Hundred In The Hand, by Joseph M. Marshall III, is a novel set in the mid 1800's in the beautiful land of the Sioux, a proud, fierce and noble people. The main character, Cloud, is an unforgettable hero who fights for his people, their lands and their way of life. In June of 1866, in The Moon When Berries Are Good, while Cloud was out on scout with six other young warriors an incident happened with seven white traders that changed a young warriors life forever. Rabbit, Clouds younger cousin was determined to approach the white men to talk and possibly make a trade with them. The white men did not wish to talk and began firing their rifles. As the young warriors returned to their village with the story of what happened, Cloud was determined to avenge his cousin.

As more and more white settlers move into the forts that the soldiers had built and new trails were being blazed along the Powder River Road to connect the many different forts and settlements, the land of the Sioux became smaller and smaller. No longer could they go out freely on a daily basis to hunt or gather without the threat of battles against an ever-growing force. The whites had more guns, more ammunition and more soldiers than the tribes did.

Meetings between different tribes were becoming an almost daily ritual. They had to plan their battle strategies and ambushes in order to gain back their lands and their freedom. Cloud, who had ridden and fought side by side with the young Crazy Horse, Red Cloud and other great warriors. He was an experienced warrior in battle.

Cloud's young wife, Sweetwater Woman, was found at the tender age of five, near Sweetwater Creek. The Sioux tribe took her to their village and she was raised by a loving family. This tribe and her Sioux parents were the only family she knew. She could not remember her birth parents or friends. Sweetwater Woman was very devoted and loyal to the tribe and especially to Cloud. When she realized she was pregnant she began to have the desire to know who her own birth parents were. She wondered mostly who her mother had been and where she was and if she could ever find her. When a white man, a trader stumbled into the midst of the tribe, this gave Sweetwater Woman even more doubts about where she belonged and who she was. There was something about the white man that pulled her in a new direction and made her feel as if there were a bond between them.

Cloud was so busy with the elders of the tribe, the old men who were seasoned warriors, and their battle plans to notice what was going on with his wife. He did notice some distance growing between them, but was not too concerned. He was often gone for days at a time on the trail of the soldiers and spying with his band to map their schedules and daily tasks in order to plan ambushes. It was Clouds Grandmother who Sweetwater Woman turned to in her sorrow and confusion, and when she could manage the journey to her own mother's camp, she would cry on her shoulder and ask questions about her childhood.

Would Sweetwater Woman stay with Cloud and her Sioux family? Would Cloud survive the many battles he had to fight to live and know his child? Would Cloud even have a wife and child to return to if he did survive?

Marshall has based his riveting fiction on actual historical facts, like the Fetterman Massacre of December 1866. "Hundred In The Hand" is a beautifully written story about the Lakota Peoples, their way of life and their struggle to survive during a time of radical change for the Native American tribes.

Marshall a Lakota craftsman, lecturer, actor, archer of the primitive method and historical consultant. He was born and raised on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation. He know firsthand about the history of his people and the battles they fought to survive. He has woven historical facts with a touching story of a young white woman who was raised by the Sioux and married a young warrior whom she loved dearly. This is a story of young love and fierce battles and is a very moving novel.

Marshall picks up on the story of Cloud and his people in the second novel in this new series, The Long Knives Are Crying.
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