Eleazar Louis Ripley Wheelock had fortunate beginnings as the grandson of the founder of Dartmouth College. But he would not take the easy route in life. His personal odyssey would lead him through poverty in pioneer Ohio, climactic battles in the War of 1812, law studies in Kentucky, peril on the Arkansas frontier, and finally, in 1824, an arduous journey to a new land that would define the man: Texas. There he became a settler with Robertson's Colony and subsequently led a life of adventure as a captain of the Texas Rangers, silver miner, founder of a fort and town, Indian agent, surveyor, rancher, land agent, lawyer, and political hopeful. Texian Odyssey is a valuable addition to the record of largely forgotten settlers who came to Texas by the thousands and created a great state out of nothing but courage and sweat.