A Crooked Trail - Book By Lewis B. Miller Synopsis: A Crooked Trail is the story of Travis Holloway, a fictional counterpart for Lewis B. Miller himself, and the adventures experienced in pursuit of a run-away ox. In this story, written in first person, Lewis attempts to record some of the little-known facts about the Miller family history. He writes about the almost famous cattle drive in which his father had participated, about his mother’s worry and concern for the well being of her two boys, about his father’s philosophy of perseverance, about the circumstances surrounding the purchase of his father’s final homestead, and about his own early education. So full is this book of Miller history, that readers come away with the impression that they know this quiet, unassuming author who was so devoted to his writing that he continued traveling to do the research necessary for the historical accuracy of his work until a few months before his death. Miller family descendants still speak admiringly of the devotion evidenced in his ability to continue writing even when his writing hand was withered or arthritic from thousands of hours of tireless dedication to what he perceived as his duty - the duty to record for the Miller family and all of posterity that part of history which never makes the headlines, but which, nevertheless, plays an important role in shaping our world. Evidence that Lewis B. Miller’s efforts were appreciated even in his day appear in contemporary reviews of his work. About the Author: Among the least known but better authors of tales of adventure in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century era was Texan Lewis B. Miller, whose stories appeared in serial form in a weekly farm paper, The National Stockman and Farmer, and a regional edition of the publication, The Pennsylvania Stockman and Farmer. Lewis B. Miller was born at Blocker Creek, Cooke County, Texas, on May 27, 1861. His father’s name was Henry Miller and his mother Lurilla Osburn Miller. He received his early education in frontier schools in Texas. In 1881 he obtained an A.B. degree at Texas Christian University. He moved to Marlin, Texas, in 1931, apparently to live with relatives, and died there on July 26, 1933. He was buried at Hico, Texas, which is about 70 miles southwest of Fort Worth. Lewis B. Miller was an excellent writer with a good education, and his stories were very accurate from a geographical and historical standpoint. He wrote adult, young adult tales of adventure, dealings with frontier life, cattle driving. His base writing is about the southwest frontier pushing civilization into the wild west, French and Spanish territories or into the Indian’s hunting grounds. Besides frontier life, his novels cover a wide field of subjects, such as: homesteading, trapping, hunting, fur trading, logging, rafting, gold-seeking, Indian life and about all that confronted frontier life which most Americans have forgotten and many have never known. Many early American statesmen and patriotic pioneers appear in his stories, who are authentic. The frontier stories involved confrontation with the Indians and the hard life of the pioneers. Due to the fact that Miller’s stories appeared originally only in a farm weekly, they did not receive a wide circulation and thus remained unknown to much of the reading public. This neglect has been partially corrected by a small church foundation press in Pennsylvania. They have published a number of soft cover reprints of his work and more are pending. For those who collect adventure books for the pleasure of reading, there can be no better investment than in Lewis B. Miller tales. By Robert E. Walters