Chancy and the Grand Rascal

Orphaned and barefoot, Chancy Dundee sets out to track down his brother and sisters -- and quickly finds himself followed by a mysterious stranger with a hawk's feather in his hat. The big man proves to be the grandest rascal on either side of the Mississippi River -- and Chancy's own long-lost Uncle Will. Joining forces to re-unite the family, they run smack into snorting villians, seat-of-the-pants adventure, and laughter by the barrelful.

Chancy and the Grand Rascal is a 1966 children's novel by Sid Fleischman about a young boy named Chancy who, after being orphaned, sets out to find his lost siblings. He teams up with his long-lost Uncle Will, a charismatic con artist and the "grandest rascal" west of the Mississippi, and together they embark on a humorous, adventurous journey across the Midwest to reunite the family. The book is known for its tall-tale style, wit, and the underlying authenticity of its portrayal of the 1870s American West.