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The Deadliest Indian War in the West: The Snake Conflict, 1864-1868

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There is no better historian of the Indian Wars writing today than Gregory Michno, and in his latest book he more than confirms that judgment. His previous books, which include Lakota Noon and The Mystery of E Troop (available on amazon) - hands down two of the best histories ever written of the Battle of the Little Bighorn - established Michno's credentials as a historian par excellence and master of narrative prose. Now, with The Deadliest Indian War in the West, he adds to that luster with a compelling and revealing account of a bitter struggle in America's Northwest that should be much better known. Michno's outstanding new book undoubtedly will help to fill that void and familiarize readers with a war that, in terms of loss of human life, was the Indian War's costliest, but which has "rarely gotten its page in history."

Michno, author of The Encyclopedia of Indian Wars (also available at amazon), is exactly the right historian to take on the task of presenting readers with the personalities, units, battles and skirmishes, and associated events of the all but forgotten Snake War that raged in areas of Oregon, California, Utah and Nevada from 1864 to 1868. His command of the subject and overall knowledge of America's Indian Wars is, well, encyclopedic, and Michno's superb narrative is propelled and enhanced by the fruits of his extensive research. It is history written by a master in command of his craft. Writing this account is, perhaps, more of a challenge than might at first appear. Chief among these is that the participants (aside from the celebrated Civil War and Indian War commander, George Crook) are virtually unknown to most of us today. Michno's narrative, therefore, cannot rely on the "star power" of Sitting Bull, Custer, Crazy Horse, MacKenzie, Chief Joseph, Sheridan, Cochise or Geronimo. Instead, Michno's cast is made up of relative unknowns: highly effective but unfairly overlooked "Indian fighters," like Col. George Wright; and the Native American leaders, Paulina, Weahwewa, Howluck, Ocheho, and Winnemucca. The Deadliest Indian War, however, succeeds superbly in meeting the challenge of providing these hidden heroes their "page in history."

Like its leaders, the U. S. Army lineup lacked the big names. Heralded outfits, like Custer's 7th Cavalry or the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th are missing. Much of the Snake War's early combat was borne by California Volunteer Regiments. Michno points out that (when the all-Californian 8th U. S. Cavalry regiment is included) Californians not only inflicted fully one-fifth of all Native American casualties in the West's Indian Wars (over 2,500 in 287 fights), "in five years [the Californians] killed more Indians than any of the ten U. S. Cavalry regiments did in the forty years from 1850 to 1890."

"Snake" refers to several bands of Native Americans inhabiting the Great Basin and the Northwest's Columbia Plateau (principally Bannocks, Shoshonis and Paiutes). Michno speculates that one reason for the general lack of knowledge about the Snake War is that these tribes "were not taken seriously as warriors" (as were the Sioux and Apaches) and therefore have not been given their due as a formidable fighting force. Another reason that more attention has not been paid to the Snake War is that volunteers, not regulars, constituted most of the Army troops involved. When the Snake War broke out in 1864, most U. S. Army regulars had been sent East to fight the Civil War (by Spring, 1861, fewer than 700 regulars remained in the entire Northwest). However, lest readers mistakenly believe that this left a dangerous void, 18,000 volunteers (like the California regiments) rallied to the colors to back-fill the West's 5,000 pre-war regulars. With more troops available, fights with Native Americans increased while the volunteers were in service.

The war's casualty figures, however, belie the short shrift given to the fighters on both sides and provide a compelling justification for Michno's book. In total, 1,762 whites and Indians were either killed, wounded or captured in the Snake War's battles and skirmishes. That is nearly twice the number of casualties in the much more well-known and intensely studied "Great Sioux War" of 1876-77 (in which Custer met his end at the Little Bighorn). Michno writes that the true casualty count for the Snake War was even higher when the countless, small-scale Indian raids are added to the battle and skirmish totals, noting that, conservatively, "an additional ninety civilians killed, thirty wounded and sixty Indians killed or wounded" should be included.

Finally, in an observation that echoes in how today's headlines are produced, Michno points out that another major reason the Snake War is not better known is that few reporters covered the action, nor did "Indian Wars combat artists" like Remington, Schreyvogel or Russell produce colorful, dramatic images as they did for the fights against the Plains Indians. It seems that, 140 years ago, editors were deciding what was "newsworthy" for the public -- and even in those days could miss a great story. Michno's outstanding new book finally tells that "great story."

Michno puts a tremendous effort into his book on the Snake campaign that is totally unlike the Great Plains campaigns that generally consisted of relatively large armies in the field by post Civil War standards. In the Snake Conflict, small diverse tribes, (Shoshones, Paiutes etc.) resist the burdensome intrusion of whites into their land that contains few resources due to the climate and terrain. However, these bands rarely reach over 100 and in contrast to the plains wars; small troops of companies typically ranging from 40 or not much more go out in the field across wide landscapes in search of offending Indians. Along with the troops are occasional forays or alliances with civilians that take the initiative to fight the Indians. The Snake tribes are very effective in eluding and defending their line and due to the numerous small tribes; it is impressive when the commanders in the field can distinguish the various tribes. Michno did a tremendous amount of research to locate the battle sites and he personally took a myriad of pictures of the various sites that sprinkled throughout. The book contains 5 large maps in front that require constant reference and smaller battle maps within the text to accompany key battles. This book is more for the serious student of the American Indian Wars, the less inclined may find the book too detailed for their taste.

This is another fine book by author Michno that simply puts most other modern works on Indian wars to shame. Not only that, it is about an almost unknown Indian War that was the deadliest (according to the author, and I see no reason to challenge his assertion) in US history in terms of casualties to Indians, soldiers and civilians. This is the story of the war with the Snake/Bannock/Paiute Indians in northern California and Nevada, much of Oregon, and southwestern Idaho from 1864 to 1868.

To the purist the war started earlier when parties traveling to California and Oregon were harassed by "Digger" Indians who used poisoned arrows and often made small raids against wagon trains and other parties to capture livestock for food and horses to mount themselves. The Diggers were held in very low regard due to their diet of almost anything edible in their harsh land, including insects, rabbits and roots. The whites saw nothing noble about these Indians, and tended to kill them without mercy whenever they caused trouble. The problem for the Indians was that the whites killed off their game, and as the war progressed made them dependent on stealing food from the whites for survival.

During the Civil War most of the actions against the Indians were by volunteer companies of soldiers and punitive civilian parties. After the Civil War, US Army regulars took over, but they were hardly more effective than the volunteers. Author Michno makes extensive use of newspaper archives to record the civilian attitudes and the political struggle. The turning point came when the Army began to make effective use of Indian scouts from the Snakes and other tribes. A war of extermination was effectively pursued until over half of the population of the hostile tribes had been killed. After four years of incessant small unit actions, the Indians began to surrender to the Army and turn in their weapons in exchange for food.

Most of the casualties occurred in relatively one-sided actions where the Indians killed lone individuals or small parties of whites (often in assaults on ranches and stagecoaches), and expeditions by scouts, civilians or army detachments where they were able to surprise small camps of Indians at dawn, kill most of the Indians (men, women and children), and burn the lodges and supplies. This was a brutal war waged without mercy, and the Snakes generally committed gruesome atrocities on dead whites and anyone they captured. In many respects, to be in the wrong place at the wrong time meant death for those on both sides.

Author Michno has produced a remarkable scholarly work in great detail and augmented by very useful maps. He is remarkably even-handed, and offers criticism of leaders such as Crook and Marshall when it is due. Of course, this book is written from the white side, as very little, if anything, has survived from the Snakes to tell their side of the story. About the only deficiency I noted was that I wanted to know what happened to Howluck (Bigfoot) who seemed to lead such a charmed life. Also there could have been some followup about Chief Winnemucca.

In short, this is a very fine work that should be on the library shelf for every individual interested in the Indian wars of the Old West. I recommend it to everyone, even if the narrative sometimes goes into details that the reader might find slightly tedious. Such is the nature of small unit actions in war -- they tend to repeat themselves when one or both sides are slow learners. The two times Crook lost the bulk of his horses and mules to raiders and became immobilized are good examples. One would think he would have learned from the first event and instituted better security. But alas, as I said, sometimes people are slow learners.

This is a great book, and I recommend it without reservation.

I found this a great book full of information about the war the Snake (Bannock) Indians waged for their homeland. I find it interesting that they were so successful in their war agaist the white people invading thier land, yet their war was such that it was little known. I even found a great-great grandfather for one of my cousins. This I found very interesting as the grandfather settled in the Camas Prairie of southern Idaho, the site that much of the Idaho era of the war covered.
Norma Dart

I found Greg Michno's book, "Deadliest Indian War in the West," to be a great read. It was easy to follow, contained great maps, and details of incidents in the Eastern section of Oregon. Enough so to motivate me to go the the Great Oregon Outback and look into the sites mentioned in the book. Highly recommended for anyone that has any interest in the Western conflicts between soldiers, civilians, Indian Allies, and those fighting to preserve their way of life.

The history of the American West is a history of conflict between encroaching whites and defending Native Americans. One of the least known of these violent and bloody wars was a four year confrontation known as the Snake Conflict and took place between 1864 and 1868. Now western historian Gregory Michno has written a definitive history of a lethal and extended fight led by the Winnemucca tribe against the overwhelming forces of the Union Army. Enhanced with maps, an appendix, and a bibliography, Gregory Michno's "The Deadliest Indian War In The West: The Snake Conflict, 1864-1868" is a model of informative research and an impressively seminal work that is especially recommended reading, as well as an essential, core addition to academic and community library Native American Studies and 19th Century American History reference collections.

This is a great book for anyone who has even the slightest interest in the westward expansion and the resulting confrontations between Indians and white settlers -- theres no need to be an academic or history student to appreciate it. I'm neither of those, I just love to read and became fascinated by the westward migration and Indian Wars after I picked up my first Gregory Michno book. If we ever need to validate how comfortably most of us live, imagine going out on a scout and getting caught in a blizzard that no one could have known was coming, and having no way of notifying the party you were supposed to meet that you'll be several days late because the snow is so deep that your horses and pack animals can't possibly walk through it; or soldiers and their horses walking in a circle all night in order to keep from freezing to death; or getting lost during a night time march and having to wait til daybreak to find the way back; then marching hundreds of miles in a week and coming back to camp exhausted, empty-handed and possibly ambushed along the way. How the Indians survived in this harsh climate, even before the whites arrived is a mystery to me: I can't imagine living my life outdoors having to dig for roots and go on grasshopper drives to survive. The people who lived this war jump off the pages at you, the skirmishes are a constant but amidst all the fighting and atrocities there is an occasional glimpse of humor: Lt. Col. George Crook gives an order to his men to charge an Indian camp while he plans to observe the battle from afar, but his horse spooks and bolts him through the camp first. I've read pieces of some of the references used to compile this book but it made for a more meaningful reading experience having them all laid out together, all the pieces coming together. After finishing the book, I'm shocked that this war is so barely recognized - a person wonders how thats possible given the number of fights and deaths over this time period. As a reader, I enjoy easy reading and Michno's style of laying out different incidents in shorter blurbs allows the reader to delve into a gripping past without the feeling of plunging into a dry history book. This book would be a fabulous addition to anyone's library. I only wish I lived closer to this area, because I'd love to go check out some of these battle sites in-person. If you're on the fence about getting this one, I hope my review will help convince you that you won't be disappointed.

As another rater pointed out this is one of the best books relating the Indian conflicts. Probably writen with use of military, personal, and other documents this book gives an excellent depiction of how it was for the army and citizens. What is lacking is a clear prospective on those from the other side of the war, the Indians. Having had Nevada History as a required course, I recall nothing detailing what is related here. Gives one an entirely different viewpoint about the "digger" Indians. Having hunted some of the areas pointed out in the book I also have a very high respect for both the Indians that lived in the high desert and the troops that searched them out, both were tough peoples. Short and to the point, a great book.