James D Crownover

Last Comanche Warrior James D Crownover

"Three times, Adam Bain and his twin sister, Eve, escape capture by attacking Indians; once by Adam and his brother, Noah, jumping off a hundred-foot-high bluff into the Llano River. But the day comes when their luck runs out, and Adam and Eve are captured by Mescalero Apaches. Because of Adam's flaming red hair, the Indians name him Rojo Pelo. Eve is named Castaäno Rojizo because of her auburn hair. They are carried to the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico Territory where Adam is adopted by the chief, Elkhorn, and enters training to become an Apache warrior with five Apache boys. Comancheros from the Rio Grande valley bring whiskey into the village for trade, and Elkhorn is murdered in the ensuing wild debauchery. Rojo kills the murderer and leaves the village to avoid a feud with the murderer's kin. He carries Elkhorn's body to the family burial cleft in the Guadalupe Mountains and spends several months living alone in the mountains where he determines to join Quanah Parker and the Quahadi Comanches. The Comanches take him on a raid into Mexico to determine if he has the skills to become a Comanche warrior. Rojo gains notoriety as a warrior fighting the hide men who are killing off the buffalo. He participates in the second battle of Adobe Walls and the ensuing war against settlers on the Great Plains. When Quanah and the Quahadi decide to surrender to the army, Rojo joins others who refuse to surrender"--