Montana History Bibliography
Available as low-cost Kindle books unless otherwise noted.
Nez Perce Summer, 1877: The US Army and the Nee-Me-Poo Crisis. (2001) Jerome A. Greene.
A comprehensive look at the Nez Perce War of 1877. Covers all the events taking place in Montana from Fort fizzle to the Battle of the bear’s Paw. Well-written and carefully researched. Available free on-line from the National Park Service at Nez Perce NHP: Nez Perce Summer, 1877 (Table of Contents) (nps.gov) Also available from traditional booksellers like amazon.com.
Forty years on the Frontier Granville Stuart (1925) Kindle $2.99
Granville Stuart was an early arrival in what became Montana Territory. This book is a journal of his activities from the 1860’s-80’s. He came Montana to be a businessman then branched out into a large cattle operation. Along the way, he was active in the territorial legislature and affairs of the Stock-growers’ association. He offers a lot of unflattering opinions on Native Americans, the frontier Army and the failures of the Government’s Indian policies. The reader gets sketches of history, but Stuart, perhaps deliberately, detaches himself from major events where he may have been a participant in vigilante activities. He recounts events like the attack on a rustler’s camp in some detail, but only refers to the participants in the most general of terms. Reading the book, one gets some appreciation for ranching in the days of the big outfits and long cattle drives. Before starting the ranch with his partners, Stuart toured much of southern and central Montana looking for a suitable range which he found in the Judith Basin. The book ends with the devastating Winter of 1887 which drove him and many others out of the cattle business. Worth reading mainly for his eye-witness accounts and sometimes slanted opinions forged by the conflicting forces of his time. ⭐⭐⭐1/2
My Life and Experience Among the Hostile Indians. (1907). General Oliver Otis Howard.
This book provides General Howard’s own story of his involvement the Nez Perce War of 1877. As Commander of the Department of the Columbia, Howard was tasked with responsibility of relocating the Nez Perce to the Lapwai, Idaho reservation. After what appeared to be a successful negotiation, things went horribly wrong. Renegade Nez Perce warriors murdered a few settlers and the war was on. Howard and his troops would pursue Chief Joseph and his allies for nearly 1200 miles across Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. Outrun, outfought and outsmarted by the Nez Perce at every turn, Howard would never catch Joseph. That honor would fall to Colonel Miles at the Battle of the Bear’s Paw. Writing 30 years later, Howard was still defensive about his failure to ensnare Joseph. He did, however, accord the Nez Perce with high accolades for their successes in the campaign. The book also covers other experiences by Howard in more successful Indian campaigns in Florida and the Pacific Northwest. Of special interest is his 1872 peace mission to Arizona and New Mexico where he adjusted grievances of numerous tribes and made peace with the Warm Springs Apaches and Cochise of the Chiricahua Apaches.
On the Border with Crook John G. Bourke (1891)
This book is a primary resource for all those interested in both the Apache Wars of Arizona and the Sioux (Lakota) Wars of 1876-77. It was written by his admiring aide, Captain John Bourke. Bourke is no professional historian, but he is a first-hand witness to much of the history of the West. He provides keen insights into the conditions, personalities and critters facing the US Army during Crook’s Indian campaigns. The book begins with the Apache Wars of the 1870’s. When Crook arrived in Arizona, he took immediate action. First he made a long ride about the territory to gain an understanding of its geography, conditions and inhabitants. Then he did everything he could to make peace with the hostiles resorting to war only when it was absolutely necessary. Gaining the trust of the natives, he forged a lasting peace with most of the tribes. During the campaigns of the 1870’s, he had little to do with the Chiricahua Apaches who would become problematic in the 1880’s. As Commander of the Department of the Platte in 1876, Crook led several campaigns during the Sioux Outbreak. Bourke’s account covers the 1876 Battle of the Rosebud, which preceded the Custer Massacre. Also covered is the “Horse Meat March” to the Black Hills later in the campaign. Bourke describes many of the native American personalities from his time at the Sioux Reservations. The final chapters deal with Crook’s final campaign against the Chiricahua in Arizona in the 1880’s. Bourke mentions that a fuller account of these events is found in another book, An Apache Campaign. Throughout the book you feel the great admiration and warmth that Captain Bourke had for the general. It is a fitting tribute to Crook, who was one of the more competent and decent commanders during the Indian Wars.
Wooden leg: A Warrior Who fought Custer, (1931) Interpreted by Thomas B. Marquis, M.D.
This book is a treasure trove of Native American history and traditions. It is the account of Wooden Leg, a Northern Cheyenne warrior, who fought in the Plains War of 1876. It contains a great deal of ethnographic information about Cheyenne life, beliefs and customs. It also provides a young warrior’s perspective on the Rosebud and Little Big Horn Battles. Wooden Leg was in the camp when Major Reno launched his attack. After driving the soldiers off, he then joined the besiegers of Custer. It is from Wooden Leg that we get some of the most accurate, though incomplete, native perspectives on these battles. He reported what he saw, not knowing until later that it was even Custer’s forces he was fighting. It is also from Wooden Leg that we learn that many of Custer’s men took their own lives at the end of Custer’s Last Stand. Wooden Leg gives a full accounting of his tribe’s movements after the battle. His account includes the surrender of the various Northern Cheyenne bands and their subsequent removal to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. He chose not to join the band that fled Oklahoma in a vain effort to return to their home country. He did, however return to Montana’s Tongue River country with the Northern Cheyenne when they were allowed home five years later. Thankfully for history, Wooden Leg lived a long and productive life. Dr. Thomas Marquis, who served as a physician on the reservation recorded Wooden leg’s experiences for posterity. This great book was published in 1931 when Wooden Leg was seventy-three.
The Montana Column: March to the Little Big Horn. (18XX ) Lieutenant James h. Bradley
Engrossing first-person account of events surrounding the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Bradley’s journal is a primary source for many later volumes on Custer and the Little Big Horn. Considering it is a journal written by a combatant in the field, it is extremely well written and easy to read. Though Bradley wasn’t with Custer at the Battle, he was with Gibbon’s column advancing from the west. He was present when the first accounts of the battle were received from Native American scouts and was involved in the burial of Custer’s men. Bradley was later killed at the Big Hole Battle during the Nez Perce Campaign.
Warpath and Bivouac: Or the Conquest of the Sioux. (1890) John F. Finerty
I feel badly about only paying 99 cents for the Kindle version of this remarkable book. I got it to learn more about the history of General Crook’s column during the Great Sioux War of 1876. The author, John F. Finerty, was a correspondent for a Chicago newspaper in 1876. He was asked to embed himself in Crook’s command for the campaign against the hostiles. A self-confessed tenderfoot, he got more than he had bargained for. He experienced and reported on the troubles, trials and battles of the campaign, suffering all of its hardships. He was present and gives his own first hand accounts of the first skirmish on the Tongue River, the Battle of the Rosebud, the perilous Sibley Scout, the famishing “Horsemeat March to the Black Hills and the fight at Slim Buttes. Reading his accounts, one gets the feeling that many of the later accounts on the campaign are based on Finerty’s narrative. For me the great bonus of the book came in Part II which covered the 1879 Milk River Campaign of General Nelson Miles. He accompanied the expedition from Fort Peck, Montana Territory to the Canadian border just south of Sitting Bull’s camp in the Cypress Hills. Crossing the border with a small party he met with Mountie Major James Morrow Walsh who was single-handedly keeping Sitting Bull’s Lakota and White Bird’s Nez Perce from raiding across the border. He even visited Sitting Bull’s camp and gave a lively description of it. Improbably he was accompanied back to the American camp by a British Sergeant major who had survived The Charge of the Light Brigade.
On the negative side, the book paints way too positive a picture of George Armstrong Custer. Custer was a “hero” at the Little Big Horn. The Massacre of Black Kettle’s peaceful Cheyenne camp at the Washita “was certainly one of Custer’s most brilliant victories.” To be fair, Finerty was not at either battle with Custer and was only reporting what he heard from other sources. For 1890 standards, Finerty generally gives fair treatment to the Native Americans he encountered. Still he throws in the occasional derogatory term , like “savages.” Reader beware.
Metis and the Medicine Line: Creating a Border and Dividing a People. Michel Hogue. (2015)
This is a scholarly book describing how the Metis became a unique people and their struggle to fit in on the Northern plains. Not White, not Indian, they wandered freely across the vague 49th parallel border between the US and Canada. Principally occupied with trade and buffalo hunting, they followed the vanishing herd into the the prairies of Dakota, Montana and Canada’s prairie provinces. Eventually they were so far from their Red River Valley homeland, they established a semi-permanent presence in the West. They got along well with the fur companies and most of the tribes they encountered. Then Manifest Destiny reared its head. Ranchers, miners and settlers began asserting themselves filling up the Northern plains. The Metis were squatters on land belonging to these newcomers and the Indians. They had little claim to the property and few rights as Indians, Canadians or Americans. Their struggle to belong was epic. They staged three insurrections. Some were allowed to be enrolled in tribes. Others mingled with the Whites, settling on the land or in towns. Others became footloose wanderers. The book brings the readers up to the 1920’s when two families were dis-enrolled at Fort Belknap after living there as long as 40 years. It is a sad story, making the achievements of modern descendants of the Metis that more remarkable. Being a newer book, the Kindle version costs ten bucks.
Strange Empire: A Narrative of the Northwest. (1952) Joseph Kinsey Howard
This book is an excellent resource for those wanting to know more about Louis Riel’s life and involvement in the rebellions of the Metis people of Canada. It was written by Joseph Kinsey Howard who sadly died before putting the finishing touches on it. The noted historian Bernard DeVoto did the final editing. Using historical documents and interviews from pioneers of the era, Howard pieced together a credible narrative of the events of Riel’s life and the two Metis rebellions he was a central figure in. You get a good picture of the man and the events that shaped his life and the history of Canada. A gifted man subject to being overcome by religious excess emerges. The reader pulls for Riel and his people while anguishing over the futility of their cause and methods. As someone who grew up on the plains of Montana, I was hoping to learn a bit more than I did about the Metis who settled there beginning in the 1860’s. This, however, was not Howard’s focus. He did cover Riel’s time in Montana.
Currently Reading:
“Yellowstone Kelly” The Memoirs of Luther S. Kelly. (1921/1973) Kindle version: $4.99
This work is the autobiography of Luther S. “Yellowstone” Kelly. Kelly earned his nickname from his adventures in the Yellowstone and Upper Missouri Country of Montana and Dakota Territories. The book takes you from his days as a Civil War Soldier to his life in the wild and unsettled west. Along the way he broke trails, fought battles and witnessed history. Discharged from the Army in the Red River Country, his adventurous spirit led him further west. His considerable wilderness skills allowed him to survive and remain in this unsettled country for many years. He was an excellent hunter, a good fighter and ultimately a hell of an Army scout. He could survive brutal winters in primitive conditions while dodging hostile war parties. He spent entire winters wolfing, an odious practice involving poisoning the animals. His most important job was serving as a scout for the Army. Bvt General Nelson Miles found his services indispensable. Kelly should get some of the credit for helping Miles intercept the elusive Nez Perce at the Battle of the Bears Paw. As the frontier was closing, Kelly briefly served as an Army scout in Colorado. The book ends with this service, leaving out his later career in Alaska, Arizona and the Philippines.
Serving the Republic. Lt. General Nelson Miles (1903) Kindle version $3.99
This is General Nelson Miles’ 1903 autobiography. It covers his military career from the Civil War, through the Indian Wars and finishing with the Spanish-American War where he served as the Commanding General, United States Army. Though it is well-written, it seems lacking in detail and even personal observations. The book comes off as though it was ghost-written by someone who didn’t spend much time grilling this American warrior for the facts. Few personal details on the author’s life are offered. The personalities he encountered and great battles he experienced don’t get a lot of ink. There is mostly a lot of unnecessary verbiage and praise for friend and foe alike. Miles does come across as having a good understanding of the causes of the conflicts between Native Americans and the advance of American civilization. He does, however, adopt the prevailing do-gooder attitude of the day that Indian Boarding Schools were good for the Red Man. Of greatest interest to me were his 1976-77 Winter Campaign during the Sioux War, The Battle of the Bears Paw with Chief Joseph and the Geronimo Campaign of 1886. Each gets about one chapter with very little in the way of unique insights or details. I was not aware of his active participation in the latter days of the Spanish-American War in Cuba and “Porto” Rico. In this, as in the Indian Campaigns, he proved to be an effective peacemaker. He also was alone amongst his peers in believing that the USS Maine was not sunk by Spain, something the Navy finally concluded/admitted much later. A good, but not a great read. 4 Stars
Outlaws, Outrages and Outright Lies 