Heaven Is a Long Way Off: A Novel of the Mountain MenMacmillan, 2006 M10 3 - 304 pages Sam Morgan, once a young runaway from Philadelphia, now a seasoned fur trapper and mountain man, faces the most daunting task of his adventuresome life. It is 1827 and he, together with the trapping brigade commanded by Jedediah Smith, has been expelled from Mexican California. To his unending sorrow, Meadowlark, Sam's beloved Indian wife, has died in childbirth and he has been forced to abandon his infant daughter, Esperanza. Now, Sam is determined to reclaim his baby and take her to Meadowlark's village on the Wind River of Wyoming. In Santa Fe, Sam meets a beautiful widow known as Dona Paloma and the two become lovers. Then, after the herd of horses belonging to Sam and his companions are sold for a healthy profit, he returns to California to reunite with his daughter only to learn she has been taken captive in an Indian raid. Sam's desperate mission to rescue his daughter, their escape in a frail craft down a rampaging river, and their long trek to Santa Fe, is a harrowing tale told by a master of the historical novel. |
Contents
Section 1 | 7 |
Section 2 | 13 |
Section 3 | 21 |
Section 4 | 41 |
Section 5 | 61 |
Section 6 | 73 |
Section 7 | 83 |
Section 8 | 99 |
Section 15 | 195 |
Section 16 | 203 |
Section 17 | 211 |
Section 18 | 219 |
Section 19 | 227 |
Section 20 | 233 |
Section 21 | 237 |
Section 22 | 245 |
Section 9 | 111 |
Section 10 | 123 |
Section 11 | 139 |
Section 12 | 147 |
Section 13 | 159 |
Section 14 | 179 |
Section 23 | 249 |
Section 24 | 269 |
Section 25 | 273 |
Section 26 | 289 |
Section 27 | 301 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abby Armijo arms asked beautiful beaver blankets brigade California captain cards Carlos Celt Cerritos Chihuahua Cigarillo Crow damn dance dark Diah Don Carlos Don Cesar El Camino Real English Esperanza Esteban eyes face Father Enrique felt fire Flat Dog friends Galbraith gave grabbed Gray Hawk grinned Grumble Grumble's hair hand Hannibal head hell herd horses Indians Jedediah Jedediah Smith Jim Beckwourth jumped killed knew knife laughed looked Los Angeles River Meadowlark Mexican mission Mojaves mountains night nodded Paladin Paloma Pedro picked pistol Plácido priest rancho Red Roan Red Shirt Reina rendezvous ride riders rifle river Robber rode Rosalita Rubio Sam and Hannibal Sam Morgan Sam's Santa Fe Santa Fe River Señora slave smiled Spanish spring stood Sumner talk thought told Tomás took trade trappers tree turned village Virgin voice walked watched woman women words