Death Chant

Cheyenne

by Judd Cole

Feared and despised by settlers for his native American heritage, a Cheyenne Indian returns to his people, but he must prove his loyalty to them before they will accept him as one of their own. Reissue.

Genres: Westerns

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1992

About the author

Also writes as John Edward Ames

Reviews

[David B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touch the Sky (formerly Matthew Hanchon) continues his struggle to find acceptance among the Cheyenne as a band of traders stir up trouble by placing a bounty on Indian scalps and plying Indian communities with liquor. Writing under the pseudonym Judd Cole, John Edward Ames improves on a good first outing with this second installment of the series. Touch the Sky is still struggling to find acceptance, which may become tiresome if it goes on too long, but his growth as a warrior is convincing. The setting is rife with conflict, not only between the Cheyenne and their neighbors, both white and some red as well, but also within the tribe. Wolf Who Hunts Smiling is a bit of a one-dimensional villain who seems to be willing to cast all honor aside in order to make trouble for our hero, but the real tension comes from the character of Black Elk. He is the tribe’s war chief and a rival for the affections of peace chief Yellow Bear’s daughter, Honey Eater. However, he is also an honorable man whose hatred for Touch the Sky does not blind him to his accomplishments nor diminish his appreciation for them. The narrative contains lots of interesting bits of information and behavior that makes it ring true, such as the habit of Cheyenne to drink lots of water before sleeping when they want to wake early so their bladder will not let them oversleep. There is a terrific climax as well.

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[John Reis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story takes place just a month or so after the last one. Touch the Sky(Matthew Hanchon), and the other young warriors of the tribe are out for training. They come across a camp where they find a number of dead white man scalped and mutilated.

Then, five more warriors are treated the same way. Black Elk telsl some of his young warriors to collect information on the gang.

Black Elk also accuses Touch the Sky of courting Honey Eater, but he denies it.

Touch the Sky goes into a town and learns that there is a government order offering a reward for Cheyenne scalps.

Henri Lagace, a former fur trapper has a fierce hatred for the Cheyenne, who gave him a disfiguring face wound in a fight some time back. He has organized a gang and they are going around mutilating and killing people and making it look like Indian attacks. He is collecting on that reward.

Chief Yellowbear decides that his warriors must go after Lagace. While they are hunting him down, Lagace attacks Yellowbear’s camp and kidnaps Honey Eater.

Black Elk and his young warriors chase after Lagace in a rescue attempt. Touch the Sky has his own rescue plan in mind.

Wolf Who Hunts Smiling continues his fierce hatred of Touch the Sky, attacking him several times and taking credit for one of Matthew’s kills. Matthew does not defend himself. He fumes and worries and is lonely. He is also jumpy as he is filled with fear. That is a very irritating part of his character.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book in the series.

[Jimmy Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touch The Sky has came a long way. Leaving his white Parents and going back to his Native people. Training hard and suffering from haters of the Cheyenne Tribe Black Elk and Wholf Who Hunts Smiling.