Down the Mast Road by John Duncan

Fourteen-year-old Obadiah Merritt is living at home in Lee, New Hampshire with his mother Patience and their slave Pluvius, while Obadiah’s father is away in New Jersey involved with the Revolutionary War. The mayor approaches Obadiah wanting to hire him and his oxen Judge and Jury to cut one of the King’s pines for the mainmast of a ship under construction. Obadiah is thrilled with the opportunity to do a man’s job and to get a man’s wage. Patience Merritt is less pleased with the idea of her son doing dangerous work and being around what she considers to be “godless men with vile oaths.” The story follows Obadiah’s trials and tribulations as the young teamster works his way down the mast road. Down the Mast Road is a historical fiction written by John M. Duncan and originally published in 1956. This new edition was published in 2016 by the Lee, New Hampshire Heritage Commission to mark the 250th anniversary of the town. The text was transcribed from the original book by Scott Bugbee.