
audiobook
by William Henry Giles Kingston
Chapter One. - Missing. - An Unexpected Return—Hugh is Absent—No Knowledge of his Whereabouts—Uncle Donald’s Apprehensions—A Hurried Supper, and Preparations for a Search.
Chapter Two. - An Indian Raid. - Scene of the Story—History of Archie and Hugh—A Journey Across the Prairie—A Village Burnt by the Indians—Uncle Donald pursues the Blackfeet—Arrival at the Indian Camp.
Chapter Three. - With the Red-skins. - Uncle Donald and the Blackfeet—The Chief’s Speech—A Fortunate Recognition—Ponoko gives up a Little Girl to Uncle Donald—Impossible to do any more—Ponoko urges Departure—Rose is Adopted by Uncle Donald—Hugh McLellan—Madge—Story of a Brave Indian Mother—Red Squirrel—The Household at Clearwater.
Chapter Four. - Three Grizzlies. - The Start after Hugh—A Foot-print—Following the Trail—Archer meets a Grizzly—A Miss-fire—Discretion the Better Part of Valour—Far more Bears—Help, and a Joint Attack—Hugh up in a Tree—The Result of Disobedience.
Chapter Five. - An Expedition. - Waiting for the Messengers—Two Tired Indians—Bad News of Archie’s Father—Uncle Donald Determines to Cross the Rocky Mountains—Preparations—News of the Blackfeet—Indian Canoes—The Expedition Starts.
Chapter Six. - Paddling up Stream. - The First Camp—Rapids—A Portage—Indians Attack the Canoes—A Race for Life—He’s Won just in Time—More Rapids in an Awkward Place—The Canoes Poled up Stream—An Upset—The Indians Again, and Hugh in Danger—Other Canoes to the Rescue.
Chapter Seven. - A Narrow Escape. - Hugh’s Canoe Arrested by Red Squirrel just in Time—The Canoe Saved—All got up the Rapids at Last—Camp at the Top—The Blackfeet reach the Camp to find the Party gone—The Indians Pursue, and Uncle Donald lies by for Two Days on an Island—End of the Water Passage—The Horses do not Appear.
Chapter Eight. - Among the Mountains. - The Horse Party arrives at last, but with half the Horses Stolen—The Start Across the Mountains—More Blackfeet in the way oblige the Party to take a Strange Pass—It becomes Colder—Snow comes on—A Pack of Wolves—Sleighs and Snow-Shoes—In the Heart of the “Rockies”—Corney has a Narrow Escape and a Cold Bath—Snow in the Canoes—Difficulties of the Way—The Pass at Last—A fearful Avalanche.
Chapter Nine. - Lost in the Snow. - The dividing Ridge—A Mishap—More difficulty with the Snow—The Provisions run short—The Dogs begin to Succumb—Hugh, Archie, and Red Squirrel are Lost in a Snow-storm—Done up, and no Shelter.
Chapter Ten. - Snowed Up. - Red Squirrel and Archie Dig a Hole in the Snow—The Snow Shelter—Sleep—No Food, and Buried in Snow—Efforts to Dig Out—Some Animal Scratches at the Hole—Last Efforts at Defence.
In this vivid frontier tale, a summer evening finds Uncle Donald and his kin returning from a hunt, only to discover that the young Hugh has vanished without a trace. The homestead bustles with worried voices—Rose, Madge, and the stoic Indian woman—while the scent of fresh caribou meat hangs in the air, and a lingering rumor of a grizzly prowling the nearby mountains adds a nervous edge. As daylight wanes, the community must decide whether to press on with a hungry supper or set out into the untamed wilderness in search of the missing boy.
Through crisp dialogue and rich description, the story captures the rugged life of the Rocky Mountain settlers, their deep bonds, and the ever‑present tension between human ambition and nature’s raw power. Listeners are drawn into the palpable anxiety of the search, feeling the cold wind, the crackle of fire, and the echo of distant animal tracks. The narrative promises a suspenseful first act that balances humor, hardship, and the quiet heroism of a frontier family confronting the unknown.
Language
en
Duration
~2 hours (156K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
Release date
2010-11-29
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1814–1880
Best known for lively sea stories and adventure tales, this Victorian writer helped shape generations of young readers' taste for travel, danger, and moral courage. His books drew on a life that stretched between London and Portugal, giving his fiction an outward-looking, international feel.
View all books
by William Henry Giles Kingston

by William Henry Giles Kingston

by William Henry Giles Kingston

by William Henry Giles Kingston

by William Henry Giles Kingston

by William Henry Giles Kingston, Henry Frith

by William Henry Giles Kingston

by William Henry Giles Kingston