The Travels Of Jaimie McPheeters
by Robert Lewis Taylor
Award: Pulitzer Winner 1959
Date Read: February 6, 2022
The Travels Of Jaimie McPheeters is a fabulous adventure story of the McPheeter father and son making their way west to join the California Gold Rush. The father, Sardius McPheeters, is a well-intentioned doctor, but a dreamer, an adventurer and a ne’er-do-well in the best sense. Jaimie is allowed to accompany his father on his journey at the age of 13 and as a curious and fearless teenager, finds himself in many precarious situations that would cow any adult.
In a nutshell: Jaimie falls overboard on a ferry but manages to hang onto a gold pouch of a man who had died on the ferry. He stumbles onto a farmhouse where the occupants plot to sell him as an indentured servant. He is then found by a terrifying trio of highwaymen, with a kidnapped girl in tow. When commenting on Jennie’s sour mood, one of the men reply, “She’s likely got something in the oven. They mostly do after they get to be ten or eleven.” Holy hell!
Jaimie is rescued by a friend of the family, Mr. Chouteau, who puts Jaimie and Jennie on a ferry to meet up with Jaimie’s father. They run into the highwaymen again and this time, one of them is caught and hanged, while the other two escape. The McPheeters boys join a wagon train that will ultimately form life-long bonds for their family.
The going is hard and full of Indians, wagon mishaps, disagreements, delays, the purchase of a young Indian girl in exchange for a red blanket, a run-in with some unscrupulous Mormons, Jaimie becoming a blood-brother to the Sioux for delivering a letter to the chief’s brother, and so many more adventures. I often was reminding of The Way West by A.B. Guthrie but perhaps enjoyed this more.
What makes this story such a success is the relationships formed along the trail and Sardius’ good humor throughout. He is able to paint the bleakest reality into a rosy light as evidenced in his letters home to his wife. Living the reality alongside him, however, as Jaimie is forced to do when they are down and out in San Francisco is another thing entirely. There were some rough times they endured.
A surprise at the end that is glaringly obvious from it’s introduction is still heartwarming and satisfying. And I respect Taylor for sticking to the true nature of the character he created in Sardius McPheeters, having him continue his life on his own terms. Overall, an excellent look at the difficulties crossing America, the hardships of the Gold Rush and a fabulous adventure tale of early American life.
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