The Bloody Bozeman

A history of the Bozeman Trail, which led to the goldfields of Montana, begins with the creation of the Trail in 1862 and follows the events of 1863 through 1868, during which it was followed by prospectors seeking their fortunes, as well as the gamblers, highwaymen, "professional women", and merchants who sought to capitalize on the miner's needs and vices; facing hostile Indians, hard climates, and wilderness solitude along the way.

Your Travel Destination. Your Home. Your Home-To-Be. Yellowstone & Grand Teton—including Jackson, West Yellowstone, Bozeman, Big Sky, Livingston, Gardiner, Cooke City, Red Lodge, and Cody Geothermal pools and rugged peaks. Warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. A land of stunning contrasts and natural beauty. • A personal, practical perspective for travelers and residents alike • Comprehensive listings of attractions, restaurants, and accommodations • How to live & thrive in the area—from recreation to relocation • Countless details on shopping, arts & entertainment, and children’s activities

It is 1879.Rock Beckler wants to cross Angus cattle with his herd of Texas Longhorns. Getting the black cows to his ranch in the Bitter Root Valley in the Montana Territory is going to be a challenge though. The cattle will have to be trailed in. That could take three months, maybe even longer depending on where they can be found. Then an old friend by the name of Badger McCune writes Rock about some black cows down by Cheyenne in the Wyoming Territory that are for sale. Now Rock needs a trail boss and a crew of cowboys. The Road to Montana or the Bozeman Trail as it is being called, runs north and west through the Wyoming Territory before it enters the Montana Territory. It would be the easiest and most direct route for cattle to follow. However, treacherous river crossings, outlaws, rough towns, and range wars could affect the difficulty. Join Rock and his wife, Clare, as friendships are forged when they travel south to buy cattle. Excitement, danger, and challenges follow as the drive heads north up the Road to Montana.

Perry A. Burgess, son of Abram Burgess and Emma Semantha Cheney, was born in 1843 in Nauvoo, Illinois. He married Annie Mapes in 1870. They had three children. He died in 1900 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Gwen Petersen earlier enlightened us on the joys of shoveling manure. Now, in this delightful new collection of pithy and hilarious essays, she explains how her philosophy of life comes with a good dose of horse sense. Here’s advice on how to fall off a horse with style, dressing to avoid embarrassing your equine friend, 1,001 uses for bag balm, perfecting the care and feeding of veterinarians and farriers, cattle drives and brandings, and falling in love all over again (with a horse, that is). Petersen’s words are as amusing as they are instructive, and whether you’re a horse lover or simply someone in need of a down-to-earth laugh, this is a book you won’t want to miss.

In Montana, on June 25, 1876 Lieutenant Colonel George Custer and the Seventh U.S. Cavalry faced thousands of Native American warriors. Custer's Last Stand is the battle resulting from years of fighting between the expanding United States and the Native Americans who already populated the land. When the battle ended, not one of the United States soldiers in Custer's immediate command had survived. The trail of events which led to this historic battle are explored in this descriptive account, along with the famous and colorful characters who took part, including Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Marcus Reno, and George Custer.

Beyond the wide Missouri lay the prairie—“the biggest clearing on the Almighty’s footstool.” And every few hundred miles, holding to the rivers and wooded bottoms, were the outposts of the white civilization—the military forts of the U.S. Army. Father, mother and comforter to the settlers, trading points for the trappers and buffalo hunters, rallying points for the scouts. Awaiting the reader of this sentimental journey into the days of “Boots and Saddles,” are the graphic stories of battles against Indians and boredom. A military man, author Hart has the feel of these men who did the fighting and their places of conflict and refuge. He recounts the Bloody Bozeman outrage, Red Cloud’s War of 1866-68, and the pre-Civil War fights that seasoned lieutenants for the stars of Union and Confederate generals. It is a thrilling experience to read of the forts that opened the West for the stages, river boats and wagon trains...of those that protected the white man from the Indians and others that protected Indians from the whites...of those “hog and hominy” forts that gave solace to settlers who waited for the Indian attacks that never came...of the places called “Hog Ranches” that provided soldiers with entertainment lacking at Army posts...and of those forts George Armstrong Custer called home. With all this there are portraits, in both word and photograph, of the many famous generals who rode this frontier of history: Sherman, Sheridan, Crook, Custer, Harney, Sully, Connor, Mackenzie, Howard, Miles, Terry, Carrington, de Trobriand, Gibbon and Canby.