Drifter

by Daniel P. Mannix

The only light that Jeddy sees when he wakens on his board bunk in the one room cabin that he shares with his parents and sister is the dim glow from a single window. Life is simple and often hard for the Proudfoot family, but Jeddy loves the animals that live in hills and deserts that surround their land in Southern California and longs for one of his own. Not one of his father's hunting dogs, but a friend that he can raise and train, a friend that needs him.

However, Jeddy's father makes a living for his family by killing varmints. He's a hunter by trade and shoots any animal that he sees with an instinct as strong as the hounds who chase it. Animals are meant to be killed ― that's the only view he knows. He is therefore bewildered by a son who is distressed by the savagery of the hunt and the suffering of the animals that he slaughters. Jeddy would prefer to live without harming anything and he sees his father as a hard and unyielding man ― strict and sometimes cruel.

It is on a seal hunt with his father and a family friend that Jeddy stumbles upon a seal pup who has drifted away from his colony and is now alone, abandon and vulnerable. In an inexplicable instant, the pup and boy bond. At long last Jeddy has found the friend he's longed for, and, fighting fiercely against the wishes of his father, he brings the seal pup home.

Although the story is alight with information about animals, it is also a story about a father and son, who through hardship and near-tragedy, are awakened to the value of the other's perspective. Drifter was a Newberry Medal nominee in 1974.

Genres: Fiction

234 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Daniel Pratt Mannix IV was best known as an American author and journalist. His life was remarkably different from other writers of his generation. His career included times as a side show performer, magician, trainer of eagles and film maker.

The Grest Zadma was a stage name Mannix used as a magician. He also entertained as a sword swallower and fire eater in a traveling carnival sideshow. Magazine articles about these experiences, co-written with his wife, became very popular in 1944 and 1945.

As an author Mannix covered a wide variety of subject matter. His more than 25 books ranged from fictional animal stories for children, the natural history of animals, and adventurous accounts about hunting big game to sensational adult non-fiction topics such as a biography of the occultist Aleister Crowley, sympathetic accounts of carnival performers and sideshow freaks, and works describing, among other things, the Hellfire Club, the Atlantic slave trade, the history of torture, and the Roman games. His output of essays and articles was extensive.

Reviews

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A writer with an extraordinary sensitivity towards animals gives us a book whose memory lingers as out-of-the-ordinary. No wonder Drifter was a Newberry Medal nominee. It's too bad that Drifter didn't win the medal for more kids would have enjoyed being part of the connection that Jeddy, the main character, had with Drifter the seal pup that he raised. A lovely read.

[Byron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daniel P. Mannix’s Drifter begins with promise, opening on an action-packed coyote hunt and a poaching operation that quickly draws readers in. These initial chapters establish young protagonist Jeddy Proudfoot and his compassionate adoption of a young sea lion pup, Drifter, creating a captivating setup. Mannix’s straightforward style and knack for dramatic pacing lend the story a sense of immediacy, immersing readers in Jeddy’s early experiences with the wild animal he’s taken under his wing.

For fans of Mannix’s work, these scenes deliver what he does best: realistic, detailed accounts of a nonhuman protagonist’s life. However, the novel loses its momentum as it progresses, pivoting from Jeddy and Drifter’s bond to focus more on Jeddy’s familial relationships. While Mannix’s action scenes and naturalistic prose are consistent, his tendency toward exposition-heavy passages detracts from the main plot, which is ostensibly about Jeddy’s relationship with Drifter. Chapters detailing Jeddy’s training of the sea lion are rewarding, but too soon, the narrative drifts into a series of tangential events. This lack of focus makes Drifter feel less like a cohesive novel and more like a collection of loosely connected scenes.

Unfortunately, Mannix undercuts the emotional stakes by sidelining Drifter in favor of storylines about Jeddy’s family and hunting trips. With no culminating scene to underscore the poignant separation between boy and sea lion, readers are left without closure; Jeddy learns of Drifter’s changed affection only through secondhand reports. This narrative detour is particularly unsatisfying, especially as the novel’s title and cover suggest a deeper exploration of Drifter himself.

Ultimately, Drifter will appeal to Mannix’s devoted fans but falls short of his best work. Readers new to Mannix would be better served by starting with The Fox and the Hound, The Last Eagle, The Wolves of Paris, or Secret of the Elms—each of which showcases his skill in combining compelling narratives with his love for animal subjects. For those willing to explore his mid-tier works, Drifter offers a solid, though somewhat scattered, adventure.