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THE HILL OF THE ROOSTER by Curry Holden

THE HILL OF THE ROOSTER

By

Publisher: Henry Holt

An anthropology professor at the Texas Institute traces a trail of ven in a tale of the Yaqui Indians as they sought to crade Mexican land conquest. From the root of a massacre sprang a bitter flower -- for when Chepa saw her mother and baby brother killed she vowed to kill as many Mexicans as had participated in a raid which disposed of men by deportation, children by adoption, and the rest by murder. Colonel Ramos, then a captain obeying orders with misgivings, typified the enemy for her, while for Teta he indicated kindness, sending him off with his father instead of separating him. As adults, Teta and Chepa meet in a clashing love match, marry and merge their marauding bands. Despite efforts at the conference table arranged by Yaqui General Caumea and Mexican Colonel Ramos, the Yaqui fight on unable to accept the compromise of five acres apiece offered them by Mexicans of land they already consider theirs. There is an effort here to separate the responsible Yaqui leadership and raiding for supplies alone from the criminal pillage and murder of other members, but it is Teta's foray on a ranch for horses that leads to the battle of the Hill of the Rooster, where Chepa fells Ramos, her 200th and last mark, and dies with Teta in the siege. While the background and story line do merge completely, this has drawing qualities.