Indian Yell: The Heart of an American Insurgency

[Diane Merkel]

An excerpt from a review about the new non-fiction book by Michael Blake (Dances with Wolves, Marching to Valhalla):

. . . Capt. Frederick Benteen, who delayed coming to the aid of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer at the Little Big Horn, had a "vile nature." We might expect "Indian Yell" to give Custer yet another bashing, but readers of Blake's 1996 novel "Marching to Valhalla" will know better. He is, in fact, a Custer partisan. Unlike other Civil War heroes such as Gens. William T. Sherman and Philip H. Sheridan, who single-mindedly advocated the same scorched-earth strategy that had defeated the Confederacy, Custer was interested in the culture of the Plains tribes and shared their warrior ethos, Blake says. He credits Custer with intervening to protect Cheyenne women and children at the Battle of the Washita in 1868 and says his sexual relationship with a Cheyenne captive, Monahsetah (after whom Blake named one of his daughters), was affectionate. Blake even attempts to refurbish Custer's reputation as a tactician, saying he had no way of knowing how many enemies awaited the more than 200 men he led to their deaths in 1876.

Article: tinyurl.com/sxj48

[Tricia]

Grrrrr ... what I find rather funny is that Blake spins Benteen as a character of a "vile" sort, yet he chooses to mention what is often considered--by Custerphiles--nothing more than a Benteen-sponsored rumor when it comes to a sexual relationship with Monasetah and then, on top of it, turns it into something "affectionate." I don't think this would be overly important in Blake's overall narrative, but I still wonder where he got the evidence where a relationship, if any, became loving in nature.

As I recall, GAC does offer relatively tender words about the woman in My Life On The Plains, and there was that incident when Libbie saw the Cheyenne captives--was one of them Monasetah--stroke her husband's cheek as well as her own, which was more cultural than affectionate. But the girl was still under lock and key of the United States' government. A prisoner, nothing more, nothing less.

In Road to Valhalla, Blake looks at Monasetah through GAC's character as sort of representative of the perfect Indian female, admired and desired, acted upon but once (to rather disasterous result). Perhaps the author is suffering the problem that can come from fiction writing: coming to an opinion in one's narrative and spinning it unconsciously into History.

But Meotzi doesn't appear to be the focus of this book--or does GAC--which does seem hopeful. Heard Blake does a relatively good job about Beecher's Island--I wonder what Gumby thinks of it?

Interesting!
Leyton McLean

[markland]

Yeah, but has anyone read it yet? I spotted it Saturday morning at Borders and almost purchased it but decided to use my 25% off coupon on Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival DVD instead. And that, I assure you, is worth the cash!

Billy

[Tricia]

I envy you, Billy. We don't have a Borders in this entire state! We only have B&N and Books A Million (which just sucks). The good news is, the new Borders CEO is from Little Rock, and one of the goals he had in his last job was to bring a Saks here, which he did. Here's hoping.

I've been told Borders is the bomb with history. But I can well understand the need for Clapton.

[markland]

ricemclean said:

I envy you, Billy. We don't have a Borders in this entire state! We only have B&N and Books A Million (which just sucks). The good news is, the new Borders CEO is from Little Rock, and one of the goals he had in his last job was to bring a Saks here, which he did. Here's hoping.

I've been told Borders is the bomb with history. But I can well understand the need for Clapton.

What!? No Borders in Almost-kansas? Sheesh, I have three within ten minutes easy drive of my house, as well as two B & Ns, one Half-Price Books and two Waldenbooks. Thirty minutes or so and I can go to either the Liberty Memorial bookstore-absolute first rate selection of WWI books; the Frontier Trails museum up in Independence; Ft. Scott, KS book store. In plain English, too many places to feed my habit!

Yeah, history at all of the retail stores is pretty spotty unless you are looking for WWII or the Civil War; which is why I buy most of mine off the internet, usually B & N unless I can get a special deal with Amazon, or through a specialty seller such as Old West books or to support my favorite authors/museums.

And actually, it wasn't only Clapton but the other guitarists playing on the show. Let me name most: Santana, Jimmy Vaughn, Buddy Guy, Robert Randolph, Vince Gill, Jerry Douglas, Joe Walsh, Mike Tymenske <sp> and Dan Block from Union Station, John Mayer, Stevie Vai, Robert Cray (that man can pick!!!!), Johnny Lang, Billy Gibbons (think ZZ Top), Mahavishna John, Larry Carlton...three and a half hours of exceptional guitar players...oh yeah, some old timers by the name of Hubert Sumlin and Robert Lockwood and Honeyboy Edwards and some guitar player wannabe by the name of James Taylor.

Be good,

Billy

P.S. And one really old timer, a guy Gordie knows, J. J. Cale.

[crzhrs]

Billy:

I saw the Clapton Guitar Special on PBS . . . probably some of it cut for air time . . . but it was excellent!

ZZ Top and the wind blowin' their beards!

Buddy Guy!

Joe Walsh!

BB King!

Carlos Santana!

Robert Cray!

The old timers Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf's band member) & Robert Lockwood!

And all the others!


But why James Taylor?

[Tricia]

Billy--

You might have three Borders' stores, but we have the Big Dam Bridge! OMG!

www.bigdambridge.com

The bluffs in the background are the Natural Steps.

Oh, and it was actually Arkansaw. Some fancy folks in state government decided Arkansas just looked more Civilised. Supposedly the state's name is a derivative of Ouachita/Washita ... though it certainly doesn't appear to be.

BTW--do you know of any bad blood between Richard Irving Dodge and GAC?

[Tricia]

markland said:

Yeah, but has anyone read it yet? I spotted it Saturday morning at Borders and almost purchased it but decided to use my 25% off coupon on Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival DVD instead. And that, I assure you, is worth the cash!

Billy

Billy--

Purchased the book today and it's much more slender than I thought it would be. Will read and report back. Author Blake should thank me; I sold another copy to the person who checked me out at B&N!

Being good ... apart from a recent "tantrum!"
LMC

[Scout]

Picked it up and scanned through it at the book store...it didn't look like it was anything of any importance. ..I saw a couple of questionable things in it. That 'Vahalla' book...I don't understand the success that it had. Clapton would be a better buy.

[Diane Merkel]

Here's an excerpt from another review. The paragraph after this takes some very hard swings at Blake's writing style!

Blake personalizes the historical by focusing on individuals--General Sherman, Elizabeth Custer, the Cheyenne leader known as "Roman Nose," the Kiowas' Lone Wolf and Satanta, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. He relates anecdotes (Elizabeth Custer's premonition, for example, of heaven, just before Little Big Horn) and disputed reports. (Did "four to five hundred warriors" die at Sand Creek, as reported by "Fighting Parson" John Chivington, or fewer than 50?) He clearly admires Custer, who grew to appreciate Indian culture (and women), but pursued "hostiles" with single-minded determination. The book's strength lies in its graphic presentation. Chapters open with text overlaid on photographs; vintage shots of Indian encampments and groups accompany narrative; 21st-century landscapes evoke the pre-Western Movement plains. Most powerful are the photographs of the main players--the formal military men with their braided, buttoned uniforms, facial hair and stern, averted glances; the tribal leaders with their braids, feathers and war gear, staring down the cameraman.

Review: tinyurl.com/2k26rf