Pinto's Journey

Pinto Goodluck, a little Indian boy, lived with his mother, his grandfather and his burro, Ambrosio. His grandfather made beautiful jewelry from silver and turquoise. He traded it with other Indians for corn and bread and vegetables. Sometimes he sold it to the tourists in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and bought sugar and salt and coffee. Then the Great War came and all the young men went away and the turquoise mines were closed. Grandfather knew of a secret mine but it was a long way off and the journey was full of danger. Grandfather was too old to go. There were steep mountains to climb and wild arroyos to cross. There were all sorts of fierce animals, mountain lion and bears and buzzards. Pinto was afraid of all these things, but he was a very brave little boy. He decided he would try to find the secret mine himself. One night when his mother and grandfather and everyone in the village was asleep, he took some piñon nuts, three cold biscuits, a blanket and his bow and arrow and he and Ambrosio set out on the dangerous journey. How Pinto found the secret mine and brought home the turquoise is an absorbing adventure story for young readers. Wilfred S. Bronson wrote his first book at the age of eight. Called "Animal People," it started like this: "This book is for children who are interested in animals and birds. It has verey good pictures in it and children can understand it verey easily." He later learned to spell and wrote and illustrated many books for children with "verey good pictures" that they could understand. "Pinto's Journey," originally published in 1948, was written while he and his wife were living in New Mexico where he came to know his Indian neighbors and especially the small hero of this book.