Hampton sides blood and thunder (v5 0)

CONTENTS Title Page Dedication Epigraph Prologue: Hoofbeats BOOK ONE: THE NEW MEN Jumping Off The Glittering World The Army of the West Singing Grass Blue Bead Mountain Who Is James K Polk? What a Wild Life! The Ruling Hand of Providence The Pathfinder 10 When the Land Is Sick 11 The Un-Alamo 12 We Will Correct All This 13 Narbona Pass 14 The Uninvaded Silence 15 On the Altar of the Country 16 A Perfect Butchery 17 The Fire of Montezuma 18 Your Duty, Mr Carson 19 Daggers in Every Look 20 Men with Ears Down to Their Ankles 21 The Hall of Final Ruin 22 The New Men BOOK TWO: A BROKEN COUNTRY 23 The Grim Metronome 24 Lords of the Mountains 25 The Devil’s Turnpike 26 Our Red Children 27 Cold Steel 28 El Crepusculo Photo Insert 29 American Mercury 30 Time at Last Sets All Things Even 31 A Broken Country 32 The Finest Head I Ever Saw 33 The Death Knot 34 Men Without Eyes 35 Blood and Thunder BOOK THREE: MONSTER SLAYER 36 The Fearing Time Photo Insert 37 People of the Single Star 38 The Sons of Some Dear Mother 39 The Round Forest 40 Children of the Mist 41 General Orders No 15 42 Fortress Rock 43 The Long Walk 44 Adobe Walls 45 The Condition of the Tribes 46 Crossing Purgatory And Monster Slayer said Epilogue: In Beauty We Walk A Note on the Sources Notes Selected Bibliography Acknowledgments Art Credits Also by Hampton Sides Copyright Anne I follow the scent of falling rain And head for the place where it is darkest I follow the lightning And draw near to the place where it strikes —NAVAJO CHANT Prologue HOOFBEATS One morning in mid-August 1846, in the cool hours before dawn, the New Mexican villagers of Las Vegas slumbered anxiously The Americanos were coming In distant Washington, D.C., for reasons murky to the inhabitants of Las Vegas, the president of the United States had declared war on Mexico Now scouts had brought word that the invading gringo army was only a few days away, marching steadily westward, and the townspeople were deeply fearful They had heard from their priest that the United States would outlaw Catholicism, that the soldiers would rape the women in the village and burn the letters “U.S.” on their cheeks with branding irons The villagers even debated among themselves the merits of torching their own church to prevent the Americans from using it as a stable or a barracks Las Vegas—“The Meadows” in Spanish—was a hodgepodge of adobe houses, set among rustling cornfields irrigated by a muddy acequia that seeped from the Gallinas River The town lay at the feet of the Sangre de Cristos—the Blood of Christ Mountains—the magnificent southernmost peaks of the Rockies, which rose more than twelve thousand feet over the prickered plain Set on the eastern periphery of Spanish settlement, the village was a spore-speck of civilization Las Vegas was a threeday ride from the capital of the territory, Santa Fe Its only tie to the larger world was the Santa Fe Trail, which passed along the outskirts of town—the same road the American army would be marching in on To the east, the prairie seemed to stretch out forever, to the Staked Plains of Texas and the buffalo grasslands beyond—and eventually, if one kept on going, to the land of the American diablos Hunters from Las Vegas, the ciboleros, rode out on the plains in search of antelope and buffalo Often the villagers made trips to Santa Fe to buy supplies or confer with the military and religious authorities there But mostly the people kept to their homes, and to the pageants of their church Impoverished in every way except faith, they were pioneers, resolute in their battles with nature yet accepting of what they could not control Although Las Vegas was a new settlement, founded by a land grant only eleven years earlier, most of the frontier families living here were descended from Spanish colonists who had arrived in New Mexico as early as 1598 The people of New Mexico, especially in rural outposts like Las Vegas, led a defensive, medieval sort of existence, clinging to Catholic folkways ossified by isolation They labored in the safety of their coyote fences and mud walls, raising peppers and corn, beans, and squash, and tending sheep as their forefathers had in the shadows of the ancient mountains August was always a pleasant month in this part of New Mexico The nights were cool, the mornings golden Days were hot and dry, the sleepy afternoons frequently doused by thunderstorms that rumbled in from the west Gardens swelled with vegetables Flocks grew fat on the grass that greened in the foothills from the new moisture of the monsoonal rains By all outward appearances, Las Vegas seemed as it always did in this favored season, and yet the people knew that when the Americans arrived, their world would change utterly Early on the morning of August 12 the fitful quiet of Las Vegas was punctured by the sound of hoofbeats By the time the villagers heard the sound and discerned its menace, it was already too late: The invaders had cut across their fields and penetrated the town margins To the people’s surprise, however, these weren’t the anticipated American invaders This was an attack just as dreadful but much more familiar: Navajos The raiders came boiling out of the mountains, painted for battle At the last moment they let out a blood-chilling war-whoop that sounded to the villagers something like an owl—ahuuuuu, ahuuuuuu The Navajo warriors rode bareback or on saddles made of sheepskin, and guided their mounts with reins of braided horsehair They wielded clubs and carried shields made of buckskin layers taken from a deer’s hip, where the hide is thickest They had images of serpents painted on the soles of their moccasins to give them a snakelike sneakiness as they approached their quarry Their steel-tipped arrowheads were daubed with rattlesnake blood and prickly pear pulp mixed with charcoal taken from a tree that had been struck by lightning Many of them wore strange, tight-fitting helmets made from the skinned heads of mountain lions Before anyone could take up a musket in defense, the Navajos had driven off sheep and goats by the hundreds if not thousands, stolen horses, and killed one adolescent shepherd while kidnapping another Then, as fast as they came, the reivers vanished In the faint light, they drove their herds on networks of tiny trails that spilled into wider trails, and finally into dusty thoroughfares that were permanently worn down by the hooves of driven stock—great trampled highways of theft winding toward the Navajo country far to the west tanley, F E V Sumner Borger, TX: Jim Hess Printers, 1969 ——— The Jicarilla Apaches of North Mexico Pampa, TX: Pampa Print Shop, 1967 tarr, Kevin Americans and the California Dream, 1850–1915 New York: Oxford University Press, 1973 teele, Thomas J., and Rowena A Rivera Penitente Self-Government: Brotherhoods and Councils, 1797–1947 Santa Fe: Ancient City Press, 1985 tegner, Page Winning the West: The Epic Saga of the American Frontier, 1800–1899 Hong Kong: Free Press, 2002 tern, Theodore The Klamath Tribe: A People and Their Reservation Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1965 tone, Irving Immortal Wife: The Biographical Novel of Jessie Benton Fremont Chicago: Consolidated Book Publishers, 1954 upplee, Charles, and Douglas and Barbara Anderson Canyon de Chelly: The Story behind the Scenery KC Publications, 1990 aylor, John Bloody Valverde: A Civil War Battle on the Rio Grande, February 21, 1862 Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1965 errell, John Upton The Navajos New York: Weybright and Talley, 1970 he Editors of National Geographic The World of the American Indian Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 1974 heisen, Gerald A Study Guide to New Mexico History Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, n.d homas, David Hurst Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity New York: Basic Books, 2000 hompson, Gerald E The Army and the Navajo: The Bosque Redondo Reservation Experiment, 1863– 1868 Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1976 ——— Edward F Beale & the American West Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1983 hrapp, Dan L The Conquest of Apacheria Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1967 hybony, Scott Canyon de Chelly National Monument Tucson: Western National Parks Association, 1997 ——— The Hogan: The Traditional Navajo Home Tucson: Western National Parks Association, 1999 iller, Veronica E Velarde The Jicarilla Apache Tribe Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983 ilton, Henry R The Last Days of Kit Carson Grand Forks: Holt Printing Company, 1939 rafzer, Clifford E Anglo Expansionists and Navajo Raiders: A Conflict of Interests Tsaile, AZ: Navajo Community College Press, 1978 ——— Navajos and Spaniards Tsaile, AZ: Navajo Community College Press, 1978 urner, Frederick W., III The Portable North American Indian Reader New York: Viking Press, 1973 witchell, Ralph Emerson The Story of the Conquest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Building of Old Fort Marcy Santa Fe: Historical Society of New Mexico, 1929 Underhill, Ruth M The Navajos Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1956 Utley, Robert M Fort Union National Monument Washington, DC: National Park Service, 1962 ——— The Indian Frontier of the American West, 1846–1890 Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1984 ——— A Life Wild and Perilous: Mountain Men and the Paths to the Pacific New York: Henry Holt, 1997 Utley, Robert, and Wilcomb E Washburn Indian Wars Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1977 Van Valkenburgh, Richard Diné Bikéyah Window Rock, AZ: Department of the Interior, 1941 Vestal, Stanley Kit Carson: The Happy Warrior of the Old West Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1928 ——— The Old Santa Fe Trail Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1939 Waldman, Carl The North American Indian New York: Checkmark Books, 1985 Wall, Leon, and William Morgan Navajo-English Dictionary New York: Hippocrene Books, 1958 Wallace, Ernest, and E Adamson Hoebel The Comanches: Lords of the South Plains Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1952 Ward, Geoffrey C The West: An Illustrated History Boston: Little, Brown, 1996 Waters, Frank The Book of the Hopi New York: Ballantine Books, 1970 Weber, David J On the Edge of Empire: The Taos Hacienda of Los Martinez Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1996 ——— Richard H Kern: Expeditionary Artist in the Far Southwest, 1848–1853 Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1985 Weigle, Marta The Penitentes of the Southwest Santa Fe: Ancient City Press, 1970 Wenger, Gilbert R The Story of Mesa Verde National Park Mesa Verde National Park, CO: Mesa Verde Museum Association, 1980 Werner, Michael S Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society & Culture Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997 White, John Manchip Everyday Life of the American Indian New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers, 1979 White, Lonnie T Chronicle of a Congressional Journey: The Doolittle Committee in the Southwest, 1865 Boulder: Pruett Publishing, 1865 White, William Encyclopedia of Civil War Biographies Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference, 2000 Wilson, Chris The Myth of Santa Fe: Creating a Modern Regional Tradition Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1997 Wilson, John P Fort Sumner, New Mexico Portales: Museum of New Mexico Monuments Division, n.d Wilson, John Philip Military Campaigns in Navajo Country, Northwestern New Mexico, 1800–1846 Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1973 Wissler, Clark Indians of the United States New York: Doubleday, 1940 olbrod, Paul G Diné Bahané: The Navajo Creation Story Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1984 ollinger, Norman Meridian: A Novel of Kit Carson’s West New York: Forge Books, 1998 ARTICLES, MONOGRAPHS, LETTERS, AND OTHER PAPERS Abel, Annie Heloise “Indian Affairs in New Mexico under the Administration of William Carr Lane From the Journal of John Ward.” New Mexico Historical Review 16 (April 1941): 206–32 Amsden, Charles “The Navajo Exile at Bosque Redondo.” New Mexico Historical Review (January 1933): 31–52 Bancroft, Hubert H “The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft.” History of Arizona and New Mexico (1890): 17 Barbour, Barton H “Kit Carson and the ‘Americanization’ of New Mexico.” New Mexico Historical Review 77(2) (Spring 2002): 115 Bender, A B “Frontier Defense in the Territory of New Mexico, 1846–1853.” New Mexico Historical Review 9(3) (July 1934) ——— “Frontier Defense in the Territory of New Mexico, 1853–1861.” New Mexico Historical Review 9(4) (October 1934) ——— “Military Posts in the Southwest.” New Mexico Historical Review 16(2) (April 1941) Benton, Thomas H “Domestic Politics: The Tariff and Slavery.” American Statesmen (1972) Brewer, Sallie Pierce “The Long Walk to Bosque Redondo as Told by Peshlakai Etsidi.” Museum of Northern Arizona Museum Notes 9(11) (May–June 1937): 55–62 Brown, Sharon A., and Josina Martinez “Long Walk News.” National Park Service Study News (2003) Brugge, David M “Documentary Reference to a Navajo Naach’id in 1840.” Ethnohistory 10(2) (1963) Carson, Alvar W “Hispanic Settlements on Indian Land.” El Palacio 85(1) (1979) Castel, Albert “The Life of a Rising Son, Pt 1: The Failure.” Civil War Times (July 1979) ——— “The Life of a Rising Son, Pt 2: The Subordinate.” Civil War Times 12 (August 1979) ——— “The Life of a Rising Son, Pt 3: The Conqueror.” Civil War Times 10 (September 1979) Chaput, Donald “Generals, Indian Agents, Politicians: The Doolittle Survey of 1865.” Western Historical Quarterly (July 1972): 269–82 Commissioner of Indian Affairs “Appropriation for the Navajo Indians.” House Executive Document 1, 40th Cong., 2d sess ——— “Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.” Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1865 ——— “Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.” Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1866 ——— “Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.” Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1867 Correll, J Lee “Ganado Mucho—Navajo Naat’aani.” Navajo Times (November 30, 1967): 24–27 Danziger, Edmund J “The Steck-Carleton Controversy in Civil War New Mexico.” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 74(2) (October 1970): 189–203 ort Canby “Memorandum of Events at Fort Canby September 9–12, 1863.” Records of United States Army Continental Commands (1821–1920) ort Defiance “Reminiscences of Fort Defiance, New Mexico, 1860.” Journal of the Military Service Institution of the U.S (1883): 14 Gardner, Mark L “Tragedy in Taos: Bloody Rebellion of 1847 Haunts New Mexico’s History.” New Mexico Magazine (October 2000): 32 Gregory, Herbert E “The Navajo Country, a Geographic and Hydrogeographic Reconnaissance of Parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.” U.S Geological Survey Professional Paper (1916): 93 Greiner, John “Private Letters of a Government Official in the Southwest.” Journal of American History (1909): 551–54 Gwyther, George A “An Indian Reservation.” Overland Monthly (December 1970): 10 Heib, Louis A “Alexander M Stephen and the Navajos.” New Mexico Historical Review 79(3) (Summer 2004): 353 Heyman, Max L “On the Navajo Trail: The Campaign of 1860–1861.” New Mexico Historical Review 26 (January 1951): 44–64 Hutton, Paul “Why Is This Man Forgotten?” True West: Celebrating the American West (March 2006): 24 enkins, Myra Ellen, and Ward Allen Minge “Record of Navajo Activities Affecting the Acoma– Laguna Area, 1746–1910.” New Mexico State Records Center and Archives (typed manuscript), 1974 ett, Stephen C “The Destruction of the Navajo Orchards in 1864: Captain John Thompson’s Report.” Arizona and the West 16 (Winter 1974): 365–78 Kappler, Charles J., ed “Indian Laws and Treaties II.” Senate Executive Document 452, 57th Cong 1st sess Kelly, Lawrence C “Where Was Fort Canby?” New Mexico Quarterly Review 42 (January 1967): 49– 62 Kemrer, Meade, and Donald Graybill “Navajo Warfare and Economy, 1750–1868.” Western Canadian Journal of Anthropology 2(1) (1974) Kessell, John L “General Sherman and the Navajo Treaty of 1868: A Basic Expedient Misunderstanding.” Western Historical Quarterly 12 (July 1981): 251–72 indgren, Raymond E., ed “A Diary of Kit Carson’s Navaho Campaign, 1863–1864.” New Mexico Historical Review (July 1946): 226–46 yon, William H “History Comes to the Navajos: A Review Essay.” American Indian Culture and Research Journal 11(3) (1987): 75–92 Magers, Pamela C “Settlement in Cañon del Muerto.” Unpublished Ph.D dissertation Tucson: University of Arizona, 1976 Mangiante, Rosal “History of Fort Defiance, 1851–1900.” Unpublished Master’s thesis Tucson: University of Arizona, 1950 Mangum, Neil C “Old Fort Wingate in the Navajo War.” New Mexico Historical Review 66 (October 1991): 393–412 Mann, Charles C “1491.” Atlantic Monthly 289(3) (March 2002): 41 Marino, C C “The Seboyetanos and the Navahos.” New Mexico Historical Review, n.d Matson, Daniel S., and Albert H Schroeder, eds “Cordero’s Description of the Apache: 1796.” New Mexico Historical Review, n.d McNitt, Frank “Fort Sumner: A Study in Origins.” New Mexico Historical Review 45 (April 1970): 101–17 Miller, Darlis A “General James Henry Carleton in New Mexico.” Master’s thesis Las Cruces: New Mexico State University, 1970 ——— “Los Piños, New Mexico: Civil War Post on the Rio Grande.” New Mexico Historical Review 62 (January 1987): 1–32 Moody, Marshall D “Kit Carson, Agent to the Indians in New Mexico, 1853–1861.” New Mexico Historical Review 28 (January 1953): 1–20 Morris, Earl H “Exploring the Canyon of Death.” National Geographic 48 (1925): 263–300 Murphy, Lawrence R “Master of the Cimarron: Lucien B Maxwell.” New Mexico Historical Review 55(1) (January 1980) ——— “Rayado: Pioneer Settlement in Northeastern New Mexico, 1848–1857.” New Mexico Historical Review, XLVI: Navajo People “Removal of the Navajo and Ute Indians.” House Executive Document 308, 40th Cong., 2d sess Neary, John “It’s Hard to Believe One Man Held Sway over All This Land.” Smithsonian (July 1995): 44 Niederman, Sharon “Ol’ Max Evan: Writing the Western Wave.” Crosswinds Weekly (October 2004): 12 Osburn, Katherine Marie Birmingham “The Navajo at Bosque Redondo: Cooperation, Resistance, and Initiative, 1864–1868.” New Mexico Historical Review 60 (October 1985): 399–413 Reeve, Frank D “Albert Franklin Banta: Arizona Pioneer, Part II.” New Mexico Historical Review 17 (July 1952): 200–252 ——— “Early Navajo Geography.” New Mexico Historical Review 31 (October 1956): 290–309 ——— “Federal Indian Policy in New Mexico, 1858–1880” (in three parts) New Mexico Historical Review 12, 13, 14 (July 1937–July 1938) ——— “The Government and the Navajos, 1846–1858.” New Mexico Historical Review 14 (January 1939): 82–114 ——— “Navajo Foreign Affairs, 1795–1846.” New Mexico Historical Review 46, 47 (April–June 1971): 101–32, 223–51 ——— “Navajo–Spanish Wars, 1680–1720.” New Mexico Historical Review 33 (July 1958): 205–32 ——— “A Navajo Struggle for Land.” New Mexico Historical Review 21 (January 1946): 1–21 Reminiscences of Early Days in New Mexico.” Albuquerque Evening Herald, June 11, 1922 Reynolds, Gretchen “No Bed, No Breakfast.” Metropolis (November 1999): 134 Rister, Carl Coke “Harmful Practices of Indian Traders of the Southwest, 1865–1876.” New Mexico Historical Review (July 1931): 231–48 Roberts, David “The Long Walk to Bosque Redondo.” Smithsonian (December 1997): 46 Russell, Inez “Filling in the Blanks the Winners Left Empty.” Taos Revistado (February 2, 2006) ——— “State’s Collective Conscience Comes Clean about Long Walk.” Santa Fe New Mexican, June 2005, B1, B4 almon, Roberto M “The Disease Complaint at Bosque Redondo.” Indian Historian 9(3) (1976) chroeder, Albert H “Navajo and Apache Relationships West of the Rio Grande.” El Palacio 7(3) (Fall 1963): 5–23 ecretary of War Letter from the Secretary of War Relative to the Unsuitableness of the Bosque Redondo Reservation House Executive Document 248, 40th Cong., 2d sess immons, Marc “A Good Deed by Carson Went Largely Unnoticed.” Santa Fe New Mexican (n.d.), C1, C5 ——— “Horse Race at Fort Fauntleroy: An Incident of the Navajo Wars.” La Gaceta (3) (1970) ——— “Navajos Have Long History of Rich Lore.” Santa Fe New Mexican, November 29, 2003, B1, B5 ——— “The Tragic, Controversial ‘Long Walk’ of the Navajos.” Santa Fe New Mexican (n.d.), B1, B4 malling, Wes “The Long Walk.” Santa Fe New Mexican, September 25, 2005, C1, C3 pano, Susan “Trails of the Ancients: Navajos Weave Hues of Land into Famed Rugs.” The Commercial Appeal, June 16, 2002, F1, F4 tewart, Ronald D “An Adobe Post on the Pecos.” El Palacio (1971): unseri, Alvin R “Sheep Ricos: Sheep Fortunes in the Aftermath of the American Conquest, 1846– 1861” (n.p.; 1977): aylor, Morris “Ka-ni-ache.” Colorado Magazine 43 (1966–67): 275–302 hompson, Gerald E “To the People of New Mexico, General Carleton Defends the Bosque Redondo.” Arizona and the West 14 (Winter 1972): 347–66 hompson, John “The Destruction of Navajo Orchards in 1864.” Arizona and the West 16(4) (Winter 1974): 365 ietz, Jeff “Fine Disturbances: To Track Someone, You Have to Learn How to See.” The New Yorker November 29, 2004 rafzer, Clifford E “Defeat of the Lords of New Mexico: The Navajo-Apache Wars.” Military History of Texas and the Southwest (1971): 215–25 ——— “Mr Lincoln’s Army Fights the Navajos, 1862–1864.” Lincoln Herald 77 (1975): 148–58 ——— “Politicos and Navajos.” Journal of the West (1974): 13 United States Senate Report No 64, 31st Cong., 1st sess Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1850 ——— Proceedings of the Great Peace Commission of 1867–1868 Washington, DC: Institute for the Development of Indian Law, 1975 ——— Treaty Between the United States of America and the Navajo Tribe of Indians, With a Record of the Discussions That Led to Its Signing Las Vegas: KC Publications, 1868 ——— Joint Special Committee Condition of the Indian Tribes: Report of the Joint Special Committee Appointed Under Joint Resolution of March 3, 1865, with an Appendix Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1867 Unrau, William E “The Civil War Career of Jesse Henry Leavenworth Montana.” Magazine of Western History 12 (April 1962): 74–83 Usher, John P Report on the Navajo Indians House Executive Document 65, 38th Cong 1st sess Van Valkenburgh, Richard “Captain Red Shirt.” New Mexico Magazine (July 1941): 44–45 ——— “Navajo Naataani.” The Kiva (January 1948): 13 Waldrip, William I “New Mexico during the Civil War.” New Mexico Historical Review 28 (July– October 1953): 163–82, 251–90 Walker, Henry P “Soldier in the California Column: The Diary of John W Teal.” Arizona and the West 13 (Spring 1971): 33–82 Wallen, Henry Davis “Prisoners without Walls.” El Palacio 74(1) (Spring 1967) Watkins, T H “Hawk High over Four Corners.” National Geographic 190(3) (1996): 80 Widdison, Jerold Gwayn “Historical Geography of the Middle Rio Puerco Valley, New Mexico.” New Mexico Historical Review 34 (October 1959): 248–84 Witherspoon, Gary “Sheep in Navajo Culture and Social Organization.” American Anthropologist 75(5) (1973) Woodard, Arthur “Sidelight on Fifty Years of Apache Warfare.” Arizoniana (Fall 1961): Worchester, Donald E “The Navajo during the Spanish Regime in New Mexico.” New Mexico Historical Review 26 (April 1951): 101–18 ollinger, Norman “Ambushed: The Late 20th Century Attack on Kit Carson.” Book Talk: New Mexico Book League 27(3) (July 1998) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The following museums and historical sites proved to be of tremendous value to my research: the Kit Carson Home and Museum in Taos, New Mexico; Hacienda de los Martinez in Taos; the Bosque Redondo Memorial in Fort Sumner, New Mexico; the Navajo Nation Museum and Library in Window Rock, Arizona; the Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Chinle, Arizona; Bent’s Old Fort National Historical Site in La Junta, Colorado; Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park in Sacramento, California; the Frontier Army Museum in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; and the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C I made six trips to the remarkable Navajo Nation While there, I greatly benefited from the scholarly insights and warm generosity of the Roessel family—Ruth, Bob, Monty, and Mary—who, among other kindnesses, invited me to what has to have been the coldest Yeibichei ceremony ever held At Canyon de Chelly, I must thank the estimable Adam Teller, professional guide and interpreter, and traditional Navajo storyteller, with whom I had the good fortune to tour the canyon by horse, foot, and Jeep I gained valuable insights from many Western scholars (both academic and non), a few of whom I’d like to acknowledge here: Marc Simmons, without question the most erudite—not to mention prolific!—scholar of the American Southwest; Howard Lamar, the gray eminence of all Western studies and my college dean at Yale; John Farr of the Kit Carson Museum, a priceless resource; Scott Smith of the Bosque Redondo Museum, whose knowledge of the Long Walk literature is unparalleled; and John Carson, great-grandson of Kit Carson, unofficial keeper of the family flame and (may I add) a dead ringer for the man himself Thanks to Dave Byrnes and the whole crew at CD Café who saw me through many dark hours and left me alone in my perfectly hideous piss-yellow thrift shop chair Thanks as well to the good folks at Yaddo for a lifesavingly productive fellowship I also thank the late great Shelby Foote, the first writer I ever met as a kid growing up in Memphis, who taught me what narrative history should aspire to be The editors at Outside magazine have been good to me all these years, and have smiled on this project in a number of ways From the House of “O,” I must especially thank Hal Espen, Mary Turner, Alex Heard, and Jay Stowe Two friends and esteemed colleagues—Kevin Fedarko and Laura Hohnhold—read earlier drafts of my manuscript with much care and made astute suggestions for improvement Other readers who offered valuable critiques include Dennis Romero, Davant Latham, Will Hobbs, Joe and Mary Neihardt, and Mack and Marnie Goodwin I was fortunate to have the formidable Alyssa Brandt as my research assistant and “charge d’affaires” in the early going—she led the way Others who helped me with various phases of my research include Grayson Schaffer, Kevin Kennedy, Jason Nyberg, Link Sides, Michael Gerber, and Charles Bethea Thanks to Robin Wiener, Verena Schwarz, and Munson Hunt for helping us keep the home fires burning, and to Christine Pride, my lifeline at Doubleday A final thank you goes to Sloan Harris, my loud-shirted friend, and a wise counsel to all denizens of the pain cave; to the intrepid Bill Thomas at Doubleday, who sees things others can’t; and to my amazing family—Griffin, Graham, McCall, and Anne Almighty, for whom the mantra always applies: Times that are good, goodness that is timely ART CREDITS itle page: Canyon de Chelly by Edward S Curtis © Christie’s Images/CORBIS hoto Insert 1, Photo 1: Courtesy Palace of the Governors (MNM/DCA), Neg No 45011 hoto Insert 1, Photo 2: Courtesy Palace of the Governors (MNM/DCA), Neg No 70437 hoto Insert 1, Photo 3: Courtesy Taos Historic Museums hoto Insert 1, Photo 4: The Granger Collection, New York hoto Insert 1, Photo 5: New Mexico State University Library, Rio Grande Collection hoto Insert 1, Photo 6: New York Public Library/Art Resource, NY hoto Insert 1, Photo 7: Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin hoto Insert 1, Photo 8: Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin hoto Insert 1, Photo 9: Courtesy of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin hoto Insert 1, Photo 10: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division hoto Insert 1, Photo 11: The Granger Collection, New York hoto Insert 1, Photo 12: Fairstreet Pictures hoto Insert 1, Photo 13: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division hoto Insert 1, Photo 14: Courtesy Palace of the Governors (MNM/DCA), Neg No 7605 hoto Insert 1, Photo 15: Fairstreet Pictures hoto Insert 1, Photo 16: Courtesy Taos Historic Museums hoto Insert 1, Photo 17: Courtesy Palace of the Governors (MNM/DCA), Neg No 71388 hoto Insert 1, Photo 18: Courtesy Palace of the Governors (MNM/DCA), Neg No 7133 hoto Insert 1, Photo 19: National Archives hoto Insert 2, Photo 1: Courtesy Palace of the Governors (MNM/DCA), Neg No 22938 hoto Insert 2, Photo 2: Courtesy Palace of the Governors (MNM/DCA), Neg No 58388 hoto Insert 2, Photo 3: Courtesy Palace of the Governors (MNM/DCA), Neg No 9826 hoto Insert 2, Photo 4: Denver Public Library, Western History Collection, Timothy H Sullivan, z2721 hoto Insert 2, Photo 5: David Hudson/fotoLibra hoto Insert 2, Photo 6: Denver Public Library, Western History Collection, x-32995 hoto Insert 2, Photo 7: National Archives hoto Insert 2, Photo 8: National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution, OPPS NEG 55766 hoto Insert 2, Photo 9: Fairstreet Pictures hoto Insert 2, Photo 10: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division hoto Insert 2, Photo 11: Courtesy Palace of the Governors (MNM/DCA), Neg No 47825 hoto Insert 2, Photo 12: Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division Also by Hampton Sides GHOST SOLDIERS AMERICANA: DISPATCHES FROM THE NEW FRONTIER STOMPING GROUNDS FIRST ANCHOR BOOKS EDITION, SEPTEMBER 2007 Copyright © 2006 Hampton Sides All rights reserved Published in the United States by Anchor Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, in 2006 www.anchorbooks.com Anchor Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc Art credits appear on Backmatter Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sides, Hampton Blood and thunder : an epic of the American West / Hampton Sides.—1st ed p cm West (U.S.)—History—19th century United States—Territorial expansion West (U.S.)— History, Military—19th century United States Army—History—19th century Frontier and pioneer life—West (U.S.) Carson, Kit, 1809–1868 Indians of North America—Wars—West (U.S.) Indians of North America—West (U.S.)—History—19th century Navajo Indians— History—19th century 10 Southwest, New—History—1848– I Title F591.S54 2006 978'.02—dc22 2006016579 eISBN: 978-0-307-38767-7 v3.0 ... valleys and across the mountain passes, the trappers brought smallpox and typhoid, they brought guns and whiskey and venereal disease, they brought the puzzlement of money and the gleam of steel And. .. was consistently one of raid and ambush, attack and scatter, snipe and vanish The mountain men said that Indians were often like wolves: Run, and they follow; follow, and they run The trappers murdered... the march became “slow and tedious,” he said “The mules and other animals, being mostly unused to the harness, often became refractory and balky The grass was tall and rank, and the earth in many