When one speaks of the Wild West… instantly the images that come to most peoples minds are Cowboys and Indians. The great heyday of Westerns that dominated the 20th Century from the likes of masterfull Hollywood directors like John Ford and later the truly brilliant efforts of Sergio Leone and his “Spaghetti Westerns”… all the way to the larger than life figures such as John Wayne… all were fammiliar to generations of Americans and people of all nations the world over.
Films like “Stagecoach” inspired generations of Americans and many other people across the world.
The History of the West is something that is described and detailed to us through various mediums and nearly all of us have heard about the extrodinary themes that ran far out into the Old American West. Buffalo Bill, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Wyat Earp, Calamaty Jane and Kit Carson and literally thousands of other real life figures dominated the early days of the American West. Much is written and much has been shown on television and film throughout the ages, some of it true and some of it total fiction.
However of all the stories from the American West, of all the unbelievable exploits and amazing feats, of all the charlatans and fraudsters some cases continued to baffle people and spark controversy. None more so than the long and bloody conflict I will detail in the following article.
But to really understand the whole story you must join me on a journey into the past, on a quest to find out the truth to one of the greatest Mysteries of the American Western Frontier.
Though the main event took place no more than 150 years ago few people will ever have heard of it in this way before. The story I will relate to you now is one that is a result of extensive historical research and assesment of a great and turbulent conflict in American History and it begins with one of the most famous of all Native American tribes. So follow me in this first phase of Blood and Thunder as we look into a History of one of the most interesting American historical events one that has great rammifications and the message of which is relevant even today in these modern times.
We begin our journey in the North of America more than 300 years ago. The region in which this story is set is vast, stretching from what is today the Canadian Border in the North right the way down to the Mexican border. The region is also very wide Starting from the Northern State of Minnesota, down through Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and right through the State of Missisipi in the South. To Stretch acrss as far as the Most Western states Of Washington, Oregon and California.
A Map of the USA to give an overall view of the scale of the great Plains.
Between this huge region that began from West of the Missisipi to California was a huge landscape dominated by the great plains that went right up to Utah, beyond that was the Deserts of the South and the Rocky Mountains that led all the way to the Northern Cannadian border. Its unbelievable only until the 19th Century did American really begin to explore the region West of the Missisippi. Until that time it was home to a huge number of Native American tribes.
Foremost of whom were the Plains Indians who lived on the open land between Oregon and the Missisippi river. The Plains Indians were Indians who lived and occupied the great plains this area of grassland was dotted with woods and cacti stretched for almost two thousand miles on all sides and was truly vast. The Buffalo (North American Bison) and Elk as well as several species of deer and antelope roamed free in this region in massive herds. Especially the Buffalo herds which some herds consisted of several million individual buffalo.
Plains Indians primarily lived off the Buffalo meat and the Buffalo was central to thier primitive culture providing almost all the means for survival, not just meat but the hides could be used for Tents as well as clothing, the bones made great glue when boiled down or could simply be employed as weapons and furniture. The Indians did well hunting the almost endless Buffalo herds but Horses introduced by the Spaniards and which had managed to escape became more available. At first the Plains Indians treated the horses as over sized dogs and used to haul tents and people on wooden sledges or Travois. However later they managed to harness the horse and utilise it not only as a means of mounted transport but for mounted warfare too.
Aside from the Plains Indians the West was also dominated by Forest Dwelling Indian people like the Northern Cree and Cherokee tribes and in the Region of the Great lakes these people lived mainly on fish and woodland deer. In the South West were desert dwelling tribes and more creek Indians like the Nez Perc and others who were skilled fishermen.
The Native American origins are shrouded in Mystery and seem to date back beyond the dark ages. It is believed that Most of the Plains Indian tribes were Ancestors of people from Asia who crossed the Bering Sea in the Ice Age. Forensic and Archeological evidence points to this being the case as Native American Indians, share almost identical Bone structures and culturaly are almost the same as people from Mongolia and the Steppes.
A small Plains Indian Village showing the sort of Buffalo hide tents or Tipis in which they lived.
However some Southern Native Americans dont match the same DNA and Bone structures and are a bit of an enigma, with more characteristics shared between them and African tribes suggesting that perhaps they were older humans who had always been on the contininent and slowly come Northwards from South America. Whatever the case this story centralises primarily on the North American and especially the Plains Indians.
One of the many Myths surrounding the Indians is that they were simply no match for the Invading White man and that they never won any major wars, however this is not exactly true and contrary to many schoolbooks the Native Americans actually were the winners in a lot of engagements. We will explore more into this in the next phase of the story and will also look into one of the most interesting culture clashes in History. I hope you will join me for the next installment.
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