Gall

Gall LAKOTA WAR CHIEF Robert W. Larson University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 2007. Illustrations, map, notes, bibliography, index, xvi + 301 pp. $24.95 cloth.

For many years, Gall has been a familiar name in nineteenth-century northern plains history. As a Lakota war chief, his role in the Indian wars is well known, particularly his part in the Litde Bighorn battle. Largely seen as a man of contrasts, Gall is now the subject of a first-ever scholarly biography. Author Robert W. Larson places the pragmatic Hunkpapa leader into his proper context in frontier history.

Born in 1840, Gall spent his entire life on the west river Dakota plains. Larson sets the stage by discussing the Lakota entry into the plains, tribal organization, and the constant state of intertribal warfare. He gives the reader a good understanding of the difference between the northern, nontreaty Sioux, who largely avoided the agencies, and those more receptive to growing white pressure to remain at the agencies.

It was in this world that Gall grew into an important and caring tribal leader and lieutenant to Sitting Bull. While documentary information on his early life is scant, Larson reconstructs this phase. War against white incursions further emphasized Gall's bravery and rise as a war leader. He was involved at the Killdeer Mountain battle in 1864 and fought the soldiers in the Powder River country. While at first he defied treaty commissions, in times of need he could see the value of coming into the agency to receive rations.

In the early 1870s, Gall warred against the 1872 and 1873 Yellowstone expeditions and became a national figure. But his great notoriety came three years later at the Little Bighorn. Although Gall's attributions as the "wise and clever strategist" by earlier battle historians might be overstatement, his role in the final attack was reality. Additionally, his stampede of the Seventh Cavalry's dismounted horses is seen as his most important contribution to Indian victory that day.

For several years, Gall joined northern Lakotas in exile in Canada. His decision to return to the States led to his further break with his former mentor Sitting Bull. Larson explains Gall's new role on the reservation as a cultural mediator for the Hunkpapas-one who tried to bridge the gap between reservation Indians and federal officials. The warrior chieftain became a hard-working, uncomplaining farmer, who later converted to Christianity. According to the author, he was a realist because "he comprehended more than most the lack of options open to his people" (p. 188). The growing conflict between Sitting Bull and agent James McLaughlin and the positive relationship between Gall and the agent is fully examined.

All in all, this book is a significant addition to our region's historiography. The book is illustrated and well documented. Unfortunately, the text is occasionally marred by inaccuracies or typos that jump out at the reader. For instance, Crazy Horse was not shot at Camp Robinson but died of a bayonet wound, and Spotted Tail was assassinated in 1881, not 1883. Regardless of such oversights, this book is an excellent contribution to our understanding and appreciation of a major native participant in the struggle for the northern plains.

Thomas R. Buecker

Fort Robinson Museum, Crawford, Nebraska

Copyright Montana Historical Society Spring 2008
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