The Land of Lure: A Story of the Columbia River Basin

In Short

Elliott Smith's 1920 novel follows Travis Gully and his family as they abandon their former life to claim a homestead in the desert wastes of the Columbia River Basin. Facing relentless wind, bitter drought, severe blizzards, and isolation, the Gullys labor tirelessly to clear sagebrush, dig wells, and build a farm. Alongside a young exiled Texan named Jack Norton and a dedicated local schoolteacher, they endure physical exhaustion and financial uncertainty. The story endures as an authentic, unvarnished chronicle of pioneer resilience, showing how quiet determination and community solidarity transform a desolate wilderness into a thriving home.

The Story

The narrative opens in the wind-swept desolation of the Columbia River Basin, a region littered with abandoned shacks and broken wire fences that mark the defeat of earlier settlers. Travis Gully, driven by a desire for independent manhood and a home of his own, boards a train with his wife Minnie and their children. Upon arriving at their claim, they are confronted by a landscape dominated by sand, scorching summer heat, scant bunch grass, and stubborn sagebrush.

Survival requires backbreaking effort. To prepare for an extended absence while seeking work in distant wheat harvests, Travis builds a cement cistern with Minnie patiently mixing sand and cement at the surface. Leaving his family with water, Travis travels north through a dramatic coulee—past the nauseating, mineral-laden waters of "Poison Water" lake—to work the harvest. For five grueling weeks, amidst blinding volcanic ash and blistering heat, Travis stacks grain from dawn to dusk, sending encouraging letters home while sustained by dreams of a green, irrigated future.

As seasons change, the harsh climate tests the family's endurance. During a severe winter blizzard, Travis and Minnie fight through a freezing night to secure their poorly insulated house and protect their horses behind a sagebrush windbreak. Despite the hardship, the community finds solace in ingenuity and fellowship. When no evergreen can be found for a holiday gathering, Travis constructs a Christmas tree by nailing sagebrush boughs to a wooden scantling and dusting them with cotton batting.

Over time, their persistence attracts neighbors and opportunities. Jack Norton, a young Texan who originally surrendered his own claim, is inspired by Travis to stay and try again. Jack establishes a successful pumping plant, assists Travis with contracting work, and falls in love with the Gullys' daughter, Ida. Meanwhile, the arrival of land developers and surveyors—including Jack's estranged, wealthy father, Burns Norton—threatens to alter the region. Jack reveals his past, reconciles with his father, and firmly chooses his independent life on the basin alongside Ida.

As irrigation projects prove successful, Travis fulfills his dream of raising horses and cattle on lush alfalfa fields. Ida and Jack marry, and after a trip to the coast, they return with Minnie's aging parents, reuniting the family. The novel concludes as Burns Norton acknowledges that the true credit for reclaiming the desert belongs to the unwavering fortitude of homesteaders like Travis and Minnie.

How It Unfolds

Setting out for the basin The Gully family bids an emotional farewell to their relatives at the train station, stepping into the unknown as they travel toward the arid homesteading grounds of the Pacific Northwest.

Building the cistern Facing extreme summer heat, Travis and Minnie work side by side to dig and cement a domestic water cistern, establishing their very first defense against the desert drought.

The wheat harvest grind Travis journeys north to the wheat fields, enduring five grueling weeks of heavy pitching, volcanic dust, and suffocating heat to earn the money necessary to prove up on his land.

Ingenuity in the wilderness Refusing to let their children miss a holiday celebration, Travis and his neighbors construct a crude Christmas tree out of large sagebrush boughs and cotton batting inside the local schoolhouse.

Weathering the blizzard A fierce winter storm tears at their home, forcing Travis to dig through deep drifts for hay and burn old railroad ties to keep his family and livestock alive.

Reclaiming the desert With the help of young Jack Norton, Travis secures clearing contracts and installs pumping equipment, gradually transforming dusty sagebrush acreage into green alfalfa fields and productive pasture.

Reconciliation and reward Jack reveals his true identity to his wealthy father, marries Ida, and helps bring Minnie’s parents out to the Northwest to join a now-thriving pioneer settlement.

The People

• Travis Gully: An earnest, hardworking homesteader who moves his family to the Columbia River Basin. Driven by a deep desire to own land and provide for his children, he endures grueling harvest labor and relentless environmental disasters without losing faith in the region's future.
• Minnie Gully: Travis’s devoted wife, who works valiantly alongside her husband mixing cement, managing the home through terrifying blizzards, and maintaining family morale. She longs for her distant parents but finds immense happiness in her family's eventual success.
• Jack Norton: A resourceful young Texan living in self-imposed exile following a youthful tragedy. After initially failing on his claim, he is inspired by Travis to try again, eventually becoming a skilled operator, installing pumping systems, and falling in love with Ida.
• Ida Gully: The eldest daughter of Travis and Minnie, who grows from a young farm girl into a poised, educated young woman under the guidance of the local schoolteacher before marrying Jack Norton.
• Miss Anderson: The cultured, principled desert schoolteacher who provides education, dignity, and guidance to Ida while quietly building a life of her own on a neighboring claim.
• Burns Norton: Jack's wealthy father, a land investor who eventually travels to the basin, reconciles with his son, and invests in large-scale irrigation projects after seeing the success of the homesteaders.

In Its Own Voice

When Travis Gully prepares his desert land for domestic water, the sheer manual cooperation required of the pioneer couple becomes clear:

"His wife on the surface, mixing the sand and cement in small quantities and handing it down to him, as required; doing her part to conquer the wilderness as valiantly as any man."

The text captures the unrelenting physical toll taken on the harvesters during the scorching summer months:

"The light soil, mostly volcanic ash, being pounded and loosened by the constant tramping of the horses in their many trips to and from header to stack; lifted high at each turn of the 'bullwheel' of the header and sent flying in stifling clouds, clogging the eyes, ears, nose and mouths of the workers."

In moments of scarcity, the narrative highlights the resourcefulness born of pioneer isolation:

"He went to a huge pile of sagebrush that had been hauled into the school yard for fuel, drew from its midst and shook the snow from several of its largest branches."

What It's Really About

Beneath its narrative of pioneer triumph, the book presents a realistic study of the human cost of frontier settlement. It argues that success in an unforgiving landscape is rarely the result of grand capital or individual arrogance, but rather of quiet endurance, mutual aid, and unyielding patience. The narrative contrasts the empty promises of land speculation with the harsh realities of desert homesteading, emphasizing that the wilderness is conquered only through physical labor and emotional fortitude. It explores themes of self-reliance, the dignity of manual work, and the restorative power of community. Ultimately, it asks whether the dream of independence is worth the immense suffering required to claim a piece of the earth.

Why Read It Today

The Land of Lure offers a grounded, historical window into the Pacific Northwest homesteading experience, free from modern romanticism. Readers who appreciate authentic regional literature, historical fiction, and stories of quiet human resilience will find much to admire in Smith’s detailed descriptions of early 20th-century farm life.

The prose reflects its era, featuring deliberate pacing, detailed descriptions of agricultural machinery, and conventional dialogue. Rather than glossing over hardship, the book candidly depicts the grueling monotony of physical labor, the danger of sudden winter storms, and the depressing sight of abandoned claims left behind by those who failed. Yet, what remains with the reader is the moving sincerity of its characters. Smith, who dedicated the book to his wife based on their own experiences of trying and failing, writes with genuine empathy for those who labored in the dust. It stands as a modest, deeply felt tribute to the ordinary men and women who built homes in the desert.