Mari Sandoz (1896–1966)

A “fictional biography” of John Cozad, by Mari Sandoz. Cozad, Nebraska is a little town just north of I80 and right on the 100th meridian. John Cozad was a very successful gambler, who used his winnings to found the town, promote the area, and build a hotel. When the Cozad family ran into trouble with local ranchers, they changed their names and moved away; one son adopted the name “Robert Henri” (pronounced “henRYE” by the locals) and became a famous painter and founder of the “Ashcan School”. Sandoz takes the minimal information known about the Cozads – they spent a good fraction of their lives trying to hide their identity, after all – and spins it into a fascinating historical novel. For a small town, a lot happened in and around this area. Conflict between the neighboring towns of Plum Creek and Cozad is instrumental to the book; events include the Plum Creek Massacre, the Plum Creek Raid, the lynching and burning of settlers Luther Mitchell and A.W. Ketchum by cowboys of the Olive Ranch, and the great locust storm of 1875. (If you go looking for the town of Plum Creek, note that - perhaps because of the notoriety - it’s now Lexington, Nebraska. Cozad is still Cozad). An easy, entertaining, and instructive read.… (mehr)

In 1867 the total number of buffaloes in the trans-Missouri region was conservatively estimated at fifteen million. By the end of the 1880s that figure had dwindled to a few hundred. The destruction of the great herds is the theme of this book. Mari Sandoz's canvas is vast, but it is charged with color and excitement—accounts of Indian ambushes, hairbreadth escapes, gambling and gunfights, military expeditions, famous frontier characters (Wild Bill Hickok, Lonesome Charlie Reynolds, Buffalo Bill, Sheridan, Custer, and Indian Chiefs Whistler, Yellow Wolf, Spotted Tail, and Sitting Bull).… (mehr)

This short book packs in so much detail, from the big picture of the political landscape to the hardships the soldiers and their horses & mules faced. As a kid in school, I remember Custer being portrayed as a heroic figure, a victim. Sandoz details his political aspirations to become president and how that tunnel vision led to his discounting reports of enemy numbers and strength, disobeying orders, and splitting his forces so he'd get all the glory in a victory, a move that sent many men to their deaths. He did all the things a good leader would never do.… (mehr)