"M.B. Tosi continues her series of wonderful books with The Solitary Path of Courage, an exciting story of the Old West. As with all of her books, this one is alive with adventure, genuine history, difficult decisions, and faith. It is a book to enjoy."
~ Jim Langford, Director Emeritus of University of Notre Dame Press and bestselling author
EXCERPT:
Introduction
I had been crouched for a long time in the tangy, earthy smelling hayloft, and my baggy pants with patched knees and crumpled plaid cotton shirt were drenched in perspiration. To make matters worse, it felt like a platoon of a hundred fire ants was swarming across my body to the cadence of a silent bugler.
It was probably just some brittle stalks of hay savagely poking through the loosely woven fabric of my hand-me-down garments. Nevertheless, every few minutes I scratched, wriggled, and tunneled my way through the messy piles of hay. It was only when a splintered board noisily groaned under my weight that I became silent.
If the renegade Indians in the cow pasture ventured closer to the barn and heard me, I could be kidnapped, even killed. Earlier when I sprinted to the ramshackle structure for safety, frenzied whooping resonated through the nearby forest. Then galloping horses’ hooves splashed through a shallow creek and wildly pounded on the parched ground near the pasture.
I ran for my life! The sudden ferocity of the small band of Indians was shocking. The local tribes of Nez Perce and Cayuse were known to be peaceful, even good neighbors. Yet rumors abounded in recent days of gold fever striking settlers and Indians alike when gold and silver were discovered on tribal lands.
The endless waiting in the hayloft was unbearable! Patience is not my greatest virtue; in fact, I don’t lay claim to it being my virtue at all. More than anything, I wanted to ease my way out of the prickly hay and steal a look through a broken plank in the roughly hewn wall. But the risk of discovery outweighed my growing crankiness.
Irritably, my lengthy body squirmed back into its prison of hay. My lively imagination added a hoard of spiders and a few field mice to the cavalry of ants fighting for dominance on the moist battleground of my sweating body. At least my vivid thoughts kept me alert and ready to defend myself.
All at once, there was an ominous silence. It not only gave me goose bumps and reminded me of the eeriness of a graveyard tomb overrun with weeds and cobwebs, but it was unnerving after the ear-splitting shrieks of whooping! My heartbeat rhythmically drummed in my ears like tom-toms in a war dance.
Even stranger, the reassuring splotches of midday sun, which had been streaming through the hairline cracks in the barn timbers, began transforming to a malevolent blackness of a threatening thunderstorm. I trembled in fear for what might be happening in the pasture.
In the six months since being coldheartedly dumped in the Idaho Territory, I found the erratic weather to be a cause for alarm. Especially disturbing were the impressive displays of lightning and thunder roaring through the impassable rock formations of the mountains. The sheer vastness of the breathtaking cliffs sent storms ricocheting in every direction and causing climatic chaos, or so it seemed to a city girl like me from Chicago.
Like the volatile weather, the local Native American population was said to be growing unpredictable. I hadn’t lived in Idaho long enough to know much about either the weather or the Indians, but instinct told me it was foolish to take any chances with either one.
For years, the Nez Perce and Cayuse had accepted the presence of white settlers and missionaries in the area. In fact, some regularly attended the Protestant services and even helped with farming chores on the communal mission lands, where I was living with my newly adopted family. Every so often, it seemed something unexpectedly set the local Natives off. Similarly, Native Americans in other parts of the United States became restless when lands were threatened or government promises broken. All guesses were off on what caused the incident in the pasture.
Today’s attack occurred at noon. Earlier in the morning, the missionary compound was a deceptive picture of peace with cows mooing and a sultry breeze blowing through the shade trees. Since ten o’clock, I’d been sprawled on a roughly hewn lawn chair made of coarse wooden slats. With a giant canopy of leafy elm trees over my head, the cooling shade thankfully provided some relief from another sweltering fall day.
It would be inaccurate to describe my activity as relaxing in a lawn chair. I was actually serving the terms of my punishment for throwing a tin cup of water at my insufferable older stepbrother Lukas. Talk about being one of the most pig-headed human beings I’ve ever met!
The morning debacle went down like this. While my stepmother was scrambling eggs at the cast iron stove, Lukas was cracking jokes to his other siblings about my boyish behavior. Although I was peeved, I remained silent. Because I’ve only been part of the Thompson family since spring and my position in the crowded household is precarious at best, I rarely verbalized my complaints.
Getting back to this morning’s episode, throwing water on Lukas’ taunting face was a gratifying necessity. Unbeknownst to me, my older stepbrother innocently pretended to drop a half-eaten piece of bread under the family-sized oaken table. While he was supposedly picking up the crust, he secretly knotted the leather shoelaces of my sturdy work boots together.
When the meal was done, I unsuspectingly stood up and began to stack dishes, or at least that was my intention. Instead, my torso lurched forward as my feet got tangled on a chair leg. Several pottery bowls helplessly toppled from my hands and crashed into shards on the hardwood floor. As if all that weren’t bad enough, I gracelessly sprawled like falling mop, resulting in a huge bruise on my cheek.
My real father, a devout Christian, always taught me to be well-mannered, but this time my enraged response was swift and uninhibited. Looking back, it was actually quite impressive though out of character for me. After letting loose with a colorful string of expletives my father’s railroad cronies regularly used, my entire tin cup of water magically catapulted sideways onto Lukas’ sardonic face. His shocked expression was priceless!
It was a definite lapse in judgment. This is a religious mission, and off-color words and temper tantrums are not tolerated. The entire household was thrown into a full-fledged tizzy, except for my nemesis, Lukas, whose inscrutable dark eyes seemed to glint with admiration at my uncontrolled outburst.
Although it was pleasurable watching beads of water drip through my stepbrother’s thick brown eyebrows, I was actually filled with remorse. Not only had I offended my strict stepmother but also my impressionable younger stepsisters and stepbrother Josh.
As I was preparing an apology, my stepmother jumped into the fracas and reprimanded only me, not the real culprit Lukas. I became stone silent and swallowed any intended words of regret. Completely ignoring the bruise on my cheek or my shoelaces being tied together, she chastised me for my foul mouth and ingratitude toward my new family.
My punishment was to read a lengthy illustrated book on comportment for young ladies in the hope of learning proper manners and ladylike behavior. Lydia Thompson, whom I address according to her specific wishes as Ma’am or Miss Lydia rather than Mother, warned me my lack of manners and poor attitude would prevent me from finding a suitable man to marry someday. Talk about misunderstanding someone! If a man acted like Miss Lydia’s precious son Lukas, who would want one? Not me!
So that is why I was relaxing under the elm trees near the pasture with the aromatic smell of cow patties wafting past my nose. It still seems strange I was learning how to say please and thank you when the Indian raid began.
M.B. TOSI is a bestselling author of The Indian Path Series, which includes The Sacred Path of Tears, The Secret Path of Destiny, The Crimson Path of Honor, The Thundering Path of Spirit and The Solitary Path of Courage. She also has been an editor of non-fiction books and a weekly newspaper. She teaches piano and has a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in education. Born in Pierre, South Dakota, she has lived in Alexandria, Virginia; Bucks County, Pennsylvania; and Toledo, Ohio. She has three children and five grandchildren.
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WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT THE INDIAN PATH SERIES:
Another great book by M.B. Tosi
I was so excited to hear that Author M.B. Tosi had released a new book, The Solitary Path of Courage, her fifth book in the Indian Path series. She has the wonderful ability to immerse you into the story as it unfolds, so that you are so engaged with the characters and the story that you don't want to stop reading. I loved reading it and learning about the history of the Nez Perce War and the tribe's final flight to Canada. M.B. Tosi did an excellent job of painting the picture and sharing the story from the Indian perspective - it's pretty exciting! I highly recommend reading this book and the whole Indian Path series by M.B. Tosi - they are great books and sure to delight you. ~ Kathy Perry, bestselling co-author of Stepping Stones to Success
Better than a Movie
M.B. Tosi is one of those authors that can bring words to life and make you feel that you are living in the story, seeing and feeling the sights, sounds, and emotions of the characters. It is more intense than seeing a movie, which can sometimes move so fast as to cause you to miss what the writer thought was important. In the movie you might become distracted by something in the corner of the screen missing out on the important but subtle point the author was trying to convey. In other words a good book is, or can be, more alive and more real than a good movie, and transmit the author's thoughts much more effectively than a mere film. Upon reading all five of M.B. Tosi’s books, I can happily recommend all of them and look forward to more from this fine author. ~ Dr. J.H. Beschenbossel, author of My Buddy Mr. Squash
A Must Read
Author M.B. Tosi has scored another success with her fifth book, The Solitary Path of Courage. In her unique Indian Path Series, which combines well-researched events in the Indian Wars with inspirational fictional stories about pioneers making their way in the Old West, history comes alive with realistic characters living their lives in dangerous times and war. As her stepbrothers become involved in the struggles of the Nez Perce Indians, a young woman courageously seeks her path as a journalist in a man’s world. Their lives become entwined as the Nez Perce flee their ancestral lands, and the fast-moving adventure reads like an action movie. I highly recommend this book. You won’t be disappointed! ~ Dr. Joseph S. Rubino, bestselling author of The Self-Esteem Book
A Wonderful Love Story
M.B. Tosi did it again. She wrote another book to keep readers up all night. The Solitary Path of Courage is a story filled with exciting adventures of settlers during the Gold Rush, war between the Indians and U.S. Army and, of course, a wonderful love story. Be prepared - this book has a marvelous storyline, you won't be disappointed. Thanks for another great read. ~ Elaine Cherry
Riveting Tale by a Masterful Storyteller
In The Solitary Path of Courage, M.B. Tosi continues her insightful tales of western life in the late 1800s. Her heroines are strong and resourceful, yet considerate and caring (not the prevailing "badass" stereotype) -- the kind of person you'd like to know, and the kind of Americans that you can imagine actually molded the civilization of the western United States.
Samantha O'Brien is orphaned on a wagon train nearing the Idaho Territory. The wagon master drops her at the home of a missionary family, who have children near her own teenage years. It's a time of upheaval. White settlers are encroaching on Indian lands, especially those attracted by news of new veins of gold. Traditionally, the Nez Perce Indians have been peaceful and willing to move to avoid conflict, but they are being backed into a corner.
After Samantha's mission home is attacked by rogue warriors, who kill her adoptive mother and kidnap her stepbrother, family life begins to unravel. Finding it unbearable, Samantha disguises herself as a male and leaves for nearby Lewiston. Continuing to impersonate a male, she lands a job as a newspaper reporter, and she makes a name for herself as an investigative journalist, including as a chronicler of Indian life, tribal conflicts, and pursuit by the army. Being well researched, the reader is not only entertained, but educated as well.
It's a riveting tale by a masterful storyteller that will leave you unable to put it down. ~ Regina M. Joseph, author of The Alterran Legacy Series
We are all Indians
Author M.B. Tosi has driven me to tears once again as I read her new Book Five of The Indian Path Series. In Tosi’s well-crafted book, The Solitary Path of Courage, a young girl grows into a courageous woman as she hides her feminine strength by masquerading as a male reporter.
Because the Native Americans were jealous of trespassers in their country, no permanent settlers were permitted by them prior to purchases of the land by early settlers or ceded to the government. The American Indian people’s land continued to shrink as white settlers moved west, while they had always made alliances, intermarried, and borrowed ideas and technology from other people.
Beginning in the mid-1600s in the East and continuing to the western wilderness, white settlers took Native American land that didn't end in the 1800s as Tosi explains in The Solitary Path of Courage. As The New York Times summed up the Nez Perce War with the government military making way for white settlements, “On our part, the war was in its origin and motive nothing short of a gigantic blunder and a crime.”
In the words of editor Ralph Dixey of Tevope in Fort Hall, Idaho, which were published in 1939, "Friends, we are all Indians no matter how white or dark you are. It does not make any difference where you are, what you are doing, or how much money you are making. We are all Indians..." I highly recommend that we Americans read The Solitary Path of Courage. ~ John G. Agno, Executive and Business Coach, author of Boomer Retirement Life Tips and Decoding the Executive Woman’s Dress Code
Great Role Modeling for Girls and Women
Another wonderful book by M.B. Tosi. I love the role modeling for girls and women. Samantha is feisty, courageous, smart, spiritual and very loving. She listens to her own feelings, regardless of what others think. She is deeply guided by God. I love the history we experience regarding Native Americans. The book is compelling reading. ~ Dr. Margaret B. Paul, co-author of Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You and Healing Your Aloneness and co-creator of Inner Bonding
A Wonderful Story
A wonderful story of a young girl whose faith and courage sustain her through realistic adventures in the old west of the 1870s. A delightful read! ~ Nelda G. Mold
The Solitary Path of Courage is Book Five of The Indian Path Series.
Each book in this bestselling series stands alone and focuses on a different Native American tribe during the Indian Wars in the late 1800s, and the lives of fictional characters are woven into the true events. In Book One, The Sacred Path of Tears, a young Cheyenne woman in Kansas is torn between two worlds at war and the two men she loves after the Sand Creek Massacre. Book Two, The Secret Path of Destiny, is about the Comanche in Texas and a young German-American girl who seeks refuge with the Comanche when her wicked stepfather pursues her.
In The Crimson Path of Honor, Book Three of The Indian Path Series, a young woman’s life is torn apart by her kidnapping, and she is forced to adapt to a whole new way of life as part of a Lakota band of Indians during the Indian Wars. Book Four, The Thundering Path of Spirit, is a compelling love story and spiritual journey told against the background of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
The Solitary Path of Courage, which is Book Five, is an exciting tale of the Old West of the 1870s. A young woman makes her way in a man's world as a reporter, finding both love and danger during the Nez Perce War.
The theme of The Indian Path Series is how to find life’s purpose and a path of peace, love, courage, and faith in times of trouble and danger. As American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, “If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”
In The Solitary Path of Courage, a young woman, Sam O’Brien, heads west with her father to the Idaho Territory, where he hopes to become a prospector during the gold rush. Tragedy strikes along the way, and Sam is abandoned at a mission in southern Idaho. When one of her new stepsisters runs off to avoid an arranged marriage, Sam secretly travels to rescue her in the rough-and-tumble boomtown of Lewiston, which is in the heart of gold country. Daring and resourceful, the young woman finds employment as a newspaper reporter and boldly makes her way in a man’s world.
In this realistic and dangerous tale of the Old West of the 1870s, Sam unintentionally becomes embroiled in the struggles of the Nez Perce to remain on their ancestral lands. Torn between her two stepbrothers, she becomes caught in the middle of the Nez Perce War and the tribe’s final flight to Canada. Before escaping to the safety of Lewiston with the stepbrother she loves, Sam O’Brien courageously travels with the Nez Perce and reports from the frontlines of war.
What It's About:
To thank you for ordering The Solitary Path of Courage, I want to offer you my third book, The Crimson Path of Honor, as a bonus. ~ M. B. Tosi
STEP ONE:
ORDER THE BOOK
STEP TWO:
FIND YOUR AMAZON ORDER# IN YOUR EMAIL
STEP THREE:
ENTER YOUR INFO AND CLAIM YOUR BONUS!
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