Across The Fence: Charles Goodnight, a Man of Indomitable Spirit (Part I)

The date of April 9, 1865, marked the end of four, long and bloody years of the American Civil War. During those years, while the states were divided among themselves, the nation was also at war with the Native Americans of the plains and the Southwest.

Back in April 1865, Bosque Redondo was the name given the so-called reservation near Fort Sumner, N.M., though to the 8,500 Navajo and 500 Mescalero Apache Indians confined there, it seemed more like prison.

By 1866, the number of Indians confined on the reservation was nearly double what the U.S. Army was equipped to provide for. The shortage...