The Indian war at the end of our era

[Oregon Bill]

There were so many bloody conflicts with our First Nations Americans in the 19th century that it is hard to keep them all straight.
But if you want a first-rate education on the deadliest one, and likely the least known, find a copy of Gregory Michno's "The Deadliest Indian War in the West, the Snake Conflict, 1864-1868."
This war played out in a vast theater, including most of Oregon east of the Cascades, northeastern California (think Modoc county), northern Nevada and the mining districts of south and central Idaho. The various tribes of the Snakes were incredibly mobile and masters of some of the most difficult terrain in North America, and they struck fast, and without mercy.
Believe me, you will thank me if you read this book.
Surely a main reason why this war is so little known is that it was completely overshadowed by the War Between the States and its aftermath. But God help the plainsman caught in an indefensible position by the Snakes anywhere in the northern Great Basin during this war.
The wide respect for and use of the paper-cartridge Sharps carbine in these fights convinced me to order one from Cabelas, where they are on sale. While mine will be an 1859, it will be little different from the earlier slant-breech models that became so popular in teh early 1850s.