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CHAPTER I: SLAVERY DAYS. THE OLD
PLANTATION. MY EARLY FORAGING. THE STOLEN DEMIJOHN. MY FIRST DRINK. THE CURSE OF
SLAVERY. In the first chapter of his autobiography, Nat Love tells us of
his early days as a slave. The events described therein take
place before the Civil War, and Abraham Lincoln's
Emancipation Proclamation. The chapter concludes with a
troubling endorsement, in which Love tells the reader to "Go and see
the play of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and you will see the black man's life
as I saw it when a child."
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CHAPTER VI: THE WORLD IS BEFORE
ME. I JOIN THE TEXAS COWBOYS. RED RIVER DICK. MY FIRST OUTFIT. MY FIRST
INDIAN FIGHT. I LEARN TO USE MY GUN. At the start of the sixth chapter,
a 15 year-old Nat Love tells the reader "I had full confidence in
myself as being able to take care of myself and making my way."
He concludes the chapter by saying, "I gloried in the danger, and the
wild and free life of the plains, the new country I was continually
traversing, and the many new scenes and incidents continually arising in
the life of a rough rider." We have chosen to include this
chapter because it represents Nat Love's "rebirth" into a world where he
could be who he wanted to be, and realize his full potential.
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CHAPTER XXII: A FEW
REMINISCENCES OF THE RANGE. SOME MEN I HAVE MET. BUFFALO BILL. THE JAMES
BROTHERS. YELLOWSTONE KELLEY. THE MURDER
OF BUCK CANNON BY BILL WOODS. THE SUICIDE OF JACK ZIMICK. It is only
fitting that we end our brief presentation of Nat Love's autobiography
with the actual last chapter of the book. Nat Love recalls meeting
famous individuals such as Buffalo Bill, Kit Carson, Billie (sic) the
Kid and Jesse James, giving the
reader his personal impression of who they were. It is easy to
understand the nostalgic tone of a man who has truly lived, and near the
conclusion of his book, an ageing Nat Love tells the reader,
"As I stop to ponder over the days of old so full of adventure and
excitement, health and happiness, love and sorrow, isn't it a wonder
that some of us are alive to tell the tale. One moment we are rejoicing
that we are alive; the next we are so near the jaws of death that it
seems it would be almost a miracle that our lives be saved."
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© Excerpts from the electronic edition of
The Life and Adventures of Nat Love Better Known in the Cattle Country as
"Deadwood Dick" by Himself; a True History of Slavery Days, Life on the Great
Cattle Ranges and on the Plains of the "Wild and Woolly" West, Based on Facts,
and Personal Experiences of the Author, are the property of the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
The full electronic edition, which also includes original illustrations of this
text may be viewed here.
All other text and graphics on this website are © 2002
http://www.natlove.com
Send mail to webmaster@natlove.com
Last modified:
October 18, 2002
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