Along with Benedict Arnold, Simon Girty was one of the most hated men in
early America. The son of an Irish immigrant, he was raised on the
western Pennsylvania frontier but was captured by the Senecas as a
teenager and lived among them for several years. This able frontiersman
might be seen today as a defender of Native Americans, but in his own
time he was branded as a traitor for siding with First Nations and the
British during the Revolutionary War. He fought fiercely against
Continental Army forces in the Ohio River Valley and was victorious in
the bloody Battle of Blue Licks.
In this classic work, Richard Taylor artfully assembles a collage of
passages from diaries, travel accounts, and biographies to tell part of
the notorious villain's story. Taylor uses the voice of Girty himself to
unfold the rest of the narrative through a series of interior
monologues, which take the form of both prose and poetry. Moments of
torture and horrifying bloodshed stand starkly against passages
celebrating beautiful landscapes and wildlife. Throughout, Taylor
challenges perceptions of the man and the frontier, as well as notions
of white settler innocence.
Simon Girty's bloody exploits and legend made him hated and feared in
Kentucky and the Ohio River Valley, but many who knew him respected him
for his convictions, principles, and bravery. This evocative work brings
to life a complex figure who must permanently dwell in the borderland
between myth and fact, one foot in each domain.
