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Gale has lived by himself for many years and the two special gifts of that experience which he brings to his writing are an iron-willed determination to be sure that he has the facts right and an incredible degree of patience. The first has led him to an extraordinary depth of research. There was no solid backlog of Indian data, because the Shoshoni had no written language. So he listened carefully to the oral histories of all the principal tribes and then sought verification by crosschecking contemporary written materials. He has known that his writing breaks new ground and has been determined that regardless of the amount of research required that it stand solid against all inquiry. His remarkable patience has let him continue for years the assembling of his facts before doing the writing.
TextThis is a great series of books and gets better with each book in the series. Finally a history book that is about the West that was not written by some scholar on the East coast that has never been West of the Mississippi. The academic field says it never happened because the author is not a member of their circle of scholars, yet what they say never happened is supported by journals, historical records and local folklore. It was a real eye opener
TextIn 1865 (at the age of sixteen) Vaughan was roaming the gambling halls of The Dalles City when he met Dick Burton. Dick was every bit as wild as his older brother, Billy Burton, who -- along with Henry Plummer -- had just been hanged by the Montana Vigilantes on January 10, 1864. An explosive combination, Hank and Dick soon formed a loose partnership and headed for Idaho Territory to make their fortune. According to Vaughan his new companion neglected to tell him that the horses they were riding were stolen property. In the meantime Sheriff Frank Maddock of Umatilla County rounded up a posse and went after the horse thief. Vaughan and Burton were still in their blankets when about daylight the posse arrived. Somebody started shooting and when it was over, Dick Burton and Maddock's deputy Jackson Hart were dead and the sheriff had taken a bullet through the mouth extracting a few teeth along the way. It wasn't a fatal wound . . . it just disfigured Frank a little bit. For that, Vaughan spent a few years in the Oregon State Penitentiary.
This book is Indian & American History as if written By Clancey!!! This book presents the history of Indian and European settlement through the 1800's. It presents cultural clashes from a global perspective starting in the 1600's. For once, I could understand the conflicts and their timing between Spain, Russia, England, France and the emerging US. The clear presentation of the Spanish presence as miners and slavers. The English, French and Russians as fur robber barons represented by greedy men and the lowly US taking up the rear. The Indian population with their established tribes, hunting areas and culture were spelled out clearly and convincingly. It was understandable now that Europeans really didn't or couldn't have removed the Indian without the use of our diseases such as small pox and measles. More Indians died of small pox than any US Army battle. Not that we didn't remove, push, cheat them only that their population was overwhelmed by our diseases first. The history is written like a fast moving novel, exciting, detailed , twisting and turning. It has political plots, robber barons, government plots, greedy people and bungling fools. It tells of Indians against Indians, Indians against Spanish, French, English, Russians and the US. The vast majority of the western movement was only to pass through the plains, over the Rockies for most people to Oregon and California. It is remarkable that Oregon has remained as rural as it has while California is the state which has really grown. The wealth of California apparently was severely understated while Oregon was overstated. .You will love this book.