Cheyenne Flower

A young man, Robert McKenzie, is homesteading with his family in Nebraska in 1850. His small sister, Sarah, is deaf and the family has difficulty communicating with her. Attacked by Pawnees one day while bringing home furs, he is rescued by Cheyenne who take him back to their camp to recover. He meets the sister of the man who rescued him and discovers she is also deaf. The natives, however, have a sign language they have used for generations, and communicating with deaf people presents no problem. A romance develops, they face jealous rivals, and there is an abduction by Pawnees. They marry, return to his family, and six years later move to Washington, D.C., where Robert becomes a teacher at Gallaudet College, which is still a university of international importance for deaf students.