Mike Hester

Tender Mercies Of Savages Mike Hester

In 1850 Agostin Haraszthy, the sheriff of San Diego county, rides out to a horse ranch owned by Antonio Garra, a mission Native American, to collect 600 dollars in back taxes: A scheme devised by the politicians of San Diego to confiscate the lands of mission Native Americans given to them by Franciscan priests. When confronted with this demand, Antonio Gaarra tells the sheriff that these taxes are illegal because it is taxation without representation. This defiant act sparks a little known Native American uprising against unjust treatment. This novel covers the events leading to the uprising and its aftermath. The novels also tells the story of the Lugo brothers, Californios and owners of a large rancho, struggling to keep their lands and cattle from being stolen by the American settlers that migrated from the East for gold and a better life. Do they join Antonio Garra in the uprising to save their cultural identity and way of life? There is a contemporary story line that runs throughout the novel. A descendant of the uprising Native Americans and a single mother, Sandra Noca lives in San Diego, works as a waitress in a diner, tries hard to make a decent life for her son. She tries to teach him the myths and traditions of their tribe, but he is not willing to learn the past and becomes caught up in the excesses of modern life. The novel starts with a young Antonio Garra being sent to the San Luis Rey Mission by his father, Pahmit, the shaman of his tribe.