Dark Arrow

""Dark Arrow" is charming, well-told, entirely plausible.

It brings prehistoric cliff-dwelling people to life and will appeal to young readers who are in search of good books about other cultures." - Alfonso Ortiz, author of "Tewa World: Space, Time, Being, and Becoming in a Pueblo Society." "The story is unusual in setting and is full of authentic details relative to the customs, traditions, and daily life of its characters...A reader is made to feel that those far-off people actually lived." - "Saturday Review." "Vivid description of Pueblo life before Columbus' voyages." - "Los Angeles Examiner." Younger Brother, a Tewa Pueblo Indian boy, lives in a remote time in what is now New Mexico.

His strongest desire is to grow up to be a great warrior or hunter and to win an honorable name.

He is nearly killed by a mysterious black arrow, when as part of the Indian ceremony of becoming a man, he goes to the Sacred Mountains to deliver a prayer plume.

Finally, Younger Brother performs a breathtaking act that saves his village from destruction and wins him a name.

Only then does he learn who tried to thwart him with the dark arrow. The character of Younger Brother can be recognized in his descendants, who still live in pueblos along the upper Rio Grande.

Lucille Mulcahy has anchored her exciting story in authentic detail, making the people and setting real and immediate.

A native of Albuquerque, she is a well-known storyteller and writer for young people. "Dark Arrow", originally published in 1953, was followed by "Pita and Magic Fingers".

Under the pseudonym of Helen Hale, Mulcahy has written other novels, including "Blue Marshmallow Mountains."