Summary

Idealistic New England missionary Cecil Grey¿s vision draws him 3,000 miles west. Amazingly, he discovers the exact stone bridge--tomanowos--he saw in his dream. It is a creation of the gods, and legend says that as long as the natural rock arch stands, the Willamettes will rule. Confident, their chief Multnomah becomes a fierce and ruthless leader, reigning over a network of Pacific Coast tribes from Mount Shasta to today¿s British Columbia. But when an old Indian prophet warns of a different future and Grey fatefully encounters Wallulah, Multnomah¿s gentle daughter, tragedy follows. Set in 1690s prehistoric Oregon, this regional classic was the first work of fiction by a Northwest writer to feature Native Americans as main characters. The Bridge of the Gods also evokes an extraordinary sense of place, introducing readers to the Pacific Northwest¿s primal forests, untamed rivers, and volcanic peaks. A new introduction by Stephen L. Harris offers interpretive content and a biography of the author. Frederic Homer Balch (1861-1891) grew up in Goldendale and Lyle, Washington, enamored by prehistoric Indian culture. No place was too remote if he could meet a Klickitat or Willamette elder and absorb their stories and customs. Balch learned Chinook and pioneered the use of geomythology.