Trails to Poosey

On a hot July day, Peter Robison and his wife, and three children -- Nathan, 15; Betsy, 12; and Andy, 4 -- ride horseback into the settlement of Navestown -- later to be known as Springhill -- several miles northwest of Chillicothe. They are welcomed by the Jesse Nave family and others in the settlement. Within a few days the Robisons have settled on land about four miles northwest of Navestown.

Having led his family into the unknown, this hard-driven father works to provide for his family. Like most parents, he does some maturing in the course of trying to do what he thinks is best for himself and for his family.

Written in simple and direct style, Cook keeps the story moving with suspense, excitement and tenderness, introducing new characters at just enough intervals to keep things interesting. The book is well researched and reflects Cook's knowledge of this area of Missouri and her love of nature and animals. She pays strict attention to historical detail without encumbering the story with it and weaves in interesting details about daily life both in the settlement and on the trail.

Read Trails to Poosey and you'll smell sulphur burning in a disease-ridden cabin; feel cold rain and hot sun bearing down on your back and taste fresh blackberries and milk -- a respite from months of dried deer meat and cornbread. You'll breathe a sigh of relief when a limber-legged colt gets a second chance at life; look an angry bear in the eye and take a psychological and philosophical swing through the minds of a father and son whose roles are reversed when one hangs close to death.

Set in the late 1830's near the Livingston-Grundy County lines, Trails to Poosey, is the account of the Peter Robison family's first four exciting months of homesteading in Missouri on land that is now Poosey State Forest.