By the Great Horn Spoon! facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Sid Fleischman |
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| Illustrator | Eric von Schmidt |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novels |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
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Publication date
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1963 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 193 |
By The Great Horn Spoon is an exciting children's book written by Sid Fleischman and published in 1963. It tells a fun adventure story set during the famous California Gold Rush. The main characters are a brave twelve-year-old boy named Jack and his loyal butler, Praiseworthy. They travel all the way to California to search for gold. Their big adventure begins when Jack's Aunt Arabella loses all her money, and they need to find a way to help her.
Contents
The Great Gold Rush Adventure Begins
Journey to California: A Race Across the Seas
The story starts with Jack and Praiseworthy secretly boarding a ship called the Lady Wilma. They are soon discovered by Captain Swain, who makes them work for their passage. The captain tells them his ship is in a big race against another ship, the Sea Raven, to win a prize. Jack also makes a new friend: a pig he names "Good Luck."
Praiseworthy and Jack use their cleverness to find out who stole their money for the trip. They discover a tricky person named Cut-Eye Higgins took it. Captain Swain then makes Cut-Eye Higgins work in the ship's coal storage. Jack and Praiseworthy find their money hidden in one of Cut-Eye Higgins' cigars. On the ship, they also meet other interesting passengers like Mountain Jim, Dr. Buckbee, and Azariah Jones.
A few days later, the Lady Wilma helps another ship that is stuck. The crew of that ship tells them the Sea Raven is already far ahead. The ship's cook tries to catch Good Luck the pig for dinner, but Praiseworthy, Jack, and Mountain Jim manage to trick him. At night, Jack hides Good Luck safely in a small boat at the back of the ship.
Trouble at Sea and Clever Trades
After a stop in Rio de Janeiro to get more coal and supplies, Dr. Buckbee discovers his special map to a gold mine is missing. They also realize that Cut-Eye Higgins and the small boat where Good Luck was hidden are gone! The passengers figure out that Cut-Eye Higgins stole the map and escaped.
Eventually, the Lady Wilma reaches the very stormy Cape Horn. After many difficult weeks, they finally make it through. Praiseworthy learns that they took a shortcut through the Strait of Magellan, which means the Sea Raven is now behind them!
As they continue their journey, Jack and Praiseworthy make a smart deal with Monsieur Gaunt and Azariah Jones. Azariah's potatoes are going bad, and Monsieur Gaunt's grape cuttings are drying up. Jack suggests sticking the grape cuttings into the juicy potatoes to keep them fresh. Monsieur Gaunt buys Azariah's potatoes, and both men promise to get Jack and Praiseworthy new shovels and pickaxes when they reach land. Azariah also tells all the other passengers how smart Jack and Praiseworthy are at trading.
Winning the Race to Gold Country
The Lady Wilma stops at Callao for more supplies. Monsieur Gaunt and Azariah Jones keep their promise and buy Praiseworthy and Jack the last two picks and shovels they can find, along with two gold-panning pans. However, they discover that the Sea Raven took all the coal from Callao! Praiseworthy and Jack get back on their ship, and some cats from Callao join them.
The Lady Wilma soon passes the Sea Raven, which is moving slowly because it's weighed down by all the coal it took. But then, the Sea Raven passes the Lady Wilma again because it has fresh coal. Praiseworthy reminds Captain Swain about the wood stored in the ship's cargo area. Captain Swain decides to use the wood as fuel. This allows the Lady Wilma to speed up, pass the Sea Raven for good, and win the big race!
Life in the Gold Fields: New Skills and Old Enemies
After arriving in California, Praiseworthy and Jack give a miner named Quartz Jackson a haircut. Quartz Jackson teaches them how to pan for gold. He even finds some gold dust in his beard and gives it to Praiseworthy, who puts it in his left glove. Praiseworthy and Jack then start their own barber shop business.
Later, Jack buys a special horn spoon, and they head off to the gold digging areas. While riding a stagecoach, Jack and Praiseworthy unexpectedly meet Cut-Eye Higgins again. However, the stagecoach is suddenly stopped by robbers! They take most of the passengers' valuable items. When a robber tries to take a picture of Aunt Arabella from Praiseworthy, Praiseworthy punches him with his left glove, which is heavy with the gold dust. The robber is knocked uphill! Later, when Praiseworthy and Jack try to get Dr. Buckbee's map back from Cut-Eye Higgins, he says the map was in his coat, which the robbers took.
Finding Gold and Family
Jack and Praiseworthy arrive in a town called Hangtown. They meet Pitch-pine Billy, a miner who gives Jack coffee and teaches them more about finding gold. He apologizes for accidentally shooting one of their gold pans, thinking it was his. Pitch-pine Billy also lets them stay on his gold claim.
Later that day, when Praiseworthy and Jack go into Hangtown, they find out that the miners heard about Praiseworthy's amazing punch against the robber. The miners give Praiseworthy a new nickname: "Bullwhip." Later, Jack finds a gold nugget but accidentally has to use half of it to buy a large bundle of neckties at an auction. Jimmie-from-Town admits it was his fault and offers to pay Jack back, but Praiseworthy politely declines, telling Jack he made a very good purchase.
Soon, a challenge arrives for Praiseworthy from the Mountain Ox, a famous fighter who wants to box him. Quartz Jackson and his new wife arrive in Hangtown, and Jack and Praiseworthy earn money by selling the neckties to miners who want to look nice to see Quartz's wife. Praiseworthy and Jack use this money to buy a donkey and a small hunting rifle.
Later, while exploring, Jack meets a grizzly bear during a hunting trip. Jack accidentally falls into a coyote hole and is rescued by a former robber wearing Cut-Eye Higgins' coat. Jack takes the coat and rips it open with Praiseworthy, but they don't find the map. They realize Cut-Eye Higgins must have the map hidden somewhere else.
They continue walking and find a miner with a toothache. He tells them there's a dentist at Shirt-Tail Camp named Doc Higgins, who is actually Cut-Eye Higgins! They quickly go to Shirt-Tail Camp and arrive just as Cut-Eye is about to be punished for stealing a horse. Praiseworthy quickly comes up with a plan to get the map and save Cut-Eye Higgins by pretending Jack has a toothache.
The town's Justice of the Peace agrees to build a jail for Higgins and let him pull teeth, but he will still be punished if another dentist comes to town. The Justice then tells Jack and Praiseworthy to dig a deep hole for Higgins. They pick a nice spot, and as they dig, they hit solid rock. But it's not just rock—it's gold! They strike it rich! They work for a few weeks, digging for more gold.
Afterward, they sell their donkey, Stub, to the Justice of the Peace and turn in their mining tools. They then head back to Hangtown for Praiseworthy's boxing match with the Mountain Ox. A huge crowd is waiting. The Mountain Ox is big and strong, but Praiseworthy cleverly dodges his punches and finally wins with a powerful punch!
The next day, they almost drown when the boiler on their ship, going to San Francisco, explodes! They lose all their gold but survive. Praiseworthy and Jack then go to the Lady Wilma, but it's empty except for the cats from Callao. Mr. Azariah Jones, who is now an auctioneer, tells them that Captain Swain's crew left for the gold fields, and the captain went back to Boston. He explains that rats are causing problems for his business. Jack and Praiseworthy give him the cats from Callao. Soon after, Mr. Azariah Jones has many customers. By the afternoon, Jack and Praiseworthy's share of the money is over four hundred dollars.
While they are talking, Jack suddenly sees a girl who looks like his sister Sarah, another girl who looks like his sister Constance, and a woman who looks exactly like Aunt Arabella! It is them! At first, they don't recognize Jack and Praiseworthy because of their hats and boots. But Jack and Praiseworthy call out to them, and the family is finally reunited!
Although we don't know exactly what happened to the family after Aunt Arabella agreed to marry Praiseworthy (there's no sequel), it seems Praiseworthy plans to become the first lawyer in the gold fields.
Book Editions
The book was released as a paperback by Little, Brown in 1988. This edition received new pictures by Brett Helquist in 2013. An audiobook version, read by Willard E. Lape, Jr., was re-released in 2004.
Movie Version
This book was made into a movie by Disney in 1967, called The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin. The movie changed the name of the butler (Praiseworthy) and many other parts of the story.
