Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
New York: Doubleday
$28.95 - 339 pages
“The whites have bunched us up down here in the backwoods,
the roughest part of the United States, thinking ‘we will drive these
Indians down to where there is a big pile of rock and put them there
in that corner.’” Now that pile of rock has turned out to be worth millions
of dollars; now everybody wants to get in here and get some of the money.”
--Osage Chief Bacon Rind.
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon is the fact that despite the author’s painstaking research, and his marvelous use of period photographs and documents, this factual account of historic events attending “The Osage Murders” contains the atmospheric suspense and tension that is normally associated with a classic murder mystery. In fact, Grann has written a murder mystery - One that asks who methodically killed hundreds of Osage Indians during a four-year reign of terror (1920-24). Osage history reveals the tragic details of how and why.
Forced to move from Kansas to Oklahoma, the Osage tribe seemed to be destined to lives of abject poverty when they suddenly found itself catapulted into a world of excessive wealth. Oil is discovered on tribal land. Suddenly, every member of the tribe is potentially wealthy. In an attempt to control the chaos that ensued, the federal government created a document called a “headright” which gave each Osage household legal rights to the oil on their land. After a period of uncontrolled spending in which members of the Osage tribe acquired mansions and fleets of automobiles, the government attempted to control the excessive spending by establishing a “guardian system” which assigned a “legal guardian” to each Osage family.
This “guardian” (usually a white banker, businessmen or “civic-minded citizen” was given the power to approve or deny all expenditures for the Osage tribal member (who had been judged to be “incompetent”) by the government. The system was badly flawed, and many of the guardians used their position to embezzle huge sums of money. In time, the guardian documents became bargaining chips in investing in business ventures. Hundreds of guardians used their position as a means of acting as a “middle-man” who would purchase items on behalf of Osage tribal members. The guardian would then sell the item to the Osage for an inflated price. For example, guardians could purchase automobiles on behalf of the Osage tribal member for $250 and then sell them to the Osage member that they represented for $2,500.
As the wealth of the Osage grew, so did the schemes for exploiting the tribe. Hundreds of criminals were drawn to the region with schemes designed to acquire a portion of Osage wealth. Many of these new arrivals openly stated that they had come to Oklahoma “to marry an Osage squaw.”
It was a method that frequently succeeded.
However, some of these opportunists sought a more direct method: murder. Author Grann’s research discovers one individual, William Hale who had arranged for the murder of 24 members of the Osage tribe. By soliciting the help of associates, Hale became one of the wealthiest men in Oklahoma. The astonishing catalogue of slaughter is carried out by men willing to resort to any means to accomplish Hale’s goal. Dozens of victims were poisoned with tainted moonshine and corrupt medical personnel performed autopsies that listed “acute alcoholism” as the cause of death. Others were dispatched with a bullet to the back of the head or between the eyes and the victim’s body was found in his new car on a remote road. One family was killed by a dynamite blast that demolished their home. Often, Hale simply paid an assassin to kill a designated victim. Then, Hale would frequently hire a second assassin to kill the first. In those instances in which murderers were apprehended, Hale bribed juries and law officials and if all else failed, he simply paid another killer.
Time and time again, government agents are assigned to investigate and in some instances, just as they uncover significant evidence, they are murdered and the evidence destroyed. One dedicated investigator called the FBI headquarters to report that he was on his way back with conclusive evidence against Hale. The next day his mutilated body is found near a railroad track. He had been murdered and thrown from the train. Another investigator’s body was found in another state, hundreds of miles away. What is most disquieting about the crimes in Killers of the Flower Moon is the awesome extent of corruption that is revealed in the book. State and government officials, medical personnel and lawyers - all are contaminated with the vice of greed. The corruption is so pervasive, the few moral and courageous individuals seem helplessly outnumbered.
However, there are two remarkable people in this gruesome tale. One is Molly Burkhart, and Osage who survived the systematic murder of her family...murders in which her husband was implicated. Molly was diagnosed as a diabetic by two doctors who poisoned her insulin injections, in an attempt to slowly kill her. Molly survived and divorced her husband. The second remarkable character is Tom White, the FBI agent that pursued Hale until he brought him to justice. Much of the credit of for this amazing piece of investigative work went to the Director of the newly-created FBI agency, Hubert Hoover who turned out to be a man dedicated to his own self-interest. Through much of the investigation conducted by Tom White, Hoover managed to take credit for White’s courageous work. Jealous of any publicity directed toward agents other than himself, Hoover invariably succeeded in manipulating the factual data to his advantage.
This is a remarkable work. Most noteworthy is Grann’s comprehensive account of the primitive nature of investigations in a time before forensics emerged. As a consequence, much of Tom White’s heroic pursuit of a villain who seemed to have the protection of most of Oklahoma’s judges, lawyers and public officials. However, Grann’s greatest achievement is the fact that he uncovers evidence that the total number of victims in the Osage murders exceeded the original 24 and possibly exceeded over 200.
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Popular Highlights in this book
For years after the American Revolution, the public opposed the creation of police departments, fearing that they would become forces of repression.Highlighted by 10,158 Kindle readers- Only in the mid-nineteenth century, after the growth of industrial cities and a rash of urban riots—after dread of the so-called dangerous classes surpassed dread of the state—did police departments emerge in the United States.Highlighted by 9,155 Kindle readers
- This is why the Osage Indians refer to May as the time of the flower-killing moon.Highlighted by 8,681 Kindle readers
- Over the next two decades, the Osage were forced to cede nearly a hundred million acres of their ancestral land, ultimately finding refuge in a 50-by-125-mile area in southeastern Kansas.Highlighted by 8,048 Kindle readers
- President Theodore Roosevelt had created the bureau in 1908, hoping to fill the void in federal law enforcement.Highlighted by 5,524 Kindle readers
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Reviews with images
Another Largely Forgotten Piece of American History, Brought Back to Life
American history is loaded with episodes of shame. A large percentage of our less memorable moments, as a nation, have been swept under the rug, kept out of classrooms, and largely forgotten as time progresses. But these events are real and all it takes is a skilled author to bring the lost history back to life. Such is the case with Killers of the Flower Moon.I did not know anything about these murders against the Osage until I read this book, so this was a definite eye- opener for me. I had heard of the Osage tribe, yes, but I did not know they fell into tremendous oil wealth and, subsequently, saw their members slowly dying off, either through gunfire or poisoning, as greedy individuals tried to get their hands on some easy cash. The book details several of the known killings and the cold, callous, calculated murders are chilling and puzzling. Chilling, because of the gruesomeness of the murders; puzzling, because of the nonchalant behavior of those who plotted the killings. Even when confronted with the murders, most of the guilty individuals seem to have no remorse at all. They don’t even perceive what they did as immoral in any way.This book reads like a mystery thriller, however it isn’t a page- turner, like some mystery genre books. You do start to make guesses as to who is responsible, but rather than get wound up in the who- done- it, the book grips you more for its educational aspects. You learn all sorts of things about the Oklahoma region that the Osage called home. You learn about the newly formed FBI and its role in solving the mystery. You learn about the problems of racism and the feelings of superiority that people felt against Indians. And you learn just how evil people can be when vast amounts of wealth are at stake.There are several surprises in this book, and one is the book’s final section. The book leads you to believe that the mystery has been solved and it sounds like everything is coming to a close. Then suddenly, the book continues for dozens more pages as the author tries to solve more of the mystery on his own, with the aid of local Osage tribe members. No one will ever know exactly how many people were killed during this reign of terror but I like how the author took it on himself to investigate and try to answer more questions.This book is another solid, educational wakeup call on the prevalence of racism and superiority that pervaded society in the past and is rearing its ugly head once again today. I like how the book includes pictures so that you can get to know the many characters involved. With so many names and so many people involved, it’s easy to lose track of who is who. The pictures help you put a face with the name. But the most important part of this book is its educational value. It’s another sad, shameful episode from America’s past and one that we all need to know about and, hopefully, learn from.
Top reviews from other countries
Danny Angulo
Muy buen libro de crimen real!
Reviewed in Mexico on September 11, 2023
eztigrrrr
Truth is stranger than fiction
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2024