Customer Reviews

The Cherokee Trail

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved this book! In the Cherokee Trail we meet Mary and her daughter Peg on their way to start a new life after her husband was murdered. Mary is planning to run a stagecoach station miles away for home. Little does she know that her husband's murderer is in town and knows her wareabouts. Mary meets many obstacles and dangers, but with the help of a mysterious gunman and an Irish maiden, she overcomes her fears and proves that she is there to stay. She is not the least bit afraid to whip the bad out of a bad guy! This is a MUST READ book!

I really enjoyed reading this book. The book The Cherokee Trail was about a women named Mary Breydon who travels west to Colorado to be the manager of a rundown stagecoach station. Mary's husband had originally planned to run the station, but he was shot and killed by a ruthless guerilla Jason Flandrau. This book has a lot of well developed characters including the quiet gunman with a past, Temple Boone, Matty, the irish maid, Wat Tanner, the boy who knows too much, and Scant Luther, the old station manager with a grudge. The story has a very interesting plot. Soon after she comes to Colorado, mary learns that Flandrau is a respected figure in the community and is up for Governer. Flandrau soon learns Mary is in town, and wants her dead because she could tell the town about all the plundering and wrecking he did in the south. To find out what happens to Mary, and to find out about Temple's interesting past you should read his book.

THE CHEROKEE TRAIL is one of the few westerns that treat woman as main characters in a realistic manner. Mary Breydon and her daughter Peg struggle to survive after her husband is murdered.
A previous reviewer took issue with a Confederate being in the Colorado Territory while the Civil War as raging in the East. For the answer to that one I will refer him to Hampton Sides, BLOOD AND THUNDER (Life of Kit Carson) and a little known incident of the Confederate foray from Texas into New Mexico and Colorado. Mr. L'Amour's research and knowledge of western history was on the money.
Writing as a Small BusinessQualifying Laps: A Brewster County NovelGuns Across the Rio: A Texas Ranger in Old MexicoBlood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West

I have read just about every book written by Louis L'Amour. I started reading his work when I was about 12 years old, and now I am over 60 and still enjoy his stuff. I believe that this story must have beeen written in his early years and never published, because it wasn't good enough. After his death, I think his family must have taken all of his old unpublished work, and got it put into print based on his fame and success. These later books, including "The Cherokee Trail", just dont match up with his best stuff. I cut my teeth on the "Sacketts", "Hondo", and "Heller with a gun". This book just isn't in that league. On the plus side, however, it is still a worthwhile read. Since Louis is not around anymore, I guess I will settle for what I can get. His less than best is still better than the majority of the current Western writers out there.

I'm a 15 year old boy who hates reading yet this is one of the only books I can't put down! It is great, theres action on every page. Louis L'Amour has done yet again with this instant classic. This story shows the coruage of one woman, who is afraid, but she won't back down1 It simply great! I loved it!

This 1982 release from Louis L'Amour takes place between Denver to the south across Colorado Territory and north to Laramie, Wyoming. But most of the story takes place on the Cherokee Trail between Virginia Dale Station, Owl Canyon, Laporte, and Fort Collins on the eastern end of the Cherokee Trail. These stage stations allowed passengers daily or several times weekly to disembark to rest a bit while refreshing themselves with a meal, plus a fresh set of horses were needed hitched to the coach. Some few stations did offer over-nighters, but those were very few in this area of the Cherokee Trail, and mostly the food the passengers received was not of very good quality. That is until Mary Breydon takes over and her station with its crew of helpers drastically improve the bill-of-fare, to such degree that she becomes the main talk of the region.

Mary is a tough young woman of both stout nature and body, a person who can adapt to the difference between plantation life in Virginia and the requirements of the new rugged, western area of the Overland Trail. The Civil War is yet raging and she has been forced for several reasons to leave her Virginia home, along the way she also becomes a widow. All of this helps form the grid upon which Louis L'Amour shapes this novel. The novel is mistakenly seen by some readers as only the story of a woman trying to do a man's job, i.e., running the stage station. But the larger theme here is of an easterner coming out to the west and eventually becoming part of the region, accepting it with love as both her present and future home. As this novel moves along Mary receives a surrogate group of people young and old who become a replacement extended family to replace the original one she has just recently lost. Working toward a common goal they become pioneer builders of this area.

The ending of this book comes along somewhat suddenly and I have it in my mind that Louis might have eventually written a follow up to this book. Nothing can be certain, however, but the ending after 179 pages in the hardcover leaves that surmise very much open to question. Through those pages we are treated to several views of a west that Louis L'Amour felt deeply about, feelings such as: new starts being accepted in the west, people could ask for help and get it but they were expected always to do the best they could, his feelings of the land and building of the railroad and what that could mean to the west. And as we know, in 1869 the country was united by a trans-continental railroad, helping the west to be joined forever with east. Louis always believed in family, town building, and a frontier that continually is receeding. This book is certainly one that exhibits so many items that Louis L'Amour gave strong voice to in several of his books.

This then is not just a book about one woman alone, it is about a group of like-minded people, diverse as could be, but all working together to build not only new lives but also new homes and towns. In the main it is very much a book similar to others, such as, Bendigo Shafter, Milo Talon, Fallon, and a few others offering equal insight and tribute to the daily struggles the west required as civilization was brought to it.

Semper Fi.

This 1982 release from Louis L'Amour takes place between Denver to the south across Colorado Territory and north to Laramie, Wyoming. But most of the story takes place on the Cherokee Trail between Virgina Dale Station, Owl Canyon, Laporte, and Fort Collins on the Eastern end of the Cherokee Trail. These stage stations allowed passengers daily or several times weekly to disembark to rest a bit while refreshing themselves with a meal. Some few stations acted as overnighters but those were very few in this area, and the food the passengers received was not generally very good. That is until Mary Breydon takes over where she and her crew of helpers drastically improve the bill of fare until she is the talk of the region.

Mary is a tough young woman of both stout nature and body, a person who can adapt to the difference between plantation life in Virginia and the new western area of the Overland Trail. The War Between the States is yet raging and she has been forced for several reasons to leave her Virginia home, and along the way she becomes a widow. All of this helps form the grid upon which Louis shapes his novel. The novel is mistakenly seen by some as only the story of a woman trying to do a man's job, i.e., running the stage station. But the larger picture here is of an easterner coming out to the west and eventually becoming part of the region and accepting it with love as both her present and future home. As this novel moves along Mary receives a surrogate group of people young and old who become a replacement family to the original one she has recently lost. Working toward a goal they become pioneer builders of this area.

The ending of this book comes along somewhat suddenly and I have it in my mind that Louis might have eventually written a follow up to this one. Nothing can be certain, however, the ending after 179 pages in the hardcover leaves that surmise open to question. But through those pages we are treated to several views of the west that Louis felt deeply about, such as: new starts being accepted in the west, people could ask for help and get it but they were expected always to do the best they could, his feelings of the land and building that could be done on it, with continual mention of the building of the railroad and what that could mean to the west. And as we know, in 1869 the country was united by the railroad helping the west to be joined forever with the east. Louis always believed in family, town building, and a frontier that continually receeds. This book is certainly one that exhibits many items that Louis felt strongly about.

This then is not just a book about one woman alone, it is about a group of like-minded people, different as could be, but all working together to build not only new lives but also new towns. In the main it is a book too that ranks along side Bendigo Shafter, Milo Talon and a few others that offer insight and tribute to the daily struggles of building up the civilized west.

Semper Fi.

This is a really good book. The main character is a woman. I would really give this Book 7*s. She is widowed and has a little girl to take care of. She runs a guy out of the stage station with a whip so she can take over.

I was on vacation in Arizona, and being out west left me with a very strong desire to read Louis L'Amour book. Luckly the local Library in Glendale AZ , Had this book for sale for a Dollar. It was exactly what I wanted, Good book. I give it three stars because, It is kind of unbelievable, I could have lived with the Man who raided their land back home, and was running for office, and she wanted to stop him. The fact that he also was the one who killed her husband??? Just little too far. Also it is kind of wierd she acts like she wants to hide from this guy but then tells everybody her real name, and tells them her life story??? That aside I really did like this book. My favorite story of his is the Iron Marshal

The Cherokee Trail is the story of a Civil War widow who travels west to run a stage coach stop in Colorado. The book had the suspense and flavor of a run-of-the-mill episode of Gunsmoke: interesting enough while it lasted, but hardly anything compelling.