Characters
Discuss three claims about Hale.
had been seen with Bigheart just before he was rushed to the hospital; was implicated in the poisoning of Joe Bates; was the father of Anna's unborn baby; orchestrated the bombing of Bill and Rita Smith's home; bribed the first jury selected for his trial; accused White and his men of electrocuting him; set up Asa Kirby to be shot by the shopkeeper he robbed
What was Hale's goal behind the killings?
To have Ernest inherit all of the money from Mollie Kyle's mom and sisters - so that Hale would have an easier time getting access to it.
How did the Osage manage the Allotment Act different from other tribal nations?
The land was divided only among the Osage themselves; none of the land was sold to white settlers.
How was Hale implicated for two of the "twenty-four" murders of the Osage? Name the two victims.
What does this quote mean, "A murdered Indian's survivors don't have the right to the satisfaction of justice for past crimes, or of even knowing who killed their children, their mothers or fathers, brothers or sisters, their grandparents. They can only guess - like I was forced to."
Documents have been destroyed, no one investigated the crimes at the time - no one was arrested, and too many people lied along the way. There is no way of actually knowing what happened.
Discuss three claims against the Shoun brothers.
claimed the bullet that killed Anna Brown had disappeared; concealed that Bill Smith had incriminated Hale; became administrator of Rita Smith's estate; suspected of poisoning Mollie
many of these people were assigned by the government to help the Osage, but instead plotted to kill them for their money
guardians
What were three ways that Mollie's family had been acculturated?
Mollie attended a Catholic school hours away from her family; she was to learn the English language; must dress differently than those of the Osage; family's land was allotted - divided into land sections;
Why was Hale upset with Ramsey taking Roan's life?
“As Sherlock Holmes famously said, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
At this point in the story, White was encouraging his investigators to eliminate each of the suspects that COULD NOT be the murderer, so that they could concentrate their efforts on those that COULD possibly be the guilty party.
Discuss three claims against Kelsie Morrison.
killed Anna Brown; married Tillie Stepson; killed her, and planned to kill her two children
As in the case of Mary Lewis, sometimes people would impersonate a family member following their death to ensure headright payments. These were known as . . .
Bogus heirs
Name the treaty the book discusses that Jefferson had forced the Osage to sign. What did it do?
The Osage Treaty or the Treaty of the Osage 1801, 1818, and 1825 - each time repealed more of the Osage land which then gave government ownership of that property
What is the result of the bureau? (Name two concepts.)
The investigators of the bureau were empowered to make arrests and carry firearms. It was renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation with a scientific and professionally skilled force.
“There never has been a country on this earth that has fallen except when that point was reached…where the citizens would say, ‘We cannot get justice in our courts.’ ”
If the court systems are corrupt - if the judges, attorneys or juries are "bought off" - if they are intimidated or threatened, the truth cannot be heard - the country is doomed to "fall" - or fail as a democratic entity - because true justice cannot be served
Discuss three claims about H.G. Burt
Burt owed Vaughan - his attorney - $10,000; Vaughan had been Bigheart's attorney, owed him $10,000, and somehow Burt ended up collecting the money; Burt ran a loan business targeting the Osage; Burt "split the boodle" from Bigheart with Hale - both visiting Bigheart before he died; Burt was Bigheart's daughter's guardian; Burt was on the train with Vaughan; agents described him as a "murderer"
List three groupings of people who were behind the larger conspiracy of unsolved murders.
Bankers, doctors, morticians, life-insurance companies, attorneys, mayors, lawmen, judges, etc.
"Every element of society was complicit in the murderous system."
New scientific methods of investigation were discussed as the story progressed. What were three of these?
fingerprinting; mug shots; Bertillonage; handwriting analysis; and an understanding of how blood coagulates after death, producing dark splotches on the skin; dictograph - what we may refer to today as a "bug"
What, ultimately, was William Hale and Earnest Burkhart charged with? What was the result for each?
Hale was charged with aiding and abetting to the killing of Henry Roan (John Ramsey was charged with the actual killing); Earnest Burkhart pleaded guilty to blowing up Bill and Rita Smith's home while they were inside.
Both Hale and Ramsey were found guilty of first degree murder. Both were sentenced to life imprisonment
“Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar: Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, conspiracy: Hide it in smiles and affability.”
Sometimes evil doesn't hide behind an evil mask; sometimes it is right in front of us being kind and helpful
Discuss three claims about Scott Mathis.
Hale wanted Henry Roan's body delivered to his Big Hill Trading Company for a quick burial; guardian of Anna Brown and her mother Lizzie; managed the team of investigators (that never solved any of the murders) for Mollie Burkhart
What were three ways that the Osage benefitted through the negotiations of Bigheart?
delayed the process of allotment long enough to see what had happened to other tribes; the land was divided only among the Osage for allotment; the mineral rights belonged to the Osage, regardless of who owned the land; headrights could only be inherited
Name three ways in which the white man forced the Osage to do what they "asked" of them - remember this is "history" - prior to the time of the novel.
U.S. Government under Jefferson said they could sign a treaty, or be declared enemies of the United States; impatient settlers massacred several of the Osage, mutilating their bodies and scalping them; forced migration; depleted the American buffalo; forcing payments in the form of clothing and food rations
Who was A.W. Comstock, and why was J.Edgar Hoover suspicious of him?
Comstock was an attorney that served as a guardian for several of the Osage. Comstock was critical of the agency's recklessness, had threatened to turn Senator Curtis against Hoover, and then Hoover began suspecting him of the murders.
“In May, when coyotes howl beneath an unnervingly large moon, taller plants, such as spiderworts and black-eyed Susans, begin to creep over the tinier blooms, stealing their light and water. The necks of the smaller flowers break and their petals flutter away, and before long they are buried underground. This is why the Osage Indians refer to May as the time of the flower-killing moon.”
The "taller plants" in this case would be those with more power (the white man) - note that their names indicate a 'darkness' within - spiderworts and black-eyed Susans - taking over the tiny blooms (the Osage)
"May" in our story may have been considered the time of the Osage Reign of Terror