The Arkansas Regulators is a rousing tale of frontier adventure, first published in German in 1846, but virtually lost to English readers for well over a century. Written in the tradition of James Fenimore Cooper, but offering a much darker and more violent image of the American frontier, this was the first novel produced by Friedrich Gerstäcker, who would go on to become one of Germany’s most famous and prolific authors. A crucial piece of a nineteenth-century transatlantic literary tradition, this long-awaited translation and scholarly edition of the novel offers a startling revision of the frontier myth from a European perspective.

The Arkansas Regulators is a rousing tale of frontier adventure, first published in German in 1846, but virtually lost to English readers for well over a century. Written in the tradition of James Fenimore Cooper, but offering a much darker and more violent image of the American frontier, this was the first novel produced by Friedrich Gerstäcker, who would go on to become one of Germany’s most famous and prolific authors. A crucial piece of a nineteenth-century transatlantic literary tradition, this long-awaited translation and scholarly edition of the novel offers a startling revision of the frontier myth from a European perspective.

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
A Note about the Text
List of Abbreviations

Introduction

Foreword

Chapter 1. The Reader Makes the Acquaintance of Four Worthy Fellows and Learns More about Their Circumstances
Chapter 2. Several New Persons Make Their Appearance on the Stage: Wonderful Hunting Adventure of “The Little Man”
Chapter 3. The Indian and the Methodist – An Invitation to a Wedding
Chapter 4. The Regulators – Squabble and Struggle
Chapter 5. Brown and Marion
Chapter 6. Bear Baiting – The Strange Discovery – The Indian’s Ingenuity
Chapter 7. Two Genuine Backwoodsmen – Bahrens’ and Harper’s Stories
Chapter 8. Morning in the Log Cabin – Searching for the Traces of Blood Found the Previous Evening – Assowaum Dives for the Corpse
Chapter 9. The Gang of Four Negotiates a Business Matter – Rowson’s Righteous Indignation at the Murder, and Marion’s Weakness
Chapter 10. The Sheriff’s Election in Pettyville – A Lack of Rosin The Pursuers Are on the Trail
Chapter 11. Assowaum, the “Feathered Arrow,” and His Squaw – Weston and Cotton Await Impatiently Their Comrades
Chapter 12. The Horse Thieves’ Trick – The Surprise – Alapaha and Rowson
Chapter 13. The Preacher Unmasked by the Indian Woman – The Successful Escape
Chapter 14. Brown on His Way Home – The Mysterious Meeting – The Indian – The Old Farmer – A Canoe Trip
Chapter 15. The Prayer Meeting – The Terrible Message
Chapter 16. The Deathwatch
Chapter 17. The Burial of the Indian Woman
Chapter 18. Roberts’ Adventure on the Panther Hunt. – The Water Party
Chapter 19. Harper’s Dwelling – Cook’s Account of the Pursuit of the Horse Thieves – Harper’s and Bahrens’ Wonderful Tales
Chapter 20. Rowson at Roberts’ – Assowaum
Chapter 21. Wilson’s Confessions – The Beautiful Washerwoman – An Arkansas Cradle – The Retreat
Chapter 22. Atkins’ Dwelling – The Strange Visit – The Password
Chapter 23. A Gang of Criminals – Unexpected Guests – The New Scheme
Chapter 24. The Pioneer Family – The New Regulator Sets a Trap for Himself
Chapter 25. Harper and Marion – Ellen’s Arrival at Roberts’
Chapter 26. The Regulators’ Meeting – Jones Finds Himself in a Most Unpleasant Position – Cunning versus Cunning
Chapter 27. The Return from the Meeting
Chapter 28. The Indian on Johnson’s Trail
Chapter 29. Rowson at Roberts’ – The Turkey Hunt – Ellen and Marion
Chapter 30. The Ambush
Chapter 31. The Company of Ladies – Account of Various Children’s Illnesses, Related for the Consolation of the Mother – The Surprise
Chapter 32. The Cross Oak
Chapter 33. The Criminal Unmasked
Chapter 34. The Siege
Chapter 35. Ruse and Counter-Ruse – The Assault – Indian and Methodist
Chapter 36. The Court of the Regulators
Chapter 37. Roberts’ House
Chapter 38. The Revenge of the “Feathered Arrow”
Chapter 39. Coda

Selected Bibliography