"YOU'LL SOON BE FEED FER THE BUZZARDS… D'YE HEAR, SCALP-HUNTER? FEED FOR BUZZARDS!"

GREY, Zane. The Spirit of the Border. A Romance of the Early Settlers in the Ohio Valley. New York: A.L. Burt Company, (1906). Octavo, original light blue cloth, pictorially stamped in black and red. $2200.

First edition of an early novel from the author of numerous bestselling Western adventures including Riders of the Purple Sage, illustrated with four plates by John Watson Davis.

Grey loosely based this rousing tale on the real-life exploits of American scout Lewis "Death Wind" Wetzel during the Border Wars of the Upper Ohio Valley. "In their day, Grey's books sold better than had any works in U.S. history, with the exception of the Bible and McGuffey's Readers" (ANB). "Grey is so deeply associated with the American West his name conjures up the images, both real and imagined, that romanticized the era" (Smiley, 65). Publisher's address correctly listed as 52-58 Duane St. as per Warren. Without the vanishingly scarce dust jacket. Bibliographical Check List of the Writings of Zane Grey, 1.

Minor rubbing to binding, spine slightly toned. A near-fine copy.