Because of the number of children in his family, they paid another family to raise Gustave. He left home to work on a fishing boat when he was around 12. He did a stint with the French Navy around 1838. He ten travelled to America, returning to Paris in 1847. he served for a while with the Garde Mobil, before returning to America. He worked as a miner, described in one of his works, the lived among the Commanches for a number of years. Aimard was very prolific, publishing over 70 novels, many of which were translated. He seemed to fall out of favour after producing a negative work about the French-Prussian War, in which he had taken part. His many works include The Trappers of Arkansas (1858), The Border Rifles (1861), The Freebooters (1861), The Indian Scout (1861), The Gipsies of the Sea (1865), Loyal Heart, the Pale-Face Hunter (1868), The Tiger Slayer (1869), and By Sea and By Land (1879). |
