It is the spring of 1858.

The men of the log drive are camped along the river.

The fire crackles.

The stars are shining bright.

The young man with the tenor voice is singing a ballad.

"Come all you bold Penobscot boys, and listen while I relate

Come sit here 'round the camp fire, and listen unto me

Concerning a young river man, and his untimely fate;"

A yell comes from the riverbank.

"Quick! Men are stuck on a jam."

The camp empties.

Batteaus are launched.

All men will risk their own lives to save the four who are stranded in the middle of the near-freezing river. There, they are balanced on swaying logs ready to drag them to their death.

The river drivers are skilled with their axes, pick poles, and peaveys.

But, not all rivermen can read the river.

One among them seems to have Penobscot River water in his blood.

* * *

• With the ice still clinging to the river's bank, would you push your wooden boat out into the rushing spray of the rapids in the dark of night? With no way to see the wagon-sized chunks of sharp protruding granite merely waiting to split your craft and send you to a watery grave?
• Did you ever wake a bear from his winter's nap to be chased through the snow-covered forest?
• Have you felt the chill of being lost in the remote Maine woods, with no fire, no food, and only a slim chance at surviving a winter's night?
• Could you stand waist deep in icy river water to pull, by hand, tons of lumber across a flowing stream where even horses gave up?
• Would you mine in the heat-killing desert near Death Valley, while an armed murdering madman was looking to kill you?
• In your nightmares, have you ever laid flat in a muddy field while the Confederate Army shelled your position through a dark and rainy night?

Those are only a few of the experiences in the life of Maine pioneer David Stone Libbey.

This novel brings you along for a lifetime of stories.

David Stone Libbey led a life of adventure, risk-taking, and exploring; yet, many do not know his name.

As you read, you will feel you are deep in the Maine woods hunting the moose and the bear.

The rod David is holding will appear to be in your hands as you land a trophy trout.

The writing will transport you to the battle fields of Civil War south, where you will be fired upon and robbed of your dearest possessions.

Down river rapids you will go, hoping to help save David from a near certain death.

To San Francisco and Nevada, you will travel along with David where he will try a new way of life and then be stranded far from home. There, he will catch a killer.

Maine historian and writer, Fannie Hardy Eckstorm, wrote of Libbey, "He was one of Maine's thoroughbred woodsman and waterman, one of the most notable of our hunters; (he went) to the deserts of Nevada, in the seventies (1870s), when it was rough there, where he set up mining machinery and met western bad men, and he unarmed and unruffled made them behave themselves."

David Libbey was also a writer and naturalist. He contributed articles to the national outdoorsmen magazines and Maine papers. He often signed his essays, Penobscot. The editor of Forest And Stream, wrote of Libbey: "Penobscot knows the Maine country as well as any man living, and what he may write will be sure to be intelligent and authentic."

In this book, Maine Author, Tommy Carbone informs the reader, in an entertaining and captivating way, about this period of history of the United States and this remarkable man.