''The Spirit of the Border'' is an historical novel written by

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontie ...

, first published in 1906. The novel is based on events occurring in the

Ohio River Valley The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinoi ...

in the late eighteenth century. It features the exploits of

Lewis Wetzel Lewis Wetzel (1763 (reference: C. B. Allman 1931) – 1808) was an American scout, frontiersman, and indian fighter in the United States. Raised in what is now the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, his exploits once hailed as similar to those o ...

, a historical personage who had dedicated his life to the destruction of Native Americans and to the protection of nascent white settlements in that region. The story deals with the attempt by

Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...

missionaries to Christianize Indians and how two brothers' lives take different paths upon their arrival on the border. A highly romanticized account, the novel is the second in a trilogy, the first of which is ''

Betty Zane Elizabeth Zane McLaughlin Clark (July 19, 1765 – August 23, 1823) was a heroine of the Revolutionary War on the American frontier. She was the daughter of William Andrew Zane and Nancy Ann (née Nolan) Zane, and the sister of Ebenezer Zane ...

'', Grey's first published work, and ''The Last Trail'', which focuses on the life of Jonathan Zane, Grey's ancestor.

External links

* 1906 American novels Western (genre) novels Novels by Zane Grey Biographical novels Novels set in West Virginia Novels set in Ohio {{1900s-bio-novel-stub