"Spirit Painter," by Linda Johnson; Amazon Digital Services Inc.; 2012; available on Kindle.
In 1832 the artist George Catlin climbed aboard the steamship "Yellowstone" on its first trip from St. Louis to present day North Dakota. He wanted to paint the Plains Indians and collect items for a museum back east.
During this trip the artist stayed with the Mandan Indians and painted their portraits, learning and recording their culture and ceremonies. He became friends with many of the Mandans and was drawn, sometimes too far for his own comfort, into their way of life.
"Spirit Painter" by Linda Johnson is a book about this trip. Hoff has based this work of fiction on her research of the journals of George Catlin, Lewis and Clark, Nicollet and other explorers and traders to the upper plains in the 18th and 19th centuries. She also visited many of the historical sites in the book, from North Dakota to Minnesota's Pipestone Quarry, a news release said.
"Real names were used for many of the Native Americans and traders, however, all personal relationships are fictional. Many of the events in the book are described in George Catlin's journals, but these events are interwoven with pure fiction," said a description on Amazon.com. The book contains adult situations and is not suitable for young readers.
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Johnson, a resident of Elburn, Ill., is a former resident of North Dakota.
