David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "murder-investigation"
Wolves of Eden
It's rather surprising to see an Irish author write about the Indian battles in the West after the Civil War. McCarthy explains that by mentioning the high number of Irish soldiers who fought at the Battle of Little Big Horn, the Fetterman Massacre and other battles.
This is really two stories in one. Brevet Captain Malloy and brevet Sergeant Kohn are sent to investigate who killed the sutler (general store owner) at Fort Phil Kearny. The sutler's relatives don't believe it was Indians. Malloy is a drunk; Kohn is a Jewish Indian hater; they hate him back. The other story involves the O'Driscoll brothers, Tom and Michael (this is a pseudonym necessary to rejoin the army after the Civil War, after trying to make it as farm hands). Tom was shot in the mouth and has trouble being understood; he speaks mostly Gaelic to his brother who interprets for others. They met Malloy, who saved them for being branded as cowards for leaving the field of battle after Tom was shot. They meet up again at Fort Phil Kearny, although Malloy doesn't remember saving them.
The fort is in the process of being built and the woodtrain goes out to cut and plane trees just about every day. Red Cloud's Sioux warriors are waiting to ambush them. Nerves are raw as lots of soldiers are killed guarding the train. During their time off, they visit the sutler's house of ill repute. The Indian women who work there are “cut nose” prostitutes who were caught cheating. Tom falls in love with one of them and that leads to more murders. The description of what the Indians do to soldiers they capture is stomach-turning. McCarthy doesn't mention that scalping originated with French and English fur traders who put a bounty on Indians. Bounty hunters took their scalps as proof. One of the white Indian fighters also takes scalps.
One of the minor characters is a photographer whose favorite models are the women who work at the whore house. He bears no ill will against anybody including the sutler. It's not clear how he met his end.
Michael is writing his confession to Lt. Malloy, and we hear his voice alternating with that of Kohn throughout the novel. Malloy doesn't seem to care who killed the obnoxious sutler, and Kohn is obsessed with punishing the culprits.
The novel has psychological elements. Tom was a good-looking man before he was wounded and is haunted by the war as is Lt. Malloy, who falls off his horse and breaks his leg, causing him to abstain from rot gut booze. As a reader, you want this man to see the light. It might be too late.
This is really two stories in one. Brevet Captain Malloy and brevet Sergeant Kohn are sent to investigate who killed the sutler (general store owner) at Fort Phil Kearny. The sutler's relatives don't believe it was Indians. Malloy is a drunk; Kohn is a Jewish Indian hater; they hate him back. The other story involves the O'Driscoll brothers, Tom and Michael (this is a pseudonym necessary to rejoin the army after the Civil War, after trying to make it as farm hands). Tom was shot in the mouth and has trouble being understood; he speaks mostly Gaelic to his brother who interprets for others. They met Malloy, who saved them for being branded as cowards for leaving the field of battle after Tom was shot. They meet up again at Fort Phil Kearny, although Malloy doesn't remember saving them.
The fort is in the process of being built and the woodtrain goes out to cut and plane trees just about every day. Red Cloud's Sioux warriors are waiting to ambush them. Nerves are raw as lots of soldiers are killed guarding the train. During their time off, they visit the sutler's house of ill repute. The Indian women who work there are “cut nose” prostitutes who were caught cheating. Tom falls in love with one of them and that leads to more murders. The description of what the Indians do to soldiers they capture is stomach-turning. McCarthy doesn't mention that scalping originated with French and English fur traders who put a bounty on Indians. Bounty hunters took their scalps as proof. One of the white Indian fighters also takes scalps.
One of the minor characters is a photographer whose favorite models are the women who work at the whore house. He bears no ill will against anybody including the sutler. It's not clear how he met his end.
Michael is writing his confession to Lt. Malloy, and we hear his voice alternating with that of Kohn throughout the novel. Malloy doesn't seem to care who killed the obnoxious sutler, and Kohn is obsessed with punishing the culprits.
The novel has psychological elements. Tom was a good-looking man before he was wounded and is haunted by the war as is Lt. Malloy, who falls off his horse and breaks his leg, causing him to abstain from rot gut booze. As a reader, you want this man to see the light. It might be too late.
