Dan Grayson Livres

In the concluding book of the quadrilogy, Sampson, Sam's son sees a beautiful woman at the slave auction and Sam buys her, along with an additional abused slave. Both slaves receive manumission papers, declaring them to be free, and Sampson soon marries the woman. Sam visits his home in Poland, becomes ill, is cared for by a sharp-tongued widow, marries her and they return to the plantation. A Misouri cattle raiser comes to buy some of Sam's prize cattle and Sam decides to go back with him. After a pleasant visit, Sam decides to see parts of the West, and leaves on a fascinating journey that ends in San Framcisco, where he gets involved with a former prostitute, a Chinese-American Tong leader, and the construction of a gambling, prostitution, and opium palace. Disgusted with the immoral aspect of the enterprise, he returns home. He and his family at the plantation have been brutally treated by a Union Army officer at different times and the story culminates in a confrontation between Sam and the officer.

EMPTY BARREL, the third book of the quadrilogy, continues the saga of the life of Sam Jacobsen and his relatives, from the War of 1812, to the Mexican War, up to the beginnings of the American Civil War. It describes the burning of Washington D.C., and includes brief insight into the Presidency of James Madison and the reign of his wife, Dolley. When Sam's relatives sail from Europe to America, they are unable to get through the British blockade on the East Coast and finally settle in New Orleans. Sam decides to visit them and travels by keelboat down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers with Mike Fink, a colorful character who has legendary notoriety similar to that of Davey Crockett. Finally arriving in New Orleans, Sam is precipitated into the war, is wounded, and recovers under the care of an attractive young woman who is involved in the local Voodoo style of medicine. They have a mutually agreeable relationship. He returns home and is delighted, with his wife, to adopt a small boy from Europe. After a tragic episode, Sam enlists the help of a woman versed in Black Magic to avenge the murder of his wife. A cousin is drafted to fight in the Mexican War and eventually winds up in Baltimore, where Sam befriends him. He marries Sam's daughter and embarks on a career of preaching.