The Winds of Change brings out the impending effects of early American western expansion on the Indian cultures of the Ohio Country and the Great Plains. A territorial people, the Northwest and Plains Indians had no concept of land ownership. In contrast, the driving force behind European settlers expanding west of the Allegheny Mountains was land. As settlers acquired Indian land, Indian could no longer hunt on the settler’s land…a way of life was gone forever.
The settlers, the military, and the fur traders interaction with Tecumseh of the Shawnee and Partisan of the Sioux is brought to life from the Indian perspective. In addition to the Shawnee and Sioux, The Winds of Change storyline involves the Comanche, Cheyenne, Crow, Hidatsa, Blackfeet, and Shoshone Indians while maintaining a high level of historical accuracy with the use of footnotes and addendum. The last chapter on factual trivia goes beyond the time frame of Lewis and Clark, the Astorians, the Mountain Men, and the Canadian Fur Trade; it contains factual tidbits on the Oregon-California Trail, the Oregon Country, and the Mormon Trail as well. With an exciting, page-turning storyline, The Winds of Change is a “good read”, as well as, educational.
Three Rainbows – Lander Trail
In front of my tents was the Lander Cutoff of the Oregon and California trail and the trail of Robert Stuart and the Eastbound Astorians. The Lander Cutoff is on the bottom edge of the picture. Robert Stuart’s trail is up the canyon towards the end of the Rainbow…some of my readers will appreciate how difficult it was to write under such trying circumstances.
Reader Comments:
Terry Jeffrey- Canada
Got the books yesterday….can’t put it down…..fabulous read by one great writer…are becoming my favorite books on American and Canadian exploration and western expansion…..WELL DONE NED…..THANKS FOR THE READ.
Roy C. Wolf – Illinois
Your Winds of Change lived up to all my expectations! I received it in the mail Monday and completed reading the book this morning! You are an accurate, informative, and knowledgeable author. Every high school history class should have both Mountains of Stone and Winds of Change on a required reading list for American history classes. I speak as a returned teacher/principal with 30 years experience in the Public Schools. Your references, footnotes, and addendum materials express a dedicated, professional, and expertise seldom exhibited in today’s politically correct world. I am proud to have your two books in my library – The Northwestern Illinois Observer!
Dan Judd – California
I thought the continuity with Mountains of Stone was fantastic! It seemed that there was a deeper human side to this book. It hooked me like Mountains of Stone but reading it gave a more personal relationship with the characters. Definitely left me with the picture of their distant cabin, smoke issuing from the chimney. The story leaves me with the feeling that they are still there, doing their daily lives. Made me kind of stop occasionally and wonder how Broken Knife and Wind are doing. Thank you for the great read.
Michael Caine – England
Thank You for your two books-they are extremely informative of a certain part of early American History that has fascinated me from being a boy. Your books are well written and kept me enthralled from start to finish-may I also Thank You for the CD’S showing the part of the world where you reside.
Larry Akins – Arizona
Mountains of Stone was an exceptional book. I rarely read novels but I need to read The Winds of Change and highly recommend Mountains of Stone to everyone.
George Lessard – Massachusetts
Both of your books were well written, informative, and very interesting. The pictures on the CD’s are truly amazing.
Carl and Faith Kikstra Michigan
Dr. Eddins
My wife and I ordered and received both of your books a few months ago and have both read both books. They are great. Thank you for making Broken Knife, his family and friends so “real”. The books really opened my eyes to the day to day struggles and dangers that they faced. We have felt for a long time that “white man” took advantage of the Indians and their land with treaties which they never honored. Your web site is great with tons of information. We are both retired and have traveled the West and Southwest a few time and plan to return to do more exploring.
Thanks again and may God bless you.
Cal McClellan – Colorado
I have enjoyed “The Wind..” equally as much as “The Mountains…” You have told a story, fun to read, while imparting a great deal of authoritative information about subjects that you obviously care about.
Frank Holmes – England
Many thanks for the copy of Winds of Change which I very much enjoyed. I found the short paragraphs starting on page 257 particularly moving.
Richard Batt – Idaho
Both books were well written, informative, and entertaining!
Jan McIntyre – Michigan
Thank you so much for the wonderful Books – Great Reading! Very Interesting and so Informative.
Richard V. Roach – Minnesota
My gosh, your pictures are beautiful–absolutely fantastic! These are just as good as those with your first book. They alone are worth the money.
Vikii – Georgia
I can not express how happy I am Wind of Change is ready. I had a hard time putting Mountains of Stone down. It was WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so very much for writing these beautiful books. I greatly appreciate all the hard work you put into them. I know that Winds of Change will be just as exciting as Mountains of Stone and hope you continue to tell the story. Please send me the CD so I may enjoy the lovely pictures of the places I miss seeing.
Author:
O. N. (Ned) Eddins was born and now resides in Afton, Wyoming, which is near Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons—a landmark for Indians and Mountain Men. The Lander Cutoff of the Oregon Trail goes through Star Valley three miles from where he resides.
Dr. Eddins holds bachelor and master degrees from the University of Utah and graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Veterinary Medicine. He practiced Veterinary Medicine and did postgraduate work on Equine fertility at his Salt Lake clinic. The postgraduate studies in the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of Utah were fund by a grant from the National Institute of Health.
Dr. Eddins is the author of two historical novels, Mountains of Stone and The Winds of Change. The historical novels are concerned with the effects of mountain men, the fur trade, and western expansion on Indian cultures. The majority of Mountains of Stone was written in a pack camp deep in the Greys River mountains near the Strawberry Indian trail from Jackson Hole and the Tetons to the Snake River plains. By horse and pack string, Dr. Eddins has ridden many of the trails described in his novels. His campfires have been built in the same places as those of mountain men and explorers that were in this general area over two hundred years ago.
During the summer of 2009, a television crew from Germany came to Wyoming and spent the night in his Salt River camp to interview Dr. Eddins on John Jacob Astor and the Astorians for German and French public television. The film crew photographed Dr. Eddins discussing and pointing out sections of the Astorian Robert Stuart trail of 1812, the 1859 Lander Trail, and several active beaver dams. In this country, the show has been on the Smithsonian channel.
Dr. Eddins is a 2011 contributor and a peer reviewer for the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal, and teaches history workshop classes for the Western Wyoming Community College.
October of 2016, Dr. Eddins presented a power point discussion on the 1826-1827 Southwest Journey of Jedediah Smith, with an emphasis on the Smith Party crossing the Mojave Desert, at the Jedediah Smith Society 60th anniversary rendezvous in Lodi, California. At the meeting Dr. Eddins was presented with an Award of Excellence by the Jedediah Smith Society for his studies on the trails of Jedediah Smith.
Dr. Eddins was an approved judge of the American Quarter Horse and the American Paint Horse associations, as well as, a certified ski instructor in Park City, Utah.
Order The Winds of Change:
When ordering The Winds of Change, you are not required to pre-pay, or send credit card information. After receiving the book, please pay the enclosed invoice. Each copy of The Winds of Change will be signed, and along with the picture CD, mailed directly to you. For price and ordering information on Winds of Change… click on the buffalo picture logo:
A sad commentary on present-day values is there is little trust in people anymore. This is too bad. Being old fashioned, I trust people, and the overwhelming majority of people buying my books justify my faith in people. We all misplace, or forget things, and no one is added to the Dead Beat list until they have been contacted by email and a letter.
Deadbeats:
The “Dead Beats” are people who bought Mountains of Stone or The Winds of Change and have not paid for them. The people on the list are not poor…just true worthless “snake in the grass” Dead Beats.
Click on the rattlesnake for address, phone number, and email address of The Winds of Change and the Mountains of Stone dead beats.
Joyce Henderson, Rachelle Shaner, Debra Duarte, James S Morrison, Jodie Chico – Dead Beats Paula Vandel, Agness Jack – Dead Beats, Mike Thompson, Sidney McLaughlin, Brigitte Lucke, PhD,– Dead Beats David A Miller, Shane Garcia, William Perugino, Michael Loretto – Dead Beats, Allen Willyerd, Jon Merritt, Timothy Dietz – Dead Beats, Linda Bennington, Virginia Perches, Kris Giedosh, Brett D Pfingston – Dead Beats, Gail Belt, Shawn Seigler, Gerald Gallimore, Sandra Bowden – Dead Beats, Nikki Davenport, Gary Blauser, Randy Adam – Dead Beats, Feigue Cieplinski, PhD.
To go to the Mountains of Stone page click on the picture logo:
A CD of pictures from the Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Mesa Verde National Parks, NASA, Monument Valley, Hovenweep, Fremont and Anasazi Indians petroglyphs, and Star Valley, Wyoming, is included with purchase of The Winds of Change. The picture CD for The Winds of Change is different than the Mountains of Stone CD. Click on.
To send a comment, question or suggestion click on Mountain Man.
To return to the Home Page click on the Fur Trapper logo.
O. N. (Ned) Eddins was born and now resides in Afton, Wyoming, which is near Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons—a landmark for Indians and Mountain Men. The Lander Cutoff of the Oregon Trail goes through Star Valley three miles from where he resides.
Joyce Henderson, Rachelle Shaner, Debra Duarte, James S Morrison, Jodie Chico – Dead Beats Paula Vandel, Agness Jack – Dead Beats, Mike Thompson, Sidney McLaughlin, Brigitte Lucke, PhD,– Dead Beats David A Miller, Shane Garcia, William Perugino, Michael Loretto – Dead Beats, Allen Willyerd, Jon Merritt, Timothy Dietz – Dead Beats, Linda Bennington, Virginia Perches, Kris Giedosh, Brett D Pfingston – Dead Beats, Gail Belt, Shawn Seigler, Gerald Gallimore, Sandra Bowden – Dead Beats, Nikki Davenport, Gary Blauser, Randy Adam – Dead Beats, Feigue Cieplinski, PhD.
