Weeds in the Wiregrass

Living amongst the wiregrasses of the Florida Territory in 1836 was treacherous at times. So the Dover family found every day of their lives.

Ace and Amaly Dover head the family that runs the Three Springs Ranch. Their adopted son, Treff Ballowe, takes care of the everyday business while trying to dodge the bullets the Goodwin Gang keep sending his way. Old Grandma Goodwin would do anything to see Treffe dead.

One of those bullets meant for Treff hits his step-brother, Rusty. Wounded, Rusty is taken in by a beautiful Indian princess. With the Second Seminole Indian War going on, a white man in an Indian village is pretty risky business.

Then, only daughter, Marvelous, decides she needs to venture out into the wilderness to find her new husband, Hank. He has been gone over a month and she knows that something is terribly wrong. Over the objections of her parents, she heads out to find her love.

This is a very good story of a frontier family who work everyday to survive. I liked the vivid characters – good and bad, and the descriptions of the southern cities as they were back in the 1830’s. For me, it was especially interesting as I now live in Tampa, and knowing where Fort Brooke used to be, I look at that area now with new eyes. It is good to remember that there was something in the city before the towering skyscrapers and crisscrossing highways. The authors don’t take long to get right into the action, and the trail just stretches out from there!

Reviewed by: Kathy