Whipping Boy CL

Tom Freshour, the mixed-blood teenaged hero of this engaging story set in the waning days of the last century, is a product of the Choctaw Indian orphanage in the Oklahoma Territory, where he has grown up living an insular life subjected to military-style discipline and regular beatings. When he and the other boys are taken to Fort Smith, Ark., to witness a hanging--a lesson in criminal justice inflicted by the minister in charge of the orphanage--Tom is offered a job as errand boy to a hardware salesman. The minister gladly sheds responsibility for the teenager, and Tom is given to Jake Jaycox, an aging, soft-hearted drummer with whom the lad becomes fast friends. As the pair ply the trade between Oklahoma and Arkansas, Tom discovers ``civilization,'' racism and sex. Aiding in his coming of age is Samantha King, a provocative ``older'' woman who, through a bizarre mishap, becomes attached to the selling pair. Benefiting from extensive research by Morgan, a writing professor at the University of Missouri and author ( Belle Starr ), the book nicely captures the atmosphere of Indian Territory and environs nearly 100 years ago. (May)