Here could have been the beginning of geography. It may also have been the beginning of navigation.
The hunter may have told of a hot spring he found, and of a hill where there were chips of flint, and this could have been the beginning of geology.
No doubt at first the accounts were told in the stark details, brief and to the point, while the hunter took great bites from the fresh meat, but such storytelling would not satisfy. Then as now people love drama, excitement, and interesting detail.
The bears or lions he killed would soon become larger and fiercer, the enemies stronger and better armed. To simply win a battle was not enough, there must be detail. “My spear went deep into the flesh near the left shoulder, and it died.” Here, perhaps, the beginning of anatomy.
To embellish his stories the hunter and the warrior learned to add details, to describe the setting, to identify it by references to where certain edible plants have been found or where a kill was made, all of which made the stories more interesting to the listener.
The children, as well as others, listening to the stories, learned not only how to hunt and fight but where water might be found, salt and wild rice or nuts might be. So was knowledge passed on to the children, and so was the story begun.
We still, today, learn from stories, and the apt story of anecdote remains in the mind when details are forgotten.
It has often been said that we have but one life to live; that is nonsense. If one reads fiction he or she can live a thousand lives, in many parts of the world or in outer space. One can cross a desert, climb the Himalayas, or experience the agony of defeat, the triumph of victory, the pangs of starvation, or the choking thirst of the desert, all while safely at home.
The book has been man’s greatest triumph, his most profound success. Seated in my library I live in a Time Machine. In an instant I can be transmitted to any era of history, any part of the world, even to outer space. Often I am asked in what period of history I would have preferred to live, and I wonder that they do not see, for I have lived in them all. I have listened to Buddha speak, I have marched with Alexander, sailed with the Vikings, or in their double canoes with the Polynesians. I have been at the courts of Queen Elizabeth and Louis the XIV; I have explored the West with Jedediah Smith and Jim Bridger; I have been a friend to Captain Nemo and have sailed with Captain Bligh on the Bounty. I have walked in the agora with Socrates and Plato, and listened to Jesus deliver the Sermon on the Mount.
Above all, and the most remarkable thing, I can do it all again, at any moment. The books are there. I have only to reach up on the shelves and take them down and live over again the moments I have loved. Surely, we live today in the greatest moment of history, for at no other time have books been so readily available, in the book stores, in the public libraries, and in the home.
FICTIONAL AND HISTORICAL CHARACTERS IN THE SACKETT NOVELS
A
Abel, RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Abreu, Martin, THE DAYBREAKERS
Achilles, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Acho Apache (people), JUBAL SACKETT
Adams, John, RIDE THE RIVER
Adapa, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Africans (people), THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Aiken, THE DAYBREAKERS
Akicheeta, JUBAL SACKETT
Alexander the Great, SACKETTS LAND
Ali Baba, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Alicia, RIDE THE RIVER
Allah, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Allen, Dodie, THE SACKETT BRAND
Allen, Gabriel, MOJAVE CROSSING
Allen, Skeeter, THE SACKETT BRAND
Allen, Vancouter, THE SACKETT BRAND
Alleyn, SACKETTS LAND
Allison, SACKETT
Allison, Clay, THE DAYBREAKERS
Alvarado, Drusilla, THE DAYBREAKERS; SACKETT; TREASURE MOUNTAIN; THE SACKETT BRAND
Alvarado, Luis, THE DAYBREAKERS
Alvarado (family), THE LONELY MEN
Americans (people), JUBAL SACKETT; THE DAYBREAKERS; THE LONELY MEN; LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Ananta (king of Kashmir), TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Anderson, Bloody Bill, MOJAVE CROSSING
Anderson, Curly, THE SACKETT BRAND
Andrew, THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Angles (people), TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; JUBAL SACKETT
Anglos (people), THE DAYBREAKERS
Antoninus Pius, JUBAL SACKETT
Apaches (people), JUBAL SACKETT; THE DAYBREAKERS; SACKETT; LANDO; MOJAVE CROSSING; MUSTANG MAN; THE LONELY MEN; GALLOWAY; TREASURE MOUNTAIN; RIDE THE DARK TRAIL; THE SACKETT BRAND
Appleton (family), LANDO
Ar the Silent, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Arabs (people), TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; THE WARRIOR’S PATH; JUBAL SACKETT
Arapahoes (people), THE DAYBREAKERS; SACKETT; MUSTANG MAN; GALLOWAY
Archie, RIDE THE RIVER
Aristotle, THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Arnaud, GALLOWAY
Arribas, Dolores, RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Arthur (King of England), SACKETTS LAND
Asatiki, JUBAL SACKETT
Ashanti (people) THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Ashbrandson, Bjorn, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Asiatics (people), JUBAL SACKETT
Atasha, JUBAL SACKETT
Avicenna, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Ayllon, Lucas Vazquez, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Aztecs (people), TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
B
Babcock, THE DAYBREAKERS
Baca, MUSTANG MAN
Baca, Antonio, THE DAYBREAKERS
Bacon, Francis, THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Bainbride, William, SACKETT
Baker, RIDE THE RIVER
Baker, TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Baker, Bully Ben, THE DAYBREAKERS
Baker, Cullen, LANDO; MUSTANG MAN
Baker, Jim, THE DAYBREAKERS
Bald Knobbers, LANDO; THE SKY-LINERS
Baldwin, THE SKY-LINERS
Baltimore (Lord), THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Baptiste, LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Bardle, Nick, SACKETT’S LAND; TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Barres, TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Barthram, Doll, SACKETTS LAND
Bashford, THE LONELY MEN
Basques (people), TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; THE DAYBREAKERS
Baston, Andre, TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Baston, Paul, TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Baston, Philip, TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Battles, John J., THE LONELY MEN
Bauer, Max, THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Beale, THE DAYBREAKERS; MOJAVE CROSSING
Beeson, Chalk, THE SKY-LINERS
Belden, THE DAYBREAKERS
Belisarius, SACKETT’S LAND
Benito, THE LONELY MEN
Benson, Bully, RIDE THE RIVER
Benton, Thomas Hart, THE SACKETT BRAND
Benton (family), MUSTANG MAN
Bents, THE DAYBREAKERS
Berglund, Pat (“Swede”), GALLOWAY; TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Berkeley, John, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Bermudez, Juan de, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Berryman, SACKETT’S LAND
Bett, THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Bianco, Andrea, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Bienville, TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Bigelow, Benson, SACKETT
Bigelow, Ira, SACKETT
Bigelow, Tom, SACKETT
Bigelow, Wes, SACKETT
Bigelow (family), SACKETT
Binny, Dorset, THE LONELY MEN; TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Birkbeck, RIDE THE RIVER
Bishop, Noble, MUSTANG MAN
Bishop, the, LANDO
Black Knight, the, THE SKY-LINERS
Blackfeet (people), THE DAYBREAKERS; LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN; THE SKY-LINERS
Blackstone, William, THE DAYBREAKERS; SACKETT; TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Bland, Jeannie,
THE LONELY MEN
Blaxton, William, THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Blount, LANDO
Blue, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Bob, LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Bogardus, Rafe, THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Boleyn, Anne, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Bonaparte (mule), LANDO
Bontemps, Pierre, TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Boone, Daniel, RIDE THE RIVER
Boone, James, RIDE THE RIVER
Boudicca, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Boyd, Will, SACKETT
Brady, Martin, THE DAYBREAKERS
Brand, Isom, LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Brannenberg, Dutch, RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Breedlove, THE SKY-LINERS
Brennan, Mary, RIDE THE RIVER
Bretons (people), SACKETT’S LAND
Bretons (people), SACKETT
Brewer, Jim, RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Bridger, Jim, THE DAYBREAKERS; TREASURE MOUNTAIN; THE SACKETT BRAND; THE SKY-LINERS
Briggs, SACKETT
Briggs, Harry, THE SKY-LINERS
Briscoe, THE SACKETT BRAND
British (people), THE WARRIOR’S PATH; RIDE THE RIVER
Brock, Bill, RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Brook, Harry, THE LONELY MEN
Brooks, Al, THE DAYBREAKERS
Brown, Caribou, THE DAYBREAKERS
Brown, Kootenai, LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Browne, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Brunn, Adam, RIDE THE RIVER
Brunn (Adam’s widow), RIDE THE RIVER
Bruno (dog), SACKETT’S LAND
Brus, Robert de, RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Bryan, THE SKY-LINERS
Buchanan, Essie, RIDE THE RIVER
Buck (horse), THE DAYBREAKERS
Burbage, Cuthbert, SACKETT’S LAND
Burbage, James, SACKETT’S LAND
Burbage, Richard, SACKETT’S LAND
Burke, Pimmerton, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Burns, THE SACKETT BRAND
Burrough, THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Burshill, Trent, THE SKY-LINERS
Button, Charlie, MOJAVE CROSSING
Button, Willie, MOJAVE CROSSING
Butts, Ephraim, RIDE THE RIVER
C
Cabot, John, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Caddoans (people), JUBAL SACKETT
Caffrey, Duncan, LANDO; TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Caffrey, Will, LANDO
Caffrey (Mrs.), LANDO
Cagle, Larnie, THE SKY-LINERS
Cain, RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Cajuns (people), TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Californians (people), MOJAVE CROSSING
Campbell, LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Canadians (people), LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Canton, TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Carboy, Tom, THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Caribs (people), THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Carlisle, Bob, MOJAVE CROSSING
Carney, Reed, THE DAYBREAKERS; MUSTANG MAN
Carpenter, Jim, THE DAYBREAKERS
Carson, Kit, THE DAYBREAKERS; SACKETT; TREASURE MOUNTAIN; THE SACKETT BRAND; THE SKY-LINERS
Carthaginians (people), TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; JUBAL SACKETT
Cartwright, LANDO
Case, THE LONELY MEN
Catawbas (people), TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; THE WARRIOR’S PATH; JUBAL SACKETT
Cator, Jim, MUSTANG MAN
Causie, Nathaniel, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Celts (people), SACKETT’S LAND; TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; JUBAL SACKETT; TREASURE MOUNTAIN; RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Chantry, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Chantry, Dorian, RIDE THE RIVER
Chantry, Finian, RIDE THE RIVER
Chapman, Joseph, MOJAVE CROSSING
Charlemagne, LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Charles, THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Chemehuevis (people), MOJAVE CROSSING
Cheng Ho, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Cheno, see Cortina, Juan Nepomuceno
Cherokees (people), TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; THE WARRIOR’S PATH; JUBAL SACKETT; RIDE THE RIVER; SACKETT; LANDO; THE LONELY MEN; GALLOWAY; TREASURE MOUNTAIN; RIDE THE DARK TRAIL; THE SACKETT BRAND
Cheyennes (people), THE DAYBREAKERS; SACKETT; MUSTANG MAN; THE LONELY MEN; TREASURE MOUNTAIN; LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN; RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Chickasaws (people) TREASURE MOUNTAIN; RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Chinese (people), LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Chippewas (people), LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Choctaws (people), JUBAL SACKETT; TREASURE MOUNTAIN; RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Chowanokes (people), TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Churchill, Clark, THE SACKETT BRAND
Cisneros, Luis, THE LONELY MEN
Claiborne, William, THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Clark, Jim, THE DAYBREAKERS
Clark, William, THE DAYBREAKERS
Claw, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Clay, Cassius, THE SACKETT BRAND
Clyde, Fiora, RIDE THE RIVER
Clymer, MOJAVE CROSSING
Cobbett, Sam, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Cochise, THE LONELY MEN
Coe, William, MUSTANG MAN
Coleus of Samos, RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Coley (mule), RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Collins, THE SACKETT BRAND
Colt, Sam, LANDO
Columbus, Christopher, SACKETT’S LAND; TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Comancheros (people), MUSTANG MAN
Comanches (people), TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; THE DAYBREAKERS; SACKETT; MOJAVE CROSSING; MUSTANG MAN; GALLOWAY; TREASURE MOUNTAIN; THE SKY-LINERS
see also Komantsi
Cominazzo (family), JUBAL SACKETT
Conchita, THE LONELY MEN
Conejeros (people), JUBAL SACKETT
Conn of the Hundred Battles, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Cook, Dave, THE SKY-LINERS
Cookie, SACKETT
Cookie, GALLOWAY
Cornwallis, Charles, RIDE THE RIVER
Corte-Real, Gaspar, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Cortes, Hernando, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Cortina, Juan Nepomuceno, LANDO
Corvino, SACKETT’S LAND
Costello, THE SKY-LINERS
Costello, Judith, THE SKY-LINERS
Costello, Laban, THE SKY-LINERS
Cougar, LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Coulter, John, LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN; THE SACKETT BRAND
Courtney, SACKETT’S LAND
Crawford, Emmet, THE LONELY MEN
Creed, Dan, THE LONELY MEN
Creeks (people), TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; JUBAL SACKETT; RIDE THE RIVER; TREASURE MOUNTAIN; RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Crees (people), LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Crocker, Barnabas, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Crockett, Davy, THE DAYBREAKERS; THE LONELY MEN
Crook, George, THE SACKETT BRAND
Croppie, Henry, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Cruz, Chico, THE DAYBREAKERS
Cuchulainn, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
D
Dalton, Michael, THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Dammerill, THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Dancer, THE SACKETT BRAND
Danes (people), SACKETT’S LAND; TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; JUBAL SACKETT
Danny, LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Dapple (horse), THE DAYBREAKERS
D’Aquila, Juan, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAIN
Darby, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Darkling, SACKETT’S LAND
Dart, Isom, RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
see also Huddleston, Ned
Davis, Edmund Jackson, LANDO; MUSTANG MAN
Davis, Jack, THE LONELY MEN
Dawes, Ephraim, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Dayton, MOJAVE CROSSING
de Bermudes, Juan, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
de Guzman, Diego, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
de Malebisse, Hugh, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; RIDE THE DARK
TRAIL
De Pineda, Alvarez, JUBAL SACKETT
De Soto, Hernando, SACKETT’S LAND; TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; JUBAL SACKETT
de Valdez, Alonzo, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Dearborn, Henry, SACKETT; THE LONELY MEN
Decatur, Stephen, SACKETT
Deckrow, Franklyn, LANDO
Deckrow, Lily Anne, LANDO
Deckrow, Marsha, LANDO
Delve, Jonathan, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Dickens, Charles, RIDE THE RIVER; THE DAYBREAKERS
Dickey, THE DAYBREAKERS
Dickinson, Charles, MUSTANG MAN
Diego, JUBAL SACKETT
Dillon, Chowse, RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Doubleout Sam, THE DAYBREAKERS
Dowell, Uncle Ben, THE SACKETT BRAND
Drake, Francis, SACKETT’S LAND; TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Drennan, Emily, RIDE THE RIVER
Drennan, Jimmy, RIDE THE RIVER
Drennan, Laura, RIDE THE RIVER
Drennan, Ralph, RIDE THE RIVER
Druids (people), TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
Duckett, Johannes, RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Dumont, Gabriel, LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Dunkirkers (people), SACKETT’S LAND
Dunn, Abel, GALLOWAY
Dunn, Alf, GALLOWAY
Dunn, Bull, GALLOWAY
Dunn, Curly, GALLOWAY
Dunn, Jobe, GALLOWAY
Dunn, Pete, GALLOWAY
Dunn, Rocker, GALLOWAY
Dunn (family), GALLOWAY
Durango Kid, THE DAYBREAKERS
Dutch (people), TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; JUBAL SACKETT
Duval, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; THE WARRIOR’S PATH; LANDO
Dwyer, Jim, THE DAYBREAKERS
Dyer, Sandeman, MOJAVE CROSSING
E
Earl, see Robert (Sir)
Earl of Southesk, LONELY ON THE MOUNTAIN
Earp, Wyatt, MOJAVE CROSSING; THE SKY-LINERS
Egyptians (people), THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Elder, THE LONELY MEN
Elizabeth I (queen of England), SACKETT’S LAND; TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; THE WARRIOR’S PATH; JUBAL SACKETT
Elmer, RIDE THE RIVER
Emmden, TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS
English, Charlie, THE DAYBREAKERS
English (people), SACKETT’S LAND; TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; THE WARRIOR’S PATH; JUBAL SACKETT; RIDE THE RIVER; SACKETT; LANDO; TREASURE MOUNTAIN; RIDE THE DARK TRAIL
Eno (people), SACKETT’S LAND; TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS; THE WARRIOR’S PATH
Enriquez, Roderigo, MOJAVE CROSSING
Escalante, Francisco Silvestre Velez de (Father), SACKETT; GALLOWAY; TREASURE MOUNTAIN
Essex, SACKETT’S LAND; TO THE FAR BLUE MOUNTAINS