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December 26, 1862. On the day after Christmas, in Mankato, Minnesota, thirty-eight Indians were hanged on the order of President Lincoln. This event stands today as the greatest mass execution in the history of the United States. In Over The Earth I Come, Duane Schultz brilliantly retells one of America's most violent and bloody events--the Great Sioux Uprising of 1862.
Consider the Primary Sources
| Customer Rating:   | | Schultz's work is not among the best narratives about the U.S.-Dakota Conflict of 1862. The work is an over-dramatizated and ahistorical interpretation of the events. In particular, he draws on Harriet E. Bishop McConkey's "Dakota War Whoop" as a source. McConkey's work is often considered a fallible book among Conflict scholars. Even though Schultz's work earned the New York Times Notable Book in 1992, such an award isn't always based on historical merit. In short, consider works by Alan R. Woolworth and Gary Clayton Anderson - both historians of renown with regard to the 1862 Conflict. I propose "Through Dakota Eyes" for a multi-angled approach to the Dakota participants (including Christian, traditional and farming Dakota accounts). As for diversified military accounts, seek "Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars." Kenneth Carley's "The Dakota War of 1862: Minnesota's Other Civil War" is also a good secondary source. If you have the opportunity and interest, it is advisable to visit the sites where these events occurred. Consider a historical field trip to Fort Ridgely, Birch Coolie and/or New Ulm, Minnesota to investigate the nuances of this often oversimplified history. |
Parable of The Crow
| Customer Rating: | Having grown up with this book, I thought it would be timely to re-read it again after many years. When I was young, this was the book that would always be on my dad's bookshelf or sometimes, when he had fallen asleep in his EZ Chair late at night, I'd go in, take the pipe from his mouth and tamp it into a nearby ashtray, and remove this book from his lap where he lay sleeping.
We grew up thinking that the tragic events of New Ulm and the other Great Plains sites had happened, perhaps, next door to us on the North Shore of Long Island, for those were the days when large wooded areas were still undeveloped and the paths worn down by Native tribes were still in use. Children read things in funny ways and some of my father's and grandfather's tales were enough to make us think that we too shared the blood of the Dakota people. This book was originally published 13 years ago and was an instant classic. As a young man I argued with my dad about why did author Schultz insist on spilling out the gory details of the Sioux rebellion against white settlers (largely German born and in some cases, German was all they spoke)? Wasn't it designed to stir up bad feeling against the present day descendants of the tribe? If there were any left especially after the executions of so many, including the pragmatic, intuitive, and charismatic leader, Little Crow?
My father said it was like a parable and for that reason the bord "Crow," which we also had plenty of on Long Island, had been adopted as the totem of many Plains Indians, was because the crow sees further than any other bird, and that the slaughter was a by product of basically a prophetic genius (Li'l Crow) who could see into the future, not only the future of his tribe but also beyond the borders of the plains and out to the oceans on either side of the North American continent. The blood spilled by the victims of the uprising, long gone now into the earth, bubbles up again, red and warm, in Schultz's pages. It's as if he couldn't help himself (as a historian) any more than the original "egg" quarrel could have been avoided. As an example, my father also enjoyed the still-ongoing "Crow" film series especially with the late Brandon Lee, claiming that the creators of the "Crow" movies had based their plots on the 1862 events. Hmmm, who knows!
He often spoke in parables, and some of the meaning he wanted to impart to his children was lost in ambiguity. He is gone now but reading OVER THE EARTH I COME returns him to me a little. |
Amazing first hand accounts
| Customer Rating: | | I am an avid reader of western fiction like Louis L'Amour. This book is even better, it is first-hand true accounts of the Sioux Uprising in Minnesota in 1862. I loved it because it presented both sides of the situation in graphic detail. I read it in 2 days and normally a book like this would take me a month of 10 or 15 minute sessions. I couldn't put it down and I have already loaned it to three friends who were equally impressed. Buy it, Read it! |
Greek Tragedy in Minnesota, circa 1862
| Customer Rating: | | In "Over the Earth I Come," military historian Duane Schultz writes a popular history of the infamous Dakota uprising of 1862. The title of the book comes from a Dakota chant of defiance, a fitting title for a book that describes the efforts of a people to cast off the heavy chains of hopelessness, starvation, and general depravation forged through contact with the American government and its Indian agents. Schultz writes a gripping account of all aspects of the uprising and the aftereffects of the rebellion. The author weaves narratives of survivors with political and military events of the uprising into a seamless and compelling account of this unfortunate incident in American history. According to Schultz, some 500 to 2000 whites died in the uprising, many of them German settlers unaware of the danger they faced from the angry Dakotas. Hundreds of Dakotas died as well in the futile military campaigns launched against Fort Ridgley, New Ulm, and at the battle of Birch Coulee. The uprising was a tragedy for everyone involved, from the white women and children who died in astonishingly brutal ways, to the Indians who lost their freedom and lands as a result of the uprising, to President Abraham Lincoln who signed a death warrant for 38 Dakotas (Lincoln lessened the tragedy somewhat by commuting some 264 death sentences). Schultz conveys the tragedy with a heartfelt eloquence that brings tears to your eyes. Early in the book, Schultz examines the causes of the uprising. Was the uprising inevitable? Schultz's answer is a resounding NO! The Dakotas rebelled against the government agents and white settlers due to starvation, a tardy annuity payment, and poor treatment by Indian agents and German settlers. Cultural factors also played a role, as the government played Indians off against each other by rewarding Indians who played by the rules (those who adopted white culture and farming methods), and withholding supplies from "blanket" Indians (those who refused to adopt an alien culture in order to preserve their ancient way of life). The Indians who refused to adopt white culture watched their converted kin collect supplies and food from government warehouses anytime they needed it, while the blanket Indians collected their food on a set schedule. The blanket Indians eventually formed a soldier's lodge and planned military action against the whites. A harmless incident over some eggs on a white farm escalated into the murder of a family of whites, and the war was on. Schultz spends much time discussing Little Crow, the leader of the uprising. Little Crow, who initially opposed the uprising, eventually changed his mind and supported the revolt, a decision that doomed Little Crow and his people. After discussing Schultz's presentation of Little Crow with a friend, he asked if Schultz relied on the "noble savage" stereotype while discussing Little Crow. I don't think that is the case here, as Little Crow appears as a politically astute politician, saddened over the deaths of white children and white women while generally making the best of a situation rapidly spiraling beyond his control. In a move sure to bring about howls of protest from the politically correct crowd who believe Indians can do no wrong, Schultz provides graphic details of the slaughter and torture of white settlers caught in the uprising. Through the use of narrative accounts, we see Indian braves on a murder spree of shocking proportions. Indians dashed the heads of children against trees, dropped rocks on people's heads, and tore limbs from still living children. Indians shook hands in a gesture of "friendship" with whites, and then shot them when they turned their backs. The list of atrocities goes on and on. As bad as these descriptions are, there are many worse ones found in this book. It is understandable that whites howled for blood when the uprising came to an end. At the same time, Schultz shows us the many Indians disgusted at the behavior of their fellow Indians. Just as people sheltered Jews during World War II, some Indians risked life and limb to protect innocent whites. These Indian men and women were truly saviors to many. But in keeping with the theme of tragedy, Schultz explains how a few innocent Indians died on the gallows; one of them was Chaska, an Indian who protected Sarah Wakefield, a white woman taken captive early in the uprising. Despite Sarah's protestations (or perhaps because of them; whites were not interested in letting any Indian off the hook), Chaska ended up on the gallows. As a popular history, "Over the Earth I Come" does have its limitations. For example, in his discussion on the causes of the uprising, Schultz completely fails to mention the Spirit Lake massacre in 1857 and the withholding of annuity funds by the government in order to force the Indians to do what the government told them to do. Both of these events contributed to the uprising, and discussing them is essential in understanding the events that followed. "Over the Earth I Come" is an excellent, well written introduction to this troubling event in American history. The book has all the trappings of a novel: dramatic battles, perilous escapes, mind blowing ironies and "what-ifs," and touching stories of human kindness. Schultz conveys the multiple tragedies of this sad event with great sympathy and understanding. |
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