Synopsis
In 1896, a Norwegian immigrant named Helga Estby and her teenage daughter, Clara, set out to walk from Spokane to New York in order to win a $10,000 bet, hoping to save her family's home from foreclosure. Armed with pistols, five dollars each, and equal parts determination and desperation, they set out on May 5, and supported their journey with odd jobs and, as they became objects of curiosity, photographs of themselves. They arrived in Manhattan in December, only to find that the contract was not honored. Penniless, they arrived back in Spokane the following summer, and Helga was vilified by the community for abandoning her family--two of her children had died of diphtheria in her absence. The family never got over the shame, and most of her papers describing the experience were destroyed after her death. Now, in BOLD SPIRIT, the drama of the tale has been recreated by means of newspaper clippings and family reminiscences.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2005-01-04 | | Edition Description: | Reprint |
| Size | | Length: | 307 pages | | Height: | 8.3 in | | Width: | 5.3 in | | Thickness: | 1.0 in | | Weight: | 10.6 oz |
Publisher's Note
In 1896, a Norwegian immigrant and mother of eight children named Helga Estby was behind on taxes and the mortgage when she learned that a mysterious sponsor would pay $10,000 to a woman who walked across America.
Hoping to win the wager and save her family’s farm, Helga and her teenaged daughter Clara, armed with little more than a compass, red-pepper spray, a revolver, and Clara’s curling iron, set out on foot from Eastern Washington. Their route would pass through 14 states, but they were not allowed to carry more than five dollars each. As they visited Indian reservations, Western boomtowns, remote ranches and local civic leaders, they confronted snowstorms, hunger, thieves and mountain lions with equal aplomb.
Their treacherous and inspirational journey to New York challenged contemporary notions of femininity and captured the public imagination. But their trip had such devastating consequences that the Estby women's achievement was blanketed in silence until, nearly a century later, Linda Lawrence Hunt encountered their extraordinary story.
Industry Reviews
"[P]reserves a fascinating glimpse of Helga and Clara's adventures and their growing political and social awareness. Hunt skillfully fleshes out...bare bones with backgrounds on geography, history, [and] social trends....Numerous historical photographs bring the era to life."
Bloomsbury Review - Barbara Petoskey
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