Life Among The American Indians - Fifty Years On The Trial - A True Story Of Western Life - By H. O'Reilly - PREFACE - AN author who writes a long preface is a bore. I trust I shall not be voted an offender in this respect if I ask for a few moments the attention of my reader before he plunges into the story of John Y. Nelson, the man who is the subject of it. Living on thc fringc of civilisation as he has for over forty-five years, during the period of what may be termed its transition state,he has taken part in sceries and episodes such as could only have existed under the . esceptional circumstances of the opening up of a new country, and especially such a country as the Lvestern States of America. Many of these scenes and episodes have been far from creditable to the persons concerned in them, and some of them not creditable to John Nelson personally. I make no apology for him if any can be found, let it be in the fact that nearly every mans hand has been against him, and his, doubtless, more than it should have been, against every man. My object has been merely to give an unvarnished and circumstantial account of the existing events which have occurred to an individual whose position was no better than that...........
