Davey Jerrold’s Jacket

Curly and Little Sister dream of getting rich from land deals, so they travel to Washington, D.C. to make it happen. But government paperwork and legal problems block their plans at every turn. In the end, their big dreams fall apart, but they discover that their quiet life back in their small town actually makes them happy.

The dreams of Curly and Little Sister of a fortune in land claims lead them to Washington, D.C., where their plans run into government red tape and legal obstacles. Their hopes finally vanish, but through the experience they find happiness in their simple life in a small town.

On April 29, 1803, Col. Davey Jerrold, as President Jefferson’s emissary, gave the Hopisake Indians the land between the Mississippi and the Rockies in return for their land east of the river. The agreement was written on the back of Jerrold’s buckskin jacket, now worn by Little Sister, the Hopisakes’ last survivor. She just wants to wander around the land, enjoying it—until she meets a con man named Curly, who has ideas on how both can get rich—quick.