The Codfish Musket

by Agnes Danforth Hewes, Armstrong Sperry (Illustrator)

Set in the early nineteenth century, the action in The Codfish Musket ranges from Boston and Washington to the western frontier, in a tale of gun theft and trading.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Juvenile

390 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1936

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really 3.5-3.75 so rounding up. This historical novel takes place in the late childhood and early manhood of one Dan Boit of Boston and is divided in 3 sections (Boston, Washington, Frontier) Dan is an orphan (dad killed during Revolution) living with his grandfather who seems quite young (given his excitement at joining the older boys clamming at the docks) when story first begins. The big excitement of the day was the arrival of Capt Gray and the US's first circumnavigation of the world which dates Dan to summer 1793, so he was probably no older than 14, but possibly younger (by his actions he seems younger). There is a lot of repetitive exposition in the first few chapters and the Boston section is the slowest to read; it's almost as though the author started her story when Dan was too young. The driving force for Dan is the story of explorer John Ledyard who conceived the idea of trading Northwest furs with China as well as the NW passage. When Dan is old enough he begins working at his landlord store which seems to be a mercantile import export business which sells guns among other things. His boss acts on Dan's tip and acquires a large number of musket marked with a codfish. And this is when Dan's nemesis, Tom Gentry, appears and the muskets are stolen. - Hewes isn't great at hiding her villain's identity, but Dan repeatedly finds Tom charming. Various things happen, Dan is sent to Washington to purchase the "new" rifles, just happens to meet Pres. Jefferson, and becomes his secretary...replacing Meriwether Lewis who is off organizing an expedition to the NW (to fulfill Ledyard's dream) in 1803. At this point Dan is probably in his late teens-early 20s. There is a fair amount of info on the politics of the Louisiana Purchase, and then Dan is sent off after Lewis with a letter from the Pres. And of course Gentry is going to show up again. In Hewes defense, there is a helluva lot of info tucked into this book which may be the reason for the repetition, but that repetition on info dumps is why it's not a 4+ for me. Also from a pc POV this was very much written when America's manifest destiny was 100% ok, and the First Peoples just need to get out of the way, as do the French and Spanish - British too, but at least they're really white. There is no mention that the black man serving Jefferson is a slave, nor that Dan's boss owns one too (Hannibal, who drives the carriage). The few encounters Dan has with First Peoples, he observes that they are not impressive and that one has greasy braids. All that said, I think that Hewes has written a fair depiction of the attitudes of the times. I read this for my 2017 Reading Challenge and my Newbery Challenge (Honor Book 1937).

[Archy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I barely made it through this one. If possible, the first 100 pages are 110% exposition. There isn't a lot of character development, and the only action (of any sort) happens in the final 30 pages. Even within the realm of 1930's Newberry books - this was a dud. There is some language that is (currently) racially insensitive. However, unlike some other books from this time, the "white man's burden" permeates the use of racial language which makes the book harder to read.

[Thomas Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started off slow but finished well. The book got especially exciting in Part III. Also, after some fact checking, this book is historically quite accurate as to the situation in Louisiana around the time of the Louisiana Purchase as well as to the life of John Ledyard.

Altogether, I was quite impressed, and the author did a fair job of tying it all together in the end.

[Amber Scaife · Rating 1 out of 5]

I struggled through this one and really had trouble staying focused on what was happening. The main culprits are my lack of interest in the arms trade in the 18th century United States and the dated and (therefore?) dull writing. In all, demonstrably not my favorite Newbery Honor Book.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me feel very patriotic and happy that I'm a Western gal.

[Scott Williams]

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[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ending enough that I didn't end up reading it a chapter a day; I wanted to keep reading when I got to the ends of a chapter. But not engaging enough to not feel too long. It was a fascinating time period that I've never seen covered in quite this way: a boy from Boston ends up working with Pres. Jefferson as the Lewis and Clark expedition tries to get underway. So, this is the juncture of the time of the Boston tradeships and the very being of westward expansion. I had no idea of all the conflict internally around the time of the Louisiana Purchase, and the British objections. This book, though, is very "glory of America" with all the racism that includes.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Glad this one is done. So much internal dialogue, historical musings, etc. but I learned about Ledyard, who I think was an interesting historical figure I’d never heard of.

[Desiree']

1937 Newbery honor book

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this apart from Jefferson's comments about pastors not having comforting things to say at a funeral. Apparently he wasn't going to the right church. Anyway, the beginning of The story is about Dan living with his grandfather. He works for Mr. Cotton, and after his grandfather dies, Mr. Cotton sent him to Washington, DC. In Washington DC, Dan meets President Jefferson and begins to work for him as his secretary. Jefferson later sends Dan with a letter to give to Meriwether Lewis just before he leaves for his Western exploration expedition. Overall, I really enjoyed the characters and the plot.

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story moves along slowly taking place in 3 locations: Boston, Washington (D.C.) and the frontier. It starts off about moving muskets, then adds in a letter the hero is to deliver to the Lewis and Clark expedition from President Jefferson.

Newbery Honor (1937)