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Skye's West #1
Sun River
They call him Mister Skye He's big, he's tough, and he knows the West as few others do the trails, the people, the weather - everything from which a tenderfoot needs to be protected. Skye's biggest problem is protecting people from themselves. Mister Skye has agreed, reluctantly, to lead a party of missionaries to the Blackfoot Nation: to get there, they must pass through land controlled by the Crow and patrolled by the Cheyenne. To get there, they must also stop fighting among themselves, fighting about everything: about the Roman Catholic priest who joined their party, about Mister Skye's two Indian wives who are traveling with them, about the items Mister Skye insists must be left behind. To get to where they are going, the missionary party will have to survive, and without Mister Skye - drunk or sober - they have no chance at all.
320 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 1989
103 people want to read
About the author
Richard S. Wheeler
124 books66 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
There are other authors with this name. One writes Marine Corps history. Another, Civil War history. Another writes in the political sciences.
Richard S. (Shaw) Wheeler was born in Milwaukee in 1935 and grew up in nearby Wauwatosa.
There are other authors with this name. One writes Marine Corps history. Another, Civil War history. Another writes in the political sciences.
Richard S. (Shaw) Wheeler was born in Milwaukee in 1935 and grew up in nearby Wauwatosa.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 18, 2014
The first book in the Skye series and the first one of these I've read. An excellent story of a wagon train full of missionaries heading west, the culture clashes along the way, and the terrible price they pay.
May 13, 2022
I’ve finally fumbled and stumbled my way into the first book in the Barnaby Skye series. I’ve callously read them out of order for years and loved every book. It was fun to see how it all began finally.
It’s 1855 as the book begins. For various reasons, almost no one goes west that year. Since there’s a lull in the usual traffic, professional guide Barnaby Skye doesn’t have much to do. His booze supply is dangerously low, and while his two native American wives provide much amusement and entertainment, there’s only so much of that you can stand without having something else to do.
Enter a small cadre of determined Christians intent on bringing the white man’s ideas and habits to the Blackfoot Indians. Wheeler portrays the missionaries horribly here, but his portrayal is likely accurate. The head of the group is a Methodist preacher. He brought his whining pregnant daughter along and her corpulent, weak husband. Along with them is another unmarried preacher who is plagued with lust and wet dreams about Skye’s younger wife, Mary. For the record, she gives him no reason for his fitful sleep.
These naïve missionaries are sure the Blackfoot tribe in Montana will eagerly welcome them. Skye knows better, but he reluctantly signs on to take them. At the last minute, a catholic priest signs on, and things get ugly from there. Almost no one wants the Irishman along with his crucifixes and rosaries. But Skye needs the booze their money can buy, and he agrees to take them.
This is a magnificent study in character. These people run the gambit from those who love Jesus and will change their behavior and love to fit the frontier lifestyle to those who hate and despise those whom they are supposed to be converting. That’s the thing with Wheeler: You get these breathtaking cross sections of characters that mirror society so well. If you’re not careful, you’ll see yourself reflected in one or more of these people, and you may not like what you see. But you’ll definitely like what you read if you give this a try.
Before the book ends, someone callously blinds one of the travelers, and another mixed-race former slave finds ultimate freedom in the frontier.
The book ends appropriately, but it doesn’t end cutely in that gloriously satisfying way so many books end that authors write these days—all the loose ends tied up. Not so much with this one. Still, it’s a soul-searching reflective 11 hours at normal speed.
It’s 1855 as the book begins. For various reasons, almost no one goes west that year. Since there’s a lull in the usual traffic, professional guide Barnaby Skye doesn’t have much to do. His booze supply is dangerously low, and while his two native American wives provide much amusement and entertainment, there’s only so much of that you can stand without having something else to do.
Enter a small cadre of determined Christians intent on bringing the white man’s ideas and habits to the Blackfoot Indians. Wheeler portrays the missionaries horribly here, but his portrayal is likely accurate. The head of the group is a Methodist preacher. He brought his whining pregnant daughter along and her corpulent, weak husband. Along with them is another unmarried preacher who is plagued with lust and wet dreams about Skye’s younger wife, Mary. For the record, she gives him no reason for his fitful sleep.
These naïve missionaries are sure the Blackfoot tribe in Montana will eagerly welcome them. Skye knows better, but he reluctantly signs on to take them. At the last minute, a catholic priest signs on, and things get ugly from there. Almost no one wants the Irishman along with his crucifixes and rosaries. But Skye needs the booze their money can buy, and he agrees to take them.
This is a magnificent study in character. These people run the gambit from those who love Jesus and will change their behavior and love to fit the frontier lifestyle to those who hate and despise those whom they are supposed to be converting. That’s the thing with Wheeler: You get these breathtaking cross sections of characters that mirror society so well. If you’re not careful, you’ll see yourself reflected in one or more of these people, and you may not like what you see. But you’ll definitely like what you read if you give this a try.
Before the book ends, someone callously blinds one of the travelers, and another mixed-race former slave finds ultimate freedom in the frontier.
The book ends appropriately, but it doesn’t end cutely in that gloriously satisfying way so many books end that authors write these days—all the loose ends tied up. Not so much with this one. Still, it’s a soul-searching reflective 11 hours at normal speed.
October 1, 2013
A very good frontier western, this is certainly NOT the first book in this series. In this one Mister (Barnaby) Skye and his two Indian wives escort a group of missionaries and a Catholic priest to the Sun River so they can teach the Blackfeet about Christ, farming, and peaceful ways. Excellent adventures along the way
Want to read
May 24, 2012Joyce Sarick's Top 5 Westerns
September 7, 2016
A little heavy on Christian theology and Native religion for a Western, but Skye is an interesting character and there are some exciting encounters with desperadoes and hostile warriors.
July 21, 2008
The first book in the author's Barnaby Skye series. I loved it and immediately bought all the rest.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews