This early work by James Oliver Curwood was originally published in 1908
and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography.
"The Wolf Hunters" sees an American boy who has become friends with a
Native American boy, together they discover a mysterious cabin, and
stumble upon a secret that has lain hidden for half a century. "The Wolf
Hunters" is the prequel to "The Gold Hunters." James Oliver 'Jim'
Curwood was an American action-adventure writer and conservationist. He
was born on 12th June, 1878, in Owosso, Michigan, USA. In 1900, Curwood
sold his first story while working for the Detroit News-Tribune, and
after this, his career in writing was made. By 1909 he had saved enough
money to travel to the Canadian northwest, a trip that provided the
inspiration for his wilderness adventure stories. The success of his
novels afforded him the opportunity to return to the Yukon and Alaska
for several months each year - allowing Curwood to write more than
thirty such books. Curwood's adventure writing followed in the tradition
of Jack London. Like London, Curwood set many of his works in the wilds
of the Great Northwest and often used animals as lead characters (Kazan,
Baree; Son of Kazan, The Grizzly King and Nomads of the North). Many of
Curwood's adventure novels also feature romance as primary or secondary
plot consideration. This approach gave his work broad commercial appeal
and helped drive his appearance on several best-seller lists in the
early 1920s. His most successful work was his 1920 novel, The River's
End. The book sold more than 100,000 copies and was the fourth
best-selling title of the year in the United States, according to
Publisher's Weekly. He contributed to various literary and popular
magazines throughout his career, and his bibliography includes more than
200 such articles, short stories and serializations. Curwood was an avid
hunter in his youth; however, as he grew older, he became an advocate of
environmentalism and was appointed to the 'Michigan Conservation
Commission' in 1926. The change in his attitude toward wildlife can be
best expressed by a quote he gave in The Grizzly King: that 'The
greatest thrill is not to kill but to let live.' Despite this change in
attitude, Curwood did not have an ultimately fruitful relationship with
nature. In 1927, while on a fishing trip in Florida, Curwood was bitten
on the thigh by what was believed to have been a spider and he had an
immediate allergic reaction. Health problems related to the bite
escalated over the next few months as an infection set in. He died soon
after in his nearby home on Williams Street, on 13th August 1927.
