This is book two written by Don Coldsmith in a series of three books written by different authors. The book is about the western end of Kansas River called the Smoky Hill River. The book is divided into three parts. Part one is about the initial exploration and mapping of the river and a trail was established along the banks of the river to the western boundary of the Kansas Territory. The trail providing a shorter route to the mountains. The initial party had a Booth member who volunteered to participate in the excursion to map the river and the streams that empty into the Smoky Hill.
Part two is an extension of the story with two brothers from the same family as they are on a westward trip to find gold at Cherry Creek now known as Denver in the state of Colorado. They elect to use the trail of the Smoky Hill River that they had heard about from their uncle. He was part of survey party who initially mapped the trail. The brothers have a disagreement as to which direction the trail went and they separated causing a division of the party and the separation of the brothers and a final division of their lives forever.
Part three continues the story with a third generation Booth who is in the military and wants to see and explore the land that took his father and separated his uncle completely from the eastern portion of the family. Many twists and turn happen and love comes to the last family traveler in the Booth family along the Smoky Hill River.
I definitely would recommend this particular book as a western about the far end of the Kansas River. Don Coldsmith is an author with great skills and we all miss him and the stories that he wrote and we can still be read the total body of his work.
