About This Book
The story begins in Albany, NY, where the Erie Canal joins the Hudson River, in the summer of 1828. Peter Burnham has sold his home and business in Hartford, CT, in order to buy land in Western NY where his wife's brothers have settled. 16-year-old Martha burnham was enjoying the trip by steamboat until they reached Poughkeepsie, NY. There, Peter was killed and robbed, leaving his wife and six children without the means of reach their destination. 17-year-old Will has left to search for his father's killer. Miraculously, the rest of the family has found passage to Rochester on a canal boat owned by Captain Jed Reynolds. Exploring Albany, Martha is shocked to see a boy driver, or hoggee, as they are called, being beaten. The scene is repeated in Schenectady a few days later. Horrified, Martha learns it happens all the time. Martha's crusade on behalf of the hoggees, and Will's search for the murderer, are woven into the backdrop of events along the canal. In the end Martha finds love and will catches his quarry.
