Tonto Wasn’t My Real Name

I was Tontonomohachet, a Potawatomi warrior, wounded and captured by an enemy tribe. One moonless night, I crawled past a guard and escaped into the hills, where a masked man found me, healed me, called me a good Indian, and promised me a life of adventure, chasing down bad white men and renegade redskins. At first I was embarrassed by the silly mask and the dramatic “Hi-yo Silver!” that ended each adventure, but then I remembered my own tribe’s fondness for face paint and war cries. And after all, it’s not like a lot of people were watching us, right?

 

Peggy Schimmelman lives and writes in Livermore, California. She expects her first novel, Whippoorwills, to be completed sometime this century.

One Response to “Tonto Wasn’t My Real Name”

  1. Linda Ryan says:

    I thoroughly enjoyed it and am anxiously awaiting the publication of Whippoorwills.

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