by readmore | Apr 25, 2018 | The Old West, Westward Expansion
I had the good fortune to visit Virginia City last summer, the place to which a then-25-year-old Montana pioneer, Sarah Raymond, emigrated with her mother and brother in 1865 during the westward expansion of the United States. Do you know that feeling of getting close... 
by readmore | Nov 2, 2016 | Custer, Little Bighorn, The Old West, Westward Expansion
You might assume that after 140 years, writers have little left to say about the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Yet books continue to be written, letters and artifacts continue to be uncovered, and the audience never seems to wane. For anyone who has read a book or two... 
by readmore | Sep 18, 2015 | The Old West, Westward Expansion
John Bourke, soldier-scholar and plains Indian Wars campaigner, was a great admirer of Native Americans and befriended many. His classic work, On the Border with Crook, is one of the best of the period and includes a great deal of humor. Men on the isolated frontier... 
by readmore | Aug 6, 2015 | The Old West, Westward Expansion
What did the soldiers who engaged Native Americans in the 19th century think about what they were doing? It’s a question we might ask of any war, not just the Indian Wars, but I think it’s often assumed Indian fighters of the Old West were enthusiasts for... 
by readmore | Jul 16, 2015 | Custer, Little Bighorn, The Old West
Why would any Native Americans help the whites to hunt the Sioux? It seems strange, perhaps, that General George Armstrong Custer went to the Little Bighorn with Indian scouts in his entourage. In fact, there were many. And they had good things to say about Custer... 
by readmore | Jul 15, 2015 | Custer, Little Bighorn, The Old West
Lieutenant-Colonel George Armstrong Custer was not given to asking for advice. This characteristic was so pronounced that one of his officers remarked upon the fact that he DID solicit ideas from his officers before the fight at the Little Bighorn. An Emotional Man...