E43S4 The Platte River Raids

It was 1864, and Northern Plains Indians were not pleased with settlers migrating from east to west along the Oregon, Bozeman and Overland Trails. Thus began a series of attacks and robberies on unsuspecting emigrants winding their way along the Platte River. Shots rang out and arrows whizzed as miners, doctors, farmers, families, and war widows rallied their covered wagons together. As historian journalist Janelle Molony relates in her new book “Emigrant Tales of the Platte River Raids,” some of those involved had familiar names – Brown, Boone, Earp, Kelly, Larimer, Ringo, Rousseau and more. She joins Russell an Alan to share some of the eyewitness testimonies of nearly 70 survivors, presented in one accord for the first time in literary history.

And western singer-songwriter Jim Jones shares his song “Rockin’ Chair” from his new album “Storyteller – Tales from the West.”