How Many Miles to Sundown?

Here is the humorous saga of three young people journeying on their own through the wilds of the Southwest in the 1890's. They are Beeler Quiney, an invincible girl of thirteen, her ornery brother Leo, and Nate Graber, who is searching for his missing father.

At the start Nate gladly accepted Leo's offer to join him on his quest. He didn't realize that the handsome horse Leo brought was Beeler's or that she would follow in hot pursuit, accompanied by her pet steer, Travis. Willy-nilly, Nate found himself traveling with the two Quiney's, although one - especially Beeler - turned out to be more than enough! As they wandered through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona Territories, looking for the elusive Mr. Graber and a town named Sundown, they encountered bandits, Indians and wild animals. Whatever the challenge, Beeler left her mark.

An unforgettable character, Beeler radiates vitality, bounces with vigor. Patricia Beatty has told her story as a companion piece to A Long Way to Whiskey Creek and given her fans a heroine to delight the staunchest feminine heart.

"Parker Quiney and Nate Graber retrace the steps that took them A Long Way to Whiskey Creek - this time in a futile search for Nate's wisdom-bringer father and accompanied, or rather pulled along by, Parker's gumptiony sister Beulah Land Quiney and her pet longhorn Travis. Beatty still turns a pretty fair tale, though this time it isn't necessary to wait for the wrap-up background notes to recognize the traveling circus bicyclist, Billy the Kid McCarty, and titanic Major Ella Gordon as just the sort of old-time Southwest folks Beatty delights in resurrecting. Nevertheless, the company of horsesensical, determined Beeler Quiney makes covering the same territory a second time an unexpected pleasure." Kirkus Review


Genre: Young Adult Fiction