MISSION TO BAYOU PIERRE

A later period than Brave Journey (1958) and a better sustained story, this treats with the perils of the Natchez Trace and the uneasy times when the young USA had acquired Louisiana, and the Burr-Wilkinson conspiracy was at full flood. Benafter the death of his foster parents -- is left with the Abbotts in Kentucky until his post-rider brother, Matt, can make other plans for him. Just how Abbott involves Ben in a secret mission- and what this mission does to his relations with his brother on the perilous Trace journey provides the meat of the adventure. A bit more background on the temper of the times might have made the story more generally understandable for this age group.