ANTELOPE SINGER

Stories of brutal Indian attack were a constant source of fear among the members of the Hunt wagon train on their trek to California. But their actual experiences with Indians bore no resemblance to the lurid descriptions of savagery that plagued them. First, young Tad Hunt finds an abandoned Indian boy expelled from his tribe, undoubtedly because of the red spots all over his body. Ma Hunt's clever diagnosis (measles) and gentle treatment of ""Nummer"" restore the boy to good health and eventually to his people. Later, the wagon train, marooned for months in an Indian village, accepts the kindness extended by Nummer's tribe. How these divergent groups exchange ideas, relinquish prejudices and forge lasting friendships is described against the more dramatic relationship of Tad and Nummer. Although there are many constructive values within these pages, a shorter more condensed framework might have more effectively highlighted them.