Mudeater - by John D Pihach (Paperback)

About the Book

One of the last buffalo hunters on the frontier, Mudeater was an American Indian who later took on a new identity as a white man--"Robert Armstrong"--in Canada, and in 1885 led the men who brought Louis Riel into custody.

Book Synopsis

"A really interesting read."

-- Keith Carlson, author of The Power of Place, The Problem of Time

Born the son of a Wyandot Chief in Kansas in 1849, Irwin Mudeater was one of the last great frontiersmen of the old American West.

Hired to run wagon trains heading to Santa Fe, he fought off "Indian attacks," was caught up in the Civil War, drove a stagecoach, and lived the life of a plainsman on the lawless frontier. Most of all, he was a buffalo hunter--killing as many as 126 in one day.

In 1882, Mudeater moved to Canada, adopted the name Robert Armstrong, and portrayed himself as white. He came into the service of General Middleton, and, shortly after the fall of Batoche, played the lead role in bringing the fugitive Métis leader, Louis Riel, into custody.

Mudeater attempts to resolve the opposing stories of Riel's surrender or capture, scrutinizes the sensational incidents in Armstrong/Mudeater's life, and, with the inclusion of his unpublished memoir, allows this consummate story teller to speak in his own voice.

Review Quotes

"...offers a very valuable glimpse into the life and mind of one elderly veteran of the American frontier."-- "Montana: The Magazine of Western History"

"The story of how Mudeater became Armstrong sheds light on a key chapter in Canadian history during the country's sesquicentennial, as the country grapples with so many of the colonial legacies and questions of identity that Armstrong, or Mudeater, represented"-- "The Globe and Mail"

About the Author

John D. Pihach is the author of Ukrainian Genealogy and lives in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.