We now know that Jamestown survived the two bloody massacres plotted by the Powhatan Confederacy; that the vengeful chieftain, King Philip, did not totally depopulate New England, and that neither Pontiac nor Tecumseh was strong enough to fashion an Indian alliance capable of holding back the tide of white migration.
But while the arrows and bullets were still whistling toward their targets, the outcome was not so certain. For nearly three centuries the American frontier was town with conflict between the Indians seeking to protect their women and children from the scalping knife.
Paul Wellman has written an objective history of one of the longest wars on record. The book you hold in your hand is the first of two volumes: Indian Wars and Warriors (East). It is followed by a companion volume in the same series, Indian Wars and Warriors (West). In the present book we witness every major struggle between the white men and the Indians from Champlain's attack upon the Iroquois to the subjugation of the Seminoles.
We see Jamestown under attack; New England surviving the devastation of the Pequots and of King Philip's followers. We learn to know the cruelty and shrewd diplomacy of the Iroquois. And we follow Braddock to his defeat. Here, on these pages, Pontiac has his moment of fame; Little Turtle defeats two American generals before meeting his master in Mad Anthony Wayne. Tecumseh dreams the great dream of an Indian confederation; Andrew Jackson defeats Red Eagle of the Creek nation. And the Seminoles, after years of resistance, at last submit to their white conquerors in Florida.
Paul Wellman does not "take sides." But he does point out that the old hunting grounds of the tribesmen now support, in prosperity, an enormously increased population, both Indian and White. Paul Wellman has lived many lives—cowboy, newspaperman, Hollywood scriptwriter, novelist, and historian. He began his study of the Indian wars more than a quarter of a century ago and has written several distinguished adult books on this fascinating subject.
In a companion volume, Indian Wars and Warriors (West), Mr. Wellman carries the conflict west of the mighty Mississippi. Here we meet the proud Sioux, the brave Cheyennes, Blackfeet, and Commanches, and the fierce Apaches who at one period very nearly depopulated the white settlements of the entire Southwest. War bonnets toss, arrows glint in the sun, and carbines spurt their deadly hail of lead in this brilliant, fair-minded, and meticulous retelling of the last great Indian wars and including the massacre of Custer and his men.
—from the dust jacket
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