Kate Devine, an out-of-town member of the Saddle Club, has invited Carole, Lisa, and Stevie out West to visit her family's dude ranch. This time the girls' parents are coming along, and the Saddle Club is looking forward to showing them how much fun riding can be—as well as how much work and skill are involved. But out West, the family vacation doesn't go exactly as planned. Lisa's mom is acting like a total snob, and Carole's dad embarrasses her by dressing like a real Eastern dude. What's worse, none of the parents seems to be taking horseback riding very seriously. Soon the girls are wishing that their parents—or the "Saddlebags"—had stayed home where they belong. Then, during an overnight cattle drive, a terrible rainstorm breaks out while the parents are off exploring an arroyo. The Saddle Club knows the "Saddlebags" are in grave danger—but can they rescue them in time?

Bill and his cousin Ned spend the summer riding their horses and camping in the mountains where they become mixed up with bootleggers and rum-running.

This charming account of life in Appalachia at the turn of the century is one of the three most important books from the early twentieth century that, as Dwight Billings writes in his foreword, have "had a profound and lasting impact on how we think about Appalachia and, indeed, on the fact that we commonly believe that such a place and people can be readily identified." Originally published in 1924, it was advertised as a "racy book, full of the thrill of mountain adventure and the delicious humor of vigorously human people." James Watt Raine provides eyewitness accounts of mountain speech and folksinging, education, religion, community, politics, and farming. In a conscious effort to dispel the negative stereotype of the drunken, slothful, gun-toting hillbilly prone to violence, Raine presents positive examples from his own experiences among the region's native inhabitants.

Contains 216 letters, the personal correspondence between George Washington Peddy, surgeon, 56th Georgia Volunteer Regiment, CSA, and his wife Kate.