In this prize-winning portrait of a time and place—Montana in the 1930s—that at once inspires and fulfills a longing for an explicable past, Ivan Doig has created one of the most captivating families in American fiction, the McCaskills. The witty and haunting narration, a masterpiece of vernacular in the tradition of Twain, follows the events of the Two Medicine country's summer: the tide of sheep moving into the high country, the capering Fourth of July rodeo and community dance, and an end-of-August forest fire high in the Rockies that brings the book, as well as the McCaskill family's struggle within itself, to a stunning climax. It is a season of escapade as well as drama, during which fourteen-year-old Jick comes of age. Through his eyes we see those nearest and dearest to him at a turning point—“where all four of our lives made their bend”—and discover along with him his own connection to the land, to history, and to the deep-fathomed mysteries of one’s kin and one’s self.

The Creek Frontier, 1540–1783 is the first complete history of an American Indian tribe in the colonial period. Although much has been written of the Spanish, French, and British explorations in North America in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, little has been known of the Indian tribes that explorers such as De Soto and De Luna encountered. The Creek Indians, who occupied Alabama, Georgia, and much of northern Florida from the earliest days of Spanish exploration to shortly after the American Civil War, were a power to be reckoned with by Spain, France, and Britain in their efforts to gain control of that area. Always hostile to Spain, the Creeks were natural allies with the British, but they used other Europeans to further their interests. When they gave up their neutral position to ally themselves with the British against the American patriots, the Creeks found themselves completely at the mercy of their victorious enemies. Stressing Creek political institutions and diplomacy, this volume offers the most complete story of the rapacious “Queen” Mary Musgrove, and the rise to leadership of Alexander McGillivray. Creek Indian personalities of old emerge to share history’s spotlight with the wigged governors they struggled with in order to maintain autonomy for their people.

In this context, the territorially defined Creek Nation emerged as a legal concept in the era of the French and Indian War, as imperial policies of an earlier era gave way to the territorial politics that marked the beginning of a new one."--BOOK JACKET.

First published in 1996, this encyclopedia is a comprehensive reference resource that pulls together a vast amount of material on a rich historical era, presenting it in a balanced way that offers hard-to-find facts and detailed information. The volume was the first encyclopedic account of the United States' colonial military experience. It features 650 essays by more than 130 historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, geographers, and other scholarly experts on a variety of topics that cover all of colonial America's diverse peoples. In addition to wars, battles, and treaties, analytical essays explore the diplomatic and military history of over 50 Native American groups, as well as Dutch, English, French, Spanish, and Swiss colonies. It's the first source to consult for the political activities of an Indian nation, the details about the disposition of forces in a battle, or the significance of a fort to its size, location, and strength. In addition to its reference capabilities, the book's detailed material has been, and will continue to be highly useful to students as a supplementary text and as a handy source for reporters and papers.