An Arrow in the Earth: General Joel Palmer and the Indians of Oregon

by Terence O'Donnell

In An Arrow in the Earth, Terence O'Donnell reveals the compelling drama of Oregon's early Indian-white relations, focusing particularly on the Indian Wars of the 1850s. Central throughout this remarkable account of racial unrest is the stoic Joel Palmer, a forthright man who, as Oregon's superintendent of Indian affairs, sought to protect the Indians from degradation and abuse. Although O'Donnell concentrates on this difficult struggle between Indian and white, he strives to illuminate every facet of Oregon at this time, from its economy, development, and culture, to the maelstrom of Oregon politics, the heated missionary wars between Catholics and Methodists, and the horrifying episode whose reverberations would still be felt as Palmer began his superintendency - the infamous Whitman massacre. An Arrow in the Earth is a fascinating portrait of a difficult period in Oregon history. O'Donnell's powerful descriptive prose together with the words of the players themselves serve to evoke the spirit of an earlier age, giving dimension to the landscape of a troubled time.

345 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1991