Customer Reviews

Adobe Walls: The History and Archaeology of the 1874 Trading Post

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This is one of the best books on Adobe Walls, ( the other being the life of Billy Dixon). It takes you all the way through, from start to finish. The last half of the book is about the archeology that was done in the 70's. It gives a real insite into the hide hunters and store keepers lives during the six month's at the Walls.

Best book on the Adobe Walls battle available. Covers every aspect from the structures, to the archaeology, people (both anglos and native american), the battle, the occupations, etc. Great info on the archaeology, including ammunition, guns, dinnerware (plates etc), blacksmithing,etc. I learned much about the battle, the times, the people, the construction of the trading post, who, why, when, how.
Highest recommendation!

The most in-depth look at the 1874 Adobe Walls post I have found, if you are interested in archaeology, and history of the buffalo hunters site, this is the book for you. The last 3/4 of the book deals with the arch. of the site. First quarter deals with the historical information. Photos of Billy Dixon, J. Wright Mooar, F. J. Leonard, and James N. Hanrahan (operator of the saloon at adobe walls) are included. Photos of many artifacts recovered during arch. excavations, include iron arrow points, grinding stones, iron tools, plate shards, buttons, etc. Great illustrations of the plan layout of the adobe walls site as it was in 1874, as determined by the arch. evidence, including perspective sketches of buildings, and the way each building was constructed. I have nothing but the highest praise for this book and commend the two authors for their publishing the book, as well as A&M press.

The battle of Adobe Walls is a little known incident that set the "gold standard" for long range shooting. This book is an excellent reference; I really liked it but it may be a little too much in the "scholarly" style for some readers. If you are interested in shooting or the American West this is a great book for reference and background.

This book and a Google aerial map will just about lay out the Adobe Walls outpost for you perfectly. The account of the battle is very good and coupled with the sketches one can almost smell the black powder smoke. Details of the fight are better than most. The relic dig was good but my interest lay mainly with the conflict. Finally, the picture on the front cover is great. I wonder how he got the name, Antelope Jack ?

I was pretty familiar with the history of this subject, but was more interested in the archeological finds. For instance, in the world of shooting today the 50-70 is all but forgotten yet there were more 50-70 cases and cartridges found than any other caliber. The thing about some of the long shots the hunters made during the siege is that the authors point out that the hunters had no doubt tested their prowess at different targets at different distances, so had probably already "marked" many of the shots and distances. Good reference for anyone studying the battle, I am going to the site this summer, and read this as a preface...Ivery