The Project Gutenberg EBook of Western Characters, by J. L. McConnel

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Title: Western Characters
or Types of Border Life in the Western States

Author: J. L. McConnel

Illustrator: Darley

Release Date: October 23, 2007 [EBook #23155]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WESTERN CHARACTERS ***

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[Illustration: THE PEDDLER.]

[Illustration: WESTERN CHARACTERS Redfield.]

WESTERN CHARACTERS

OR

TYPES OF BORDER LIFE

IN THE

WESTERN STATES

BY J. L. McCONNEL

AUTHOR OF "TALBOT AND VERNON,"--"THE GLENNS," ETC.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY DARLEY

[Illustration]

REDFIELD,
110 AND 112 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK.
1853.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853,

BY J. S. REDFIELD,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and
for the Southern District of New York.

STEREOTYPED BY C. C. SAVAGE,
13 Chambers Street, N. Y.

PREFATORY NOTE.

Attempts to delineate local character are always liable to
misconstruction; for, the more truthful the sketch, the greater is the
number of persons, to whom resemblance may be discovered; and thus,
while in fact only describing the characteristics of a class, authors
are frequently subjected, very unjustly, to the imputation of having
invaded the privacy of individuals. Particularly is this so, when the
class is idealized, and an imaginary type is taken, as the
representative of the species.

I deem it proper, therefore, to say in advance, that no attempt has been
made in the following pages, to portray any individual; and
that--although I hope I have not been so unsuccessful, as to paint
pictures which have no originals--if there be a portrait in any sketch,
it consists, not in the likeness of the picture to the person, but of
both to the type.

As originally projected, the book would have borne this explanation upon
its face; but the circumstances which hav