THE CAMP GRANT MASSACRE

by Elliott Arnold ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1976

Arnold returns to the scene of Blood Brother, his most famous novel, in one of his more vigorous works, and one which uses real people for authenticity. In 1871 in the Arizona Territory, Lt. Royal Whitman extends a kindness to some Apache squaws. Soon a tribe of over 400, led by Eskiminzin, rides up to Camp Grant under a white flag. The chief says his tribe is tired of living like running dogs. Whitman, exceeding his authority, allows the Indians to make a settlement near Camp Grant and sets about feeding them in return for their guns. The Tucson populace 50 miles away, whipped up by its two rival newspapers, takes a bleak view of Whitman and with the Papago tribe, Apache enemies, they attack the settlement. Most of the braves escape but about 100 women and children are maasacred. Whitman himself faces departmental trial three times and is at last found guilty of calling his general a son of a bitch. The murderers not only go free but, acclaimed as heroes, live in glory the rest of their days. The reader is kept fully aware of the apparent justification of the murderers, all of whom have lost friends and kin to the Apaches. The book derives its real power from the fact that the story effectively dramatizes a tragedy that is all too undeniably a matter of record.

Pub Date: March 1, 1976

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1976

Categories: FICTION