Through the Narrows - Tomahawk and Saber - Volume 2 - by Nathanael Green and Evan Ronan

Through the Narrows – Tomahawk and Saber (Volume 2).  Nathanael Green and Evan Ronan. Calhoun Publishing. October 215. 226 pp.  ISBN#: 9780996495813.

Hugh Pike and Wolf Tongue are again working together on a task that seems to be riddled with mystery and betrayal.  Wolf Tongue is silently mourning the degradation of his Sussquehannock tribe, which has lost many to disease and most of the stronger men and women to union with other tribes.  However, now the tribe is being accused of attacking and murdering residents of Millers Town.  Pike’s superior, the General who seems to despise him and refuses to promote him even after years of commendable service, has ordered him to investigate the Millers Town debacle and report back in three days, an almost impossible task for sure.

When Pike and Wolf Tongue arrive at Millers Town, they are far from welcome and suspicion about their presence is fiercely spoken.  They meet the man who reported the Indian raids, a suspicious character named Dobs and a French woman who knows a great deal but says little initially. As a war with the French is clearly looming, her words are deemed questionable. 

An almost immediate attack by the Indians, composed of members of various tribes, including an enemy of Wolf Tongue, occurs and reveals the cause of their anger.  Pike is given an ultimatum to solve the cause or watch the massacre of the Millers Town residents.  As he’s clearly outnumbered, he realizes he must solve the mystery.

Through the Narrows is the second volume of this Colonial American series.  While the characters and scenes are somewhat loosely constructed as far as actual reality of the Pennsylvania conditions, they do reflect the problems and terrors that truly did exist as colonialists faced divided Indian tribes and the ever-present conflicts caused by the perpetual warlike state existing between France and England, with the Americans caught in the middle.  While colonial characters are rather stereotypical, he presentation of several points of view with respect to the native Indians is remarkable and interesting.

For those who love adventure, a mystery, and an interest in early American history, this series by Green and Ronan is a fascinating, intense and tension-packed story. Nicely crafted!