Dark Hero of the Ohio is a chronological narrative of the life of Colonial America’s most bloody-handed frontiersmen. Pierce does not come off as a Wetzel fan, but a critic, seeing, from our modern vantage, the savage border warrior as a psychopath. He does not go overboard into white guiltdom, but recognizes that Wetzel was a man of his times, and in those times he was a man among men. Mister Pierce does note that Wetzel was perhaps the most effective combatant to walk the American continent, and was to be commended for adopting native war fighting methods and improving upon them. He deserves much credit for daring to bring such an Indian killer to light in today's politically correct climate.

However, this reader assumes, that the author's civilized view of life has prevented him from fully appreciating Wetzel's value to his enemies, who gained much in their own terms to count him as a foe. In a world of wilderness warriors, in the twilight of their lifeway—which Wetzel embraced—to have taken the warpath against Wetzel was as preferable in spiritual terms, as it was for the Romans to identify with Hector—who strove and failed against Achilles—but in so doing at least avoided the pitiful fate of Paris, skulking behind his father's walls. The Romans were proud of their Trojan heritage—real or imagined—because of the heroics of Hector, who faced Achilles, and in losing, stole the last line in his conqueror's story. Likewise, in our world of decadent and cowardly Paris' a soulful white man might reasonably choose to identify with Wetzel, rather than the domesticated Boone or the politicized Crocket foisted upon us by the literary establishment for these past 200 years.

The author finishes off this long, and purely factual, article with a nicely tuned paragraph, in which he reminds us, that whatever we might think of Wetzel, Americans have enjoyed “the fruits of his horrible labors.”

The article is capped off very professionally with a bibliography, which includes a book by Allan W. Eckert, the most readable nonfiction author that has written on the Old Frontier, and a title which I shall look up, The Dark and Bloody River.

To read James P. Pierce's informative article click on the link below.