Synopsis
After his mother’s death, seventeen-year-old Jubilee Walker asks to join a scientific expedition led by Major John Wesley Powell, a family friend. Powell initially refuses, but Jubil’s persistence and resourcefulness eventually win him a place on Powell’s crew. However, Jubil’s plans for a life of adventure are complicated by his deepening feelings for his best friend, Nelly Boswell, who is reluctant to spend her life with a man who insists on such a dangerous lifestyle. How will Jubil navigate the hardships and lawlessness of the American West? And will he be forced to choose between a life of adventure and the girl he loves?
Jubil’s story draws on the real-life adventures of naturalist, college professor, and one-armed Civil War veteran Major John Wesley Powell during his Colorado River Exploring Expeditions. Powell became the first explorer to summit Longs Peak in the Colorado Rockies and navigate the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, fixing his place in history as one of America’s great explorers.
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Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
In late February, while winter still had a grip on the prairie, Jubilee Walker’s mother fell ill. She was still able to suffer through her work around the farm, but Jubil lay in bed listening to the sound of her cough, staring at the rafters above his loft. In spite of having spent the day cleaning out the barn and the livestock pens, he was not sleepy. In a few hours he would be at it again, splitting and stacking firewood—a never-ending chore. It was not the hard work of farming that weighed on Jubil’s soul but the monotony of it, and constantly being at the mercy of the weather. But then again, unpredictable weather was the only thing that broke the monotony of the chores that went on every day of the year, year after year.
He opened the door to his imagination and allowed it to roam as freely as his saddle horse, Star, turned out to graze without halter or bridle. One of these days, he was going to saddle up Star, taking nothing more than his rifle, a bedroll, and whatever he could pack in his saddlebags and ride west toward whatever adventures lay in his path. Following only his instincts, he would see as much of the world as he could before settling in any one place. How he would earn his daily bread was unclear, but he would hunt, fish, and live by his wits—and take a job now and then to earn a little travel money. That method had worked fine for his uncle Pete for many years until duty called him to the farm and then to war. Jubil’s path would become clearer once he was on it.
His mother coughed again, and his daydreams snagged on reality. He couldn’t imagine telling her that he was leaving her to run the farm on her own so he could ride carefree across the country in search of adventure. He would not lie here pining for a life that drew him away from his responsibility to her and to the memory of his father.
The other complication in this imagined life was Nelly Boswell. He had never spoken of his changing feelings for her and was unsure whether he ever would, but even if she didn’t feel the same, he was not anxious to live his life alone. It was unclear how he might be a husband to Nelly—or anyone else—and a father to their children while living a life of unfettered freedom and adventure.
He rubbed his eyes and told himself, Stop these foolish daydreams. His life was on this farm. If he married, his wife would come to live there with him and his mother, and that was that. He reached for the dime novel atop the stack sitting next to his bed, thinking it might help him sleep, but he had read it, and all of them, more than once. He tossed the book aside and blew out the lantern.
About the Author
TIM PIPER: Tim Piper is retired from a long career in Information Technology and has been a lifelong hobbyist musician. In his earlier days, he was an avid hiker and backcountry camper, but his adventures these days are less strenuous and more comfortable. He lives in Bloomington, Illinois, with his cat, Maggie, who is no help with his writing but is a stellar companion. He began his education at Illinois State University as an English major, but life circumstances put him on a more pragmatic path, and he graduated with a BS in Business Admin, a degree he finds appropriately named.
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