Frye’s novel tells the story of a post–Revolutionary War tenant farmer and his family who head west to Louisiana for a better future.
It’s the fall of 1798, and Sam Rolens’ father has just died. Sam wants to move his family to what he believes will be greener pastures, where good land is “free for the cost of a survey.” He’s the only one of his family members who initially wants to leave, but his wife, Lucetta, faces down her fears and is willing to make the journey. His brother, Elisha, is more resistant but not enough to go off on his own. And so, Sam, Lucetta, their four children—almost-grown Little Charlie, Eve Mary, Ewan, and the youngest, Raymond—and Elisha pack up their possessions and head first for White’s Fort in Tennessee, a waypoint for anticipative settlers, where they plan to wait out the winter and meet up with Burl Rolens, Sam and Elisha’s uncle. Burl has the experience to guide them through the hazardous journey, but before they can rendezvous, Burl must endure his own arduous trek from Natchez, in the Mississippi Territory, an ordeal depicted in the narrative’s grisliest chapters. Sam, a man of few words but many thoughts, has no idea of the toll that the move will take. Over the course of this novel, Frye effectively paints his protagonist as a devoted husband and father, but he’s also shown to be stubbornly convinced that he must stick to his original plan: “There ain’t no freedom without you got land and money.” In addition, he’s effectively depicted as searching for something more spiritual. But although he’s the most fully drawn character in this novel, Sam still remains a bit of a cipher in the end. Frye offers a liberal sprinkling of crude language, graphically violent action scenes, and substantial detail regarding day-to-day activities, which brings the gritty past to life.
An engaging, sometimes-chilling, and often melancholy tale of the pioneer spirit.