Then living in Eugene, Rosenus founded Eugene's Urion Press and published Miller's Life Amongst the Modocs: Unwritten History. His keynote address was titled "Joaquin Miller and Captain Jack: Brothers Under the Skin."

"Both Miller and the Modoc chief Captain Jack accepted and practiced the heretical notion that white men and Indians could actually live on neighboring parcels of land," Rosenus says.

Eventually Captain Jack had to face the fact that although he was willing to share his Lost River domain with the settlers, the whites weren't willing to share it with him.

When the Indian Bureau tried to force him onto a reservation with the Klamaths (traditional enemies of the Modocs)‚ Jack, who never had more than 53 warriors, held off 1,000 U.S. troops, a company of Oregon Volunteers, and 78 Warm Springs Scouts for six months, killing 165 and losing only six.

While living in the Mt. Shasta area, Miller, himself a "Squaw Man," witnessed and participated in the harrowing racial warfare that took place and wrote his novel as a protest against America's Indian policy.

Life Amongst the Modocs can be ordered from Heyday Books, Berkeley, at 510.549.3564, ext. 304, or through www.heydaybooks.com. The novel was popular in Oregon and California during the early '70s.

BOOK AWARD: Anita Schiller's recent book, His Children, received the Publisher's Marketing Association 2004 Benjamin Franklin Award in the new age/spirituality category. His Children is a collection of black-and-white photos accompanied by the poetry of Susan Noyes Anderson, also of Saratoga.

The book celebrates the connectedness of the human family, transcending bloodlines, economic status and geopolitical divisions. The awards are given annually in recognition of excellence in independent publishing. His Children website is http://www.vantagepointpress.com/hischildren.html.

Gerald Molen, producer of Schindler's List, said about the book, "The pure magic and graphic truths of the visual image ... transform us to places, with faces that inspire, make us weep, make us smile and simply motivate the spirit that connects us to the world we live in." Schiller's photographs are currently on view at the Saratoga library.

TWO JOURNEYS: Ann Getzoff, a local psychotherapist for 20 years and president of the Teen Counseling Center in Los Gatos for years, has a new book out called Travels with Annie: a Journey of Healing and Adventure. The book weaves together in alternating chapters two journeys—her solo travel adventures and her even bumpier ride through cancer treatment.

After her yearlong cancer treatment, Getzoff bought a 19-foot camper and traveled the continent alone—from Seattle to Maine and the return trip via Canada. Earlier, she checked out Italy and France (though not in the camper). For three years she traveled, strictly solo, often in very inaccessible places in Mexico and South America.

"I had planned to join the Peace Corps before the cancer diagnosis. After the breast cancer siege, I formed my own Peace Corps travels," she says. She now lives in Arkansas half the year, to be near her grandchildren. During the winter months she lives in a small fishing village in Mexico, teaching children in a learning center.

She volunteers through Cambiando Vidas (Changing Lives), an agency that founded the learning center and provides scholarships.

INTERNATIONAL FAIRE: For fans of Ten Thousand Villages, formerly found in Los Gatos, there's a yearly fix. The International Gift Faire featuring Ten Thousand Villages handicrafts will be held Oct. 22 and 23 in Lincoln Glen Fellowship Hall, 2700 Booksin Ave., San Jose.

Sale hours are 9 a.m.­8 p.m., Friday; 10 a.m.­4 p.m., Saturday. The fair is a collection of folk art, pottery, jewelry and toys made by artisans from 30 Third World countries. Locals who help with the faire include Ken and Dee Pannabecker, Cindy Strickland and Kim Martin Main. The number is 408.264.1662.

POET PLANTING: Saratogans gathered for a planting session one recent Saturday at the Markham House in History Park. That's the transplanted San Jose house where poet Edwin Markham grew up, now headquarters for Poetry Center San Jose.

Some 100 native plants were established, thanks to the volunteers and MaryKay Breitenbach's mini-auger. Alrie Middlebrook of Middlebrook Gardens determined the placement and Mary Lou Taylor coordinated the action.

Got a tip for Saratoga Sampler? Send email to maryanncook@earthlink.net.