William Sumrall

Washita! William Sumrall

In the historical fiction, "WASHITA! Weird Custer" the author draws heavily from historical anecdotes with his speculations as to what really occurred in the Valley of the Washita that during the unseasonable cold front that stalled over the Oklahoma Indian Territory in November1868; replete with a cavalcade of colorful, complex characters from the dust bins of history. November 1868 finds peace loving, Army fearing Chief Black Kettle startled from beneath his buffalo fur blankets in the warmth of his tepee. Once more, the bane of the Cheyenne - George Armstrong Custer, arrives unannounced and uninvited to a little "pow wow" of his own machinations. The historical fiction sheds light on the unpopular schizophrenic, bi-polar President Johnson - under pressure to take action against the depredations of the Cheyenne. He chooses Custer to be the instrument of his corrective policy. Custer finds more than he bargained for in the infamous attack on the unsuspecting village, when he rifles through loot stolen from the homesteads of murdered settlers. Deep inside the Oklahoma Indian Territory, Chief Black Kettle can't control his restless young braves, who return from another raid on homesteads - loaded with scalps, loot, and captives. The pacifistic chief, along with his peace loving co-chief Little Rock are worried. Black Kettle is concerned that the Army may attack at anytime; he's paranoid - and he needs to be. Custer's wife, Elizabeth and his sister, Margaret hold down the fort back in Fort Dodge, Kansas. But they don't do it alone - they've got their close friend Beverly and their maid - the escaped former slave, Eliza. The moving orb of oscillating colors that was present on the morning of the attack has often been ascribed as being the planet Venus - the Morning Star. But was it really? Or could it have been something else... WASHITA! Weird Custer is replete with well documented historical fact, lesser known historical trivia, and descriptive fiction to fill in the nebulous mysteries unexplained by history.