The Library of Indiana Classics
1 total work
1819, on the Indiana frontier is a year that Takawsu will come to remember as "the year of the three-legged deer." He and his sister, Chilili, are the children of an Indian mother and a white settler father. Their destinies suddenly become intertwined with that of a lone fawn who has lost a leg and his mother in a panther attack. Takawsu and Chilili rescue the fawn, nurse him back to health, and raise him as one of their own. But tensions build around this mixed family, as Indians and whites battle for the land. There's a rogue Indian named Stone Eater and a band of whites who senselessly massacre an Indian hunting party. Tempers flare and a trial ensues. In the midst of it all is Maskanako, the lone fawn, who represents purity, resiliency, and goodness. Eth Clifford tells this suspenseful story with compelling sensitivity and authenticity of detail. Sure to engage readers young and old.