The Great Turkey Walk

After failing the third grade for the fourth time, 15-year-old narrator Simon Green is told by his teacher, Miss Rogers, that it is time to find his own path. A neighbor, Mr. Buffey, mentions that his turkeys, worth little locally, would fetch high prices in Denver.

Inspired, Simon plans to drive 1,000 of Mr. Buffey’s turkeys to Denver. Despite his extended family’s mockery and their disbelief that Simon is clever enough to go into business for himself, he trades his inheritance from his guardians for an old wagon and buys four mules and other supplies from them, promising to pay them back after he sells the turkeys. He then convinces Miss Rogers to invest her life savings as his business partner. After signing a repayment contract with his aunt and uncle, Simon prepares the wagon for the long journey west.

After buying the turkeys, Simon travels to the nearby town of Union to hire help. He finds Bidwell Peece, a mule skinner who has an alcohol addiction, and after helping him sober up, he offers him a partnership. Mr. Peece and his dog, Emmett, accept.