"A poignant and inspiring story of a woman's strength and determination to find family and love!"
Captive Trail
By: Susan Page Davis
Posted: January 16, 2012
As soon as Sister Natalie found out the reason for his sudden stop, she insisted that he investigate. Shocked, he discovered an unconscious fair-haired woman in well-worn Comanche clothes. He knew she was a run-away captive and was going to take her to Fort Chadbourne, however, the Sisters insisted that they would be better at caring for her at the mission they were going to rebuild.
Ned was worried she might just run away again as many of the children taken captive by the Comanche missed that lifestyle when brought back into white society and their families again. Yet, when Taabe Waipu starts to regain some of her English words, she seems determined to go home to her white family and struggles to make sense of small wisps of memory. Would she ever find them again and why did they abandon her?
Feeling a strong attraction to her, Ned visits her as much as he can and tries many ways to find out who she might be. Would his efforts do more harm than good? What if the Peca, the man Taabe was to marry, and the Comanches come looking for her? How can the nuns protect her at their isolated mission?
Captive Trail is the second book of a planned six in the Texas trail series about four generations of the Morgan family in Texas (1845-1896) that can be easily read as stand-alone works or in depth as a series. In CAPTIVE TRAIL, Susan Page Davis has written a poignant and inspiring story of forgiveness and reconciliation based on the true accounts of white children captured by the Comanche and the impact that captivity has on their families and themselves.
Within a heartbeat, Davis' powerful writing pulls the reader right into Taabe's journey as she seeks her freedom and family. The author's attention to detail and historical research makes for very authentic characters and a strong story line. During the early settlement of western North America, most captive children, if found again, had trouble re-integrating back into their former lives and Davis does a terrific job in depicting the mixed feeling and emotions that Waape feels as well as some humourous situations as she seeks to understand her former world again and finds love. A CAPTIVE TRAIL is a truly captivating read you won't want to miss!
Book Summary
The Captive Trail is second in a six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896. Although a series, each book can be read on its own.
Taabe Waipu has run away from her Comanche village and is fleeing south in Texas on a horse she stole from a dowry left outside her family's teepee. The horse has an accident and she is left on foot, injured and exhausted. She staggers onto a road near Fort Chadbourne and collapses.
On one of the first runs through Texas, Butterfield Overland Mail Company driver Ned Bright carries two Ursuline nuns returning to their mission station. They come across a woman who is nearly dead from exposure and dehydration and take her to the mission.
With some detective work, Ned discovers Taabe Waipu identity. He plans to unite her with her family, but the Comanche have other ideas, and the two end up defending the mission station. Through Taabe and Ned we learn the true meaning of healing and restoration amid seemingly powerless situations.
Read an Excerpt
by: Susan Page Davis
Moody Publishers
August 1, 2011
On Sale: August 1, 2011
Featuring: Ned Bright; Taabe Waipu
272 pages
ISBN: 0802405843
EAN: 9780802405845
Paperback