http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/1800692

Famous Indian chiefs I have known

Major General Oliver Otis Howard, a graduate of Bowdoin College and the U.S. Military Academy, is known for his Civil War record, campaign against the Nez Perce, and many writings. Regarded in his time as enlightened in matters of race, Howard headed the Freedman's Bureau and was a co-founder of Howard University. He left the Bureau in 1872 when assigned to subjugate the Chiracahua Apaches. President U.S. Grant allegedly selected Howard for western military leadership because of his Christian and humanitarian beliefs. He was given command of the Department of the Columbia in 1874, and subsequently led the U.S. Army campaign against the Nez Perce in 1877. As Major General, Howard was in the awkward position of having to follow orders and federal law when his beliefs or his personal feelings about tribal leaders or the tribes themselves were sometimes in contradiction with his mission. He wrote Famous Indian Chiefs I Have Known for children late in his life, along with a similar work, My Life And Experiences Among Our Hostile Indians, for adults. While he did not actually meet all individuals featured in his book for juveniles, nor were all of them truly chiefs, his experiences in the American west and northwest brought him in contact with many tribal leaders.

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