Perilous Paths
The Story of Robert McClellan: Indian Fighter, Soldier, Trapper, Explorer, and Member of the John J. Astor Fur Company
by
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McClellan and White, being skilled in Indian fighting techniques, quickly selected a fairly good defensive position where they could observe the Indians without detection and where they could easily defend themselves. To attack their position openly, the Indians had to cross a rocky bald, in the open, in single file. McClellan and White managed to shoot several who attempted the crossing before the rest drew back to reconsider their assault.
A large rock, which overlooked and commanded McClellan and White’s position, quickly became the Indians’ objective, as it might allow them an opportunity for a flanking attack. It was a hazardous position but the only one they apparently had. Indeed, one managed to ascend the rock and was prepared to spring down upon McClellan, who took quick aim and dropped the hammer only to see the flint crushed by the impact with no spark to ignite the powder. McClellan calmly attached a new flint but not before the Indian made his move. He jumped down but missed and plunged down the cliff. This enraged the other Indians, who pushed and shoved to get across the rocky opening to the cost of many. Another Indian made it to the flanking position and was shot dead but not by McClellan or White. They then noticed that the freed girl was missing and assumed she had lost her nerve and slipped away. A bit later, they saw her emerge from a place of concealment with a still-smoking musket in her hand.
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About the Book
In Perilous Paths, author George G. McClellan seamlessly combines history, biography, and story as he narrates the early history of our country’s movement from the east to the west through the eyes of Robert McClellan as he experiences successes and failures along the way.
This story focuses on one small but important piece of the history after the Revolutionary War. It tells of real, rugged men like McClellan—a son of Ulster Scots immigrants born near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, in 1770—who performed tasks in harsh conditions that would be considered dangerous, even foolhardy, today. Perilous Paths follows the footsteps made by McClellan from his youthful days as an army packer to his exploits as an Indian scout, army ranger, and spy. It details how he fought alongside Lewis and Clark, gained an education in reading and arithmetic for the army quartermaster corps, and then moved west to Missouri and succumbed to the lure of the unknown, entering Indian country where he trapped furs and traded with the Indians of what would eventually become the American Midwest.
Marking the trials, tribulations and hardships, this history highlights McClellan’s independence of character, the hardships he faced, and his desperate survival against unknown odds with a rugged determination to succeed.
About the Author
George G. McClellan is a US Army veteran, five-year California Highway Patrol veteran, retired civilian special agent of the US Naval (Criminal) Investigative Service, International Police Task Force team commander, state court bailiff, tax enforcement officer, world traveler, writer, and amateur historian. He and his wife live in Ellijay, Georgia.