Treasure Canyon — Jerry S. Drake

TREASURE CANYON "Could someone write a western version of Treasure Island?" was the question. "Not exactly," was the response, "but it is a challenge to try!" Admittedly 'borrowing' some characters, emotional relationships, and the treasure-seeking premise of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale, this author has written an original and significantly different story set in the Colorado territory of the early American frontier. Left behind by their California bound wagon train, after the illness and death of her husband, the young widow Sara Wilkins and her 12-year old son, Jim, are poverty-driven to work for meager wages in a saloon at a high plains trading post. After a shooting in the tavern, a dying outlaw gives young Jim a pouch of gold coins and precious jewels as well as a map supposedly showing the way to a hidden treasure in the nearby Rocky Mountains. With the help of a young U. S. military officer and a seemingly friendly frontiersman, Sara and Jim decide to risk their small gold and jewel windfall to form a treasure-hunting expedition. With marauding Indians, vicious outlaws, and the dangers of the wild mountainous country, the hazardous road to uncertain riches reveals a new peril at every bend of the trail. A family-friendly adventure yarn for both youth and adult readers.