R. M. Ballantyne is best known for his westerns. As a young boy Ballantyne spent few years on American continent learning the local customs, trading for fur with Native Americans, sleighing and canoeing across the America. These experiences served as a source for his western novels that span from cowboy tales and gold mining stories to tales from Canadian wilderness.
Content:
Snowflakes and Sunbeams (The Young Fur Traders)
The Dog Crusoe and his Master
The Golden Dream
Away in the Wilderness
The Wild Man of the West
Silver Lake
Over the Rocky Mountains
Digging for Gold
The Pioneers
Fort Desolation
The Red Man's Revenge
The Prairie Chief
Charlie to the Rescue
The Buffalo Runners
Wrecked but not Ruined

Robert Michael Ballantyne (1825-1894) was a Scottish author of adventure fiction, best known for his western stories and sea tales. Ballantyne went to Canada aged 16 where he traded with the local Native Americans for furs. It required him to learn about them, to travel by canoe and sleigh, and those experiences formed the basis for many of his novels. Upon returning home, Ballantyne gave up business to focus on his literary career, and began the series of adventure stories for the young with which his name is popularly associated. He was also an accomplished artist, and exhibited some of his water-colors at the Royal Scottish Academy.