On a September day in 1877, hundreds of Sioux and soldiers at Camp Robinson crowded around a fatally injured Lakota leader. A young doctor forced his way through the crowd, only to see the victim fading before him. It was the famed Crazy Horse. From intense moments like this to encounters with such legendary western figures as Calamity Jane and Red Cloud, Valentine Trant O'Connell McGillycuddy's life (1849–1939) encapsulated key events in American history that changed the lives of Native people forever. In Valentine T. McGillycuddy: Army Surgeon, Agent to the Sioux, the first biography of the man in seventy years, award-winning author Candy Moulton explores McGillycuddy's fascinating experiences on the northern plains as topographer, cartographer, physician, and Indian agent. Drawing on family papers, interviews, government documents, and a host of other sources, Moulton presents a colorful character—a thin, blue-eyed, cultured physician who could outdrink trail-hardened soldiers. In fresh, vivid prose, she traces McGillycuddy's work mapping out the U.S.-Canadian border; treating the wounded from the battles of the Rosebud, the Little Bighorn, and Slim Buttes; tending to Crazy Horse during his final hours; and serving as agent to the Sioux at Pine Ridge, where he clashed with Chief Red Cloud over the government's assimilation policies. Along the way, Moulton weaves in the perspective of McGillycuddy's devoted first wife, Fanny, who followed her husband west and wrote of the realities of camp life. McGillycuddy's doctoring of Crazy Horse marked only one point of his interaction with American Indians. But those relationships were also just one aspect of his life in the West, which extended well into the twentieth century. Enhanced by more than 20 photographs, this long-overdue biography offers general readers and historians an engaging adventure story as well as insight into a period of tumultuous change.

On a September day in 1877, hundreds of Sioux and soldiers at Camp Robinson crowded around a fatally injured Lakota leader. A young doctor forced his way through the crowd, only to see the victim fading before him. It was the famed Crazy Horse. From intense moments like this to encounters with such legendary western figures as Calamity Jane and Red Cloud, Valentine Trant O'Connell McGillycuddy's life (1849–1939) encapsulated key events in American history that changed the lives of Native people forever. In Valentine T. McGillycuddy: Army Surgeon, Agent to the Sioux, the first biography of the man in seventy years, award-winning author Candy Moulton explores McGillycuddy's fascinating experiences on the northern plains as topographer, cartographer, physician, and Indian agent. Drawing on family papers, interviews, government documents, and a host of other sources, Moulton presents a colorful character—a thin, blue-eyed, cultured physician who could outdrink trail-hardened soldiers. In fresh, vivid prose, she traces McGillycuddy's work mapping out the U.S.-Canadian border; treating the wounded from the battles of the Rosebud, the Little Bighorn, and Slim Buttes; tending to Crazy Horse during his final hours; and serving as agent to the Sioux at Pine Ridge, where he clashed with Chief Red Cloud over the government's assimilation policies. Along the way, Moulton weaves in the perspective of McGillycuddy's devoted first wife, Fanny, who followed her husband west and wrote of the realities of camp life. McGillycuddy's doctoring of Crazy Horse marked only one point of his interaction with American Indians. But those relationships were also just one aspect of his life in the West, which extended well into the twentieth century. Enhanced by more than 20 photographs, this long-overdue biography offers general readers and historians an engaging adventure story as well as insight into a period of tumultuous change.

The Killing of Chief Crazy Horse is a story of envy, greed, and treachery. In the year after the Battle of the Little Big Horn, the great Oglala Sioux chief Crazy Horse and his half-starved followers finally surrendered to the U.S. Army near Camp Robinson, Nebraska. Chiefs who had already surrendered resented the favors he received in doing so. When the army asked for his help rounding up the the Nez Percés, Crazy Horse's reply was allegedly mistranslated by Frank Grouard, a scout for General George Crook. By August rumors had spread that Crazy Horse was planning another uprising. Tension continued to mount, and Crazy Horse was arrested at Fort Robinson on September 5. During a scuffle Crazy Horse was fatally wounded by a bayonet in front of several witnesses. Here the killing of Crazy Horse is viewed from three widely differing perspectives--that of Chief He Dog, the victim's friend and lifelong companion; that of William Garnett, the guide and interpreter for Lieutenant William P. Clark, on special assignment to General Crook; and that of Valentine McGillycuddy, the medical officer who attended Crazy Horse in his last hours. Their eyewitness accounts, edited and introduced by Robert A. Clark, combine to give The Killing of Chief Crazy Horse all the starkness and horror of classical tragedy.

Places the information about the Lakota chief's life within the larger context of Indian tribal conflicts and Anglo-Indian wars

The history of Black Elk Peak--previously known as Hinhan Kaga and, more recently, as Harney Peak--remained segmented and scattered throughout the shadows of antiquity, until now. The natural landmark's namesake, Black Elk, experienced his great vision here, solidifying his status as a Sioux holy man. Obstructed by the insurmountable granite, General Custer and his horse nearly summited during the 1874 expedition. On that granite, sculptor Gutzon Borglum made the decision to carve a grand monument into the face of nearby Mount Rushmore. Prior to serving as the first Pine Ridge Reservation Indian agent and then mayor of Rapid City, Valentine McGillycuddy documented his ascent to the peak in 1875, where his ashes would come to rest. Author Bradley Saum chronicles the unique and untold stories that are intrinsically linked to the highest point in the Black Hills.

Forget Doris Day singing on the stagecoach. Forget Robin Weigert’s gritty portrayal on HBO’s Deadwood. The real Calamity Jane was someone the likes of whom you’ve never encountered. That is, until now. This book is a definitive biography of Martha Canary, the woman popularly known as Calamity Jane. Written by one of today’s foremost authorities on this notorious character, it is a meticulously researched account of how an alcoholic prostitute was transformed into a Wild West heroine. Always on the move across the northern plains, Martha was more camp follower than the scout of legend. A mother of two, she often found employment as waitress, laundress, or dance hall girl and was more likely to be wearing a dress than buckskin. But she was hard to ignore when she’d had a few drinks, and she exploited the aura of fame that dime novels created around her, even selling her autobiography and photos to tourists. Gun toting, swearing, hard drinking—Calamity Jane was all of these, to be sure. But whatever her flaws or foibles, James D. McLaird paints a compelling portrait of an unconventional woman who more than once turned the tables on those who sought to condemn or patronize her. He also includes dozens of photos—many never before seen—depicting Jane in her many guises. His book is a long-awaited biography of Martha Canary and the last word on Calamity Jane.