In 1954, 63-year-old Mesannie Wilkins’ doctor informed her that, if she “lived restfully,” for the rest of her life, she might live for two more years, four at the most. A resident of tiny Minot, Maine, Wilkins was all but broke, her house about to be repossessed, with no family left to care for her. It was at this point that she decided to get on the back of a horse and ride it across America to California.
Last of the Saddle Tramps is Wilkins’ story of that 7,000 mile journey. Originally published in 1967 and long out of print, the book is now offered as an "Equestrian Travel Classic" by The Long Riders Guild, an international horseback travel association that encompasses a wide variety of equine-related enterprises.
Wilkins Sells Postcards to Finance Horseback Ride Across United States
Besides the author’s bravado, what first strikes the reader of this intriguing tale is the impossibility of such an adventure in America today. It also makes for much of the novelty of Wilkins’ inspiring story. Along the way, for instance, she made money to feed herself and her horse (Tarzan) and dog (Depeche Toi) by selling postcards.
And like most good travel tales, it is the people met along the way that gives the story its character. Plenty of sympathetic folks offered her a bed and a meal, and Wilkins occasionally accepted. But she also slept in barns, fields and ditches. Her lack of travel experience got her into some potentially dangerous situations. At one point Wilkins was setting up camp on what looked to be a nice spot, when an over-the-road trucker advised her that it was a runaway truck ramp…she could easily have been killed.
Messannie Wilkins Becomes Unintentional Attraction at Cheyenne Frontier Days
This tough old gal’s “gumption” saw her through extremes of heat, cold and emotion, eventually landing her at Cheyenne, Wyoming’s renowned annual Frontier Days celebration, where she became one of the attractions! Finally, nearly a year and a half after leaving Maine, she arrived in Los Angeles, where her adventures had preceded her, and she was a guest on the Art Linkletter TV show.
Although Messannie Wilkins was not a writer, her down home, tell-it-like-it-is humor and style only adds to the enjoyment of Last of the Saddle Tramps. Beyond entertainment value, however, there is perhaps a lesson in her story as well. After riding across America on horseback at 63, she went on to live to age 88, about a quarter of a century beyond her doctor’s verdict.
Last of the Saddle Tramps can be purchased through The Long Rider’s Guild Press.
Wilkins, Messannie. Last of the Saddle Tramps, 2009, Long Rider’s Guild Press. 215 pages, isbn: 1-59048-043-0.
Dale Van Every - Dale Van Every is a freelance and fiction writer living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He earned his Masters Degree in English Literature from ...
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