He found no publishers nearer than New York, to
which city he personally had to carry his manuscripts for publication. Yet
with all these handicaps, he achieved fame for himself and his loved
Southland. This victory over adverse conditions was won by sheer force of
indomitable will, by tremendous activity, and by a great, honest, generous
nature.
His writings show an abounding energy and versatility. He wrote poetry,
prose fiction, historical essays, and political pamphlets, and amazed his
publishers by his speed in composition. His best work is _The Yemassee_
(1835), a story of the uprising of the Indians in Carolina. The midnight
massacre, the fight at the blockhouse, and the blood-curdling description
of the dishonoring of the Indian chief's son are told with infectious vigor
and rapidity. _The Partisan_ (1835), _Katherine Walton_ (1851), and _The
Sword and Distaff_ (1852), afterwards called _Woodcraft_, also show his
ability to tell exciting tales, to understand Indian character, and to
commemorate historical events in thrilling narratives.
Simms wrote rapidly and carelessly. He makes mistakes in grammar and
construction, and is often stilted and grandiloquent.
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