Book excerpt: "The Buffalo Runners: A Tale of the Red River Plains" is a children's adventure novel set in the American Old West by Scottish author R. M. Ballantyne. Full of thrilling action, terrible danger, and intrepid heroism, "The Buffalo Runners" will appeal to children with an interest in history and would make for a worthy addition to collections of vintage Western literature. Robert Michael Ballantyne (1825 - 1894) was a Scottish author of children's fiction. He was a prolific writer and produced over 100 books in his lifetime. As well as being an author, Ballantyne was also an accomplished artist, having exhibited his work at the Royal Scottish Academy. Other notable works by this author include: "The Coral Island" (1858), "The Gorilla Hunters" (1861), and "The Eagle Cliff" (1889). Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction and biography of the author. This book was first published in 1861.