Les Vaudoux

A native of France, Gustave Aimard crossed the Atlantic as a boy midshipman, settling in the Old Southwest, where - so the story goes - he was adopted by an Indian tribe. Nicknamed 'Dumas of the Indians,' Aimard penned more than 25 novels based on his experiences as a warrior, hunter, miner, squatter, etc., among which are The Pirates of the Prairies (1858), The Tiger Slayer (1860), and The Indian Chief (1861).