Bloody Hand

by Matt Braun

Bloody Hand

Matt Braun

He found a people who needed his courage…

Born a slave, Jim Beckwirth forged his own path to freedom as a mountain man. But when a wealthy trading company owner offered to pay him to live among the Crow Indians, Beckwirth accepted the deal—and discovered another way of life that changed him forever.

He fought a battle that had to be won…

Here in the Wind River Mountains, amidst blood feuds and blood brothers, he became Bloody Hand, a man sworn to take a hundred scalps—and destined to become the People's greatest warrior—in a life-or-death struggle that shaped the fate of a nation.

Genres: Westerns

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Matt Braun is an author of fifty-six books, most of which are in the Western genre and has over 40 million copies in print.

Reviews

[RJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim Beckwith, mulatto, mountain man, and Crow warrior. The year is roughly in the 1830s. The Rocky Mountain fur trade was past its height and trappers were warned to avoid entering into Crow lands. Willaim Ashley, who hired trapper brigades, made a compact with Beckwith to educate the Crows and bring them to the next rendezvous. Accepting the agreement, Beckwith made his way to the Crow camp with a plan to integrate himself into their culture. In the following months, Beckwith gained recognition as a fierce and cunning warrior, to the point where Strikes Both Ways adopted the black man as his grandson. As his reputation grew, he became known as Bloody Hand, in that he had killed an enemy with his bare hands. The people of the Crow Nation call themselves the Apsáalooke: Children of the Large Beaked Bird, also spelled Absaroka. Their historical homelands extended across a large area that included parts of present-day Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. The Hidatsa-Crow originally lived in the Ohio country, migrating through northern Illinois, western Minnesota, and into the Red River Valley. In this tale, they call themselves the Sparrow Hawk people of the Absaroka. At the rendezvous, things did not go as Ashley had planned. Jim Beckwith was no longer a subject to be ordered around. Beckwith or Bloody Hand, contracted a new deal with Ashley, benefiting both himself and the Sparrow Hawk people. Afterward, he and the Dog Soldiers who accompanied him rode for home. With some difficulty, Bloody Hand fulfilled his contract with Ashley, at once feeling free of the man. Bloody Hand continued his rise in dominance and recognition but like all good things, must come to an end. One battle too many sent Bloody Hand and a small group of Dog Soldiers away from the People and onto a course of vengeance. I enjoyed this story very much. The Beckwith character was quite believable if you accept the notion that his medicine protected him. The culture of the Crow people and the warring between tribes was very interesting. Sweetwater was a gem of a girl and Pine Leaf was a hoot. I’ll keep an eye out for more tales by this author.

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 1 out of 5]

We start "Bloody Hand" (1975) in the yearly frontier fur trader Rendezvous of 1829. Braun gives us some ground-level interaction with trappers and traders and Indians and he introduces a former slave named Jim Beckwith who ends up living among the Crow Indians. At that point, Beckwith takes on a role as an Easterner outsider living among the Indians, but as a black man, he was kind of an outsider among the whites as well. We get his conflicted loyalties as the story progresses and it becomes a native american fanfic tale, this warrior trying to earn the hand of his chosen Indian princess, deal with whites in a way that helps his tribe, and inflict fearful vengeance upon the other tribes who threaten his Crows. He earns a reputation among the Crows as a hunter and then an adept killer and earns the moniker "Bloody Hand."

Verdict: Not a well-written or interesting western. Basically a 100-page story in a 360-page book with a lot of repetitive internal monologuing and sequences and not worth the time it takes to read.

Jeff's Rating: 1 / 5 (Bad)
movie rating if made into a movie: R

[Mike Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book

This was a great book from start to finish, Beckworth was a real mountain man until he went to join the Crows. I believe he actually became a Chief of the Crows. This is a book well worth reading and I recommend this book

[Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Storhy overly bloodthirsty. could not get into this story.

[Haseeb Ahmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel which had the right balance of salaciousness, violence and action adventure. Well written and the audio version is skilfully narrated.

[Steve Shilstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lively no holds barred historical fiction based on the dangerous, event-filled life of mulatto Jim Beckwith, mountain man.

[Donnacha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well worth the read, enjoyable book. I read it a long time ago but I remember I couldn't put it down.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read several books by this author but this one is the best so far. It's amazing that he could put himself into the mind and actions of a black man making a life with the Crow Indians. There is one gruesome spot of torture of an enemy warrior in explicit detail; but mostly it is the type of warring that we are used to. It even ends on a happy note. Highly recommend this one.