Winter of the Holy Iron - Hardcover

Marshall III, Joseph

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1878610449 ISBN 13: 9781878610447

Publisher: Red Crane Books, 1994

Synopsis

"The war leader of the Wolf Tail Lakota stood... 'Grandfathers,' he began, 'thank you for allowing me to speak.' He paused to gather his thoughts. 'Four winters ago, I had to kill a white man. I approached him in friendship, and he shot his weapon at me. I did not let him shoot at me again. There was no way to know whether he was a good man or a bad man. Or a man at all, in the way we know men to be. But I do know that he took me to be a bad man, because he did not wait for even one heartbeat after he saw me before he took up his holy iron and shot it. Since that moment when death nearly took me, I have often wondered why he tried to kill me. Did he shoot at me because of what was in his heart? Or did he shoot at me because of his weapon? Did he shoot at me because he knew he could kill easily? Did he shoot at me because he felt his weapon gave him a right to kill?
'These questions are always with me. Sometimes they haunt my sleep. Still, I do not know the answers to them. Until I do, the holy iron will remain hidden.'"

About this title

About the Author:

Joseph Marshall III was born on the Rosebud (Sicangu Lakota) Indian Reservation in what is now south-central South Dakota. Marshall has published numerous articles and books, including The Dance House: Stories from Rosebud and Oh Behalf of the Wolf and the First Peoples.

From Publishers Weekly:

Marshall, a Lakota Sioux educator and writer, details the impact of the gun on his people's culture in this well-written and provocative first novel set in the Dakotas during the mid-18th century, when contacts between the Lakota and whites were rare. Whirlwind, the war leader of the Wolf Tail Lakota, finds the severely wounded Gaston de la Verendrye. He recognizes a bullet wound because he himself had been fired upon some years before and had captured his would-be killer's "holy iron." Though Whirlwind had hidden the firearm, dreading its power to influence his people, he takes the wounded man to his camp and sets in motion events that will confirm his worst fears. Meanwhile, Henri Bruneaux, the crazed thief who shot de la Verendrye in an attempt to steal his gold, renews his attack, killing one of the tribe's women and kidnapping another. Heading up a party to rescue the captured woman and bring Bruneaux to justice, Whirlwind finds himself opposed by his fellow Sioux Bear Heart, who longs to possess the holy iron. The ensuing struggle will tear the Wolf Tail people apart. Like Ella Cara Deloria in Waterlily , Marshall provides a vivid and authentic portrayal, free of romanticism or stereotype, of the Sioux before they were overwhelmed by whites. His insider's view of tribal history and custom--which doubles as an effective cautionary tale about the destructiveness of guns--deserves a place on the shelf of anyone interested in American history or Native American literature.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Red Crane Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 1878610449
• ISBN 13: 9781878610447
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304