AUTHOR FAVOURITES: NAGODZAA: THE WARRIOR’S ELEGY by ARLEY DIAL

ARLEY DIAL has lived most of his life in the U.S. Southwest and feels a deep connection with the land he calls home and the people who make it what it is. He tells me his favourite of his novels is NAGODZAA: THE WARRIOR’S ELEGY about the pursuit of Apache raiders by the 10th U.S. Cavalry, the famed 'buffalo soldiers.' Specifically the pursuit of war chief Ka'edine by Lt. Willard Riley and his troop, in the Arizona Territory of 1880.
The 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry were the U.S. army units comprised of black enlisted men and white officers. Their nickname may have originated with Plains Indians - buffalo hunting tribes. ("We called them 'buffalo soldiers' because they had curly, kinky hair... like bisons.")

Buffalo soldiers, a 10th Cavalry chaplain observed, 'are possessed of the notion that the coloured people of the whole country are more or less affected by their performance in the Army.' 
These regiments enjoyed high re-enlistment rates and - in contrast to much of the frontier army - low desertion rates.

In 1874 General Sherman said of them: ‘They are good troops, they make first-rate sentinels, are faithful to their trust, and are as brave as the occasion calls for.’

Despite this, black regiments were the subject of what Robert M. Utley, in ‘Frontier Regulars’ calls ‘searing racial prejudice.’ Utley writes: ‘The black regiments endured discrimination in both the quantity and quality of supplies, equipment and horses, and for 25 years they remained without relief in the most disagreeable sectors of the frontier.’

Buffalo soldiers have featured in film westerns like John Ford’s ‘SERGEANT RUTLEDGE’ (1960.)

On TV they were featured in shows like ‘THE HIGH CHAPARRAL’ (‘The Buffalo Soldiers’, ‘Ride the Savage Land.’)

High Chaparral episode: Ride the Savage Land.’

REVIEWS of  NAGODZAA: THE WARRIOR’S ELEGY:

‘Excellent… I highly recommend Mr. Dial's books to anyone who loves a good western or just a well told tale.’

‘Believable, highly readable, and engaging… As with his previous novel, PLEWS, Mr. Dial is at his very best in giving us the climactic battle scene. It is a dirty, gritty, horrifying event with little romance and utterly no mercy. If you just want a good, well-researched read that faithfully reconstructs and presents an historical period, this is your book.’

Hostile Apaches during peace talks 1886 

‘More realistic than your usual western. Gives both sides of the story of Indian and White man.’

‘Dial is still a great writer. I've read all three of his novels to this point, and I'm anxiously looking forward to his next.’

‘The writing reminded me of Louis L'Amour's books.’ 

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Nagodzaa-Warriors-Mr-Arley-Dial/dp/1508604703/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1482278979&sr=8-1&keywords=arley+dial+warrior%27s+elegy