Welcome to the Alaska - Reference Books

Frontier Justice - Ed Ferrell. Alaska 1898�the last American frontier. A sudden flood of all different cultures of people poured into the Klondike and Yukon, people with one thing in common: gold fever. The lawlessness and chaos of Alaska�s frontier attracted the dregs of humanity�gunmen, killers, thieves, bunco artists�prompting otherwise decent folk to administer their own brand of justice. In "Judge Lynch�s Court" justice was often swift, and murderers paid the ultimate price. Winchester and Colt saw to that. Readers will be shocked and fascinated at these factual accounts which Ed Ferrell has cut from old publications and trimmed of the fat. Each chapter is like a piece of beef jerky: raw, tough, full of flavor, and no two are the same. Anyone will enjoy chewing on these true stories about the serial killer of Dawson, the shoot-out at Bear Creek, Soapy Smith and his gang, the witchcraft murder, the man eaters, the man from the mountain, the mad trapper of Rat River, a private hanging (based on an account by Jack London), the death of an archbishop, and many more. While reading this book it�s easy to imagine sitting around a spruce campfire after a long cold day on the Klondike, swapping these tales with the old timers and wondering if you would have the guts to take a man�s fate into your own hands. Author Ed Ferrell lives in Juneau and has been in Alaska for nearly fifty years. He has taught English at high schools and the University of Alaska in Juneau. Previously published books include Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers Vols. 1 & 2 by Heritage Books, and Strange Stories of Alaska and the Yukon by Epicenter Press. 1998, 146 pp., maps., illus., paper, $17.50 #ZF169

The Dangerous North - Ed Ferrell. A new collection of hair-raising ture tales about pioneers in Alaska, the Yukon and the northern Pacific region. 160 pp, paper $19.00 #F170