On Earth's Remotest Bounds: Year One: Blood and Water [Paperback]

Kenneth Flint (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 7, 2004

ON EARTH'S REMOTEST BOUNDS
is the story of the far-frontier bastion called Fort Atkinson, built on the Council Bluff made famous by the Indian parley held with Lewis and Clark there in 1804. It is a saga of a fledgling, struggling nation with a most tenuous toehold on a massive territory. The fort faces threats from Indians, British, and nature itself. It is a fascinating and brutal time little chronicled, falling between the Revolution and the main westward expansion, when American attitudes, character, and policies were being shaped. It is filled with names of heroes like Riley and Leavenworth, the friends and relatives of Lewis and Clark, famed explorers like Long and Kearney, and folklore figures like Jim Bridger, Mike Fink, and Hugh Glass.

Year One:BLOOD and WATER chronicles the first year of the thousand-man expedition as it battles hundreds of miles up the wild Missouri on primitive steamboats and keels to reach the bluff and build its first fort. Here the exhausted men must survive a winter plagued by severe weather, food shortages, a scurvy epidemic felling hundreds, and a devastating flood. They hang on by courage and sheer doggedness to begin a new fortress atop the high Council Bluff.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kenneth C. Flint is the author of fourteen published novels based on the history and folklore of England, Ireland, and America. In addition he writes historical articles and non-fiction, has taught humanities at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and presently works as a publications consultant for Panorama, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 346 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (June 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595320597
• ISBN-13: 978-0595320592
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,073,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kenneth C. Flint is the published author of fifteen fantasy, horror, and suspense novels including the best-selling Sidhe series. He has also published various other fiction and nonfiction works including Star Wars stories and a newly published history of 1820's Fort Atkinson.

His fantasy books--a combination of legend, history, and adventure--will be reissued in E Book format by Double Dragon Publications beginning in September of 2011, available for Kindle through Amazon. New novels filling out the series and covering the entire scope of ancient Irish myth will also be published.

In addition to his writing, Ken is a writing instructor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Metropolitan Community College in Omaha Nebraska. He is also a historic interpreter at reconstructed Fort Atkinson in Nebraska with his family, including wife Judy, son Gavin, son Devin, and his wife Melissa.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The story of an forgotten army of American heroes., June 21, 2004

By 

Judith McCormick (Nebraska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Earth's Remotest Bounds: Year One: Blood and Water (Paperback)

In 1819 an American expeditionary force was sent out to challenge a vast wilderness. The force was the Missouri Expedition, the first major expedition to follow in the trail opened by Lewis and Clark fifteen years before. Not only was their endeavor the first of its kind for America, utilizing a fleet of newly invented steamboats to carry over a thousand soldiers of the 6th Infantry and 1st Rifle Regiments over 650 miles up the untamed Missouri, but its scientific arm, under Stephen Long, discovered hundreds of new species.
This book details the first, horrendous year of that expedition, from July 4 of 1819 to July 4 of 1820. It is told mainly from the viewpoint of Rifle Surgeon John Gale whose real journal entries serve as a backbone for the narrative.
The first year of the expedition sees the army, already wearied by a harsh winter in the wilderness, battling upward against punishing currents and winds, to reach Council Bluffs, where it will build its first fort. Boats are sunk by weather and snags. Men drown. The officers are at odds and face mutiny. But on finally reaching the Bluff, their travails just begin!
The exhausted men must quickly build a fort to shelter against coming winter. They fight desperately to survive against the worst weather in a lifetime's memory and a vicious scurvy epidemic that affects all, levels more than half the garrison, and finally kills over two hundred men. Fear of the surrounding Indian tribes and the British presence is the least of their worries.
With spring then comes a massive flood, devastating their first fort. But they persevere, moving to the cliff's top and building a new, permanent fort, Fort Atkinson, on the site chosen by Lewis and Clark.
The reconstructed fortress, a gem of early Nebraska and Missouri River history, still stands upon that bluff for visitors to see, and the story of the brave men who lived and died there (and are still buried there) is one all Nebraskans, and all Americans, should know.

5.0 out of 5 stars On Earth's Remotest Bounds: Adventure at its best, October 16, 2004

By 

D. Kuony (Nebraska. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On Earth's Remotest Bounds: Year One: Blood and Water (Paperback)

Not since Steven Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage" has a historical novel kept me spellbound so consistently. Having a fair familiarity with the history of Fort Atkinson on the Missouri, I can say that Mr. Flint has done his research and turned a little known but fascinating period of American's development into a must-read for history buffs and fans of adventure alike. For me, the engaging quality of this book is only enhanced by the knowledge that events portrayed really happened!

Flint starts with the journals of surgeon Gale (who actually served at Fort Atkinson during its years as the nation's largest military post) and fleshes out the details therein, creating an epic portrayal of life on the edge of a fledgling nation. "On Earth's Remotest Bounds: Year One: Blood and Water" should be at the top of the list for anyone interested in early American life or simply looking for a story of high adventure. I'm eagerly looking foreword to the next installment of Flint's series.