The pillagers

the long version

Craig Morgan has been sidetracked somehow into acting as an official investigator of a Minnesota Indian problem. Chief Bog-o-nay-ge-shig, of the Chippewa, has complained to Washington that his people are being cheated out of their timberland, and that, in fact, there is a conspiracy against the Indians to systematically destroy them. Morgan, a known Indian rights advocate and a professional timberman, is the perfect man to evaluate Chief Bog's charges. But even as Morgan arrives to investigate, the scene is rapidly changing -- for the worse. The ruthlessness of the local pine baron, compounded by a self-serving Indian agent and a racist U.S. marshal, has brought matters to a head. Chief Bog's tribe is arming itself for a last desperate confrontation, and Morgan, as the last official Washington agent, is right in the middle of it. The conflict is inevitable, and all Morgan can hope for is that the tragedy to come won't destroy them all.