Gunsmoke at Powder River

U.S. Army Captain Charles Riker had been ordered to march his company of social misfits and raw recruits deep into Sioux territory. It was a land of heat and blistering winds where daydreaming could separate a man from his scalplock, and when Indian patrols spot the bluecoated interlopers they set upon the troopers with burning powder and hot lead.Riker and his struggling command turn back-only to find their retreat to the main body of troops has been cut off by the avenging Sioux.Outnumbered hundreds-to-one in a Montana wilderness where good men could be living one moment and dying the next, Riker must lead his band across long miles of open country to the nearest army post at Tongue River. But between them and the fort ride fierce warriors aiming to add bluecoat scalps to the ones already hanging on the tribal lodge poles. Short on rations and ammunition, but long on determination and guts, Riker's column begins its hell trek to freedom while hundreds of Plains Indians close in for the kill. Patrick E. Andrews was born in Oklahoma in 1936 into a family of pioneers who participated in its growth from the Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory to statehood. His father's family were homesteaders and his mother's cattle ranchers. Consequently, he is among the last generation of American writers who had contacts with those people from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Patrick's wife Julie says he both speaks and writes with an Oklahoma accent.He is an ex-paratrooper, having served in the 82nd Airborne Division in the active army and the 12th Special Forces Group in the army reserves. Patrick began his writing career after leaving the army. He and his better half presently reside in southern California. He has a son Bill, who is an ex-paratrooper and a probation officer, and two grandchildren. Risking their lives to make the frontier a safer place for settlers, the cavalry became heroic figures to many, and the promise of action and excitement generated by the sight of army blue still continues today. Patrick E. Andrews captures the hardships of life on the frontier for ... The Long-Knives.