<p>$12.95. ea. vol: Doubleday. 1988. $12.95. f The first two volumes of this Saga are more history than fiction. A few fictitious characters witness or participate in the history of the West, beginning with Matt Crane, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition. His son by Moon Bird, a Nez Perce, is Tall Bird; his second son is John (white). The half-brothers do not meet until late in Book 2 and from then on are involved in the growing problems of Indian-U.S. government relations. Book 1 is set in the age of fur trade, when missionaries competed for Indians souls and traders for their fur. Book 2 covers the western migrations of people seeking black or yellow gold, ever pushing the Indians back. The author s careful research is evident in his detailed descriptions of events and the life and character of the Nez Perce. His account of the treatment of the Indians by white Americans greedy for land and/or gold is accurate and appalling. Sister Avila, Acad. of Holy Angels, Minneapolis</p>