WESTWARD ADVENTURE

The stellar galaxy of American pioneers usually overlooks such names as Eleazer Wiggan, James Adair, Mary Inglis, James Smith, Richard Henderson and Martin Schneider -- yet their varied adventures in the early West are worthy of recounting if only to prove that the spirit to pioneer arose from many different sources. In his efforts to make some quick money as a trader, Eleazer Wiggan inadvertently kept the Indian nations on friendly terms with the English. James Adair's search for the Lost Tribes of Israel revealed Indian rituals to the white man. The first white woman to penetrate the Shawnee country was Mary Inglis whose capture and escape gives some idea of the fortitude of pioneer women. If the manner of telling matched the content of these six separate tales, the book would have wider appeal. Here Mr. Steele is more a historian than a storyteller.