What a beautiful, powerful and painfully sad (at times) book this was. I truly loved it. Straddling the worlds of the white man and the Comanche Indians, Honore Greenwood, aka Plenty Man, a Frenchman out of place and time, strides thru the west assisting Kit Carson, legendary scout and military strategist. Their friendship carried throughout their lives with such devotion and respect. The characters are colorful and stoic, the stories are many, and adventures and intrigue abound.
Blakely's understanding of the history of the west and indian ways has come full circle in this great novel. I would read anything he wrote after this intro to his work. As fine as anything McMurtrey has written. An autobiography like no other, the story rollicks along from trader settlements and forts to his beloved prairie. With Blakely's writing, you can see the shining beauty of Westerly, the young Cheyenne bride that captures Honore's heart. Their love is written in the stars and is beautifully composed.
The ending was heart-rending and life-fulfilling in the same moment, somehow. The entire book a testament as well to the fact that revenge can cause two graves to be dug, as has been said many times. Life rolls on, and Plenty Man will be found sitting astride his horse Major on a high bluff, and listening quietly to nature telling him which way he should go. A Shaman's journey is never ended. Five stars.