In 1866, Josh Logan, his mother and his father are on a wagon train bound for Wyoming when natives attack the wagon train. In the course of the attack, Josh’s mother buries her son in sand with just a reed as a breathing tube. Josh is the only survivor of the attack. After everything, he buries the dead and makes his way westward again toward Wyoming. Josh Logan is just 13 years old. Josh is looking for Laramie, Wyoming where his mother was to teach school. Josh convinces the school to take him on in his mother’s place, even if just doing odd jobs. That’s where the adventure begins and it’s where Josh Logan begins keeping journals of his life in Laramie.
The Josh Logan Journals consist of seven journals. You’ll note they bear the numbers 1- 7 on the covers. Read in sequence, they draw a nice sketch of the flow of Josh’s life.
BOOK #6:
The Summer of Change – Josh is now a mature teacher and writer. He writes western stories for the western magazines in the East. Like every good write, Josh always has his eye open for an interesting story. This journal begins with a description of a freak spring storm that dumps snow in the mountains around Laramie. Josh also relates to us that the storm led to the discovery of a dead body — a man who died during the storm in his cabin in the mountains. As it turns out, this man is an old gunfighter from the early days of the west. Josh hears about the man and does his own research to find out who the man was. This event is the catalyst for Josh thoughts about changes occurring in the West. We get to see, through Josh’s eyes, the effect of these changes on people’s lives at that time. Josh shows us that he is a good observer and interpreter, and a good writer.
