Death of the Iron Horse

by Goble

In an act of bravery and defiance against the white men encroaching on their territory in 1867, a group of young Cheyenne braves derail and raid a freight train.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Historical Fiction, Native American, Indigenous, Transport, Trains

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1987

Reviews

[Donna Nadira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death of the Iron Horse (1993) tells about the coming of the Union Pacific freight train that fulfills the prophecy of a Cheyenne elder. There are no main characters as this book only reiterates the story from the communal Cheyenne point of view, but the book consistently references Cheyenne mythological terminologies without belittling it. The story ends with the tribe derailing the train and freeing Mother Earth from the iron chains that is the railroad tracks.

The illustrations are drawn by the author, Paul Goble, who is an Englishman born in 1933 that specializes in writing children's books with Native American themes. The imagery Goble provides is a nod to the traditional Native American artistic style, with flat figures, historically accurate costuming, and vibrant colors. The illustrations, consistently printed across two pages, mostly supply what is described in the text rather than complement what is missing from the text, and gives a beautiful insight of how life would look like at that time period.

Goble does a great job at portraying the Native American narrative with respect, and without dismissal or over-romanticization. The story comes in a third-person narration, worded like how one would hear a story from a grandmother. Goble crafts and rehashes nature metaphors well, and presents the nearly-taboo topic in a calm tone and simple enough words without reducing the historical-emotional baggage that comes with it. This story, despite being the more controversial and less popular of his stories, manages to portray well the one moment of victory of Native Americans against the Men of the East.

[Olivia Lavelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting, but it was not one of my favorite reads. This was about a group of brave Cheyenne's who derail and raid a train in which they call the Iron Horse. I have heard a little about this history in which the whites invade the indians land and kill them all. The interesting thing about this book was that we got to see the the indians defeat the whites. The Cheyenne's are getting there revenge and they successfully did what they planned to do. To be honest I don't know how children will react to the this book.

[Euna Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death of the Iron Horse by Paul Goble is a fictional account of a true historical account of the Union Pacific freight train that was drailed by the Cheyennes. It is a legendary story that describes how the Cheyenne people fought to protects themselves and their sacred way of living. Goble uses detailed illustrations that make the historical perspective understandable for all children.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a legendary story about an event that actually only happened once, as the preface explains. It is told in the tone of a myth, and paired with Goble's fabulous illustrations. While it is only one episode in a long struggle, it is a pivotal moment.

[Kylie Mcgrath · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personally, I did not enjoy this book. This book is about the Union Pacific freight train being derailed and raided by Cheyenne's. The name of the train is called, The Iron Horse. In the book there is a feud between white people and nonwhite people. The book is all about the conflict American Indians had in the past during this time. Although I did not enjoy this book, it is a good plot and interesting details. I am personally not a fan of history especially in books, however if you enjoy reading about the past of history, I do recommend it. The big part I enjoyed about reading this book is noticing how much respect Paul Goble, the author, gave to the history aspect of the book and Native Americans. The visual aspect of this book is also quite enjoyable. Even though I don't enjoy history, I did like the way the illustrations looked because it made you feel like a part of the story. At one point in the book the entire page is just dark and black, to match the mood and tone of the moment going on. I would recommend this book to kids that are a little upper elementary simply because of the historical aspect. Overall, if you enjoy history and reading, I recommend this book for you!

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not really sure how I felt about this book. When I picked this book out, I thought it was going to be about the American train system and how new modern technology made it become less and less important for transportation. The book is actually about conflicts that American Indian's had at the time. As a kid, I would have most likely picked this book up for my love of trains and such, but I probably would have been disappointed when I started reading to find out that this book was not about that. Overall though, it was very informative about the American Indians struggles such as their towns being burned down. It made you feel more for them and gave you a better understanding of their life. I would recommend this book to an older group of kids because I do think it has some sensitive topics in there such as death and destruction.

[Marcy Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this picture book is perfect for older students in elementary schools as it shows the courage and pride of Native Americans fighting to preserve their sacred way of life. This is a great story when teaching older elementary students about the past and the trouble and struggles Native Americans went through with not only soldiers, but black smoke coming over the mountains. Overall, great story on Native American suffrage.

[Gatto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the premise of this book. It is an illustrated book about a Native American group that attack a train in the 1800s. It's excellent for a few reasons. First, we need more books from Native American perspectives. Second, it's excellent for teaching figurative language and metaphors because the Native Americans are figuring out how to talk about the train. Finally, it's an interesting story.

[Gus Pogue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical Fiction
Primary (2-3)
This was a very good read; I really enjoyed the historical elements that it brought to the table. I really enjoyed the art style too, and appreciated its unique elements, like only presenting things from a side view.

[Laura Schrillo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was brought home by my Kindergarten student. Totally inappropriate for his age. Another book about the evil white man. Not the conversation I want to have with my 5 year old.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of the one and only time a Union Pacific freight train was derailed by Indians. The incident occurred on 7 August 1867. Long before the derailment the Cheyenne Prophet, Sweet Medicine, had a terrible dream. He dreamed that hairy people from the East would come to kill the Indian and imprison the land with iron bands. This prophecy came true. Soldiers attacked and burned villages killing all who lived there. One day Indian scouts came riding into a village telling of a huge smoke breathing beast with a voice like thunder. They called it the Iron Horse. Several young braves went to turn back this monster. With tomahawks and knives the braves chopped the ties and dug out the spikes that held the rails. At dawn they saw an Iron Horse coming toward them. As the train shot past them they shot arrows and tried to throw ropes over the engine. When the engine hit the damaged section of rail it jumped in the air and the cars slammed into it from behind. Both engineers died upon impact. The man in the caboose was killed with arrows. The braves opened the cargo taking whatever they wanted. After awhile they spotted another Iron Horse heading their way. They set the derailed train on fire, gathered up their plunder, and headed for home.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Sharon Medina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cheyenne Indians were not happy about the people from the East taking over their land by laying a track of steel for the Iron Horse to ride upon in 1867. The men of the tribe went to go investigate the black smoke of the Iron Horse. The young brave men of the tribe decided to break the iron bands away from mother earth. Therefore, during the night, the young brave men worked hard to dig up the spikes that break the ties until the rails where no longer together. Later, the Iron Horse appeared in the distance and shortly came across the tracks were no longer joined together and the Iron Horse crashed killing the men that were on the train. The Cheyenne Indians opened the carts to see what was in them and found pans, kettles, material, clothes, shoes, something for everyone. They set the Iron Horse on fire so that they would leave nothing for the soldiers and that their people would not be in fear of the Iron Horse.

Genre: Historical nonfiction
Suggested Ages: 8 -10 year

[Susie White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death of the Iron Horse is the story of how a group of Cheyenne Native Americns took down a Union Pacific train. According to Goble, this scenario actually took place once, but this small victory unfortunately did little for the population as European settlers eventually stripped the natives of almost everything. The book only hinted a little to the arrival of Europeans, and I found this to be a little off-putting. I get that the author intended to depict the hope of the Native Americans, but from an educational standpoint I think it would have been more beneficial to add more about how this victory really did do hardly anything except maybe infuriate the settlers more. The paragraphs were also a little long and hard to read for a picture book. I like the idea of the book, but I personally think it could have been executed a bit better and why I think that I would elect to find other stories of hope found in Native Americans during the time.

Goble, P. (1987). Death of the iron horse. New York: Bradbury Press.

[Stephenie Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is a great story for older children to read. It teaches them a bit of history while also staying kid friendly in order to keep the children interested. I really liked how it talked about the views of Native Americans and their perspectives of life when English men came and took over America. I would definitely read this to children in my classroom because it is written in an eloquent way lets the children understand the reasons behind the Native Americans actions and also a nice way to learn different aspects about the railroad systems. There is fighting and destruction in the book which some children could enjoy while others not so much. The pictures are not that engaging though because they are a bit bland and small. The book is an older book so that could be the reason behind the pictures. I also think that the way some of the sections of words are set up could be confusing for some children but if an adult is there to help there should be no issue!

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know much about Cheyenne Indian history so I enjoyed learning about it in this book. This book focused on August 7th, 1867, the day that the "iron horse" was killed by the Cheyenne Indians. I thought that this book was very informational and was a good read. The story being told by the Indians' perspective is important because most American history is told from the white, European perspective. Paul Goble did a very good job of putting the reader in the Cheyenne Indians' shoes. I think that this book would be an excellent choice to read (or let older readers read by themselves) when discussing Native American history and Westward Expansion. The illustrations are also neat because they really feel authentic to the story and almost resemble Native American art. I enjoyed this book and am interested to look at more of Paul Goble's books.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do not doubt that the historical context in which this story takes place is true, but I would warn children to read this book if they are under the age of 9 or 10 since it describes disturbing events that happened to certain tribes. Much of the story discusses how the “white people” take over their land and everything they had which is the reality of many life stories of Native Americans. These Native Americans were fighting for their own pursuit of happiness, which is something many of us can relate to in life. I would probably not have my own children read this story though since they could learn about the stories of Native Americans through biographies or autobiographies - I would want them to read about real-life experiences from the people who experienced them.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Paul Goble. Love his illustrations! This is a fictionalized account of an attack by young Cheyenne men on a cargo train. It does a great job of forcing the reader to see things from a different perspective. The young braves have no idea what a train is and can only describe it or imagine it from within their own experience. Young readers will be surprised at what they choose to take from the train and what they deem useless.

The language is direct and unsentimental in relaying violent acts by both Europeans and Native Americans.

[Robert Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indians derail a train, kill all on board, loot the cargo, set it on fire and escape before more soldiers arrive.