The Earth Is Weeping : The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West

The Earth is Weeping has delved further into examining the Indian wars in the midwest through California that spanned the 19th century. In the mid 1860s, tribes met with President Lincoln, attempting to establish an agreement of co-existence with the White man. As territorial expansion grew, so did the exploitation and displacement of the American Indian tribes. Agencies were set up with certain chiefs in charge to mediate with the government, but the violence perpetrated by the land- and money-greedy settlers would be met with equal acts of violence by different tribes out west, from the Apache to the Creek to the Sioux. The soldiers who had previously fought in the war between the states would be thrust into uncharted territory in the new war against men such as Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Red Cloud, and many other charismatic rebels. The violence would take its toll over the years with bodies, both soldier and civilian, littering the landscape of the western half of the country. The American Indian population would ultimately be minimized and segregated.

The Earth is Weeping is a moving, shockingly brutal take on the US-Indian wars. The battles are many, the leaders vary in their charisma, vanity, pride, and violent ways, from William Sherman to Philip Sheridan to Custer to Geronimo and Chief Joseph. The epic battle was one of attrition, with a people and way of life destroyed. A gripping read from the first sentence.