The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, & the Rush to Colorado

Recounts the struggles, triumphs, and defeats of both Indians and whites as they pursued their clashing dreams in Colorado during the mid-1800s. After centuries of many peoples fashioning their own cultures on the plains, the Cheyenne and other tribes found in the horse the power to create a heroic way of life that dominated the grasslands. The discovery of gold by whites challenged that way of life and led finally to the Indian Wars of the 1860s. Includes b&w photos and illustrations. For general readers. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Winner of the Francis Parkman Prize, the Pen Center West Award, the Ray Allen Billington Prize, the Caughey Western History Prize, the Western Writers of America Spur Award, and the Caroline Bancroft Prize

"An interpretive triumph, full of fresh insights into well-worn topics. For all-round excellence in the full sweep of the western story, West occupies the pinnacle. A truly fine book."--Robert M. Utley, author of The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull

"In Elliott West's company, the exploration of history becomes an adventure, a journey with surprises and unexpected insights sufficient to shake the most comfortable and settled of assumptions."--Patricia Nelson Limerick, author of Legacy of Conquest

"A haunting history and a wonderful piece of storytelling. Rarely have historical figures been so deeply human, so funny and tragic, as they are in this stunning, clear-eyed and yet deeply empathetic book."--Richard White, author of It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own