"A boy had to ride sometimes, or he would burst in pieces! Twelve-year-old Dirk, a son of the plain people, dearly loved his family and would not have traded shoes with any city boy. But, still, the ways of his people were so -this way exactly and no other way! It was hard to want to ride a horse so badly he 'could taste it,' and to have to forego the pleasure because 'a horse is to work.'" [book jacket]
A photographic study of the Pennsylvania Germans (mistakenly named Pennsylvania Dutch), portraying the people, their homes, farms, cultural background and customs.
This is a story of Hannes, a German-Lutheran boy who joined a band of Swiss Mennonites fleeing from Europe's desperate terror and poverty of the 17th century. It is a story of the perils of Hannes' journey and the improvement of his rifle, brought from his fatherland.
