Legacy of the Lode (Paperback)

The year is 1858. The place, a way-station in the desert just east of the frontier town of Carson City. The Nevada lands had been acquired from Mexico in 1848 under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Congress would shortly establish the Nevada Territory. Small gold placer diggings were present on the southern slopes of Mt. Davidson. The great silver strikes of the Comstock Lode would shortly occur. Jeb, an orphan, is abandoned at the way-station, and the wagon train from Iowa is about to resume its westward trek to California. It is a story of loneliness, fear, extreme hardships, personal handicaps, danger, thievery and even murder. Jeb will confront these conditions with ingenuity, resourcefulness, humor, compassion and caring. It is a love story. It is a historical fiction novel where each of its characters, as well as the story, is believable. The events portrayed could have conceivably happened. There is a legacy which extends beyond the story that may enlighten or even surprise the reader.