Sutter’s Fort: Alta California, 1838

Forty years have elapsed since the Spanish invaders appeared in the Great Valley of California. It is 1836 and the Spanish soldiers and diseases have decimated the Yokuts people. Now it seems that a wave of farmers and entrepreneurs from Europe is poised to finish what the Spanish soldiers and priests could not accomplish: final conquest of the Yokuts homeland. Enter Captain John Sutter and his Kanaka servants. Observe how Governor Alvarado gives a deed to Sutter for land in the Great Valley of California. It is not Spanish land to give, of course, for the land has been held by of the Yokuks and Miwok and Wintu since the beginning of time. It is indeed a false deed exchanged for a worthless letter of credit. Jose Jesus is Tipne Man to both the Yokuts and Miwok. A spirit doctor, of course, but also a warrior who has led the People against the Spanish for over forty years. Now Jose Jesus and John Sutter must meet on a battlefield of their mutual choice: Sutter’s Fort. The characters are vivid and believable. The descriptions of life are convincing. Sutter’s Fort is an exciting addition to the Sojourner series.