Buckskin Chronicles

The power of a promise made and a promise kept is realized when Jeremiah Thompsett comes of age and accepts the responsibility of fulfilling his mentor's long-held dream. Raised by an escaped slave in the midst of the Arapaho nation in the Wind River mountains, he now must track down the slave catchers that killed his adopted father and stole their cache. The Vengeance Quest takes him and his companions through the mountains and across the nation to fulfill the promise of freeing the family of slaves held dear to his mentor and adopted father. Accompanied by Broken Shield and Laughing Waters, his Arapaho friend and his sister, the trek through the mountains and to Fort Union is fraught with hazard and ambush. It is here he is joined by Scratch, the crusty mountain man who joins him on his journey downriver and across country to find Ezekiel's family and to seek to free them.

Jeremiah returns from the wild mountains of the west to keep a promise to his adopted father and mentor, Ezekiel. The journey allows for a visit with Jeremiah's only living relative, his sister. Jeremiah finds himself obligated to make and keep another promise that sets the trio on the trail West, and that journey sees them join up with a wagon train of settlers and missionaries searching for a new land and a new life. But tragedy strikes and everyone must learn to survive against the trials and challenges of the life-threatening wilderness of the West. The long trip across the plains give the mountain men challenges never before imagined, but with the added resolve of determined settlers, the journey continues to Fort William where the group divides to seek their own futures. Yet the ultimate goal of being reunited with the one woman that truly stirs Jeremiah's heart and give meaning to life, is realized as the journey for the traveling companions ends as they reach the Summer camp of the Arapaho, the second family to Jeremiah.

A man is only as good as his word. A man's word is the cornerstone of his character according to Ezekiel, Jeremiah's adopted father and mentor. Raised among the Arapaho with values according to their culture blended with the standards of a runaway slave and the remnants of the memory of his natural father, Jeremiah must now take the measure of his own character. After a tragedy that sweeps through the village of his wife's people and their own home, Jeremiah gives his word to Black Kettle and joins with his life-long friend, Broken Shield and sets out to find their new winter home. With the only possible site lying between the land of their avowed enemies, the Kicked in the Bellies Crow nation and the territory of the marauding Blackfeet, the two friends land in the middle of a battle between these two sworn adversaries. With the responsibility of the fate of the entire Arapaho village resting upon them, and opposition from both nature and enemy forces, they must overcome unimaginable obstacles for Jeremiah to prove that his word and his promise are the measure of a man with character that refuses to be compromised or defeated.

The making of a man is a challenging metamorphosis by any standard, but when it's in the wilderness and among the Arapaho people, the standards are raised. Such was the challenge of Caleb, the adopted son of Jeremiah Thompsett and Laughing Waters. With his Pa a proven warrior and leader for the people and his Ma becoming the new Shaman for the village, Caleb naturally wonders about his future and the possibility of marrying his sweetheart and spending their lives living in the wilderness with his people, the Northern Arapaho. With confusion and frustration confounding his thinking, he follows the council of the elder of the people and his Grandfather, Black Kettle, and departs for the Bighorns and a vision quest to the sacred Medicine Wheel. Seeking the many answers to the questions that have plagued him, he looks to his God for direction for his life, his manhood, and his companion. Returning to his home with what he believes to be the needed direction and the answers he sought, he is confronted with tragic news of the kidnapping of the love of his life. Questioning himself and his purpose again, he is joined by his Pa, Jeremiah, and their partner, Scratch, as this odd collection of mountain men, young and old, sets off in pursuit of the renegade kidnappers and the needed retribution. With obstacles before him and a fight awaiting him, he must push through his trial by fire to find his beloved.

Sometimes in life, the shortest distance between where you are and where you want to be is not necessarily the best route. Life often takes you on a much longer trail before you reach the goal you were destined for, and this circuitous route usually has valuable life lessons. These are the lessons that littered the path of the lives of Clancy and Caleb as they fled from the sorrow of the mountains and searched for answers in all the wrong places. Thinking the big city would provide refuge and salve for painful memories, they learned where ever they went there were new lessons to learn and memories to be made. With both having a love for the mountains and the often solitary lifestyle, the pull of the city would not readily release its grip but they would have to chart their own course. With an opportunity provided by newfound friendships and the possibility of a new direction for their lives, they seek to return to the mountains to find their own nirvana and a new beginning to establish their home and their legacy. The shining mountains and green valley of the Medicine Bow range that nestles in the Southern part of Wyoming territory beckons them and the promise of a new life gives hope where there was none. Now is when they find out if they have the strength and stamina to build a new life in the mountains of the Medicine Bow.

He had been challenged to carve a ranch out of the wilderness of the West. To partner with the brother of one of the most successful ranchers in Texas and build the first ranch in the wilds of the territories. Caleb and his wife and friends chose to confront the wilds of what would become Wyoming territory and establish one of the first ranches in that desolate country. Little did it matter that they knew nothing about ranching or cattle but the challenge had been given and accepted. However, the land he chose lay between the Ute Indians and their enemy, the Cheyenne, and with all the other difficulties that included an unmerciful winter, a pack of hungry wolves, and a monster mama grizzly bear bent on protecting her cubs, what more could be thrown their way? Gunfights, Indian Wars, nature's fury, and more assault the pioneers as they seek to build the first cattle ranch along the Cherokee Trail. Yet the new frontier fought back against anyone that sought to leave their mark on the virgin territory claimed by the wild animals and the Native Americans. But destiny would have a hand and that hand had been dealt. What would be the outcome of this game of life?

When a marauding band of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers attack a wagon train and take two women and a boy captive, Talon Thompsett is surprised when no one is willing to go after the Indians and try to rescue the captives. But the young man is reminded of his father's counsel that "Whenever a task falls to you, don't question the why of it, just get busy with the doin' of it!" Now he must set aside his new job as Shotgun for the Overland Stage and gear up for the pursuit of a band of warrior renegades. A tall task for an unproven young man, but when none of the pilgrims believe in the cause, and the settlers of nearby LaPorte refuse to leave their homes unguarded, Talon realizes he must face this challenge alone. His commitment and determination lead to the making of a man and a bloody chase through the foothills of Colorado and the plains of the new territory. Along the way, he makes a bitter enemy of the Cheyenne war leader, Two Bears, who is determined to seek vengeance on this unknown white man and prove to his people that he is the chosen leader of the notorious Dog soldiers. But Talon is undaunted and even eager to show the renegade that this white man is more than his match. Follow the trail that takes a young man from the Cache La Poudre through intimidating country and back to the Overland Trail as he proves his worth as he rises to the challenge and the making of a man.

The Overland Stage line had become the target of raids by the Dog Soldiers, a confederacy of Cheyenne, Arapaho and Lakota, that sought to regain the land stolen from the Indians by the new government of Colorado Territory. A bitter cold winter added to the danger of the continued assaults on wagon trains, stage stations and stages. But when Colonel Chivington launched his retaliatory attack on the peaceful Cheyenne village that resulted in a massacre of women and children, the Indians will strike back again and again. Talon Thompsett, Shotgun for the Overland stage line, would be caught in the middle of what would become the Colorado Indian Wars and after repeated skirmishes with the Dog Soldiers and living through a stage wreck, the injured Talon has a long trek ahead to return to his new wife. But she would not wait and anxious to find her husband, she sets out alone to find her man, not knowing if he's dead or alive, but she is willing to take on the entire combined Indian nations to rescue her man. Forced into a battle of her own, Ginny Thompsett proves her mettle and is joined by the legendary mountain man, James Beckwourth, in her continuing search for her husband. While the territory rages in the war between the Dog Soldiers and the many stage stations and ranches that were the object of their wrath, Talon's determination to survive and Ginny's commitment to prevail that will give this young couple a chance as a family and a future together.

Driven by grief over the loss of his beloved wife and child, Tyrell Thompsett left the home of his childhood in the Medicine Bow mountains and started South in a quest for a new life. With his long-time friend, Grey Wolf, a warrior of the Yamparika Ute, who was on his own quest, the two start the long trek to the Sangre de Cristo mountains and a new beginning. Ty was bound for Fort Garland and a scouting job with General Kit Carson that he hoped would give direction to this new part of his life and Grey Wolf was searching for a life partner. The adventure takes them into the unsettled land of the San Luis Valley, historical discoveries, and conflicts with prospectors, settlers, and Indians. After a battle with the Apache, Ty and his new friend and fellow scout go South to Taos Pueblo and are surprised at a new friendship and a change of plans for the formerly grieving man. After conflicts with the Mouache and the Jicarilla, Ty's troubled mind brings him face to face with a decision that could change the direction and purpose of his and his companion's lives forever.

With the civil war over, the president assassinated, and the South in reconstruction, Tyrell Thompsett knew the country would be crying for beef. His long-held dream was to have his own ranch and to follow in the footsteps of his father that started the first ranch in the Medicine Bow range of Wyoming territory. Now, with his new wife, a member of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, and his friend, Grey Wolf and his wife of the Mouache Ute, he set out to make that dream a reality. But it seemed like the forces of nature had conspired together against them, and to add in the Weeminuche Ute, Jicarilla Apache, and some renegade Comanche, the obstacles before them seemed insurmountable. But after locating the ranch on the upper reaches of the Rio Grande in the San Juan mountains, the real challenges had to be faced. With a herd waiting in New Mexico territory, they set out to bring the herd back to Colorado territory. But, when a newly formed band of outlaw Confederate rebels, traders known as Comancheros, and renegade Comanche from the bands of the Ditsahkanah and Penateka Comanche, the name Comanchero referred to a heartless and merciless band of murderers and thieves. And it was to be a battle between the vaqueros and cowboys against the Comancheros that would leave a trail of blood and bodies and determine the fate of the Rio Grande ranch and the future of Tyrell Thompsett in the San Juan mountains.