Gall: Lakota War Chief by Robert W. Larson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Gall: Lakota War Chief
Book Review: Informative -- Recommended For Indian Wars/Frontier History Buffs
Summary: 4 Stars
I just finished reading this "first ever" biography of the Lakota (Hunkpapa) Indian leader Gall (Pizi) by Robert W. Larson, retired Professor of History (from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley) and writer, and found it very informative. I want to recommend it to all serious Indian Wars students and frontier history buffs.
It is, doubtless by necessity, somewhat speculative regarding Gall's exact whereabouts and activities during certain phases of his life, as sufficient biographical source material is sometimes lacking. That is to be expected and is quite understandable -- there are obvious gaps in the record. Further, Gall certainly lived in the shadows of more renowned Lakota chiefs such as Sitting Bull (for many years, Gall was one of his loyal lieutenants) and Crazy Horse.
But regardless, Gall was quite a phenomenon in his own right. At the time, U.S. soldiers called him the "Fighting Cock of the Sioux", and Libbie Custer, even while continuing to grieve the loss of her husband at the Little Big Horn, upon first seeing his picture (which was taken in 1881 at Ft. Buford by David F. Barry), observed that he appeared to be one "fine specimen of a warrior". And so he was, according to all accounts. He wasn't notably tall, at least by modern day standards, but he was well-built, strong, athletic, and courageous. And, not unlike Custer, he apparently didn't mind being conspicuous on the battlefield, such as by wearing red.
Larson's approach is scholarly (there are copious end notes) and, at times, though always reliably competent and straightforward, some readers might find his writing style to be a bit on the dry side. But, even so, for people of my ilk who are fascinated with this era of history, the subject matter will inevitably keep one turning the pages.
This book is worthwhile, especially regarding information that it presents on lesser-known actions and incidents. While plenty of ink has been devoted to the Little Big Horn fight, Larson's book doesn't focus too much on the xs and os of that conflict, opting instead to bring out all kinds of interesting details regarding the lesser known parts of the Great Sioux War era, the sojourn of the "hostile" Lakotas in Canada prior to their ultimate surrender, reservation life at Standing Rock, etc. I personally appreciated reading and learning more about these things.
Book Review: It's a highly recommended library addition for any specialty collection.
Summary: 5 Stars
Gall was a Hunkpapa warrior and Lakota chief who resisted efforts by the U.S. government to annex the Black Hills - and led a charge to attack Custer's men on the other side of Little Bighorn. Despite his achievements there has been much controversy surrounding Gall's role and contribution to the conflict, and retired history professor Robert W. Larson here sorts through different reports, views and source materials to paint a new portrait of Gall's character. College-level holdings strong in Native American history will find it a scholarly survey that covers the known extent of Gall's life, using rare Standing Rock Reservation records, among others, to recreate and add depth to standard reports. It's a highly recommended library addition for any specialty collection.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Book Review: Not much new info here
Summary: 3 Stars
As I read less non-fiction, I wonder if it has made me more nit-picky than I used to be. Like everyone else, I was excited for this book. I waited for years wondering when this man would finally get his own biography, and alas, here it is...sort of.
There is not enough information on Gall to warrant a full length hardcover biography. The information on Gall in this book could quite easily have been put into a 50 page pamphlet. Nothing against Larson in this respect, but he tried to find information that just isn't there.
As Gall was not nearly as famous as his contemporaries (Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Joseph, and Geronimo) history lacks a lot of the information that makes for a life story. Taking on a biography of Gall is like taking on Crow King, Two Moons, or Low Dog. All of which do not have biographies.
This book spends the first 170 pages or so repeatedly saying he probably was here, he probably was there, he might have done this, he might have gone there, but there is very little concrete evidence. Larson can't even place Gall at such large scale actions as the Bozeman War or the Battle of the Rosebud (he states that if Gall was there, he was probably near the fight holding warriors in reserve).
Overall, the book gives a nice overview of the Lakota war for the Northern Plains and is a nice intro for new historians or folks with a basic understanding of this theater. Of course, this book says the focus is Gall and not necessarily the story going on around him. Larson lives off of Utley's Lance and the Shield and Vestal's interviews. There are a lot of secondary sources in the footnotes.
There are numberous errors throughout the book such as saying Custer led a Black Hills expedition in 1875, claiming Wooden Leg was a Cheyenne leader at the LBH (still a teenager), saying Crazy Horse was fatally shot at Ft. Robinson instead of stabbed, saying women NEVER participated in war dances, and the one that really got me, seeing as this is a book on Gall is the following:
The Hunkpapa camp was at the far eastern edge of the LBH encampment. Larson says that when the fight started, Gall was near the Hunkpapa encampment. He then goes on to say that Gall had to go get his horses from the herd near the Cheyenne village. The Cheyenne village was at the western end of the encampment. Even by conservative estimates, the village was at least a mile and a half in length. I can't imagine Gall going all that way to get a horse when his village was being attacked. Even more than that though, what war leader wouldn't have had his horses tethered outside his tepee, especially with soldiers crawling all over the country? Yikes!
Overall, the history is decent, the reservation years are pretty well covered and if you haven't read the Lance and the Shield, most of the Sitting Bull information is in this book. There are plenty of better books out there, but at least Larson's intentions were good in writing about this man.
Book Review: The fighting cock
Summary: 4 Stars
Gall. Lakota war chief.
I want to thank Robert W. Larson for his contribution to one of the most important hunkpapa war chiefs: Gall.
I think Robert M. Utley said it right: "Robert Larson has rescued from obscurity one of the most prominent leaders of the Lakota Sioux".
I am from the Netherlands, Europe, and I read for several years now about the history of the sioux peoples, especcialy 2 tribes: the Mdewakantons and the Hunkpapas.
The book "Gall. Lakota war chief" is for me a beautiful contribution to the Sioux history.
If somebody wants to react, do not hesitate and mail me please.
I am looking for more information of the Mdewakantons chief Little Crow.
In my opinion the most important chief of the Dakota tribes.
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