Customer Reviews

Missionaries, Outlaws, and Indians: Taylor F. Ealy at Lincoln and Zuni, 1878-1881

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This book gives us an unbiased (although he did like The Kid) look at the Lincoln County War. Paraphrased from the cover and my own reading of the book: Reverend Ealy was a Presbyterian medical missionary - trained to preach, teach, and heal the sick. He and his wife and children arrived in Lincoln in February 1878, just one day after the killing of John Tunstall had touched off the Lincoln County War. The Ealys tried to bring a sense of community to the area (good luck!) by opening the first school and holding regularly scheduled religious services. After 6 months, they left Lincoln and took refuge in the U.S. Army post near by. The Ealys were sent next to the pueblo of Zuni. While the Zuni people were friendly toward the missionaries, they recognized that the Early's work represented a threat to the pueblo's centuries-old culture. Another resident of the pueblo was Frank Cushing, who was there on assignment for the Bureau of Ethnology and became a sympathetic supporter of all that was traditional in Zuni life. The Ealys recorded their experiences and impressions in diary entries, letters to colleagues and relatives, and extensive recollections. The diaries and other records of their experiences in New Mexico and Arizona are worth reading. First-person observations of people the quality of the Ealys are very valuable for the casual reader and the scholar, as well. Great book.