The Camp in the Foot-Hills; or, Oscar on Horseback

Oscar, an eager young naturalist, has been hired by a university to trek into the western foot‑hills and collect specimens for a new museum exhibit. He watches a stagecoach leave Julesburg, its passenger a repentant runaway named Leon Parker, and instinctively offers the cash and friendship the desperate man needs. As the cold wind gathers and the distant mountains darken, Oscar feels a pang of homesickness, thinking of his mother and his steadfast friend Sam Hynes, even as he steels himself for the adventure ahead.

The trail will lead him through sagebrush valleys, across open plains and into the shadow of towering peaks, where hunting wild horses and tracking elusive wildlife become his daily test. Along the way, Oscar’s sense of duty to the museum collides with his growing attachment to Leon and the rugged camaraderie of the frontier. Listeners will taste the humor, the raw beauty of the landscape, and the restless spirit of a boy who must choose between ambition and the pull of home.