Books published by Pronghorn Press

A history of Oregon without Jesse Applegate would be like Exodus without Moses. Like Moses, Jesse led pioneers through the wilderness across the Oregon Trail in 1843. Like Moses, he was a lawgiver, and like Moses, when proper provocation occurred, he sometimes threw down the tablets.Jesse Applegate, A Dialogue with Destiny gives a comprehensive historical perspective to the life of this interesting, complicated man who played a major role in the formation of Oregon.Throughout his amazing life, he led the "cow column" of '43 west to Oregon, wrote the constitution of '45, played a major role in the solving of the Cayuse War, led the expedition to find a new southern route in '46, and fought to keep Oregon free of slavery. But perhaps even more important was the moral compass he provided for the emerging Oregon society. Through his letters to editors of newspapers and to prominent political figures, he provided comment, council, criticism, and loyal opposition to those in power. Local, state, and federal leaders, as well as the historians of the day sought his opinions.Leta Lovelace Neiderheiser is a great-great granddaughter of Jesse Applegate. She grew up in the small town of Drain, Oregon, just a few miles from Jesse Applegate's donation land claim. Leta attended the University of Oregon and in mid-life went back to school and got her California teachers credential. She taught in the Rocklin, CA school district for a number of years, and retired in 2001. Leta is a member of the Oregon-California Trails Association, and the 2010 chair for the Oregon Historical Trails Advisory Council. She is the mother of two daughters, one son, and the grandmother of four. Today she resides in the Applegate Valley outside the quaint town of Grants Pass, Oregon.

Marty Coe started cooking on pack trips in the 1980s, accompanying adventuresome folks in the summer and hunters in the fall as they traveled by horse into the hidden mountain camps that few ever have the opportunity to experience. She became the camp cook and over the years got the process down to a science, providing guests with a delicious array of meals, cooked in her trusty cast iron pots and pans over live coals, and all the while surrounded by the magnificence of the wilderness country of the Rocky Mountains.Now she's here to share what she learned on those marvelous backcountry adventures. All her delicious recipes are offered with an eye to the ingredients and all the tools (including those dependable cast iron pots and pans!) that must be packed in by horse and mule to the campsites along the trail. Everything from appetizers to desserts is here, and all the instructions for preparing them over a bed of hot coals. But never fear, these delicious offerings can also be adapted for your home kitchen, in your own cast iron pots and pans!

William Nobles pioneered the Nobles Trail in 1851. It provided a shortcut between the Applegate in Nevada and the last section of the Lassen Trail in California. It became what all other trails to California would have wanted to become: shorter, more direct to its destination, water and grass located in short intervals along the way, low elevation passes, no steep ascents or descents, and a civilized destination where provisions could be obtained.Today the Nobles Trail remains perhaps the best emigrant trail to experience and enjoy. With A Guide To The Nobles Trail and a copy of this book, one may easily follow nearly the entire route from Black Rock to Shasta City, with a two-wheel-drive vehicle, offering the opportunity to: explore the myths and mysteries of events that occurred throughout history along the trail; visit historic army forts, trading posts, and stage stops; relish the solitude of desert playas, towering mountain ranges, and volcanic landscapes; and experience a part of our country that remains one of America’s most remote and rewarding

When young Mariano Medina witnesses a vicious attack on a girl he adores, he flees in inexplicable terror.  Fifteen years later, as a grown man training horses along the Oregon Trail, he has a chance to redeem himself if he can overcome his cowardly urge to flee. His choice will lead Medina back to the land of his childhood, where he must confront his darkest fears and uncover the hidden source of his panic in the ghostly stare that haunts his dreams.This is the story of a man’s quest for courage, respect and love in an unforgiving land. Based on real characters who lived on the frontier during the lead up to America’s 1846 war with Mexico, David M. Jessup has woven a spellbinding prequel to his award-winning first novel, MARIANO'S CROSSING.Praise For MARIANO'S CHOICE:MARIANO'S CHOICE is one of those rare, wonderful books that sticks in the mind and heart long after you’ve read the last page. Masterfully paced…it offers an intriguing snapshot of the West through the eyes of characters largely ignored by mainstream fiction. —Anne Hillerman, New York Times best-selling author of Spider Woman’s Daughter and Rock With Wings.Jessup adds flesh and blood to the bones of one of the West’s legendary mountain men in this tightly wound novel of the Old West.—Sandra Dallas, New York Times best-selling author.Jessup is a master historian and writer. In vivid and gorgeous prose, we encounter the world of the late 1800s and the men and women who literally shaped the West. Iloved it.—Laura Pritchett, winner of the PEN USA Award for Fiction, author, Red Lightning..MARIANO'S CHOICE isn’t your typical Western, and Mariano Medina isn’t your typical Western hero. the result is a richer, more realistic interpretation than the overwrought,myth-driven view we see in so many Western novels.—Rod Miller, three-time winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award.Author David Jessup’s fluid, compelling prose takes the reader back to another time, to share Mariano Medina’s adventures and adversities.—Lucia St. Clair Robson, New York Times best-selling author, Owen Wister Award winner, Western Writersof America. Jessup’s cinematic eye for detail and his gift for gut-wrenching, heart-pounding storytelling pulls us seamlessly into a world of danger, beauty, and unbounded possibility.—Gary Schanbacher, winner of the Langum Award for American Historical Fiction.The plot is riveting. The historical basis just adds to it. If MARIANO'S CROSSING was an award-winning first effort, Mariano’s Choice, the prequel, should join it on thejudges’ stand.—Denny Dressman, author of eight books and President of the Colorado Authors’ League 

Having lost his wife, Isaac Roop left his children with friends and family in Ohio and followed his brother Josiah west to California via ship and the arduous crossing of the Isthmus of Panama. By the time they were reunited, Josiah had given up prospecting for the more lucrative and dependable business of supplying the miners in the gold rush town of Shasta. The town that would eventually become Susanville began as Isaac Roop''s dream of having a trading post of his own along the emigrant trail.Members of the Arnold family were also lured west by the promise of gold, and eventually their paths would cross with the Roops. They all struggled with losses and celebrated triumphs along the difficult road to a new life and a place in the history of California as new business ventures, public service and politics would become important parts of their lives. Sandra Jonas has compiled the history of these families and the town that began as Rooptown and was eventually renamed for Isaac''s daughter Susan, who came west to make her home there. Jonas'' tremendous research efforts have paid off, capturing the history of the birth of the town and the founders of Susanville.

Thirty years of browbeating from rancher Bud Smalls has penned his wife, Leah, into emotional isolation. Now Bud is gone and Leah owns the ranch, but there is no help forthcoming from Bud''s brothers who want to force her out and take the ranch for themselves. When their attempt to humiliate her instead becomes her opportunity to succeed, Leah begins to find her way back to herself and learns how much she can gain by opening her heart.The Widow Smalls is just one of the stories in this collection by the WILLA Award winning author of Unbroken, Jamie Lisa Forbes, who writes about the hardships of making a living from the land with an understanding that comes from first-hand experience. Her deftly drawn characters include star-crossed lovers, a young rancher facing his first test of moral courage, an inscrutable ranch hand claiming an impressive relative, a father making one last grasp for his daughter''s love and a child''s struggle to make sense of the world around her. Each will pull readers into the middle of their stories and keep them turning the pages.

Reading the history of California and the gold rush, one continually encounters historic discrepancies and contradictions, especially about the character and ability of Peter Lassen, a prominent California pioneer for whom the Lassen Trail, Lassen Peak, and Lassen Volcanic National Park were named. While prominent pioneers and military officers sought his company, advice, and guidance, others, including some disillusioned, trail-worn Argonauts and even some historians, denounced him and his achievements. Working as a Park Ranger and historian at Lassen National Park, Ken Johnston''s curiosity was piqued and continued through twenty years of research that has led to this fascinating account of the life and legacy of Peter Lassen.This is the result of "deep" research well presented. Readers will be bound to consider the overwhelming evidence and draw conclusions totally vindicating Peter Lassen.-Patricia and Dr. Jack Fletcher, authors of Cherokee Trail Diaries.It has been almost fifty years since anyone published a credible biography of Peter Lassen, one of the West''s most interesting pathfinders and characters. Johnston''s reevaluation of the legends, myths, misunderstandings, and outright lies about the not-so-wily Dane is a worthy contribution to our understanding of the opening of America''s overland trails and the conquest of California.-Will Bagley, author of So Rugged And MountainousKen Johnston has succeeded in finding many different extracts from the old-timers'' records and diaries...together these most important passages give us a magnificent portrait of Peter Lassen and his contemporaries...I read it like I would read a thriller. It is a book not only for history buffs-it appeals to everyone who might have just the slightest interest in the old days.-René Weybye Lassen, Denmark, four times removed great grandnephew of Peter Lassenauthor of Uncle Peter