Brother of the Cheyennes

Rusty Sabin Saga #2

by Max Brand

Rusty Sabin was born to white parents but brought up by the Cheyenne Indians, who named the redheaded boy Red Hawk. His ability to heal the sick and to make strange magic is widely honored throughout the tribe. But in his twenties, Red Hawk sets out to take his place among white people. When Rusty and his stallion White Horse are nearly at the frontier post of Fort Marston, the river boat he’s riding is grounded, and a man called Bill Tenney comes to his rescue.

Rusty doesn’t know much about the white man’s ways—especially a white man like Bill Tenney, a thief and a fugitive. Tenney is only interested in one thing—Rusty’s white stallion, considered sacred among the Cheyennes. Meanwhile Major Marston is determined to come between Rusty and his sweetheart, Maisry, and the Cheyennes do all they can to compel Rusty to return to his tribe.

Genres: Westerns

Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1949

About the author

Frederick Schiller Faust (see also Frederick Faust), aka Frank Austin, George Owen Baxter, Walter C. Butler, George Challis, Evin Evan, Evan Evans, Frederick Faust, John Frederick, Frederick Frost, David Manning, Peter Henry Morland, Lee Bolt, Peter Dawson, Martin Dexter, Dennis Lawson, M.B., Hugh Owen, Nicholas Silver

Max Brand, one of America's most popular and prolific novelists and author of such enduring works as Destry Rides Again and the Doctor Kildare stories, died on the Italian front in 1944.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mar 4, 8am ~~ Review asap. Much better than the first book of the trilogy!

915pm ~~ Well, I was much happier with Brother Of The Cheyennes than I was with the first book in the Rusty Sabin trilogy. This was published in 1934, one year after TWI, and also in the magazine Argosy.

Here we start off with a thief, a very bad man who has stolen gold and is on his way south when he happens to be near a place called Fort Marston at the same time Rusty Sabin arrives in town on a riverboat. Rusty has become famous, and everyone in the vicinity wants to see him. Even the commander of the Fort is there.

So what happens when there is a freak accident that dumps Rusty and his faithful White Horse into the river? Who will save them? Does anyone dare go out into the current and try?

Yes, our thief does! He wants that horse for himself! He cares nothing about the man in the water, he just wants to get to that famous horse because with him our thief could run away from everyone and live his life however and wherever he wants!

But is that the way destiny plays out? Or will our thief become entangled in the threads of Rusty's destiny instead? Who is the brother the title refers to?!

And something about that title. Surely it should actually be 'Cheyenne', not 'Cheyennes'? That has bothered me since I first ordered the book. The s at the end doesn't seem right.

This book has a little of everything: romance, miscommunication, broadly painted bad men with evil in their hearts and other bad men that are not as evil as even they think they are. One young woman in love with Rusty/Red Hawk, one young woman in love with the man she wants him to be. Jealousy, greed, and insecurity all battle against integrity, love, and brotherhood.

Which combinations of all these emotions will win the war? And where will the winners lead us in the final book of the series? I am headed to The Sacred Valley to find out!

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

BROTHER OF THE CHEYENNES is the second book in the Red Hawk/Rusty Sabin series, and is just as solid of a book as the first in the series War Party / aka "CALL OF THE BLOOD" / aka White Indian, The. All of the books in this series originally were serialized in "Western Story Magazine" in the 1930's
Red Hawk/Rusty and the famous White Horse arrive by steamboat on the Tulmac River along with Rusty's white father and friend of the Pawnee, Marshall Sabin aka Wind Walker, but a near disaster takes place as both Rusty and the White Horse come close to drowning after going overboard at the landing and being caught in the strong current - yet are saved by an unlikely hero named Bill Tenney. Rusty upon being saved by Bill immediately declares him a brother, not knowing Bill's motives were less than heroic and saving Rusty's life wasn't his goal to begin with.
Major Marston is an egotistical power hungry man who falls for Rusty's girl Maisry upon first sight, and his hate for Rusty is multiplied by that along with his fame as a respected medicine man of the Cheyenne as well as the legendary capture of the White Horse of the Plains, causing his treacherous plans to take form with a goal of destroying Rusty any way he can.
Several events take place that cause Rusty to return to the Cheyenne as Red Hawk as his feelings of being alienated and lied to by the white people cause him to proclaim he is Cheyenne only, no longer considering himself as a white man.
Faust aka Max Brand does a wonderful job of portraying Red Hawk/Rusty's difficulties coming to grips with the two worlds he's lived in, and his sorrow and frustration are easy to empathize with.
Cheyenne Gold aka The Sacred Valley: Book Three of the Rusty Sabin Saga completes the trilogy which I'll read and review in the near future.
5 stars.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this, the second of the Rusty Sabin novels, Rusty's white stallion and his gold are stolen. Also an army makes a play for his fiancee. Rusty will travel dangerous country as he tries to reclaim what is his. A good old fashioned western without the sex and profanity of more recent works by other authors.

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

sequel to "War Party"