Tales of the Wichitas Hardcover - 1998

From the publisher

In 1900, the United States relaxed its policy of confinement toward the Native Americans and in restitution meted out 160-acre tracts in the Wichita Mountains to various Kiowas, Comanches, and Apaches who had grown to adulthood on the military reservation at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Tales of the Wichitas is a continuum of stories from the viewpoint of an Anglo boy whose family lived among and leased land from these Native Americans. Ranging in time from the Red River Wars to the narrator's boyhood in the 1930s, these tales embrace romance, bravery, faith, kinship, and friendship with poignancy and historical veracity."Then Cyril charged out beyond the coyote and chased him up the beach toward Tonepah. Tonepah whirled Wahpah around and joined the pursuit. The coyote tried to dodge in front of Wahpah, running away from the lake. Tonepah rode forward to block him. When he angled back, there was Topper, pounding the ground behind his tail. The chase led into the woods where fallen trees barred the way. The coyote tore through the timber without missing a stride. Topper followed at breakneck speed. Each time she jumped a log, Cyril made sure he was with her. When the coyote ducked under a fence and disappeared over a hill, the boys slowed their sweating ponies."Tonepah took a deep breath. 'Man, oh man, what a ride! It must have been like that when my grandpa hunted buffalo in Texas.'"