Boy with a Pack

By Stephen Meader

A young man's journey tests his courage against deceit, danger, and the shadows of the Underground Railroad.

4.1/5 Goodreads · 64 ratings

297 pages

$35.00Save 5%

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

In 1837, Bill Crawford embarks on a daring journey from New Hampshire to Ohio, armed only with a trunk of goods. Facing treacherous horse dealers, a ruthless canal captain, and a relentless slave-catcher, Bill's courage and character are pushed to the limit. As he navigates the bustling Erie Canal and the perilous paths of the Underground Railroad, will he overcome the challenges of a nation on the move? Discover the trials and triumphs of a young man determined to carve his path in a turbulent world.

From the publisher

Seventeen-year-old Bill Crawford refused to be licked by the “hard times” of 1837. Putting every cent he owned into a tin trunk full of “Yankee notions,” he set out afoot from New Hampshire for the Ohio country. His adventures on the road, as he crossed Vermont, York State, and Pennsylvania and moved southward through Ohio, furnished abundant tests of his courage and character.A crooked Vermont horse dealer who nearly murdered Bill for his trade-goods; a bullying Erie canal boat captain who hired him as a driver; and a hard-riding Virginia slave-catcher shadowing the Underground Railroad are vivid personalities in the story.Like other popular books by this author, Boy With A Pack is a horsy story. It is flavored with the racy pungency of stagecoaches and tavern stables, the brawl and bustle of the old Erie Canal, the excitement of backwoods trotting tracks, and the dusty plodding of westward migration in full tide a hundred years ago.