Blue River

Blue River is an action packed story of seven kids, in Kansas, in the 1840's. Indians kill then loot their families' wagons and leave nothing for them to survive with. The seven youngsters mesh as a family and together they fight untrained oxen, kidnappers, cattle thieves and their doubts as they try to escape persecution. Along the way they pick up Bill, a big black man. David Little takes the family north into Nebraska and settles on the Blue River and they build a ranch in Indian country. Laura, the second oldest, and Dave become involved and he flees to Santa Fe at the time of the Mexican War, mapping what is now Arizona and New Mexico while fighting Apaches. He ends up in California after the war mining gold with the Army. His unit is killed off an paper, betrayed by men in the Government and nearly annihilated. But seven men escape the treachery and struggle to get back home.