The Making of a Cowboy

Fifteen-year-old Billy Higgins is left with no family after witnessing the murder of his Pappy at the hand of the McClures, who had been feuding with the Higgins family for many years. He knows they will be coming for him next, and he is forced to flee his home, leaving behind a bountiful harvest and even worse, his childhood sweetheart Betty Lou Sawyer. With no place to go Billy decides to chase after his dream of going West and being a cowboy. The Making of a Cowboy documents his journey to fulfill that dream. Along the way he is helped by a number of generous folks, some of them famous characters from the Old West. Unfortunately, he also makes a few enemies along the way as well. Eventually Billy ends up in Las Animas, Colorado. Kentucky was a long way from Colorado, and Billy had long ago given up any hope of ever seeing Betty Lou again. But everyone knows a young woman in love is not to be denied.