From Publishers Weekly
While attending a peace conference with federal government officials at Medicine Lodge, Okla., the Kiowa representative, White Bear, is accused of murdering a U.S. Army bugler. Though 19th-century Kiowa healer Tay-bodal and his tribesmen quickly prove White Bear's innocence, the "Blue Jackets" need a scapegoat, and they choose a likable young black soldier known as Little Jonas. Enraged at the injustice, Chief Lone Wolf orders Tay-bodal to find evidence clearing Little JonasAor else the Kiowa will boycott the peace conference. Tay-bodal's persistent questioning uncovers blackmail and a connection between the bugler's murder and the recently ended Civil War. Medawar (Witch of the Palo Duro, etc.) works hard to describe the events and Indian-soldier tensions through the eyes of a gentle brave, but the strained narration and the surfeit of charactersAsome too thinly sketchedAmake this story slow going.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Narrator Tay-bodal, the self-effacing Kiowa healer with a laughable reputation as a warrior (Witch of the Palo Duro, LJ 11/1/97), journeys with his tribe to Medicine Lodge, KS, in 1867 for the signing of a peace treaty. Once there, however, the murder of a soldier, apparently by Tay-bodal's chief, jeopardizes the treaty. Tay-bodal once again uses his observational and healing skills to unmask the real murderer. Awareness of nature (including human), attention to Indian lore and custom, and Tay-bodal's ruthless and sometimes humorous honesty place this near the top of the "essential" list.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
