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Most school children learn about the pioneers going west across the great prairies in their long wagon trains. Or they learn about brave families like the Ingalls who set out alone across the plains. What they usually do not learn about is how the southern states were settled, as people pushed down into parts of North Carolina and other states that had not been touched at the time of the American Revolution. The years between the American Revolution and the War of 1812 are often neglected in school, when a lot of this expansion took place, giving another reason for missing out on this piece of history. There is a lot more to the pioneer story!
Mystery at Bear Paw Gap, The Specter of Bear Paw Gap, and Battle at Bear Paw Gap, by Manly Wade Wellman, tell the story of how in 1792, the Jarrett family, father, mother, and two boys, settle in western North Carolina, which was an empty land with only a few wandering Native Americans. Eighteen-year-old Mark Jarrett is the hero of this trilogy, along with his older Native American friend, Tsukula. In many of the true pioneering stories, unscrupulous (white) land speculators enter in, trying to steal the best land from those who have already settled on it. Mark battles men like these along with natural obstacles and rescues a young woman, Celia, who is trying to survive with her two young siblings. Celia becomes a major character in the 2nd and 3rd books. The best part of this trilogy, besides the wonderful adventure and drama of the story, is the way it shows the reader how community is built, one family, one house, one store, and one local government at a time. This is the great story of American civilization, which was built, imperfectly, by Christian people trying to live out Biblical values while promoting self-control and self-government. These three books, for middle or high school students, can be read out of order – I originally did - but it is probably best to read them in chronological order – Mystery, Specter, and finally Battle. Note that adults like them, too…
Manly Wade Wellman (1903-1986) was an interesting American writer. He was born in the country of Angola in Africa, the son of a medical officer. The family then moved to America, where Wellman got a college degree in journalism in 1926. He and his wife lived for the last several decades of his life in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Wellman wrote for many different genres – comic books, mysteries, science fiction, and stories in which his heroes fought evil in the supernatural realm. Today, he is best remembered for his delightful stories and novels about Silver John, a wandering minstrel with a silver-stringed guitar who travels through the Appalachian regions and fights supernatural evil known only from whispered folk tales. During the time of his career, he also had a tremendous interest in American history, particularly of the Carolina areas, and so wrote many wonderful juvenile historical novels, like the Bear Paw Gap trilogy, which I will be reviewing from time to time. Don’t miss his four-part American Revolution in the South series (see my review).