Men must be ruthless to survive in the western frontier. Kindness and mercy are few and far between. Go about your way and don’t get into anyone else’s business.

Except Mary Breydon is not a man, and she ends up jeopardizing other people’s business.

Famed western author Louis L’Amour is known for his vivid storytelling and wild west tales that keep readers intrigued amid the fast-paced action. A string of his novels focuses on the Sackett family, but he also wrote plenty of standalone books with other enthralling characters.

The Cherokee Trail features a female protagonist who learns to tough it out in the wild while navigating a male population who is intent on her execution.

Let’s take a look at this whirlwind novel! Yes, spoilers ahead…

Synopsis

The United States is in the middle of a bloody Civil War and the Overland Stage Line is expecting Major Breydon from the U.S. Calvary to come and take command at the Cherokee stagecoach station. Scant Luther wasn’t prepared for the major’s widow to show up instead.

Mary had nowhere else to turn. Her family estate was destroyed by a vigilante crew, who also killed her husband in the process. She wasn’t expecting her husband’s murderer, Jason Flandrau, to be nearby the station, let alone be running for governor.

With a quick wit and no-nonsense manner, Mary is able to get the stage station up and running thanks to the help of Peg, her daughter, Matty, an Irish immigrant, Wat, a wayward boy, and Temple Boone, a mysterious man who becomes a tremendous ally.

Atmosphere and good food are the most important qualities Mary works to instill in Cherokee station. In fact, she admits that “what she could do was to create a more restful, homelike atmosphere. On the way out from Missouri, she had noticed most of the stations were untidy, and the food was often thrown on the table.”

Meanwhile, Flandrau can’t compromise himself and personally eliminate Mary as a threat since that would ruin his shot at becoming a respected politician. Instead he sends in members of his former outlaw gang to get their hands dirty. One by one Mary and her new family outsmart each one.

When she learns that her horses have been stolen, she finally mounts her horse and travels to meet her closest neighbor, Preston Collier, who owns a wealthy ranch. Mary barges in on a gathering of noblemen and comes face to face with Sir Charles, a British officer she knew from her childhood. Sir Charles was one of many guests her father would invite to grand parties at the Harlequin Oaks estate in Virginia. A familiar face is what Mary needs, for Preston Collier instantly respects her, given her personal connection to the British officer.

As time progresses, Mary grows a united front and knows who she can trust when Flandrau decides to come for the kill. For now, all she can do is continue running an efficient station and ensuring that Peg and Wat have a proper upbringing. She learns that Wat’s parents were killed by Flandrau’s outlaws years ago. Wat is able to provide inside information on the gang while helping in Mary’s stables.

One day Wat takes Peg up the nearby mountain to explore old Native American camps. Scant Luther, who is still hellbent on getting revenge on Mary for her takeover of his stage station, is in no mood to play around. He has been camping on this mountain waiting for his opportunity to reclaim what is his. With Peg and Wat in immediate danger, Mary must decide if it’s time to finally do what she never wanted to have to do, not in the West, not in the East: kill a man. And so she shot Scant Luther to protect the children and Cherokee station.

Jason Flandrau continues his cowardly ways by sending in others to do his dirty work. He devises a plan to set up Mary. Word gets around that there is a Wells Fargo stage coming, and it holds a lot of money. There is fear that Denver Cross, the leader of Flandrau’s gang, will rob the stage when it gets to Cherokee station. So Mary and her allies prepare to defend themselves at that station. It turns out, however, that Denver Cross is misleading. Now that Collier knows that Flandrau is an enemy who cannot be allowed to seek a position in office, Collier is another threat that Flandrau must eliminate. Therefore, the stage attack is actually set to take place at Collier’s ranch while other allies are waiting with Mary at Cherokee station.

Yet again, Flandrau doesn’t realize Mary’s intelligence. In the nick of time, Mary puts two and two together. While she and her allies defend Cherokee station, Preston Collier has the U.S. Calvary and the Overland Stage Line’s division agent on his side. Between Cherokee station and Collier’s ranch, the remaining members of Denver Cross’s outlaw gang are either killed or imprisoned.

All is quiet. Jason Flandrau has double crossed everyone and now possesses the money from the Wells Fargo stage. He begins his trek to Mexico to start a new chapter of his life when he runs into a Comanche tribe. Little does he know, this tribe befriended Mary months ago. She made peace with the Native Americans and even fed their children when they were in need. In the end, they show Flandrau what happens to greedy, selfish, bloodthirsty men.

And Mary? For now she has the Cherokee station and the new family she’s built out West. She still longs to go back to the Virginia estate when the war is over. But for now, an independent woman won in the West.

Analysis

One drawback to reading L’Amour’s books is the number of characters you need to remember. In the case of The Cherokee Trail, men make up the majority of the characters. They’re either obstacles or allies for Mary. How does she fight the patriarchy?

• From day 1 Mary’s determination to run the station is scoffed at, especially by the man she’s firing. Drunk Scant Luther believes, “No woman can run a station on the Cherokee Trail! Why this here’s the roughest–Ma’am, you wouldn’t last two days!” (5). Mary does indeed last longer than two days!
• Although Mary grew accustomed to the fancy parties her father hosted during her childhood, she has the prime advantage of having been her father’s daughter. One night Mary reflects, “He [Papa] would have been shocked to hear her say it, but had there been a son, she would never have learned how to do so many things that she now knew” (21). In other words, she became the son her father never had. His military and ranching experience was passed onto her at a young age. Without a caring father who taught his daughter what she needed to survive, Mary wouldn’t have known how to handle horses or use a whip. She is prepared!
• Yes, women are stereotyped for their abilities to run a household, but these traits come in handy for Mary. Of course she could cook and clean for the stage passengers, but she also knew how to plan and organize. She even has a routine: “Each night, before going to bed, she took a small tablet and planned her work for the next day, thinking out each step that must be taken” (29). Mary knows what she’s doing!
• Mark Stacy, the division agent for the Overland Line Station had his doubts about a woman running the station. He travels out one day on a stage to evaluate her progress and methods. Mary couldn’t deny she was nervous. She had heard that “He [Stacy] was prepared…to discharge her and bring in a man, almost any man” (37). It didn’t matter what kind of man. Just not a woman! He didn’t care if the person was qualified. He just didn’t believe a woman was strong enough to keep both herself and the passengers alive. Luckily, Stacy was very impressed and becomes another ally.
• Mary loves reading and wants Peg and Wat to read the classics she had. She even tries to persuade Temple Boone to read. Reading leads to knowledge. For her, reading isn’t feminine. It is a necessity.
• Several times throughout the plot, characters, especially Matty, mention to Mary that she and Temple Boone would make a great couple. Matty can’t help but point out that “He’s a fine figure of a man” (48). Mary is lonely, but she still misses her deceased husband. Mary has hope, but she’s not ready to fall into Temple’s arms like a damsel in distress.
• Women are great at listening and observing. These feminine qualities work to Mary’s benefit. She remembers that her father told her to “Learn to see what you are looking at” (59). Here her father is talking about the ability to see a person’s true colors–to look beyond surface level. Mary has a great ability to do so. She can see deep down into men like Jason Flandrau, which makes men like him squeamish.
• The cooking and cleaning? Again, Mary has that etched into her memory and routine. As the story progresses, the quality of her work only improves. She even plans to grow a garden! She knows her cooking isn’t the best, so she wants to refine her recipes and have the food hot and ready (78). Not all women can be so meticulous and keep a rifle in the corner!
• In the end, Mary is valued. Mark Stacy admits that, even after the railroad is built and stages are obsolete, “We need people of vision, both men and woman. And–well, we need you” (176). At last Mary is perceived as woman who can handle the frontier and help transform it for the better.

Louis L’Amour had a knack for storytelling, and he remains one of the best selling American Western authors. If you’re looking to find yourself immersed in an action-packed tale of character-building and grit, look no further than The Cherokee Trail.