Chief of Scouts

This is the first installment in a projected trilogy about Christopher Columbus Colt, professional scout and nephew of the famous gun manufacturer, Samuel Colt. Chris Colt is a politically correct chief of scouts, sympathetic to the plight of the American Indian and determined to use his influence with the U.S. cavalry to intervene on the Indians' behalf. As the book opens, he's about to go to work for General George Armstrong Custer, a disdainful egomaniac who is bent on warring ruthlessly against the Indians to win popular approval and lay claim to the presidency of the United States. And if that's not shameful enough, Custer is also widely rumored to be in on the Indian Ring, a group of Washington bureaucrats working with crooked traders and federal agents to profiteer on the sale of government-supplied cattle, blankets and other goods intended for the Indians on the reservations. Colt hopes to use his position as Custer's chief of scouts to expose the corrupt general. But Custer, wise to Colt's suspicions, keeps a tight rein on his underling and even retaliates at one point, having Colt jailed on trumped-up charges. Bendell ( Crossbow ) offers an engaging if perhaps anachronistic and historically debatable tale with plenty of action and a generous helping of romance as Colt has a number of trysts and meets the woman of his destiny. (Sept.)