The Wind on the Grass - James Prothero - Bog

Fourteen year old Sam Plunkett overhears a mountain man in his grandfather's shop mention the fact that his father is alive, not dead. In the spring of 1833, Sam lights out for the west, following the mountain man, in search of the father Sam needs and who doesn't know he's alive. The journey forces Sam to find his courage, and to learn a new world among the sweeping prairies and the alien cultures of the Native American peoples on the high plains. Sam's unstoppable determination keeps him growing toward that moment he both longs for and dreads: the moment he meets his father face to face.