With the tension and excitement of a novelist, and the humor of a Mark Twain, soldier-scholar John G. Bourke wrote about one of the most important battles of the Great Sioux War, of which he was a participant. John Bourke’s contribution to the history of the so-called Indian Wars cannot be overestimated. It is not as a soldier that he is best remembered, but as an anthropologist, ethnologist, folklorist, scientist, and writer—amazing for a man who was in uniform from the ages of 16 to 50. Here he detailed Ranald MacKenzie's final fight with the Cheyenne under Dull Knife in the bitter cold of winter, 1876. These were some of the same warriors who had months earlier sent General George Armstrong Custer and five companies of 7th Cavalry troopers to an early grave at the Little Bighorn. Written as only Bourke could have done, this short account is a forgotten American classic. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

With the tension and excitement of a novelist, and the humor of a Mark Twain, soldier-scholar John G. Bourke wrote about one of the most important battles of the Great Sioux War, of which he was a participant.John Bourke's contribution to the history of the so-called Indian Wars cannot be overestimated. It is not as a soldier that he is best remembered, but as an anthropologist, ethnologist, folklorist, scientist, and writer--amazing for a man who was in uniform from the ages of 16 to 50.Here he detailed Ranald MacKenzie's final fight with the Cheyenne under Dull Knife in the bitter cold of winter, 1876. These were some of the same warriors who had months earlier sent General George Armstrong Custer and five companies of 7th Cavalry troopers to an early grave at the Little Bighorn.Written as only Bourke could have done, this short account is a forgotten American classic.

That Frank Grouard was an important figure in the history of the Indian wars of the Great Plains is beyond any doubt. Nor can there be the slightest doubt of Grouard's position among his fellows, including General George Crook, George Armstrong Custer, and Chicago Times correspondent, John Finerty. Six feet tall and 200 pounds of muscle, Grouard (also spelled Gruard) was well acquainted with Indian life. He knew Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Red Cloud, and most of the Native American leaders. Having been captured by the Sioux, he spent years with them learning their language and ways, becoming accepted as one of their own. Returning to white society, he put what he knew to use as one of the greatest army scouts of the Old West. In the Great Sioux War of 1876, he was a scout for General Crook's Big Horn and Yellowstone Expedition that was supposed to unite with Custer's Seventh Cavalry to bring the Sioux and Cheyenne into reservations. Grouard fought with Crook at the Battle of the Rosebud just eight days before Custer was wiped out by the same Indians under Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. By the time this book was written in 1894, Grouard was known all over the country. His exciting accounts of Indian life and the Indian Wars is a seminal contribution to our knowledge of the period. Every memoir of the American West provides us with another view of the events that changed the country forever. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

Few Americans realize how many Native Americans served as scouts and guides for the U.S. Army during the Indian wars of the late 19th century. This is the true story of one battallion of Pawnees organized and led by the famous scouts, the North brothers. A scout's life was hard and often short but they were essential to army operations in the West, as few army officers had knowledge of the tribes or terrain. The North brothers knew the lay of the land and spoke Pawnee. George Bird Grinnell knew the Norths. He is one of our premier historians, anthropologists, and naturalists of the Old West. He accompanied General George Armstrong Custer on the 1874 Black Hills Expedition and has some interesting things to say about Custer in this book. Grinnell was also key to the protection of Yellowstone Park and the establishment of Glacier National Park. Every memoir of the American West provides us with another view of the migration that changed the country forever. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

“Crook always maintained that, since his command occupied the field after the battle, he was not defeated at the Rosebud, and that if the battle had gone according to his orders, it would have resulted in a real triumph for his men. This view was also held by his superiors, although they called it a ‘barren victory.’ His part in the campaign was to form a junction with the other advancing columns, combining with them in returning the infractious Sioux to their reservations. His immediate purpose was to find and destroy the village of Crazy Horse. He accomplished none of these objectives. Instead he retired from the scene, permitting the forces of Crazy Horse to concentrate their strength against the troops to the north.” From With Crook at the Rosebud The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie gave the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian tribes control over a wide region, covering Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, and part of the Dakotas. But in the 1870s gold was discovered in the Black Hills, and white settlers invaded Indian territory in desperate search for the precious mineral. Clashes between miners and Indians erupted. After trying other means of settling the disputes, the U.S. government decreed that all Indians in the northwest should be living on reservations by January 1876. The Sioux and the Cheyenne refused to obey, so the Bureau of Indian Affairs called in the military to enforce the order. Brigadier General George Crook led the Big Horn and Yellowstone Expeditionary forces into southern Montana against rebellious Sioux. But Crazy Horse, leading a party of Sioux and Cheyenne, defeated a portion of Crooks command at Powder River in March 1876. In his chagrin and determination for revenge, Crook led his troops to the Rosebud canyon to destroy Crazy Horse’s village. The two powerful forces, each numbering more than one thousand men, met at the Rosebud River on June 17. At the end of the fierce, day-long battle, Crook returned to his base nearly forty miles away, convinced that he had won. Time would prove, however, that the battle resulted in a stalemate. Crook’s force was removed from the larger campaign and he was unable to come to Custer’s aid at the Little Big Horn eight days later. Though the Battle of the Rosebud had a significant impact on the rest of the campaign against the Sioux, it has often been eclipsed by publicity surrounding the Battle of the Little Big Horn. It was not until 1956, when With Crook at the Rosebud was first published by Stackpole, that the first clear history of the battle emerged.