Publisher's Synopsis
"On the morning of Monday, August 18th, 1862, as if a volcano filled with lava and blood had suddenly discharged its contents upon the earth, the Sioux massacre burst upon the breast of Minnesota, terrific and unexampled, covering her soil with the blood of her children, and, amid horrors of devastation and death, spreading anguish and consternation on every side. The very hour when, dreaming of "Peace and Safety," sudden destruction came." - Memoir of Henry Hastings Sibley. "Toby Ryker, chief scout of the Sixth Minnesota, is a red-headed, half white-half Chippewa man. Living life to the brim, he would rather ride the prairies than plough them. But his Sioux neighbors, despairing a life of near starvation and broken treaties, rise up like a prairie whirlwind in September 1862. They mercilessly ravage the frontier, killing more than 1,000 settlers on Indian lands in the greatest storm of death rivaled only by the Civil War battles decimating the South. Ryker must remain loyal to the army, aid his Indian kinsman or just stand aside. When the outgunned Sioux surrender, Ryker is left with still one more bitter duty. Somehow he must find words to comfort the sorrowing wives of the 38 warriors who are condemned to hang." True West Magazine - May 2009. "A novel of clashing cultures fought out in the closing decades of the 19th century, this is western historical fiction at its best and recommended for personal reading lists and community library collections." -- Midwest Book Review, Oregon, Wisconsin, USA December 2008 "Steven M. Ulmen deftly blends elements of the traditional western novel with sound historical research to create a fast-moving and strikingly rich account of one of the West's most overlooked events: the 1862 Sioux Uprising in Minnesota." Johnny D. Boggs, three-time Spur Award winning author of NORTHFIELD and CAMP FORD.
