Friday the Arapaho Boy: A Story from History

Marc Simmons
Ronald Kil , Illustrator

By the Anglos' calendar it was the last week of May 1831 and the Arapahos were camped beside the Cimarron River in what is today southwestern Kansas. Young Warshinun strayed from the camp as he hunted for prairie dogs and became separated from his family and the tribe. This is the true story of Warshinun�s adventures.

Nearly dead of thirst and hunger after hiding for a week from Kiowa raiders, the young Arapaho was discovered and cared for by Thomas Fitzpatrick, a Rocky Mountain trader. Fitzpatrick named the boy �Friday� for the day of the week he first found the young Indian, and took him to Santa Fe and Taos, Colorado and Wyoming in search of Friday�s family. The trader finally took Friday to St. Louis, enrolled him in school, but continued looking for the boy�s family as he traveled through Arapaho country.

Friday grew up to become an important Arapaho leader. (To this day, �Friday� is a prominent family name among the Arapaho.) He attended the famous council in Wyoming that led to the Fort Laramie treaty of 1851. Friday spent the last thirty years of his life trying to prevent war between his people and the Anglos, and died in 1881.

Ages 6-12; reading level grade 4.

Finalist for the Western Writers of America Spur Award in the best children's nonfiction category.
The Children of the West Series was awarded the Dorothy Woodward Book Award for Education in 2005 by the Historical Society of New Mexico.

"Friday joins the renowned Millie Cooper's Ride and Jose's Buffalo Hunt All feature the brilliant illustrations of Ron Kil. All three will make wonderful gifts for people of all ages. . . heart-warming volume."--Wagon Tracks

"Historian Marc Simmons continues to bring fascinating stories from the past to life as children's stories with his newest book, Friday the Arapaho Boy. Although the story is true, it is almost unbelievable. . . The book is nicely illustrated with a mix of colorful scenes and informative details. . Readers at about the fourth-grade level will relish this book with its archetypical themes of adventure--separation, loss, rescue, endurance, and reunion. They will also be enthralled by the fact that the tale is true, as will adult readers."--New Mexico Magazine

"Marc Simmons takes the readers into the desperate struggle 9-year-old Warshinun faces when he finds himself alone in enemy territory during a drought in 1831."--Sacramento Bee

"Simmons, New Mexico's Historian Laureate, does a fine job with writing this children's fictional history book. Ronald Kil provides colorfully detailed illustrations that highlight historical elements that add to this story."--The Historical Novels Review

"This is a very worthy book for grades four and up, with thick, glossy pages enhanced by Kil's plentiful illustrations. With his wealth of historical knowledge, Simmons has much to offer children's literature."--Southwest BookViews

Marc Simmons is considered New Mexico's historian laureate and has published over forty books on New Mexico history. Simmons is a former Woodrow Wilson Fellow, a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and in 1993 the King of Spain granted him membership in the knightly Order of Isabela la Católica for his contributions to Spanish colonial history. He resides in Cerrillos, New Mexico.

Western artist and long-time working cowboy Ronald Kil lives near Santa Fe.

Children of the West series

8.5 x 10.5 56 pages 22 color illustrations, 14 black-and-white drawings, 1 map