Land Of The Elms — Ralph Cross

Thirteen-year-old George Scott experiences one crisis after another in the action-packed Land of the Elms, which is set during the Oklahoma Land Rush and is historically accurate. George is embroiled in a series of events starting with his father coming home with a Flint Road Cart to be pulled by their horse so that George can be part of the historic event. Once they leave home, George rescues a wealthy heiress, becomes involved with con men who want to kill him, pushes on to the selected land alone when his father breaks his leg, is tricked by a woman he befriended, is caught in a tornado, and learns that the elms land is so sought after because it has rich soil. Surviving every challenge, George learns in the end that “There really is more than one way to win a horse race.”