Wheels in the Dust

“Crumley, for your information, each one of our black

people will be called by their name or as ‘worker’! They

are NEVER to be called ‘nigger’ by you or anyone. Am I

perfectly clear on that?”

“The man who can pass over this route in one of the

Overland coaches without experiencing the feelings

of mingled terror and astonishment must certainly be

oblivious to every consideration of personal safety.”

After growing up with slavery on his family’s plantation in South Carolina and later receiving his degree in 1855 from the Yale School of Law, Benjamin Cartwell’s life becomes dramatically altered. Ben discovers just surviving on the raw and dangerous Western frontier challenging when asked to assist staging mogul John Butterfield, the mastermind architect of the Overland Mail Company, in establishing the infrastructure and placing into operation the epic transcontinental mail route between the Mississippi River and San Francisco.

This is a graphic and gripping story based on documented history that should keep the reader’s attention riveted to its last page.