The Wild Frontier: Atrocities During the American-Indian War from Jamestown Colony to Wounded Knee

by William M. Osborn

The real story of the ordeal experienced by both settlers and Indians during the Europeans' great migration west across America, from the colonies to California, has been almost completely eliminated from the histories we now read. In truth, it was a horrifying and appalling experience. Nothing like it had ever happened anywhere else in the world.

In The Wild Frontier, William M. Osborn discusses the changing settler attitude toward the Indians over several centuries, as well as Indian and settler characteristics—the Indian love of warfare, for instance (more than 400 inter-tribal wars were fought even after the threatening settlers arrived), and the settlers' irresistible desire for the land occupied by the Indians.

The atrocities described in The Wild Frontier led to the death of more than 9,000 settlers and 7,000 Indians. Most of these events were not only horrible but bizarre. Notoriously, the British use of Indians to terrorize the settlers during the American Revolution left bitter feelings, which in turn contributed to atrocious conduct on the part of the settlers. Osborn also discusses other controversial subjects, such as the treaties with the Indians, matters relating to the occupation of land, the major part disease played in the war, and the statements by both settlers and Indians each arguing for the extermination of the other. He details the disgraceful American government policy toward the Indians, which continues even today, and speculates about the uncertain future of the Indians themselves.

Thousands of eyewitness accounts are the raw material of The Wild Frontier, in which we learn that many Indians tortured and killed prisoners, and some even engaged in cannibalism; and that though numerous settlers came to the New World for religious reasons, or to escape English oppression, many others were convicted of crimes and came to avoid being hanged.

The Wild Frontier tells a story that helps us understand our history, and how as the settlers moved west, they often brutally expelled the Indians by force while themselves suffering torture and kidnapping.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

363 pages, Hardcover

First published January 9, 2001

Reviews

[Christian Molenaar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whenever Osborn deigns to focus on actual historical events The Wild Frontier is a solid if unspectacular read, but too much of his book is spent over-correcting for what he perceives as historical mistreatment of the first frontier settlers who he believes have been painted as violent colonizers (they were) as opposed to victims of mistreatment by the natives (they weren't). Much of the research relies on secondary sources, conservative journalists and repeatedly debunked official figures from the U.S. government during its own genocide of indigenous people, and all in service of a clear agenda redressing the author's own biases against indigenous people and what he perceives as "political correctness." ("Almost everyone remembers the turbulent sixties and seventies and the Vietnam War protesters, many of whom are now college professors and leaders in the political correctness movement, which admittedly has contempt for American history." p.19. Osborn then proceeds to quote John Leo.)

[Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m just a Lazy-Boy historian like most readers. I know a few things, but ain’t much of a reviewer. I’ve read quite a bit of old west history in my time, but have only fairly recently begun to read titles that take on the task of describing the culture and nature of Indians more accurately. This book appears to be well researched; or at least it relies firmly on citing the works of a number of well respected historians. And it seems to present an accurate portrayal of Indians in all the brutal and savage (yes, I said savage) reality that was typical of most tribes.

It can become a bit monotonous in its detailing/cataloguing of atrocities, but by the end you’re left with the question: Is it ethnocentric, myopic, and perhaps bigoted of us in the modern world to insist that Indians were peace loving and self-actualized philosophers. And that genocide, slavery and barbarity were practices introduced to them by Europeans?

Perhaps the answer is savage brutality was their culture and way of life. Who are we to insist otherwise?

[David Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was a bit of a slog, but the final chapter made me view it in a completely different light.

The book detailed all crimes against humanity and cruelties committed by either side during the conflict between European and American settlers and the indigenous peoples (though that term was never used) of North America.

It describes also how various tribes fought each other and used settler technology to annihilate and enslave their stone age neighbors.

The final chapter was about where we go from here and was particularly interesting. Recommended. Can skim most of the book, but the sections on Sand Creek, Little Big Horn, and Wounded Knee were the most well-presented. However, I think skimming would reduce the impact of the final two chapters.

[robert mckenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unvarnished History

[Boris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting but somewhat monotonous read; 300 pages of unrelenting tales of Indian and settler massacres. The book could be condensed into a long article except....

The romantic notions of the American Indians leading an idyllic life is a myth that's an offspring of Rousseau's stupid notion of the 'noble savage' that sprung to life again back in the 1960s. Per Hobbes the life of the savage was "solitary, nasty, brutish and short" and this merely illustrates Hobbes' true observation. This compels the author to go into great and repeated detail on what actually happening with massive citation of sources as a preventive measure against the predictable backlash.

The American Indians practiced a barbarity upon settlers as they had traditionally practiced it on their rival tribes. The settlers returned the barbarity in kind.

There was an interesting point made in the book that parallels the modern environmental movement. The frontiersmen and settlers were often in a life and death struggle with the Indians and found little sympathy for them. People in the eastern cities far removed from the struggle were far more sympathetic to the Indians. When one is removed from the risk one can develop unrealistic romantic notions.

[Tyler E Hughes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learned a lot of awful ways that people died. Narrative seemed a bit slanted & very anti-native