Betsy and her lover, Ike, run away from home and join a wagon train bound for California. On the trail and in the mining camp Betsy grows into a strong woman.
It's 1849. Betsy is 18, a minister's daughter, and pregnant. To escape the shame, she and her lover, Ike, join a wagon train bound for the California gold mining camp of Hangtown. On the trail and in the rough-and-tumble camp Betsy outgrows Ike and becomes a strong, independent woman.
The novel is based on the folk ballad of the same name, a stanza of which introduces every chapter. The historical background was distilled from dozens of gold-rush diaries. Historical figures who appear include John Aubry, Brigham Young, John Studebaker, Philip Armour, Mark Hopkins, Joaquin Murrieta, Lola Montez, and Bayard Taylor.
Excerpt
Betsy pushed her lover away. "I asked my pa, Ike, and he won't let me harry ya. He says y'ain't of age an don't have no prospects to support me."
"Well," Ike said, "we'll jes have to wait, I guess. In two years I'll be twenty-one, and I reckon maybe yer pa'll let us git married then."
"Ike, we cain't wait no two years."
"Betsy, honey, that's a sweet thing for ya to way to me. It gives me shivers to think ya live me that much."
"That ain't what I mean, Ike."
"It ain't?"
"Oh, Ike, honey, I'm gone a have a baby, and I don't think I can hol it in that long."
Professional Reviews
Sweet Betsy from Pike
It's a great read! With attention to history and with a folklorist's wink, Sackett has created characters who endure beyond the page.--Dr. Don Eulert, California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego
Sweet Betsy from Pike
Folklorist Sam Sackett illuminates the classic American ballad "Sweet Betsy from Pike," fleshing out the story of Betsy and Ike in this remarkable novel of love and adventure, including travel from Pike County in Missouri to Hangtown in California and life in a mining town. It is a heartwarming story about a sweet, innocent, caring, and dependent girl maturing into a strong, independent, caring, and resourceful woman. Each chapter, headed with a verse from the ballad, provides a detailed account of Betsy's experiences which are summarized in the verse. An interesting sidelight is Ike's fascination with Sir Walter Scott's novels, with Ike comparing himself to Scott's characters as he faces various challenges. The geography and history ring true, including encounters with several historic characters, providing an authentic and readable story of frontier life during the California gold rush. It is a sweet novel. -- Dr. Leo E. Oliva, author of Soldiers on the Santa Fe Trail
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