Blood and Thunder

I fancy myself as knowledgeable about the history of the American West, having read several books on the subject, so it's nice to get a dose of history that I previously knew next to nothing about, and in a book that is startingly well-written. That is the case with Blood and Thunder, by Hampton Sides.

The story covers twenty-odd years of history of what is today the state of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, and has at its center Kit Carson, who was a celebrated mountain man. I knew the name Kit Carson, but wouldn't have been able to tell you much about him. Turns out he was an intriguing figure, and has heroic as his legend suggests. He was, however, involved in a dark period of U.S. History--the treatment of the Navajo.

The book begins with the Mexican War, in which the U.S. made a bold land-grab (Sides mentions it was the first time the U.S. made an invasion into another sovereign country. Gee, that sounds familiar). General Stephen Kearny led his army on a long trek, capturing Santa Fe, then moving on to California, which had been explored by John C. Fremont, using Carson as his guide. In the middle of all this were the Navajo and other tribes, who were long-time enemies of the Spanish/Mexicans. Some tribes thought the men in blue from the East had come to liberate them. Fat chance.

Hostilities between the Navajo and the U.S. continued for years, particularly after the Navajo's great chief, Narbonas, was killed in a stupid squabble over a stolen horse. His son-in-law, Manuelito (or Black Weeds) held out for years. During the Civil War, the Navajo were bewildered but pleased to see two different armies of white men fighting over each other, as a Confederate army had dreams of conquering New Mexico, then moving on Denver and then California. That dream ended at the battle of Glorietta Pass, though.

As with any story involving the history of Indians in North America, this story ends inevitably and sadly. A military man named John Carleton had an idea to move the Navajo to a place outside their ancestral lands, near Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The tribe was marched 400 miles (with many dying along the way) and set up with a farm. The first crop, though, was destroyed by pests, and soon they were living in squalor. After the Civil War, Carson convinced William Sherman that the plan wasn't working, so the Navajo were allowed to return to their land, which today is the massive reservation that stretches across New Mexico and Arizona. If their way of life came to an end, at least they were allowed to live where they wanted.

The writing is superb, and works like a page-turning novel. Carson, Fremont, Kearny, Carleton and many others are superb characters, brought thrillingly to life with Sides' prose. This book is a must for any Western buff, and even to the casual history reader.