They Rode Good Horses, by D.B. Jackson - Book Review

They Rode Good Horses by D b Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brady McCall and Franklin Stillwell partnered up the winter of 1840 in St. Joseph, Missouri, when they were just boys. The pairing of mischievousness and naive goodness bound them together for life. By spring of 1840 when the 58 families that wintered in St. Joseph were finally headed west by wagon train, the boys had earned themselves some Comanche Indian Ponies by working for old crotchety Mr. Hogue at the livery stable. Good horses that afforded them an advantage on the long arduous trail west.
An advantage that surely saved their lives when the indians massacred nearly everyone on the wagon train, including both their parents and siblings. Mrs. Granger and her daughter Allison, who is sweet on Brady, were amongst the few survivors, making them bound together for life by this shared tragedy. Their other advantage is Travis Kincaid, a seasoned cowboy, who took them under his wing, lead them safely on to Ft. Bridger, hoping he would unload his burdens there. The women stayed at the fort, glad for the safe passage and adequate accommodations. Kincaid couldn't rid himself of the young boys so easily. The boys became like sons to Kincaid when he took them on home to his ranch in Montana. They didn't miss one adventure the wild west had to offer, good and bad. Like all cowboys of that day, they started feeling like the wide open spaces were being "consumed by progress". Aged and worn down by the rough living conditions, and tragic events they had endured, they still had enough left in them for one last roundup adventure with Brady's ten year old grandson in tow. Miles Travis, Brady's grandson, was starting where Grampa would leave off, and he was riding a good horse from Buffalo Dancer's lineage, the Comanche Indian Pony Brady worked for in St. Joseph, Missouri when he was ten. This is an action packed, tear jerkering, heart wrenching story of the good old wild west. I really enjoyed this read.


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