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The Plainsmen #6
Shadow Riders
Chief White Bear and his Kiowa tribe would accept no more broken promises from the white man, so they left the Indian Territory reservations and crossed the Red River to the south. But heir last desperate attempt to regain the land of their ancestors meant dead white settlers, embattled soldiers, and shaken supply routes. general Sheridan's seasoned forced were now on the move to stem the Indian tide. And crack Army Sergeant Seamus Donegan would soon find himself at the center of a vast and bloody war...
400 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1991
17 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Terry C. Johnston
77 books102 followers Terry C. Johnston was born January 1, 1947 in Arkansas City, Kansas.
Nineteen publishers rejected Johnston's first novel, Carry the Wind, before it was printed in 1982. However, this first novel was to gain the honor of receiving the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer's Award for best first fiction. Johnston is known for his eye for historical detail, and he is a stickler for accuracy. He is known for traveling and exploring down known and unknown dusty roads during the hot summer months, and traversing slippery, muddy roads and hiking through snow to stand upon a historical sight that he would tell his readers in an upcoming book. "Parking in the lower lot, I trudged up the hill to reach the spot where Colonel John Gibbon's infantry waited out the last hours before their attack on the unsuspecting camp. Standing there in the icy snowstorm I was totally overwhelmed by the sight of those skeletal cones of lodgepoles standing stark against the low, gray sky . . ." Some of the sites that he would stand upon were known to the world like the Little Big Horn Battlefield and others would be obscure to the average reader like the Weippe Prairie north of Lochsa. He is known to combine "a roaring good tale with fascinating insights into the lives and times of his principal characters, generally managing to employ his extensive knowledge to enhance a story rather than intrude upon it" (Whitehead, 1991). Johnston would say that he considered himself "not a literary writer but a storyteller." His desire was to reach and teach thousands if not millions of readers about the early western frontier.
He accomplished part of this goal, not only through his books, but through discussions given to elementary children, lectures at symposiums, and historical one-week tours "during which you will re-live the grit and blood, the tears and tragedy of the great Indian Wars." He would blend historical fact with human emotion to re-create the past during his historical tours each summer. One presentation he gave to a fourth grade class was about the Plains Indian culture. He held a discussion with a Honors English class in Castle Rock middle school about "research, writing, and editing that goes into producing two historical novels each year, when compared to their "term papers." He gave keynote speeches at seminars and lectures at symposiums. He traveled all around Montana to sign books for fans, and he signed the books at the local Albertson's in each town. He held radio interviews that "took me into cities, talking before audiences, I never would have managed to reach otherwise."
Nineteen publishers rejected Johnston's first novel, Carry the Wind, before it was printed in 1982. However, this first novel was to gain the honor of receiving the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer's Award for best first fiction. Johnston is known for his eye for historical detail, and he is a stickler for accuracy. He is known for traveling and exploring down known and unknown dusty roads during the hot summer months, and traversing slippery, muddy roads and hiking through snow to stand upon a historical sight that he would tell his readers in an upcoming book. "Parking in the lower lot, I trudged up the hill to reach the spot where Colonel John Gibbon's infantry waited out the last hours before their attack on the unsuspecting camp. Standing there in the icy snowstorm I was totally overwhelmed by the sight of those skeletal cones of lodgepoles standing stark against the low, gray sky . . ." Some of the sites that he would stand upon were known to the world like the Little Big Horn Battlefield and others would be obscure to the average reader like the Weippe Prairie north of Lochsa. He is known to combine "a roaring good tale with fascinating insights into the lives and times of his principal characters, generally managing to employ his extensive knowledge to enhance a story rather than intrude upon it" (Whitehead, 1991). Johnston would say that he considered himself "not a literary writer but a storyteller." His desire was to reach and teach thousands if not millions of readers about the early western frontier.
He accomplished part of this goal, not only through his books, but through discussions given to elementary children, lectures at symposiums, and historical one-week tours "during which you will re-live the grit and blood, the tears and tragedy of the great Indian Wars." He would blend historical fact with human emotion to re-create the past during his historical tours each summer. One presentation he gave to a fourth grade class was about the Plains Indian culture. He held a discussion with a Honors English class in Castle Rock middle school about "research, writing, and editing that goes into producing two historical novels each year, when compared to their "term papers." He gave keynote speeches at seminars and lectures at symposiums. He traveled all around Montana to sign books for fans, and he signed the books at the local Albertson's in each town. He held radio interviews that "took me into cities, talking before audiences, I never would have managed to reach otherwise."
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 19, 2024
The Kiowa, led by Satanta, raid, Henry Warren‘s wagon train killing seven. Days later, Satanta admits to Indian agent, Lawrey Tatum, a Quaker, that he led the raid.
Satanta then crosses the creek and marches into General Sherman’s office at Fort Sill. He announces that he led the raid but that his young warriors killed only in self-defense. Sherman has Satanta, Satank and Big Tree put into irons.
The three are being transported to Fort Richardson when Satank breaks out of his shackles, kills a soldier and is then killed himself. At the trial, Satanta and Big Tree are condemned to hang.
Colonel McKenzie leads a force of men to find the actual attackers of the Warren wagon train. Six months later they have not been found.
The narrative of this book is a bit out of joint.
The US government decides to hand, Satanta and Big Tree back to the Indian tribes on the condition that they handover five renegade Indians and peacefully enter the reservations forever.
The Indian reservation commissioners, both Tatum and Smith are shown to be do- gooders, who have no knowledge of the situation on the ground. They are high and mighty and furious men bound to baptize and save the Indians.
The story then turns to Jack Stillwell and Seamus Donegan. Stillwell is incapable of addressing Donegan other than as the Irishman or the mick. They join a party of 12 soldiers, and two civilian archaeologists from back east into Indian territory. Their dialogue is terrible.
They survive an out-of-control wildfire started by Quanah Parker and then later barely survive a winter snowstorm.
This is a very confusing narrative. More than half of the narrative recounts Indian history on the southern Plains from 1861 to 1871. Then the rest of the book spans August 1873 to December 1873, with many flashbacks, which are not very clearly identified. It provides some historical information, but the time jumps are irritating. Quanah stares at the horizon several times.
This is one of about twenty books. I may read another, just for the history.
Satanta then crosses the creek and marches into General Sherman’s office at Fort Sill. He announces that he led the raid but that his young warriors killed only in self-defense. Sherman has Satanta, Satank and Big Tree put into irons.
The three are being transported to Fort Richardson when Satank breaks out of his shackles, kills a soldier and is then killed himself. At the trial, Satanta and Big Tree are condemned to hang.
Colonel McKenzie leads a force of men to find the actual attackers of the Warren wagon train. Six months later they have not been found.
The narrative of this book is a bit out of joint.
The US government decides to hand, Satanta and Big Tree back to the Indian tribes on the condition that they handover five renegade Indians and peacefully enter the reservations forever.
The Indian reservation commissioners, both Tatum and Smith are shown to be do- gooders, who have no knowledge of the situation on the ground. They are high and mighty and furious men bound to baptize and save the Indians.
The story then turns to Jack Stillwell and Seamus Donegan. Stillwell is incapable of addressing Donegan other than as the Irishman or the mick. They join a party of 12 soldiers, and two civilian archaeologists from back east into Indian territory. Their dialogue is terrible.
They survive an out-of-control wildfire started by Quanah Parker and then later barely survive a winter snowstorm.
This is a very confusing narrative. More than half of the narrative recounts Indian history on the southern Plains from 1861 to 1871. Then the rest of the book spans August 1873 to December 1873, with many flashbacks, which are not very clearly identified. It provides some historical information, but the time jumps are irritating. Quanah stares at the horizon several times.
This is one of about twenty books. I may read another, just for the history.
March 31, 2024
Not a bad book, but it has little to add to the Great Indian Wars. I think it is a prologue to the next book. You do get a feel for the demise of the buffalo and the successful program to take the food source of the native Americans. Seamus doesn’t appear until a good number of pages into the book, but he is still that good and lovable scoundrel. If you are into the series, this is a must read.
February 8, 2019
just like you were there
August 17, 2016
The trail is still winding along. Seamus has to face both a prairie fire and a blizzard shortly after the fire. Then there is the lure of buried treasure that drives one man mad. The war with the Comanche, the Kiowa and the Cheyenne is starting to heat up and the future of white men on the Staked Plains is not looking good. This is a great series of books for Wetern fans.
June 29, 2015
Another winner in Terry C. Johnston's "The Plainsmen" series. Have loved them all. Great stores told from an historians perspective.
Read
May 21, 2019Kind of dumb at the end. Good parts about Quanah Parker.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews