The Blazed Trail

The Blazed Trail is the story of early lumbermen in the northern woods of Michigan. The novel portrays the challenges faced by the workers focusing on one, Harry Thorpe, as he endeavors to be successful though completely unskilled when he enters the woods. The author mixes the splendor of nature with suspense, danger, and romance and provides glimpses into corrupt practices in the lumber industry at the time. (Summary by Tom Weiss)

Stewart Edward White was a keen observer of the beauties of nature and human nature, yet could render them in a plain-spoken style. Based on his own experience, whether writing camping journals or Westerns, he included pithy and fun details about cabin-building, canoeing, logging, gold-hunting, and guns and fishing and hunting. He also interviewed people who had been involved in the fur trade, the California gold rush and other pioneers which provided him with details that give his novels verisimilitude. He salted in humor and sympathy for colorful characters such as canny Indian guides and "greenhorn" campers who carried too much gear.

Stewart Edward White (12 March 1873 September 18, 1946) was an American writer, novelist, and spiritualist. He was a brother of noted mural painter Gilbert White.

White started out as a Midwesterner, growing up and getting his education in Michigan. But he spent time in Arizona in 1904 and eventually settled in California. Arizona Nights includes a novel-length story by the same name, plus two shorter stories published earlier in magazines. "The Rawhide" appeared in McClure's in 1904, and "The Two-Gun Man" followed in Collier's in 1905.

White had a full career as a writer, and this collection of stories is among his first books, written when he was in his early 30s. He was a popular writer. "The Rawhide" was reprinted at least four other times in the pulps from 1925 to 1949. Meanwhile, several of his titles were made into movies. A silent adaptation of Arizona Nights appeared in 1927 and "The Two-Gun Man" became a Michael Curtiz film, Under a Texas Moon in 1930.

Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he attended Grand Rapids High School, and earned degrees from University of Michigan (B.A., 1895; M.A., 1903).

From about 1900 until about 1922 he wrote fiction and non-fiction about adventure and travel, with an emphasis on natural history and outdoor living. Starting in 1922 he and his wife Elizabeth "Betty" Grant White wrote numerous books they say were received through channelling with spirits. They also wrote of their travels around the state of California. White died in Hillsborough, California.

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