1
/
of
1
Publish Green
Journey to Oxford: A Love Story
Journey to Oxford: A Love Story
Regular price
$7.99 USD
Regular price
Sale price
$7.99 USD
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Quantity
Couldn't load pickup availability
From the age of eleven, Nathaniel Briggs helps his mother doctor slaves in the pre-Civil War South. He reads her medical books and performs minor operations. Medicine was extremely primitive by today's standards, which made it possible for him to reach the skill levels of most physicians by age 17. Forced by killers to flee west, he becomes an apprentice to Dr. Samuel P. Moore at Fort Laramie. With Moore’s help, Nat passes the Army’s Medical Boards and becomes an Assistant Surgeon at age 18. His racist upbringing, reinforced by Moore and others, is challenged by the reality of Secawa.
Today she would be recognized as having a genius I.Q. A gifted linguist, Secawa only needs to be shown or told something once and she retains it. But it does her little good. Nearly all whites think it’s a trick, dismissing Secawa as merely a teenage Indian squaw. Nat makes her feel safe, understands and believes in her; so of course, Secawa falls deeply in love with him. She’s afraid he will go on to study at Oxford in England and never return. She doesn’t fit in with any tribe or with whites. Orphaned with no relatives, home is where Nat resides.
Jeremiah Jackson is another exceptional person of color. He’s a slave in the beginning who speaks the language of a slave. At the end, he’s a successful businessman who speaks the Queen’s English. And despite the terrible depravations he and his family experience, he remains a deeply religious man and a true Christian. Jeremiah is forced west along with Nat who he needs to go back and help free his family from slavery.
The mountain men depicted are characters right out of historical archives. John “Jack” Smith saves Nat’s life and teaches him how to survive on the frontier. The military leadership needs the colorful Jim Bridger. But they also despise him for his impertinence. Henri Valois single-handedly saves the 1851 Treaty Council from collapse. More Indian than white, these and other frontiersmen enrich the story.
Traveling with the Indians and serving as the Army’s medical liaison, Nat comes to know Native-American men and women as they actually were, and are today. Iovaino is a wisecracking Cheyenne. He doesn’t want to use his translated English name, Yellow Hawk, for fear his white brothers will shorten it to just “Yellow.” Black Feather is a Lakota medicine man, every bit as skilled as his white counterparts during the 1850’s. Washakie is the Shoshoni chief who skillfully avoids war with the whites while refusing to sign their treaties. These men love their wives and children. But along with the good comes the bad, including the thieves, kidnappers and rapists. The tribes are dwindling due to disease, tribal warfare and the assault of immigrants. Most of them are simply trying to survive.
Throughout Nat and Secawa’s frontier adventures is the dark shadow of the man who wants to find and kill Nat and bring Jeremiah back to slavery. There comes a time when the pursuit must be ended, once and for all.
Today she would be recognized as having a genius I.Q. A gifted linguist, Secawa only needs to be shown or told something once and she retains it. But it does her little good. Nearly all whites think it’s a trick, dismissing Secawa as merely a teenage Indian squaw. Nat makes her feel safe, understands and believes in her; so of course, Secawa falls deeply in love with him. She’s afraid he will go on to study at Oxford in England and never return. She doesn’t fit in with any tribe or with whites. Orphaned with no relatives, home is where Nat resides.
Jeremiah Jackson is another exceptional person of color. He’s a slave in the beginning who speaks the language of a slave. At the end, he’s a successful businessman who speaks the Queen’s English. And despite the terrible depravations he and his family experience, he remains a deeply religious man and a true Christian. Jeremiah is forced west along with Nat who he needs to go back and help free his family from slavery.
The mountain men depicted are characters right out of historical archives. John “Jack” Smith saves Nat’s life and teaches him how to survive on the frontier. The military leadership needs the colorful Jim Bridger. But they also despise him for his impertinence. Henri Valois single-handedly saves the 1851 Treaty Council from collapse. More Indian than white, these and other frontiersmen enrich the story.
Traveling with the Indians and serving as the Army’s medical liaison, Nat comes to know Native-American men and women as they actually were, and are today. Iovaino is a wisecracking Cheyenne. He doesn’t want to use his translated English name, Yellow Hawk, for fear his white brothers will shorten it to just “Yellow.” Black Feather is a Lakota medicine man, every bit as skilled as his white counterparts during the 1850’s. Washakie is the Shoshoni chief who skillfully avoids war with the whites while refusing to sign their treaties. These men love their wives and children. But along with the good comes the bad, including the thieves, kidnappers and rapists. The tribes are dwindling due to disease, tribal warfare and the assault of immigrants. Most of them are simply trying to survive.
Throughout Nat and Secawa’s frontier adventures is the dark shadow of the man who wants to find and kill Nat and bring Jeremiah back to slavery. There comes a time when the pursuit must be ended, once and for all.
Share
