Snake Dance

by Dane Coolidge

Milton Buckmaster, who was raised by the Navajos and goes exclusively by the name of Silver Hat, is faced with the difficult challenge of rescuing Lady Grace from the Hopi nation. It all starts when the eastern-educated son of a Hopi chief invites Lady Grace, who has been named Slender Woman by the Navajos, to come and witness the very secretive annual snake dance. Unable to resist, Slender Woman and her father convince Major Doyle to let them go. Major Doyle's worst fears are realized when Slender Woman is kidnapped at the ceremony, and it is now left to Silver Hat, with the help of an old Navajo medicine man, to find and rescue her. All that stands in the way is a large army of Hopi warriors who will not give up without a fight.

236 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2005

About the author

Dane Coolidge was born in Natick, Massachusetts, on March 24, 1873. He was brought up in Riverside, California, and received his higher education at Stanford and Harvard Universities. From 1895 to 1900 he was a field collector of mammals, birds and reptiles in Nevada, Arizona and Southern California for a number of institutions, including Stanford University, the British Museum, U. S. National Zoological Park, and the U. S. National Museum in Italy and France. On July 30, 1906, he married Nary Roberts, and the couple eventually made their home in Berkeley, California. In 1910, his first novel, Hidden Water, was published, and this was followed by a long succession of novels and some non-fiction, with California and Southwest locales. He and his wife collaborated on two books, The Navajo Indians (1930) and The Last of the Seris (1939). In addition, Coolidge contributed short stories and illustrated articles to several magazines, including Youth's Companion, Sunset, Redbook, Harper's and Country Life in America. Mr. Coolidge died in 1940; Mrs. Coolidge, in 1945.

Reviews

[Tim Blackburn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. A thoroughly dislikable heroine who is bratty, arrogant, childish, and recklessly stupid. A hero who is enigmatic and unpredictable. Good ending but I had to force myself to slosh through the book. Hopefully you'll like it better than I did since the Goodread ratings are decent overall.

[Abbey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish. Rated two stars because what I did read was almost okay. Gave it 2-3 tries, but ultimately decided it wasn't something I wanted to give any more of my time and energy.