The Earth Is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West

In 1860, there were dozens of different Indian “nations” scattered throughout the territories west of the Mississippi. Most Indian tribes were hunter-based societies. And those tribes would often move to be nearer to the migratory game they hunted. It was a way of life that required a large amount of land to sustain a small number of people. But the United States was expanding westward. And what did the white man want? Land! Land for homesteading. Land for the railroads. Land to raise cattle. Land for the gold mining that promised instant wealth. And what else did the white man want? Game! Game to feed the railroad workers. Game to acquire furs to sell in the east. Game, just for the “sport”. And finally, game to deprive the Indian of their ability to live on that land. So, two incompatible ways of life. Conflict was inevitable. And, in the long run, the Indians could only lose. The Indians had the land, but the white man had better weapons and a greater population. Some Indians tribes fought each other as much as they fought the white man, whereas the United States had a unified military. But, most important, the Indians could not defeat the United States, but the United States could defeat the different Indians “nations” one nation at a time. For the Indians, defeat resulted in Treaties giving the Indians reservation land, as well as food and supplies (until that reservation land was developed enough to allow the Indians to be self-sufficient). Of course, corrupt administrators might sell the food and supplies elsewhere, pocketing the ill-gained profits themselves (while letting the Indians starve). And, of course, Treaties were not in perpetuity, and the amount of reservation land kept getting smaller. All of the above in probably known, in some measure, by all of us. But the book adds the details, perspective and history to give the reader a depth of knowledge and understanding that I, at least, had not had before. Bottom Line: Highly readable book providing a sad, yet informative, history of our western expansion (at the expense of the native populations).

Cozzens has written many excellent histories. Here he delivers an account of the four decades of conflict between the white invaders and the Native American tribes in the west. In doing so, Cozzens is a real straight shooter. Cozzens is clear eyed and does not put on rose colored glasses when it comes to what went on in the west during those decades of struggle. He describes in detail the many treaties that were broken by the whites and shows the lust for land and treasure which often motivated the white encroachments and the evil double dealing that so often occurred because many if not most of the whites involved were evil, incompetent or simply very misguided. At the same time, he takes time to identify and describe those whites, many of whom were Army officers, who were sympathetic to the Indians and tried unsuccessfully to advocate for fair and better treatment of them. Similarly, he describes the horrific losses of the native Americans but, at the same time, he does not seek to unduly glorify the Native Americans by describing them essentially as innocents in paradise - he points out, for example, many of the problems associated with cultures in which the young men of the tribe could only achieve status by preying upon and murdering, stealing from and kidnapping members of other Native American tribes and nearby whites and he does not hesitate to point out instances in which problems arose because of the lies of tribal leaders or the spontaneous violence of hot headed young men. Of course, he sympathetically shows the reactions and ugly choices that had to be made by courageous Native American leaders who simply wanted to be left alone and protect their families and culture. Cozzens’ balanced approach allows you to reflect upon and be angered by the evil done to the Native Americans during this period but the beauty of his history is that you do not get the feeling that he has a revisionist axe to grind or that he is trying to shove an opinion - as opposed to history - down your throat. Highly recommended.

This book as both good (5 star) and bad (3 Star) attributes. So, I will cover the bad first. The deeper I got into this book I realized that the author wanted to impress readers with his command of vocabulary or his love of his thesaurus. Either way, the book got tedious at times as he often used a big or little used word when a simpler word would do (SUFFICE!) . Sometimes, context helped with the meaning of the $5 word. I used my Kindle APP to find the definition of the $5 words. There were places where I could not read 3 pages with encountering this and I joked about it with my wife. At one point, he used the work ejaculation. My Kindle of course gave the most commonly known definition of the word and an old English version of the word. The latter was the authors intended use. So, if you read on an APP you will be able to determine the meaning these 60-100 not so well used words. If not, you will need to use Google or a Dictionary to ensure proper comprehension of the context of MANY sections. I also found that the author got too deep into the details at times, this made the book a bit longer than required. He spent a good amount of time on several more famous or interesting participants in the historical story. This was probably a strength (brawniness) and a weakness (puniness) depending on ones perspective. Now onto the reason to read this book. The book had good coverage of the Little Big Horn and it helps if the reader to have visited the site. Custer's soldiers were terrible at aiming but this problem was likely due to fear and a lack of training. Actually, the death counts in many conflicts were surprisingly LOW to me. I read the book, Bury My Heart a Wounded Knee, several times from about 1975 forward. This book covers most of the same information and this is noted in the Preface. The first chapter gives a quick overview of the issues and what evolved our the US doctrine towards Native People. The book then gets into the heart of mostly post-Civil War Indian issues and confrontations. The material is extremely well researched and quite in depth. I am unsure of one should read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (BMHWK) first or not. BMHWK is a more emotive book but lacks some of the detail and key character development. I use the word character development as several historical figures are involved with the issues for 20-25 years. Red Cloud, Crook, Miles, and Terry to name a few. Both books are worthy reads. Most of the key Native Leader/players are the same in both books as are the key military and political leaders. I think this book did an incredible job about the issues and personalities of Miles, Crook, and Terry. Three key people in the Indian wars. Crook and Miles really did, at times try to get it right. All the stories are the same. Rinse, shake, and repeat. We want to come through your land, we want part of your land, we make a treaty, our people violate the treaty, issues arise, conflict arises. Now we want more of your land, we make a treaty, more of our people find use of parts of your land (gold, timber, farmland, buffalo). So, we ignore our people exploiting your land, conflict arises, we win, more land removed more treaties signed. Rinse and repeat. The Black Hills and Adobe Walls being good examples of treaty violations and eventual conflict. Great examples and the intractable problem was, we basically wanted what we wanted so we took it. One can draw conclusions to a few seemingly intractable problems around the world today. Of course the eventual deaths of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and others were all unnecessary. The author covered all of this quite well. I found the story of Geronimo quite interesting. The material in this book made him out to be an okay man, after he was sent off to Florida. But as portrayed in this book, most of his life he was a pretty horrible human being. He drank too much, was cruel, and he told endless lies. So, if it were not for the overly scholarly vocabulary used in this book, I would give this book 5 Stars. 5 Stars for the material and the organization but only 3 Stars on the writing. Get your dictionary of choice at the ready before purchasing this book.

Highly detailed but fascinating read. Learned much although I am a student of history. Not an easy read due to highly detailed. If one wants a detailed study over time give it a try.

This is a lengthy history of the American Indian wars. And there is much to tell. Cozzens's prose is brisk and fast-paced. Stories from Lakota, Apache, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Comanche, Arapaho, Modoc, and Nez Perce struggles for survival bring this history to life. Government apathy and, in many cases, hostility to the Indian is clear. But so are the stories of the Army leaders who worked to be just and humane in their dealing with the tribes. "The Earth is Weeping" is predominantly a military history. So if your tastes in narrative history lean in other directions, you might think this encyclopedic work isn't for you. You would be wrong. Cozzens does a great job presenting the whole story in as straightforward a fashion as possible despite it being one of the most tragic of American episodes. Exciting throughout, this history is ultimately a sad and tragic one. Quoting Cozzens after his ending story of the final Lakota fight at Wounded Knee Creek: "Accommodation had failed. War had failed. And the bullet-riven Ghost Shirts buried with their wearers in the mass grave on the lone knoll above Wounded Knee Creek were ample proof that religion too had failed the Indians. There was no room left for the Indians in the West but what the government saw fit to permit them." "The government made us many promises," a Lakota chief told a white friend, "more than I can remember, but they never kept but one: they promised to take our land and they took it." Highly recommended for all Americans.

The wars west of the Mississippi between the Indians and the U.S. army from the 1860s to the 1890s have become increasingly controversial over the years. Although even most Western movies of 1930s through the 1950s were not quite as stereotypically Indians = bad; white settlers and U.S. cavalry = good as is sometimes alleged, it's fair to say that prior to around 1960, Indians were often portrayed as cardboard villains in U.S. popular culture. Then, of course, the tide turned and the white settlers and U.S. cavalry became the bad guys and the Indians were portrayed as innocents who were subjected to unremitting exploitation. Peter Cozzens provides a more balanced account that notes, among other things, that the tribes occupying the northern plains had arrived fairly recently and often were occupying land from which they had evicted tribes that had lived there previously. He also notes that the tribes often had no more intention of abiding by the treaties they signed with the U.S. government than did the white settlers or the cavalry. He certainly is critical of the hypocrisy and double dealing involved on the side of the U.S. government in its relations with the Indian tribes, but his account strikes me as more plausible than the cartoon versions of these events that have been popular in the past few decades. Particularly, if like me, you had only a vague idea of how the Indian Wars evolved--apart from Custer at the Little Big Horn--you'll likely find this book informative, even eye-opening. The only really drawback is that the Indian Wars were mainly a series of small-scale encounters spread out over decades. As such, the book can get a bit tedious at times to plow through. The maps are very well done, though, which makes the campaigns pretty easy to follow.

This book is an incredible firsthand look into life among Native Americans during a turbulent time. The author’s storytelling is vivid and immersive, making the struggles and experiences feel real and relatable. It’s both educational and gripping, perfect for history buffs or anyone interested in that era. I’m giving it 4 stars because at times the language and style can feel a bit dated, which slows the pace, but overall it’s a compelling and valuable read that stayed with me long after finishing. Highly recommend if you want an authentic perspective on this unique piece of history.

From first page to the last, this book takes you into the history and losses suffered by the Native Americans through broken promises and greed by those who chose to claim this land from those who loved it so much. The skirmishes and divisions of the native peoples is documented well, and certainly between these people and the soldiers, politicians too,and every page not only takes you to that time but makes you sad about the starvation and lives lost in the name of personal wealth and want for more at the expense of others. The proud warriors and families who wasted not of what they took from the land, as their lives were changed and disrupted forever. As invaders (the settlers from other nations) we tried to submit these people into our beliefs and ways even trying to steal their heritage in the name of “it’s all about us, not them” selfishness. Sometimes it takes something this well written to educate and humble us. An amazing book, so well versed, so well researched.

Entretenido, informativo, bien documentado. Me ha gustado e interesado mucho.

The author relies on a false premise to justify the Eurocentric perspective from which the entire book is written. ​The story Cozzens tells begins neither with the ancient history of the tribes nor with the arrival of Europeans on North American shores. Instead, it starts around 1860, once the Native American tribes—displaced by Euro-African colonialism—find themselves in chaos and misery, fighting violently among themselves. ​It is this context of violence, where diminished and desperate groups of Native Americans commit grievances against one another, that Peter Cozzens uses to subtly propose the false premise that American soil was a sort of "no man's land." In this view, Native Americans possessed no greater rights to the land than the Euro-African invaders, and colonialism even seems deserved. ​Based on such a deception, the book becomes, from the very beginning, a continuous justification for the abuses and extermination perpetrated by Euro-Africans against Native Americans (Mexicans included), who are depicted as equally invasive, brutal, and upstarts. ​To accomplish this task, Peter Cozzens relies on constant justifications of European actions, framing them more as "accidents" or "misunderstandings" rather than the systematic destruction of hundreds of mostly peaceful tribes. ​At the same time, Cozzens loses no opportunity to inflate and exaggerate the violent responses from Native Americans and Mexicans, attempting to balance a twisted scale where Cozzens' European and African people feel their presence and actions are justified from the start. ​Peter Cozzens forgets that the brutality of certain Native American and Mexican groups originated after centuries of Euro-African oppression and persecution; if he told the story from the beginning, the balance would not be in favor of the Europeans.

Fantastic book. Author has a very readable style. Epic, thrill-a-minute ride from start to finish. Great heroes - Pope, Crooks, Crazy Horse, the Nez Perces. Awful villains - Geronimo, Custer, Sheridan. Full marks

Essential reading for all students of the American West. Fascinating insight into the post Civil-War US Army (a far cry from Ford's Cavalry films!) and goes a long way towards dispelling a good many myths (e.g. Geronimo as a drunken thug rather than visionary freedom fighter)

Eine sehr interessante Darstellung, die so manches tradierte Klischee über die "bösen Indianer" korrigiert und richtigstellt.