Life's Many Journeys — Louise Bouck

This is book #2 in The New Life Series. The two main characters in the story so far are on the prairie and later walking through the virgin forest of the frontier. Ben Slater, just fifteen, the younger of the two had learned to rely on God and his own ability. Jedidiah Jones was developing a brotherly bond with Ben that would last a life time. On this trip they experience life threatening danger, along with their adventure. A lone surviving woman from a wagon train was discovered by Stump, Ben's dog, as he explored the forest where they camped. Elizabeth Ann Wilson was near death from exposure and starvation. Jed shortened her name to Beth and when she was well enough she became their companion. Later as they battled the strong current of the Silver River, Ben recognizes a sign of the relationship that was forming between Jed and Beth. After they visited at the settlement they returned to Ben's hut and their team spirit began to grow. Jed and Ben had planted a garden before they left and as they went to check it Beth found that a black, male wolf stood snarling at her on the path. Stump jumped in to dispatch the intruder and did so only with the help of a large female wolf! They worked together to battle the weeds and appreciated the growing promise of food for the winter months ahead. At that point in his life, Ben's longing was to create a horse ranch on the land his father had chosen. He wasn't quite sure how to do it, but eventually he and Jed would form a plan. Things like a buffalo stampede and a huge boulder that dropped through Ben's roof, shaped their lives. Nature was at work gently molding the raw land into the S. and J. Ranch of Ben's desire. The magnificent stallion that roamed the area with his beautiful herd found himself confronted by their ingenuity. A surround made it impossible for him to keep all his mares and foals. The team work once again proved successful. As they rejoiced at the start of the herd for the ranch, they questioned, how they could keep them. They had to prevent him from taking them back. Later it became necessary to take refuge in Ben's barn. Instead of a hardship they found it a time of pleasurable bonding for humans and animals. Have you ever cuddled with a young foal? Their entire lives together were an adventurous journey, driven by tenacity and devotion that would be recounted by following generations, many times in the years ahead. Join them now in Life's Many Journeys, and feel the deep emotions stirred by the wild frontier and the developing of a ranch that would survive until the end times.