The memoirs of John Bratt, an Englishman who came to America in the waning years of the Civil War and became a successful Chicago businessman. However, unforseen circumstances almost left him destitute, forcing him to find other work which eventually led him to be a rancher on the Nebraska frontier. He later became an important figure in the development and history of North Platte, Nebraska. Bratt describes his life and cattle driving adventures including Indian hostilities and surviving the Ft. Phil Kearny Indian massacre led by Chief Red Cloud.