A Distant Ridge: A Novel of of the Northern Plains in the 1870s

A sprawling saga of the post Civil War United States in the 1870s. It was a time of many transitions. President Grant's Republican administration was fraught with corruption while the Southern states were still struggling to recuperate from the Civil War. The Reconstruction was enforced with US Army troops still policing trouble spots. Out West, the Railroads were desperate for land grants that came with the right of ways, lands that belonged to the Indians Tribes by treaty, lands that could be sold to the immigrants fleeing Europe's social upheavals. The Fur trade was winding down and the demand for buffalo meat and hides increased, which exacerbated the native Indian tribes that depended on the herds for sustenance. The US Army, greatly downsized and with a parsimonious budget, was tasked with controlling these Increasingly restless Indian Tribes which were also being victimized by crooked Agents and traders. Added to this volatile mix was the discovery of gold in the Montana and Dakota Territories which shattered the fragile edges of the frontier. Thrust In the middle of all this was the 7th Cavalry Regiment and it's mercurial commander, who would become a legend along a small meandering river in Montana. A Distant Ridge is a fictional account based on historical research that attempts to illustrate the many facets if this period, which ultimately led to the subjugation of the Sioux and Cheyenne bands, followed by their Nez Perce counterparts.