Voices of the American West, Volume 1: The Indian Interviews of Eli S. Ricker, 1903-1919 (Voices of the American West)

The valuable interviews conducted by Nebraska judge Eli S. Ricker with Indian eyewitnesses to the Wounded Knee massacre, the Little Big Horn battle, the Grattan incident, and other events and personages of the Old West are finally made widely available in this long-awaited volume. In the first decade of the twentieth century, as the Old West became increasingly distant and romanticized in popular consciousness, Eli S. Ricker (1843–1926) began interviewing those who had experienced it firsthand, hoping to write a multi-volume series about its last days. Among the many individuals he interviewed were American Indians, mostly Sioux, who spoke extensively about a range of subjects, some with the help of an interpreter. For years Ricker traveled across the northern Plains, determinedly gathering information on and off reservations, in winter and in summer. Judge Ricker never wrote his book, but his interviews are priceless sources of information about the Old West that offer more balanced perspectives on events than were accepted at the time. Richard E. Jensen brings together all of Ricker’s interviews with American Indians, annotating the conversations and offering an extensive introduction that sets forth important information about Ricker, his research, and the editorial methodology guiding the present volume. Contents......Page 6 Illustrations......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 1. Peter McFarland......Page 18 2. Charles W. Allen......Page 27 3. Meded Swigert......Page 33 4. Guy Vaughn......Page 38 5. Francis M. J. Craft......Page 39 6. John W. Butler......Page 40 7. James R. Walker......Page 41 8. George E. Bartlett......Page 44 9. George A. Stannard......Page 55 10. Joseph Kocer......Page 57 11. W. F. Clark......Page 60 12. E. C. Swigert......Page 61 13. W. A. Birdsall......Page 62 14. Cornelius A. Craven......Page 65 15. James White......Page 67 16. John H. Dixon......Page 68 17. T. L. Williams......Page 69 18. W. A. Ballou......Page 70 20. Eli S. Ricker......Page 72 1. Mr. and Mrs. E. M. Keith......Page 80 2. Robert O. Pugh......Page 84 3. H. A. Mossman......Page 91 4. A. F. Johnson......Page 92 5. William J. Cleveland......Page 93 6. Edmund Thickstun......Page 95 7. John R. Brennan......Page 98 8. George Stover......Page 99 9. John B. Sanborn......Page 105 10. Oluffine Nelson......Page 106 11. Peter B. Nelson......Page 110 12. Mabel M. Dawson......Page 117 1. A. F.Ward......Page 132 2. Charles Clifford......Page 140 3. Edward H. Allison......Page 144 4. Edward S. Godfrey......Page 155 5. F. E. Server......Page 158 7. Archie Smith......Page 165 1. Allison J. Pliley......Page 167 2. John J. Donovan......Page 170 3. Beecher Island Veterans......Page 173 1. Eli S. Ricker......Page 182 2. Hugh Houghton......Page 186 3. Roy Lemons......Page 187 4. Isaac Robbins......Page 189 1. W. R. Jones......Page 191 2. L. B. Lessert......Page 196 3. Alexander Baxter......Page 200 4. Harry Dean......Page 204 6. Marion Spencer......Page 205 1. Magloire Mousseau......Page 207 2. George W. Colhoff......Page 227 3. Carter P. Johnson......Page 250 4. Baptiste Pourier......Page 281 5. Richard C. Stirk......Page 308 6. Ben Tibbitts......Page 316 7. Heber M. Creel......Page 319 8. William L. Judkins......Page 323 9. David Y. Mears......Page 326 10. Jacob A. Augur......Page 327 11. A. G. Shaw......Page 328 12. Peter Abraham Deon......Page 336 13. John Russell......Page 343 14. Augustus W. Corliss......Page 349 15. John C. Whalen......Page 353 16. John W. Irion......Page 359 18. John M. Comegys......Page 364 19. William H.Taylor......Page 366 20. Mr. and Mrs. William M. Robertson......Page 367 21. Allison J. Pliley......Page 368 22. William Holdaway......Page 371 23. John Burdick......Page 372 25. James H. Cook......Page 373 26. Donald Brown......Page 386 27. Winfield S. Ake......Page 387 28. Josephus Bingaman......Page 390 29. George A. Leclere......Page 394 31. Charles J. Brown......Page 397 Appendix A: Forts......Page 401 Notes......Page 405 Bibliography......Page 459 Index......Page 471

The valuable interviews conducted by Nebraska judge Eli S. Ricker with Indian eyewitnesses to the Wounded Knee massacre, the Little Big Horn battle, the Grattan incident, and other events and personages of the Old West are finally made widely available in this long-awaited volume.

 

In the first decade of the twentieth century, as the Old West became increasingly distant and romanticized in popular consciousness, Eli S. Ricker (1843–1926) began interviewing those who had experienced it firsthand, hoping to write a multi-volume series about its last days. Among the many individuals he interviewed were American Indians, mostly Sioux, who spoke extensively about a range of subjects, some with the help of an interpreter. For years Ricker traveled across the northern Plains, determinedly gathering information on and off reservations, in winter and in summer. Judge Ricker never wrote his book, but his interviews are priceless sources of information about the Old West that offer more balanced perspectives on events than were accepted at the time.

 

Richard E. Jensen brings together all of Ricker’s interviews with American Indians, annotating the conversations and offering an extensive introduction that sets forth important information about Ricker, his research, and the editorial methodology guiding the present volume.

North Dakota History

Anyone wishing to know more about Wounded Knee, the Little Bighorn, the history of the western frontier in general, and many other topics will certainly want to refer to Jensen's work.

—Rick Ewig, North Dakota History

Publisher description: The valuable interviews conducted by Nebraska judge Eli S. Ricker with Indian eyewitnesses to the Wounded Knee massacre, the Little Big Horn battle, the Grattan incident, and other events and personages of the Old West are finally made widely available in this long-awaited volume. In the first decade of the twentieth century, as the Old West became increasingly distant and romanticized in popular consciousness, Eli S. Ricker (1843-1926) began interviewing those who had experienced it firsthand, hoping to write a multi-volume series about its last days. Among the many individuals he interviewed were American Indians, mostly Sioux, who spoke extensively about a range of subjects, some with the help of an interpreter. For years Ricker traveled across the northern Plains, determinedly gathering information on and off reservations, in winter and in summer. Judge Ricker never wrote his book, but his interviews are priceless sources of information about the Old West that offer more balanced perspectives on events than were accepted at the time. William Garnet lives on Cane Creek north of the White River on a ranch of his own, 8 or 10 miles south of the extension of the Milwaukee R. R. v. 1. The Indian interviews of Eli S. Ricker, 1903-1919 v. 2. The settler and soldier interviews of Eli S. Ricker, 1903-1919