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The Arkansas River by Jory Sherman, 1st in the Rivers West series of historical frontier westerns, originally paperbacked from Domain in 1991. Sherman, IIRC, was also a Dorchester/Leisure author before they imploded.
Rivers West is one of the most exciting frontier series of our time… tales of mountain men and intrepid women, pioneer families and Native American warriors. Here is the story of North America in all its awesome splendor.
Eastward, as far as the eye could see, stretched the Great Plains. Westward rose the Rockies, snow-capped shadows against the sky. In the middle flowed a mighty river—silent, glistening, and turbulent—the bloodline of a wide and wild land. Three hard, tough men staked their claims on its potent shores; Jake Stonecipher, pioneer merchant, seeking his fortune—yet finding a war. Will Burke, a mountain man as savage as the wilderness itself. And Francisco Serrano, determined to carve a fertile ranch out of the stubborn soil. Three men blazing trails, forging a future… building lives as bold—and treacherous—as the Arkansas River.