Trapper's Moon

Though not equal to its 1991 Golden Spur-winning prequel, The Medicine Horn, this second volume in Sherman's Buckskinners trilogy offers a vigorous look at the world of the mountain men of the old West. Virginian Lem Hawke and his 15-year-old son, Morgan, back from the first novel, are west of the Mississippi, on their way to find fabled mountain man Silas Morgan and make their fortune trapping in the beaver-rich headwaters of the Yellowstone River. Behind them, though, rides vengeful Josie Montez, who blames his brother's accidental death on Lem. Teaming up with one-eyed Patch, a trail-wise woodsman, and Loon, his mute Delaware Indian companion, the Hawkes are beset by a series of trials and tribulations that begins with an encounter with a killer tornado and includes a conflict between father and son as Morgan, despite Lem's disillusionment with women and prejudice against Indians, falls for an Indian maiden. Violent episodes abound, concluding in a gory knife fight to the death between Morgan and Josie; and if Sherman falls prey to a few cliches this time out (the pretty Indian lass, for one; the silent Indian, for another), his fans should still enjoy this rugged, leathery offering. (Dec.)