On Saturday’s woods ramble, I got to thinking about Pontiac’s War. As one does. The indigenous insurgency that broke out in 1763 after the British Empire took control of the military forts and fur trade posts that had belonged to the French in the Great Lakes region and the Ohio Valley never really gets a proper share of attention. It’s easy to … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Tales Of Terror

My long trek through the blogosphere began when I joined a discussion forum dedicated to the works of Texas pulpster Robert E. Howard. Back in the 2000-whatevers, such forums were still the frontier of the internet. The sails of Facebook and Instagram and Twitter and all those platforms had not yet hove up over the horizon. Some members of the … [Read more...] about The Rich Life

By Rick Schwertfeger, Captain, Frontier Partisans Southern Command My Frontier Partisan Summer ’21 scouting mission moved from Montana into an extended stay in Oregon. The first objective was near Astoria, where the mighty Columbia River flows into the Pacific Ocean. My wife Marcia and I were seeking Fort Clatsop, where Lewis and Clark’s … [Read more...] about Wintering With The Corps of Discovery

Last night, the wind howled under the eaves, and, as I write, a soaking rain is falling from a leaden sky. So, the thoughts naturally turn toward Scotland, and tales of cruel war, hauntings and a card game with the Devil... * General Sir Thomas Dalyell of the Binns was a hard and dangerous man, fit for the bloody mayhem that scourged the British … [Read more...] about Bloody Tam Cuts Cards With The Devil

Podcast #17 is up. This one tells the tale of the larger-than-life 18th Century Boer frontiersman Coenraad de Buys: Hunter, trekker, rebel, lover of multitudes of native women, founder of his own distinct tribe.  Coenraad de Buys really is an avatar for borderlands history  — a living example of the principles the great historian Pekka Hämäläinen … [Read more...] about Trekking With Coenraad de Buys

Sidetrails #6 is up at the Frontier Partisans Patreon page. On Patreon you can support the Frontier Partisans blog and podcast — and get exclusive content like Sidetrails. As most of you already know, I am easily diverted onto a sidetrail into the realm of folklore. All it took was a brief reference to Hogsback in the Eastern Cape of South … [Read more...] about Sidetrails #6 — Pukwudgies And Redcaps

My Cowboy Soap Opera (aka Yellowstone) is set to come roaring back right in time for my birthday. Ain’t that nice? I like to celebrate with a little Frontier Partisan mayhem. My Big Five-0 celebration entailed gathering a bunch of friends to feast at a Peruvian restaurant before adjourning to take in Spectre. Yes, Bond is a Frontier Partisan. This … [Read more...] about The Duttons Go To the Mattresses

We’re off on our trek into the wild frontiers of Southern Africa. Episode 16 of the Frontier Partisans Podcast is up at Podbean and most podcast streaming services. This first episode of a series of as yet indeterminate length gives folks the lay of the land in that contested country, and a little background on the Boer hunters who trekked … [Read more...] about Frontier Partisans Podcast Episode 16