Narrative of the adventures of Zenas Leonard

Zenas Leonard left his parents’ home in Pennsylvania in the early 1830’s to seek his fortune in the West. They did not hear from him for more than five years, and he was presumed dead. Then one day he showed up at their door, fresh from the Rocky Mountains. Everyone was eager to hear his story, so he wrote it down, first publishing part of it in a local newspaper, and later the entire account as a book. Leonard had been living as a mountain man, completely cut off from civilization, surviving for years just with his gun and traps. Although he was clearly brave and manly, Zenas did miss hom…