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Ensnared once more within the ongoing dispute between the War Department and Department of the Interior over which will decide Indian policy, Charles Wolfe Collins, Civil War veteran, Irish immigrant and trusted investigator for eminent politicians in Washington, is thrust into the most perilous regions of New Mexico Territory in 1880. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs has requested that Collins delve into accusations that the military commander of the District of New Mexico has committed crimes against Apache peoples in the midst of a bloody conflict with the renowned leader, Victorio. Forced to contend with brutal terrain, treacherous outlaws, enraged Apache warriors and vastly conflicting accounts of the incident in question, there is small certainty that Charles Collins will actually complete his assignment or even survive to make a report.
“From the first sentence, J. Hoolihan Clayton grabs the reader’s imagination, telling this story with rare beauty. Hoolihan is a steadfast historian and, with a singular talent, creates a compelling narrative, weaving lessons of history from which readers may derive instruction from America’s searing past as well as anticipate a precarious future. Read and enjoy, but never surrender the book’s implications.”
Dr. Bruce E. Johansen, Research Professor, emeritus
Communication, Environmental, and Native American Studies
University of Nebraska, Omaha
“With a specific writing style that takes the reader, and sometimes with compelling force, into the minds of her characters, J. Hoolihan Clayton helps you feel the anguish and understand the courage of the Apache people as they scattered across New Mexico, running, fighting and hoping to survive to do battle another day.”
Lynda A. Sánchez, Award-winning author, historian and educator
Lincoln, New Mexico
“J. Hoolihan Clayton incorporates historical research and unique and effective writing in depicting the disturbing offenses endured by the Chíhenne and Mescalero Apache Peoples. The narrative clearly illustrates the unwarranted violence inflicted upon the Chíhenne and Mescalero Apache Peoples that tribal leaders were trying to prevent in their fight for survival. Fascinating reading that brings a historical perspective not previously portrayed nor felt.”
Arthur “Butch” Blazer, Former President, Mescalero Apache Tribe
First Native American New Mexico State Forester
New Mexico State Forester January 2003-December 2010.
USDA Deputy Undersecretary October 2011-June 2016
(oversight responsibility US Forest Service)
Santa Fe, New Mexico
“Through painstaking and accurate research, the reader becomes completely engrossed in the 19th century American West. J. Hoolihan Clayton uses the vernacular of the era to create a tableau that brings the reader into every scene through exquisite descriptions of sights, smells and sounds. Intertwined in the many twists and turns in the action is rock solid history, cultural competence and suspense.”
Jeffrey M. Sanders, Professor Emeritus
Social Sciences and Cultural Studies
Montana State University-Billings