| Details | | Publication Date: | 1998-04-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 350 pages | | Height: | 9.0 in | | Width: | 6.0 in | | Thickness: | 1.2 in | | Weight: | 18.4 oz |
Publisher's Note
Acclaimed historical novelist Vella Munn presents the collision of cultures: the impact of the Spanish on the Chumash Indians of southern California in the early 1800s. Black Wolf, a chief of the Chumash, seethes as he watches the priests and the military force his people into virtual slavery. As Chumash leaders call for war, Black Wolf and Lucita, daughter of the new commandante, strive to find a peaceful homeland for the Indians.
The Chumash, who lived along the coast north of present-day Los Angeles, dwelled in harmony with the land, worshiping gods and spirits of their own. Then the Spanish came and drove them from their home places, cutting them off from sources of food and from places of worship. Any Indians captured by the Spanish were forced into virtual slavery in the well-guarded missions. Assigned to protect a mission from marauding Chumash, a proud colonel in the Spanish army has moved not just himself and his men but his wife and daughter from the safety of Mexico City to the rough life of Alta California. His wife is content to do the bidding of the priest and her husband, but his daughter, Lucita, is excited by the wild, beautiful landscape that surrounds her. On their journey to the mission, she glimpses a half-naked Chumash warrior and, not yet knowing that he is her fate, finds herself fascinated with his strength and the power of his gaze. Black Wolf was once a captive of the Spanish priests. He knows that the new garrison has come to hunt him down, for he gravely wounded one of the mission guards. He does not understand why he showed himself to the Spanish woman, but something about her draws him near. Her father, determined to rid himself of a headstrong, troublesome daughter who might jeopardize his career by becoming too friendly with the natives, brings Lucita a powerful suitor. Surprised at herself, she feels torn between Pablo Portola, who offers her refuge in her own society, and Black Wolf, who offers her only a life that will always be in peril.
Industry Reviews
Oregon novelist Munn (Seminole Song; Daughter of the Mountain) offers another Native American historical romance, this time focusing on the plight of Southern California's Chumash and their treatment by the Spaniards in the early 1800s. As usual, Munn ably describes the waning culture of the Indians their unique outlook on life, their rich traditions and their own brand of spirituality. But these attractions are undermined by a thumping didacticism, especially evident in the mustache-twirling portrayal of the Spaniards. Corporal Sebastian Rodriguez is, of course, a heartless military man. But Munn doesn't stop there, making Rodriguez not just a tyrant over the Indians but also an abusive husband and father. Father Patricio a "potbellied man with oversize hands... [and] crooked teeth, one of them black" is a sadistic conniver who oversees the conversion and enslavement of members of the Chumash tribe. Munn also implies that the padre may be a pedophile. Against this collection of rapine Spaniards Munn pits the proverbial noble savage, Black Wolf, a Chumash warrior trying to save his people and their heritage from invading foreigners. He meets his match in Lucita, Rodriguez's wayward daughter, who becomes intrigued by Native American customs and mysticism. That she so readily rejects her background as well as the hand of a loving, intelligent merchant stretches our credibility, but it makes for a tidy ending to a tale with an equally tidy and untroubled moral stance. (Apr.)
Lopate
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