The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 58, July 1954 - April, 1955 Page: 186

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

Many horse-trained cavalry leaders adapted themselves readily
to the armored units of World War II, and led them to magnificent
victories in France in support of the main infantry units. These
same men, however, will continue to breathe sighs for years for
such things as the cavalry charge, the dress parade, the bugle call
"Boots and Saddles," "Stable Call" (and its drudgery of grooming,
feeding, and watering animals), and the yellow stripe on the old
uniforms that gave the name "yellow-leg" to cavalrymen, but
above all for the noble animal that gave the soldier the pride and
lift that was always a part of the "The Man on Horseback." But
Taps has sounded!
DANIEL A. CONNOR
Texas Western College
The Catholic Indian Missions and Grant's Peace Policy, 1870-
1884. By Peter J. Rahill. Washington (Catholic University of
America Press), 1954. Pp. xx+9g6. Illustrations, maps, bibli-
ography, and index. $5.oo cloth or $4.25 paper.
This book, which is published as Vol. XLI of Studies in Amer-
ican Church History, gives a comprehensive account of the activ-
ities of the Catholic Church among the American Indians during
a very crucial period of Indian administration. When Grant
became President in 1869 he put the Indian agencies of Nebraska,
Kansas, and Indian Territory under agents nominated by the
Society of Friends and all other agencies, except those in Oregon,
under the control of officers of the army. When Congress enacted a
law prohibiting army officers from holding a civil appointment,
Grant adopted a new policy with respect to the appointing of
Indian agents by delegating their nomination to various church
groups interested in mission work among the Indians. In spite
of its long tradition of missionary work among the Indians, the
Catholic Church was assigned to only seven agencies with a total
of less than 18,ooo Indians while the Methodists were allocated
fourteen with over 54,000 Indians, the Presbyterians nine with
38,000, the Baptists five with over 40,000, and the Episcopalians
eight with nearly 29,000 Indians. Moreover, the agencies of Cali-
fornia were allotted to the Methodists and those of New Mexico
'to the Presbyterians, though Catholic missionary work had been
carried on in California for a hundred years and in New Mexico

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