The adventures of a three-legged snapping turtle as she travels from the headwaters to the mouth of the Mississippi River illustrate the life cycle of the turtle and the geography, history, geology, and climate of the river.
A struggling cottonwood sapling becomes a landmark to travelers, a peace-medicine tree, and after its death in 1834, a yoke which is used on the trail to Santa Fe.
The adventures of a three-legged snapping turtle as she travels from the headwaters to the mouth of the Mississippi River illustrate the life cycle of the turtle and the geography, history, geology, and climate of the river.