zoo No one saw more ...The Long Road to the Bronx Zoo No one saw more baseball during the 20th century than Gabe Paul. He started out as a bat boy. Then a newspaper correspondent. A press agent. A traveling secretary. ...
-
$19.95The Decades of Events that Led to the Assassina...The Decades of Events that Led to the Assassination of John F Kennedy Why did Lee Harvey Oswald ask for the only attorney in America who had represented someone who tried to take over the U.S. gove...
-
$19.95The Decades of Events that Led to the Assassina...The Decades of Events that Led to the Assassination of John F Kennedy Why have historians treated the assassination of JFK as if it occurred in a vacuum? Within twenty-six months of John F. Kennedy...
-
$29.95You were born to be an entrepreneur. You were ...You were born to be an entrepreneur. You were taught to be an employee. Aspiring entrepreneurs are instinctively driven to be the master of their own fate and to explore the limits of their potent...
-
$16.95How the Greatest Home Run Ever Hit Sparked the ...How the Greatest Home Run Ever Hit Sparked the 1988 Dodgers to Game One Victory and an Improbable World Series Title When Los Angeles Dodgers pinch-hitter Kirk Gibson limped to the plate during Gam...