Passion for Southern Indiana’s past inspires Hugo C. Songer to write a novel

Hugo C. Songer, a retired judge of Dubois County Circuit Court, Indiana, has always had a passion for Southern Indiana’s pioneer past. He has not only collected Indian artifacts, pioneer materials, and books about pioneer history but also built a log cabin home, in which he lives with his wife. His efforts also translate into publishing.
 
“The Buffalo Trace to Tippecanoe: Purty Old Tom Montgomery and the Settlement of Southern Indiana” (BookSurge, 2010) is the retired judge’s first work of fiction. This book is probably the appropriate culmination of Songer’s lifetime passion.
 
The historical fiction novel portrays an account of the early days of the Indiana territory. The novel follows the protagonist Purty Tom Montgomery who travels solo into Indiana territory in search of new settling ground for his family. On his journey through the territory, Montgomery meets several people who are important to the history of the state.
 
The novel also deals with the challenges that Montgomery’s family, which include his adult children and their families, face as new settlers in a territory where the Indians pose a threat to them and the issues that abound during that period of time, such as slavery and the antagonism between the Indians and the settlers. The novel also depicts the Battle of Tippecanoe.
 
Through the novel, the author strives to present a balanced point of view about the relations between the Indians and the settlers, many of whom came from Europe. The settlers were often under attack from the Indians but they also, in many ways and not knowing it, endangered the Indians’ way of life. Later in the story, Montgomery will grow to understand the Indians’ point of view and to respect their way of life.
 
The historical fiction novel makes a good movie adaptation that should spur discussions about Native Americans and their place in American frontier history.
 
Hugo C. Songer’s “The Buffalo Trace to Tippecanoe: Purty Old Tom Montgomery and the Settlement of Southern Indiana” is available at Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Buffalo-Trace-Tippecanoe-Montgomery-Settlement/dp/1439265208) and Barnes & Noble (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-buffalo-trace-to-tippecanoe-hugo-c-songer/1115531933).
 
 
The Buffalo Trace to Tippecanoe: Purty Old Tom Montgomery and the Settlement of Southern Indiana
Written by Hugo C. Songer
Published by BookSurge Publishing
Published date: February 22, 2010
Paperback price: $18.00
 
 
About the Author
Hugo C. Songer is a retired judge whose interests, in addition to law, include nature, history, particularly pioneer history, and American Indians. He is the author of a history of his hometown, “Duff: A Continuum and a memoir,” “Dufftown: Rural Life in Southern Indiana during the Great Depression and World War II.” He has also written “The History of Huntingburg,” and most recently a historical novel, “The Buffalo Trace to Tippecanoe: Purty Old Tom Montgomery and the Settlement of Southern Indiana.”
 

Contact Information

Michael Morgan

Author Relations Officer

ReadersMagnet

Contact via E-mail