Book about a boy that joins a traveling "snake-oil" show and eventually escapes, finds his father?

[Philip]

I used to have this book about 20-ish years ago.

Setting for the story is some time around the gold rush
Boy runs away from home (possibly an orphanage?), a man on a traveling wagon offers to hide him from searchers.
The man turns out to be a "doctor" who sells a fake "cure-all" potion / elixir as a traveling snake oil salesman. At some point the boy is put in charge of mixing the potion and realizes there is just a lot of pepper in it to make it taste strong.
They travel around, set up in mining towns and have a bit of a show, with the goal being to fleece people out of their money by selling the fake potions.
One wagon contains a blind strong man who is forced to perform. I think there is at least one other member of the troop, but I don't remember any details about them.
The boy is essentially held captive by some sort of threat, forced to learn juggling underneath the threat of a whip so that he can perform in the shows.
Often they are chased out of town once the potions are found to be fake.
Eventually he escapes and is chased by the "doctor". If I recall correctly, he carves a hole into the bottom of the wagon (locked for "safety purposes") and drops out onto the road. I believe the "doctor" chases them into a ravine, and the strong man lifts the boy up the rock wall so he can escape and remains behind to deal with the "doctor".
At some point the show is exposed and there is a large brawl.
I believe the boy finds his father??
I want to say it ends with them somehow owning a small mine that ends up having enough gold that they can live comfortably.

[Rainbowheart]

Me and Billy?

[Adele]

Possibly Willie and the Rattlesnake King?

[Philip]

Adele that's it!!! Thanks you!

[Philip]

Actually I looked again and and am not as sure... I would appreciate more ideas

[Kris]

Google Books has a limited preview of Willie and the Rattlesnake King by Clara Gillow Clark - Adele's suggestion. You might get lucky searching for keywords:

- https://books.google.com/books?id=1jV...

[Ayshe]

I suggested it on literature.stackexchange, posting it here as well: The Black Symbol?

[Kris]

A copy of The Black Symbol by Annabel Johnson & Edgar Johnson - Ayshe's suggestion - on eBay shows this description at the front of the book:

- "When Barney ran away to search for his father in the mining camps around Virginia City, he had no idea of what was ahead. Plunging through the blizzard, in terrible haste to get away from his unkind cousins, Barney saw only luck in being picked up and offered a job in Dr. Cathcart's traveling Miracle show. But when Barney learned that his work would consist of caring for Steve, the silent, sullen, blind strong man, his misgivings began.

Barney clung desperately to the truth as he saw it. It was hard for him to see reality under sham, and to learn that the printed word was not always the true one. It was difficult for a young boy, alone and often afraid, to learn that cruelty can masquerade as kindness, and that wisdom may be branded insanity. ..."