Oklahoma Books

I have absolutely NOTHING good to say about ANY of Dan L. Thrapp's books ( just read my extensive, debunking reviews of his "Victorio and the Mimbres Apaches" and "Conquest of Apacheria" right here at amazon.com and find out!). As for Eve Ball, she has done an excellent job compilling accounts from Apaches themselves, which she expended great time-consuming efforts to draw out of them - especially from Daklugie, the embittered youngest son of Juh, chief of the Nedhnis.

This book is of profound value and importance to anyone who is seriously interested in the Apache and/or in Apache/European conflict because it contains NOTHING BUT first-hand accounts provided by Apaches, as opposed to books by crank writers such as Dan L. Thrapp (who routinely camouflaged his own tastes, likes, and dislikes within his rambling writings on historic facts and incidents).

Understand that while I do not adore the Apaches (in the twisted, Politically Correct sense of today) and that I also do not venerate any of their leaders or warriors of frontier times, I do respect them and have an intense interest in their own perspectives on making the change from the life way of "Wild" Indians to civilized citizens of an industrial and technological superpower. And after reading this book of Eve Ball's, I am very pleased about having purchased it.

Within these pages you will recieve "insider information" on the Apache religion, their social mores, their views of non-Apaches, the logic their leaders employed when trying to make sense of what took place during the European invasion of their territories, and much more.

Most importantly, you will find yourself given intimate information on many of the leaders, on their personalities, their capabilities, their alliances and so forth.

If you read this book and then read anything by Dan L. Thrapp or other cranks who write about the Apache, you'll soon realize what these other so-called "authors" are capable of in terms of distortion of historic fact and also in terms of injecting their own biases, likes, dislikes, and fantasies into historic accounts in order to stear their readers to an opinion on people and events that is desired by these disgusting information manipulators.

Another aspect I really liked about this book is the way the personalities of the various Apaches whom Eve Ball interviewed came through. You can see by their words who still had intensely negative feelings about civilization and who was more accepting. But best of all, there is the correction of details connected to what really did happen during the many Apache wars and their confinement on reservations before being shipped east. These corrections are worth ten times the price of this book alone because they offer sensible and accurate evaluations of various occurances between Apaches and Europeans, and occurances surrounding various prominant Apache leaders and warriors. Much distortion concerning Geronimo, his leadership qualities (always called into question by the crank, Dan L. Thrapp!), his personal life, his views and strategies, his religious observances, his "Powers", and his later years in the east are all set right by never-before-heard intimate details provided by Indians who were with him on the warpath and on the reservations. After reading this book, Geronimo becomes a very interesting, highly astute and intelligent, multi-dimensional personality. A far cry from his popular image of either a one-track-minded, blood thirsty savage or the more recent (and equally inacurate)Politically Correct version which holds him as some sort of poor, persecuted, helpless soul constantly hounded across the Southwestern mountains and plains. The Apache statements concerning Geronimo alone, blow ALL of the drivel spewed out by Dan L. Thrapp right out of the water in terms of credibility.

Actually, I can't say enough about this book in the positive sense. I'm glad Eve Ball produced it. She did both the Apaches and we Whites a great service in giving us a document that really does allow us to understand one aspect of Frontier history accurately. Equally, it serves as a means to FINALLY discredit the blathering swamp of details which comprise fanciful, distorted, and biased works by the likes of Dan L. Thrapp!

If you want great reading on the Apaches and on their role in frontier history, read "Indeh, An Apache Odyssey". Its superb! The bottom line is, "go to the source" and who better to explain aspects of the Apaches than the Apaches themselves?!

Dick Schaap was right when he said, "Robert W. Wheeler is Jim Thorpe's Boswell." Not only did Wheeler exhaustively research Thorpe's life but he and his wife, Dr. Florence Ridlon, got his Olympic medals restored. This is the gold standard.

Tom Benjey, author of "Doctors, Lawyers, Indian Chiefs" and "Keep A-goin': the life of Lone Star Dietz."

THIS IS THE FINEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN, OF THE FAMED NATIVE AMERICAN, JAMES FRANCIS THORPE...1912 DOUBLE-GOLD MEDAL OLYMPIC CHAMPION, FIRST TEAM FOOTBALL ALL-AMERICAN-1911 AND 1912, FIRST 'BONUS-BABY' IN BASEBALL'S MAJOR LEAGUES-1913, SAVED PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL VIA HIS PLAYING PARTICIPATION-1915, FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE PRE NFL-1920... THORPE, 'THE LEGEND'..FEARED AS THE 'SCOURAGE OF THE PRO GRIDIRON', AND LOVED BY AN ENTIRE COUNTRY...AS WELL AS TOLD BY A KING, THAT HE WAS INDEED, "THE WORLD'S GREATEST ATHLETE!"...NUFF' SAID!

The author has obviously done a tremendous amount of research, and his portrayal of Sutter, the Californios, and the Native Americans puts a reader into a position of feeling that he is right there at the time. No one is portrayed as being an idol to be admired, but just as they must have been, complex human beings interacting with others motivated by their own personal self interest. We learn not all Indian tribes are the same, and that they were reacting to the opportunities and racism prevalent at the time. The historical interplay of Mexico, England, Russia, and the United States is very well shown, not just stated. The author writes in a very accessible style. When he does not know what happened, he says so, and then makes conjectures clearly labled as such. Albert Hurtado deserves a Pulitzer Prize.

Albert L. Hurtado's JOHN SUTTER: A LIFE ON THE NORTH AMERICAN FRONTIER is a top pick for any high school or college-level history collection, and for California history holdings in particular. John Sutter founded a modern settlement in California's Sacramento Valley whose economy depended on Indian slaves and free laborers: it drew immigrants and fortune seekers alike, and made Sutter one of the richest men in the early West - a wealth brought down by his poor business sense. Professor Hurtado uses a range of source materials to provide the definitive coverage of Sutter's life, times, and rise and fall. An essential coverage.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Joshua Pilcher gets full recognition as a pioneer of the fur trade era, then later as Superintendent of Indian Affairs in St. Louis. Unless one is an enthusiast of this period of history, most people have never heard of Pilcher. After a brief career as a hatter in Kentucky, he then moved to Nashville and later to St. Louis. He began his fur trade endeavors with Manuel Lisa's Missouri Fur Company in 1819 and continued this till 1829 with many misfortunes in the business. He was involved in the famous Arikara Indian Battle on the upper Missouri, which resulted in disagreements with the army's strategy of handling this encounter. After his ventures in the fur trade, he later became Indian sub-agent, then agent, and after William Clark died in 1838, he was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs at St. Louis. This is a wonderful book well written and researched by John Sunder. Enjoyable.

Joshua Pilcher was a hard-luck figure of the fur-trade period. A visionary who saw himself and others like him as important explorers of the unknown West, a tireless businessman in the fur trade for a number of years, and an Indian agent at the end of his life, it seems that most of his endeavors ended up in failure, or at best, partial success. In 1819 he became a partner with Manuel Lisa in the formation of the Missouri Fur Company and took over the company a year later when Lisa died. After an unsuccessful journey up the Missouri to the Yellowstone in 1821, he joined Col. Henry Leavenworth in his attack against the Arikaras in 1823, an expedition that produced mixed results. The Missouri Fur Company failed two years later (Pilcher blamed Blackfoot attacks on his trappers as the cause). He formed another company and led an expedition to Fort Vancouver; nothing came of this, either, except the report he wrote about his venture, which praised the Oregon territory as a good place for settlement and the South Pass (later Oregon Trail) as an easy way to get there.

A failure financially in the fur business, Pilcher next became an Indian agent on the upper Missouri for a number of years before replacing William Clark as superintendent of Indian affairs in St. Louis. He died there in 1843. A diligent and serious man, working for the government in an office in St. Louis was probably not the way Pilcher envisioned his life as a younger man, but it's where unfortunate circumstances led him. John Sunder's biography is sympathetic toward Pilcher's plight. It's a scholarly and straightforward account of his life, interestingly told. Sunder is a fine writer, and this is an excellent biography.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The Kickapoos did not go silently into the night. Rather, they shot their way onto the pages of history, and Gibson does a good job telling their story. I did not detect any bias on the part of the author, though one must keep in mind that this book was published more than thirty years ago.

If you wish to read a book about a single Indian tribe, the Kickapoos have a history as varied and interesting as any. They first came into contact with the French in Wisconsin in the 17th century; in the 18th century they lived primarily in Illinois and Indiana; and in the 19th they separated into groups that took up residence in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and even Mexico. To this day, some remain in Mexico although most eventually -- and against their will -- were settled onto a reservation in Oklahoma.

The Kickapoos survived much better than most Indian tribes. Perhaps that is attributable to their social conservatism, warlike character, and contrary nature. They do not seem to have exerted themselves at fostering positive interpersonal relationships and endearing themselves to other tribes or Whites. A Texan, comparing them to the ferocious Comanches and Apaches, said the Kickapoos were "the worst of the lot" and the most vicious, calculating, and enterprising of Indians. The Mexican Kickapoos were described as the "meanest, least civilized, and most worthless" of all the Indians. Coming from Whites, those are impressive endorsements. The prickly Kickapoos didn't get pushed around much by anyone.

Macho Indians with guns and feathers are more interesting than downtrodden, doormat Indians and the Kickapoos fill the role perfectly. The author probably overestimates their historical prominence compared to other tribes such as the Shawnee, but he's compiled a fascinating history that brings the history of the tribe up to about 1910. This is an old book and readers may find it a bit politically incorrect. It's well worth a read, however, especially for the odd tale of how forest dwelling Indians from the north woods of Wisconsin came to live in the deserts of northern Mexico.

Smallchief

Extensive history of the King Ranch Quarter Horses. A must have for those interested in Quarter Horse history. I have read it a couple of times, and refer to it often.

I found this book to be very interesting and informative, if a bit dry in areas. It was a wonderful insight to the people who help to shape the Quarter Horse world.

Isabel Crawford came fearlessly among the Kiowa Indians; among the last of the tribes to be confined to reservations. The work of all the missionaries transformed the lives of some of the Kiowa people and gave them a spiritual path that the Kiowa continue to follow. Crawford's recording of the words of these early Kiowa converts have the power to make one laugh and to weep. How poigniant the words of the old Kiowas, the so-called savages.

Isabel Crawford, a Canadian woman, came to southwest Oklahoma and was a missionary to the Kiowas for ten years. This book is a compilation of her journals which she kept faithfully throughout her years with the Kiowas, with entries that include personal reflection and testimonies from the Kiowa people. Crawford brought a unique perspective to life on a Native American reservation at the turn of the century. Crawford showed that most Kiowas respected her and she also had a favorable view of the Kiowas.

Most of her entries were written from a Christian's perspective and how she tried to share gospel with the Kiowas and in fact, many became Christians because of her. Crawford also with the help of the Kiowas built a church at Saddle Mountain, Oklahoma. Unlike some missionaries who preached to save the "savages", Crawford truly respected their cultural identity and in fact sought a middle ground, where cultural exchange took place. She told them that becoming a Christian would not change their identities.

This book is valuable because it contains speeches, conversations and testimonies given by the Kiowas which can help to increase our understanding of both their culture and the complexity of their relationship with missionaries.

I can't claim to be an expert on art, but I know what I like and I like Jerome Tiger (1941-1967). This young American Indian had a fabulous sense of color and movement and his paintings are just plain beautiful. Most of them have American Indian and Western themes. You've seen many imitators if you've perused the galleries in Santa Fe.

Tiger seems an overdue candidate for iconhood. He was a full-blooded Indian from Oklahoma. He was uneducated, never finishing high school, and untrained, although he studied for a while at the Cooper Art School in Cleveland. He was a boxer and street fighter, a drinker, and, most importantly, he died young. He was only 26 when he killed himself with a bullet -- apparently accidental -- to the head. He was enormously, instinctively talented at his trade and blissfully ignorant. He once asked, "Who was Michelangelo?"

His wife and cousin compiled this illustrated biography. It's well written, favorable to Tiger but not hagiographic. The story of his life is interesting; the reproductions of his paintings and drawings are wonderful. There is a drawing of James Dean done when Tiger was about 14 years old that is as good a representation of the "rebel without a cause" as I have seen. There are photographs of Tiger in the boxing ring, and riding a horse, and with his daughter. He was a handsome young man whose pompadour resembles James Dean's.

Most of all there are reproductions of his paintings, more than 100 of them, most dominated by the beautiful blue he favored and featuring American Indians in all their activities. The impact of his large paintings cannot be appreciated on the printed page but they are stunning. Tiger's output was enormous; he had a photographic memory and rarely erased. He once drew a locomotive in all its details from memory. He was a budding genius who, in my humble opinion, deserves to be in the first rank of American painters -- not in the first rank of American Indian painters, but in the first rank of American painters. And the movie of his life will undoubtedly win an Oscar.

Smallchief

Jerome Tiger, a fullblood Creek/Seminole has been a major source of inspiration for Native American artists since the 1960's. This coffee table size book, co-written by his widow, is Jerome's life story and a wonderful color compilation of his art. In 1967, he died at age 27 from a tragic accident and while he had only been in the art field for 5 years, his influence has been tremendous and ongoing. Jerome's widow Peggy tells his story in a sentimental way, and the book is profusely illustrated with color reproductions of his art. It is a visual feast, with his signature blue backgrounds, delicate lines and colors portraying powerful and spiritual themes. He shows what the Trail of Tears felt like, the sadness and hardship endured when the Southeastern tribes were forced to go to Oklahoma, Indian Territory then. Jerome also liked to portray children, playing stickball and dancing, and some of these are touched with whimsey. This book is highly recommended for those interested in Native American art.

This book provides much information on Ancient Egyptian society. The chapters are organized by themes, each dealing with different subjects, which include childbirth, education, entertainment, marriage, funerary beliefs and mummification. Written for the layperson, the reader will find many illustrations and an excellent bibliography for further consultation. This is a recommended study of Ancient Egyptian life.

A pleasure to look at, and a pleasure to read! The illustrations are superb. The text also is excellent. The author is not only an experienced archaeologist, but also an anthropologist, knowledgeable both in medicine and biology. Unlike many other handsome books on ancient Egypt, he does not stop at the impressive architectural remains, and the pictures and sculptures detected in the tombs, but uses them, together with additional material, to provide a vivid and fascinating insight into the lives and thoughts of the ordinary people, from 4000 BCE to Roman times.

This is a true story about a missionary, Isabel Crawford, and her work among the Kiowa Indians at Saddle Mountain in SW Oklahoma. She loved the Indians and requested to be buried in their cemetery when she died.
Her tombstone is there now, with the inscription as follows:
ISABEL CRAWFORD 1864--1961
I WILL DWELL AMONG MINE OWN PEOPLE.

Her story is very inspiring and I wish it would be made into a movie!

I have read this book, and founds it to be a very well written account of an inspiring true story. It is out of print now, but it should be put into a new printing so more people can read it. Our local libraries no longer have the book. One had a copy but it was a paperback and it literally wore out because so many readers checked it out.