“Do you think I could be a flying-machine pioneer? Asked Carl Ben Eielson.

The railroad agent looked at the little boy and laughed. “Maybe you could, Carl Ben. After all, your parents were pioneers in the settlement of Hatton, North Dakota. But, if I were you, I’d stick to trains.”

Even as a boy, though, Carl Ben was not content to “stick to trains.” He was born at a time when revolutionary developments were taking place in travel and transportation. He was born just one year after Henry Ford built his first automobile and just six years before Wilbur and Orville Wright successfully flew the first heavier-than-air machine. Carl Ben Eielson was determined to be a part of these new developments.

When the adventuresome Carl Ben first went to Alaska, he fell in love with the “Big Country.” It was a beautiful land, but often a cold, heartless, and cruel one. Vast regions lay undeveloped because there were no adequate transportation facilities. Immediately, Carl Ben foresaw a grand future for his new home. A dream began to form in his mind-airplanes could transform Alaska into a progressive and productive giant.

The young one-time army pilot used his meager savings to buy an old Curtis Jenny. When veteran Alaskans saw the rickety airplane, they scoffed at the idea of trying to fly in the rugged land of ice and snow, but Carl Ben quickly proved that the sourdoughs were wrong.

In due time, the Alaskans, young and old alike, came to depend on this first “bush” pilot and his airplane. He carried gold, quicksilver, fish, furs, and reindeer meat from the bush country to the towns and shipping centers. He carried food, medicine, and supplies to the miners and trappers who lived in the desolate bush country. Often the brave young pilot risked his life, flying missions of mercy under the worst flying conditions.

Carl Ben proved to the United States government that air mail was feasible in Alaska. On his first air-mail flight, Carl Ben covered, in three hours, a distance that normally required eighteen hours by dog sled.

Hortense Myers and Ruth Burnett have captured the vital personality and indomitable spirit of a very real, twentieth-century pioneer. They have written a story that will inspire young readers to accept the challenges of the exciting world in which they live-challenges that demand the pioneering spirit.

From the dust jacket