Open Land;
Little, Brown & Company: 1933.



B.M.Bower



        Government land was theirs for the asking – “A full section up in the Broken Hills country, plenty of good water and pasture land, fine soil, some pine timber—“ It seemed to be just the piece of range that the Roberts family wanted, what with Dade ailing and getting into bad habits in town, Than longing for range, and Mom ready for anything that was right for her boys.

        There was only one trouble – Sam Bearnson’s powerful Tepee outfit didn’t like the “homesteaders” and they had the Roberts’ ground fenced in. That meant fight, but fighting for their rights was just what Mom and Than and Dade were best at.

        Trouble started as soon as they took over. There were run-ins with Tepee punchers, burnt Hayricks, range fires, and finally a false accusation of rustling against Than that nearly wrecked all the hopes of the grimly tenacious Roberts family.

        How Than and Mom and a new Dade beat Sam Bearnson, inspired by the example of lovely Jean MacHardie, and the friendship of faithful Blaney King, the land-agent, makes a story of the old West that rings true, and that combines tense excitement with a heartwarming romance.