In the Heart of the Rockies

by G. A. Henty

First published 1895

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2.5(5)

Sixteen-year-old Tom Wade leaves England after the deaths of his parents and sets out for America in search of his uncle Harry, who has gone west as a gold-seeker. The journey takes Tom across the plains and into Colorado, where finding his uncle is only the beginning of a much harder expedition through country still largely unknown to outsiders.

Tom joins a small party facing pursuit, severe winter weather and attacks before they attempt a hazardous descent through the canyons of the Colorado River. Gold remains the practical reason for the journey, but survival depends more on cooperation, improvisation and learning how to read unfamiliar terrain. The novel turns Tom's search for independence into an extended exploration of the Rocky Mountain West and the Colorado canyon country.