A Novel of the Camp Grant Massacre

Friday, September 15, 6:30 PM – Speaker Event – Venetia Hobson Lewis – A Novel of the Camp Grant Massacre Arizona Territory, 1871

After men from Tucson massacred 150 Apache women near Camp Grant, what did their wives in town say and do about it?

Valeria Obregon and her ambitious husband, Raul, arrive in the raw frontier town of Tucson hoping to find prosperity. Changing Woman, an Apache spirit who represents the natural order and its cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, welcomes Nest Feather, a twelve year old Apache girl, into womanhood in Aravaipa Canyon.

Mexican and Anglo settlers have pushed Apaches from their lands, and the Apaches carry out raids against them. The settlers, angered by the failure of the U.S. military to protect them, respond with a murderous raid on an Apache encampment at Camp Grant, kidnapping Nest Feather and other Apache children.

In Tucson, while Valeria finds fulfillment in her work as a seamstress, Raul struggles to hide from her his role in the bloody attack. Nest Feather, adopted by a Mexican couple there, tries to hold onto her Apache heritage. Against the backdrop of the massacre trial, Valeria and Nest Feather’s lives intersect in a church, as Valeria seeks spiritual guidance for the decision she must make and Nest Feather prepares for a Christian baptism.

Award-winning author Jan Cleere calls this book a “spellbinding novel.” Venetia Hobson Lewis worked at several stock brokerages before moving to Los Angeles, where, for almost eighteen years, she was corporate paralegal for a motion picture studio. She has written several award-winning Western short stories. She is privileged to live near Tucson and hopes to tell more stories of the city, the territory, the state, and the West.Join us for Venetia Hobson Lewis’ Speaker Event on Friday, September 15 at 6:30 PM at the Acadia Ranch Museum, 825 E Mt Lemmon Highway, Oracle.

There is no charge but donations are always welcome. Questions? oraclehistoricalsociety@gmail.com 520-896-9609.