In mid 1874, Custer was sent on an exploratory expedition into the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota. In 1875, Philip Sheridan planned and initiated the Plains campaign to finalize the white conquest and the United States Government ordered that all Indians be confined to reservations by January of 1876. Lieutenant Frederick Grant, son of the current President, became a party to the "gold craze" exploitation of the Black Hills; thus, the crucial Laramie Treaty of 1868 was broken when countless prospectors, miners, settlers, and opportunists poured into that area and defiled the sacred and burial grounds.
The Indian/White conflicts and hostilities mounted rapidly and ominously during 1875 and early 1876. In June of 1876, Custer and his regiment rode to the Little Bighorn Mountains in Montana to attack the Sioux encampment there, little suspecting the awesome force awaiting them. Custer's regiment of approximately six hundred men was rashly and fatally divided into three units-units commanded by Captain Benteen, Major Reno, and Colonel Custer. Custer did not wait for the regiments of Crook, Terry, and Gibbon to assist in what was to be his final battle. Tragically, Custer rode with only several hundred men into the waiting arms of thousands of Indians, mainly Sioux and Cheyenne. In less than one hour, Custer and his unit were slain.
This monumental battle was led by Crazy Horse and many other chiefs. Sitting Bull, Gall, Two Moons, and Hump were a few of the illustrious warriors present. After the stunning Indian victory which would be recorded in history as "Custer's Last Stand," Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull were hunted with a vengeance. These two leaders held the power to choose continual warfare or peace, but it would be peace without honor.
At that historical battle, four of Custer's relatives were slain: two brothers, one nephew, and a brotherin-law. Later, Major Reno was court-martialed, and while he was eventually exonerated for his conduct, he lived the next ten years under the stigma of betrayal and cowardice.
Crazy Horse and his Oglala band hunted and camped until the next spring when the famed warrior was compelled to surrender to the Cavalry to save the lives of his remaining people. His camp had been attacked by Col. Nelson A. Miles, but Crazy Horse and his band had escaped. Crook had then offered the warrior chief a favored reservation, among other promises. Without food and weapons and with his people dying, Crazy Horse gave himself up to the Cavalry at Fort Robinson in May of 1877. When the Army feared the warrior was going to escape and instigate new uprisings, they took it upon themselves to arrest and imprison the influential chief. During a scuffle to avoid imprisonment, Crazy Horse was bayoneted. He died in September of 1877 at age 37.
The cry had gone forth to "avenge" Custer. The Black Hills were taken from the Sioux and other Indian tribes. Any Indian survivor had to be confined to a reservation or be slain. Any leader or chief with influence was hunted down and either killed or imprisoned. Indian language, customs, religion, ceremonies, dances, dress, and burial practices were outlawed as a means of control and punishment.
After the Little Bighorn battle, Sitting Bull was harassed and pursued until he fled with his band into Canada. There they faced starvation and cold. The wily General Terry offered Sitting Bull a pardon if he would surrender to him. Knowing that Crazy Horse had been slain, and other bands were being wiped out or conquered, in 1881, Sitting Bull was compelled to surrender in order to save his remaining people from certain death in the Canadian wilds. He was held prisoner at Fort Randall, then moved frequently to guard his location. At the Standing Rock Reservation, Sitting Bull was allowed some peace for a time. He wrote, spoke, and visited Washington and the "White Chief." His poignant letters and speeches reveal the depth of the Indian suffering.
In 1888 Wovoka began the "Ghost Dance" religion. The whites and military dreaded and respected the power and influence of medicine chiefs and skilled warriors such as Sitting Bull, and they were distressed over this new religion which united and encouraged the spirit of the warriors. FearingSitting Bull would escape and stir up new conflicts, he was ordered arrested. His people rebelled against this new humiliation of their chief. On December 15, 1890, a ruckus broke out over the alleged "liberation" of Tatanka Yotanka, and he was declared shot during a confrontation with Indian police.
The death of Sitting Bull convinced many of his followers to flee to the Pine Ridge Reservation near the Black Hills. Miles and Gibbon were ordered to pursue and recapture them. On December 29, 1890, the massacre of Wounded Knee took place, with the slaying of over 300 unarmed Indians of both sexes and all ages. (The second battle at Wounded Knee occurred on February 27, 1973.) Ironically, Custer's Seventh Cavalry was almost annihilated at the Little Bighorn battle; yet it was the Seventh Cavalry who was responsible for the Wounded Knee Massacre fourteen days after the death of Sitting Bull.
Other great chiefs mentioned in this story experienced similar fates. The two major chiefs who signed the Laramie Treaty in 1868 and had agencies and reservations named after them were Red Cloud (Mahpialuta) and Spotted Tail (Sinte Galeska). Red Cloud, whose son was with Crazy Horse at the Little Bighorn, is also known for his poignant speeches and letters to Washington. His remaining spirit was broken after the death of Sitting Bull and the Wounded Knee Massacre. Oglala Chief Red Cloud lived sadly and quietly until his death in 1909. Brule Sioux Chief Spotted Tail, whose sister was the mother of Crazy Horse, was most influential in peace efforts. While living on the Rosebud Reservation, he was shot and killed in 1881. Hunkpapa Sioux Chief Gall (Pizi), adopted brother of Sitting Bull, fled with Sitting Bull into Canada but returned to his old hunting grounds in 1881. Without food and weapons, he was compelled to surrender to Miles. Once one of the fiercest warriors, he became known for his peace efforts which he continued until his death in 1896.
Martha Jane Canary Burke (Calamity Jane) lived and worked in the manner described in this novel. Later she performed in Wild West shows. She died in 1903.
The soldiers included in this story were responsible for the conquest and subjugation of other tribes in addition to the powerful and noble Sioux. Crook and his troops overcame the Apache. With the aid of Miles, the famed Geronimo was captured in 1886. Miles had already defeated the prestigious Nez Perce Chief Joseph in 1877 with the assistance of Gibbon. Sherman had previously ordered the "utter extermination" of the Modocs in 1872, and had suppressed the powerful Kiowa Chief Satanta, whose prison release in 1873 sent Sherman on another rampage. Either by action or order, these soldiers were responsible for the conquest and defeat of most major Western tribes. Oddly, among these white soldiers, Crook and Custer had the most favorable images in the eyes of the Indians.
This author has made every attempt to portray the historical events and characters, Indian and white, as accurately as possible. I extend my appreciation for the assistance and Sioux translations furnished by my friend, Hiram Owen, of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribes.
DANA RANSOM'S RED-HOT HEARTFIRES!
Alexandra had known Tucker for all her seventeen years, but all at once she realized her childhood friend was the man capable of tempting her to leave innocence behind!
Kathryn Mallory's sincere questions about her father's ship to the disreputable Captain Brady Rogan were met with mocking indifference. Then he noticed her trim waist, angelic face and Kathryn won the wrong kind of attention!
Nothing could match the true thrill that coursed through Gloria Daniels when she first spotted the gambler, Sterling Caulder. Experiencing his embrace, feeling his lips against hers would be a risk, but she was willing to chance it all!
Evangeline, set free from Indians, discovered liberty had its price to pay when her uncle sold her into marriage to Royce Tanner. Dreaming of her return to the people she loved, she vowed never to submit to her husband's caress.
Lucille Blessing had no time for the new marshal Sam Zachary. His mocking and arrogant manner grated her nerves, yet she longed to ease the tension she knew he held inside. She knew that if he wanted her, she could never say no!
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her. Send cover price plus 50¢ per copy for mailing and handling to Penguin USA, P.O. Box 999, c% Dept. 17109, Bergenfield, NJ 0762/.Residents of New York and Tennessee must include sales tax. DO NOT SEND CASH.
FEEL THE FIRE IN CAROL FINCH'S ROMANCES!
Sabrina Spencer donned a gray wig and veiled hat before blackmailing rugged Ridge Thnner into guiding her to Fort Canby. But the costume soon became her prison-the beauty had fallen head over heels in love!
Shandra d'Evereux felt her heart throb beneath the stolen map she'd hidden in her bodice when Nolan Elliot swept her out onto the veranda. It was hard to concentrate on her mission with that wily rogue around!
Just as debutante Victoria Flemming-Cassidy was about to marry an oh-so-suitable mate, the towering preacher, Dru Sullivan flung her over his shoulder and headed West! Suddenly, Tbri realized she had been given the best present for a bride: a night of passion with a real man!
Refined Piper Malone needed bounty-hunter, Vince Logan to recover her swindled inheritance. She thought she could coolly dismiss him after he did the job, but she never counted on the hot flood of desire she felt whenever he was near!
Available wherever paperbacks are sold, or order direct from the Publisher. Send cover price plus S0C per copy for mailing and handling to Penguin USA, P0. Box 999, c% Dept. 17109, Bergenfield, NJ 07621.Residents of New York and Tennessee must include sales tax. DO NOT SEND CASH.
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