An Early Zane Grey Trilogy

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BETTY ZANE
by Zane Grey
          © 1903 This was Zane Grey’s first novel, a pioneer romance based on family stories about his Revolutionary War era ancestors. When he couldn't find a publisher, his wife put up the money for him to self-publish---and so began his long, successful career as a writer of western novels.
          The author's great-grandfather was the pioneer Col. Ebenezer Zane, who founded the town of Zanesville, Ohio (where Zane Grey was born).             
          This is a historical novel, based on fact, (the first book of The Ohio River Trilogy), that centers around the Zane family and their life on the frontier at Fort Henry, Virginia, during the Revolutionary War.
          There are two romances going on during the story: that of Isaac Zane (the Col.'s brother) and an Indian princess, Myeerah, as well as the one involving three frontiersmen who all were in love with the Col.'s sister, Betty.
          Betty was a remarkable gal who was the heroine of the Battle of Fort Henry in 1782, often referred to as the last "battle" of the war. The Zanes, with about three dozen of their neighbors, held off a force of 40 British soldiers and 250 Indian allies. The siege of the fort is graphically depicted in this book.
          Grey packed his first novel with lots of pioneer and Indian lore. He was a very descriptive writer, and I enjoyed this first sampling of his writing.

SPIRIT OF THE BORDER
by Zane Grey
          ©1906 I liked the first book of this trilogy --- the second book? Not so much. It strays away from the Zane family in Fort Henry, and follows two brothers who travel with a minister and his two young nieces to the Moravian Indian Mission, Village of Peace.
          The book feels like one endless, bloody fight between the pioneers and the Indians. There’s a lot of violence and bloodshed in this book, but the worst part is the dialog of the Native Americans. “Ugh! Me---heap big Injun---ketchum Pale Face and scalp-um.” Oh, brother. I don't remember this so much in the first book.

THE LAST TRAIL
by Zane Grey
          ©1909 The third book of the Ohio River Trilogy was a pretty good frontier romance. We’re back with the Zane’s at Fort Henry. Some new settlers arrive at the fort, and the beautiful young daughter, Helen, falls in love with Col. Zane’s younger brother, Jonathan.
          But Jonathan is a borderman (Indian fighter), just like his legendary older friend, Lew Wetzel (who is a major character in all three books). These solitary woodsmen have no time or inclination to take wives and settle down to family life.
          The Indians have largely been subdued on the frontier by this time, but the settlers have all kinds of problems from bands of cut-throat, horse-thieving outlaws. Of course, as expected, the lovely Helen is kidnapped and must be rescued by Jonathan and Wetzel.
          This was the only book of the trilogy that was made into a movie. In all, 101 full-length movies were made from Zane Grey’s many western novels.
          Grey was a very descriptive author. His description of a sunset was exquisite. He gave credit to the women of the frontier, whose sacrifices and determination helped their men settle the West. And even though his books contain graphic violence, the gun being the law of the West, he had sympathy for the Native Americans, who he sees as noble savages that were driven from their ancestral lands by the European immigrants.