Morning Star Dawn: The Powder River Expedition and the Northern Cheyennes, 1876 by Jerome Greene

Abstract

scenes lead to immanence, how do they square with the moral disciplines ofChristianity, Juda ism, Islam, or Buddhism? Why, indeed, should one read about sacred ground, ifstandingon itis more likelytoproduce personal revelations? O'Connell does not face thesequestions very well. He also leaves out a great countervailing force.The enduring treatmentof landscape in thisregionmay not be thework of poets or art ists,but of engineers. Punching holes through the Cascades, harnessing the Columbia with huge dams, mowing down forests,rising over mountaintops with long-range bombers, tinker ing with nuclear, electronic, and biochemical in ventions ? thishas been the work of thousands of prosperous Northwest residents, a massive effortto obliterate any tutelary spirit of place. To adapt a line from Shakespeare: "How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea, whose action isno strongerthan a flower?" Morning StarDawn: The Powder River Expedition and the Northern Cheyennes, 1876 By JeromeGreene University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 2003. Illustrations, photographs, maps, notes, bibliography, index. 304 pages. $34.95 cloth. Reviewed by Timothy Lehman RockyMountain College, Billings,Montana On November 25, 1876 ? exactly five months after Gen. George Custer's defeat at theLittleBigHorn? Col. Ranald Mackenzie and eleven hundred soldiers under his com mand attacked a Northern Cheyenne village at Red Fork Canyon on the Powder River in northernWyoming. This dawn attackwas part of theGreat SiouxWar, theU.S. Army's largest military operation since theCivilWar and the lastsignificantIndian resistanceon thenorthern Plains. Afterfightingall day forcontrol of their village, chiefs Morning Star (also known asDull Knife) and Little Wolf led theirpeople awayfrom the soldiers and into the Bighorn Mountains. Bitterwinter cold and near starvationforced the Cheyenne to surrender in the weeks andmonths to come. This storyof themilitary campaign and theCheyennes' defeat is the subject of Je romeGreene's thoroughly researched andwell written monograph. Greene, a research historian fortheNational Park Service, narrates the story of thisparticular event ina largerstruggle with an engaging style,an eyeforrevealingdetail, and a balanced treatmentof all sides. In theaftermathofCuster's defeat, thearmy changed its strategyfordealing with "hostile" Indians on the Plains. At the direction of Lt. Gen. Phil Sheridan and with the full support of army commander Gen.William T. Sherman and theU.S. Congress, the army forced Indians livingat the agencies to give up theirguns and horses, rendering them completely dependent on the army for food and shelter.The army reasoned thatwith their families and friends effectively disarmed and dismounted, theLakota and Cheyenne followersofCrazy Horse and Sit tingBullmight become more cooperative.Those Indians who refused agency controlwere tobe pursued and punished with winter campaigns thatwould put a definitive end to Indian resis tance on the Plains. Greene providesmore detail than thecasual reader might want toknow about thiscampaign, but often these specifics enliven the narrative and illuminate the largerpicture. Through his meticulous attention tomilitary sources we learn, for instance, about the supply lines that were necessary for a winter campaign to be Reviews 161 successful. Hundreds of pounds of grain for horses and tons of food, clothing, and equip ment had to be transported bywagon across a frozen Wyoming landscape. Another example of compelling detail isGreene's description of the "priceless artifacts" (p. 136) that the army cap tured and burned in theCheyenne camp. These included artwork,food supplies, religious items, elaborately decorated clothes, cooking utensils, and a necklace made of human fingers. Equally adept at using both Native Ameri can and army sources,Greene provides insight into all sides of this story.Despite the victory over the Cheyennes, field commander Gen. George Crook remained at thecenterof a storm of controversies. Some military figures charged thathemismanaged the campaign, was insuf ficientlyaggressive inpursuing the Indians, and relied too heavily on Indian allies for scouting and fighting. Greene skillfully recounts the motivations and battlefield activities of three hundred or so Pawnees, Shoshones, and others who enabled the army first to findMorning Star's camp and then todefeat the chief and his followers. Some civilians charged thatCrook's strategyofmaking a surprise attack on a vil lage, killing noncombatants, and destroying pony herds and property caused unnecessary suffering. Morning Star Dawn provides a balanced, factual account thatwill appeal to anyone with a strong interest inmilitary history and Plains Indian warfare. Greene's terse treatment sticks closely to the...