Bushy : $b a romance founded on fact

by Cynthia May Westover Alden (1862–1931)

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"Bushy" by Cynthia May Westover Alden is a novel written in the late 19th century. It follows Bushy Sukolt, a miner’s daughter growing up in a Rocky Mountain camp, whose courage and practical sense are tested by frontier dangers, mining hazards, and encounters with wildlife and hostile forces. With her father, and aided by loyal companions like Tom, Shanks, the dog Rover, and the cat Pete, Bushy’s adventures blend peril with warmth and frontier humor. The opening of the story frames Bushy as a real child shaped by rugged surroundings, then traces her move from Iowa to a remote mining camp after family misfortune. Early episodes show her fierce loyalty and daring: she smuggles her cat into a fort during an Indian alarm (the cat dies, teaching a hard lesson), saves the miners by smothering a fallen lamp before it ignites powder, and thwarts a lynching by perching on the accused with revolver drawn until her father arrives. Further scenes pile on frontier trials: she locates her father beneath an avalanche and summons a rescue party; Rover hauls her from a rising pond; she helps during a flood with a lariat; and, after a rattlesnake bite, she deftly prevents poisoning. Hunting and survival punctuate the action—she brings down a buffalo from a trained pony—and the section closes with an ambush where she wounds a charging Navajo and Rover saves her, underscoring the book’s mix of danger, resolve, and filial devotion.