Trail of the Red Butterfly

by Karl H. Schlesier

While ascending the Missouri in 1804, Lewis and Clark met trader Jean Valle, who had wintered in Cheyenne camps near the Black Hills and who recounted extensive horse-raiding upon Spanish settlements. Trail of the Red Butterfly is the first novel to depict such a raid through Cheyenne eyes. Cheyenne Kit Fox headman Stone learns that his twin, Whirlwind, has gone missing on an 1807 foray into northeastern New Spain. Gathering an eclectic party of Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Gataka warriors, women and children, and a wolf dog, Stone sets out from his camp on the Upper Republican River, present-day eastern Colorado. Stone’s relentless search takes his party across the High Plains of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas; through the Davis and Chisos mountains; into the Bolsón de Mapimí; and past the great laguna to the Nazas River, where finally he picks up his brother’s trail. With the help of Maria, a Hiaqui woman whose freedom they buy, the party doggedly follows the trail in hostile country, through towns and ranches to dramatic conclusion on the Camino Real. Relying on Juan Pedro Walker’s 1805 map and a distinguished career in anthropological research, Karl Schlesier conjures a convincing journey into the unknown, driven in part by the lure of plunder and distant places, but ultimately sustained by a brother’s determination to recover his other half.

Genres: Historical Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2007

Reviews

[Niki]

This is the story of the Cheyenne Indians in the early 1800's and the story of the invasions on them from their side. The story covers the Cheyenne being attached and then traveling for months to recover a brother who they believe has been captured. I loved the book and felt that it was true to the battles they would of endured while traveling to try and find their lost people.

[Linda Stephens]

Gift of centuries for Cheyenne and Plains Peoples

[Patricia]

In the beginning, it was a little difficult to get into the story but eventually I kept reading both because the story was interesting and because the cultural information (anthropological information) of the people inhabiting the 1805-ish North Americas was interesting to me. To a certain extent, I felt the anthropology drove the story but eventualky I did not mind. This was really a different book from what I usually read and it felt nice to read something different.

[Steve Hicks]

If you are interested in what life may have been like on the plains before the era of manifest destiny, this is a good pick. This tale follows a group of Cheyenne traveling down through Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and into Mexico in search of one of their own. It is said to be based on a true story.

Mr. Schlesier takes great pains to describe the minutia of daily life for the plains indians.

Highly recommend.

[Gail Folkins]

This novel, focused on a Cheyenne/Kiowa family in the 1800s Southwest, is strong in both its research and its landscapes. The writing is unembellished, the story gripping.

[Laurie]

This one was called poetic by someone in the book club
native american tale set in about 1805