Thomas Powers
He was the greatest Indian warrior of the nineteenth century. His victory over General Custer at the battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 was the worst defeat inflicted on the frontier Army. And the death of Crazy Horse in federal custody has remained a controversy for more than a century. [This book] pieces together the many sources of fear and misunderstanding that resulted in an official killing hard to distinguish from a crime.
I picked up this book at the library to read during our recent vacation in the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming; a fitting setting since the action in this book takes place in those places. However, there really isn't a LOT of action taking place. While the information Powers provides is fairly interesting, it seems to take him forever to get to the subject implied by the title.
I say "seems to take him forever" because I didn't actually finish the book. However, I appreciated the insight I gained into Indian/White interaction, even though it left me with a decidedly unpleasant taste in my mouth. I find myself in agreement with Chief One Stab: "We are talking today on our own grounds. God Almighty made this ground and he made it for us. Look about you, see how he has stocked it with game. Your homes are in the east, and you have beef cattle to eat. Why then, do you come here to bother us? If you will go away to your homes and leave us, then we will be at peace, but if you stay, we will fight. We do not go to your homes; then why come to ours?"
First line: It was nearing midday on the shortest day of the year in 1866 when Indians attacked a detachment of soldiers sent out from Fort Phil Kearny in northern Wyoming to cut firewood for the post.
Page 56 / Line 5: Among them, the story goes, were Crazy Horse and his friend Little Big Man.
Last line: But at other moments it seems that Theresa's story is plainer in meaning, and marks a divide between the things that have been lost and the things that survive.
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