Boots and saddle
Elizabeth Custer's book Boots and Saddles, describes her journey through the West with her husband and the Cavalry. With intricate detail and highly elaborate penmanship, she describes the trials and mishaps that befall her and the other men. She also gives little-known insight into everyday happenings of life on the prairie and survival on the journey. Particularly interesting are the dynamics of relationships between women when living literally in the middle of nowhere, surviving the harshest of climates, with few friends, the same friends, for extended times. The book begins with a chapter called "Change of Station". In this chapter, she describes the commotion attributed to Custer's move from one station to the next. The reader cannot help but smile when she says, "The most disastrous result of the proceedings was possibly a broken chair, which the master of ceremonies would crash and perhaps, throw into the kitchen by way of informing the cook that good news had come" (Custer 7). Nevertheless, Custer follows the conventional writing technique of introducing most of the important characters in her life in this introductory chapter. First, she introduces General Custer by giving a brief biography on him. She then introduces her "wooly-headed" servant, Eliza. After describing General Custer's habit of throwing chairs in spurts of joy, she quotes Eliza as saying to him, "Chairs don't grow on trees in these yere parts, gen'l" (Custer 7). Seemingly, Eliza does not join the cavalry on the journey and, is replaced by motherly Mary. Mary basically acts as a mother hen and takes care of Libby and the General. In one instance, she helped the two celebrate a birthday by collecting certain special foods and creating a small celebratory meal for the General and Libby. The first chapter shows Elizabeth Custer as a woman. She describes the fun of birthdays and truly demonstrates her love for her husband. In the second chapter, the reader begins to see her as more than a woman. Elizabeth Custer becomes a source of strength. During the blizzard that befalls the troops, General Custer becomes sick and leaves Elizabeth with the duty of caring for him, watching over the badly frozen troops, and rationing meager food supplies among them. As her description of the voyage through the West continues, the reader becomes a part of the dinner and breakfast rituals on the cooking stove. He or she is likewise introduced to the Sioux Indians and Two Bears. Mrs. Custer, even in those short chapters, never seems to mask her fear of the Indians. She calls them "savage beings" and proclaims, "How relieved I felt when the final pipe was smoked and the goodbye said!"(Custer 40). At times, the novel moves at a slightly faster pace, engaging the reader. One of such time was during the burning of their quarters. Oddly, Elizabeth Custer mourns not over lost gowns or silver, but over newspaper clippings collected about her husband and a wig made up of his curly hair that she loved to wear to fancy balls. Nevertheless, in the midst of troubling situations, Custer displays bravery. Many times, she leaves her emotions behind and attacks the task handed to her. Yet, the reader also realizes that she is no Superwoman. There are times that her bravery breaks down and she is left to secretly cry in her husband's arms. Another such exciting moment occurred during the search for the supposed murderer, Rain-in- the-Face. Rain-in-the-Face was an Uncpapa Indian who was suspected to have murdered a sutler and a veterinary surgeon. Like any great western, this episode contained a wise ruse, a fight, a compromise of two powers, Indians, and the prevailing of the 'good guys' over the 'bad guys', for a while. After months of imprisonment, Rain-in-the-Face escaped to join sitting bull and his rebellious renegade.