The Trapper's Son

A very short book, set in North America some time in the nineteenth century, at a time when Indian tribes were still hunting over the land--Crees, Dacotahs, Peigans. An old trapper and his son are preparing for the winter, when their horses are found dead, killed either by wolves or by Indians. So they have to cache most of the skins they were planning to take to a nearby fort, and set off on their journey there. Michael Moggs, the trapper, had fathered the boy, Laurence, with an Indian woman, who had brought Laurence up to the point where Michael comes to collect him. The boy had never been taught the principles of Christianity, and his father never knew them either. So most of the book deals with the conversion of the boy and his father to true religion, by people they meet at the fort. According to Wikipedia: "William Henry Giles Kingston (28 February 1814 - 5 August 1880), writer of tales for boys, was born in London, but spent much of his youth in Oporto, where his father was a merchant. His first book, The Circassian Chief, appeared in 1844. His first book for boys, Peter the Whaler, was published in 1851, and had such success that he retired from business and devoted himself entirely to the production of this kind of literature, in which his popularity was deservedly great; and during 30 years he wrote upwards of 130 tales, including The Three Midshipmen (1862), The Three Lieutenants (1874), The Three Commanders (1875), The Three Admirals (1877), Digby Heathcote, etc. He also conducted various papers, including The Colonist, and Colonial Magazine and East India Review. He was also interested in emigration, volunteering, and various philanthropic schemes. For services innegotiating a commercial treaty with Portugal he received a Portuguese knighthood, and for his literary labours a Government pension."