Nine Years Among The Indians

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The premise of Herman Lehmann’s Nine Years Among The Indians is intriguing.  As an 11-year-old boy, Lehmann is captured during an Apache raid on his central Texas home in 1870.  He spends the next nine years with Apache and Comanche tribes before being reluctantly repatriated to his white family.  Unfortunately, Lehmann’s book doesn’t live up to its potential.

Poor Execution

On its own, his story is appealing—a young person ripped from his home, growing into manhood with his captors, and then forced to adapt again to his original environment.  Because Lehmann was almost 70 years old when he narrated his story, you get the gratification of knowing how his life progressed following his return.  But its poor presentation takes the shine off the basic story’s appeal.

The book contains a great deal of repetition—separate events but all described in exactly the same way, adding little to the overall narrative.  In some instances, Lehmann included accounts from multiple sources describing the very same event in apparent attempts to enhance his credibility—again adding little to the overall account.

Better as a Movie

In short, the book includes the “whats” to an extreme, but very few “whys”—a rather dry chronicle interspersed with occasional sparks of interest.  Lehmann’s story might be suitable as a loose adaption for a feature film or as a factual source for a research paper.  But unless you’re a movie producer or a historian, I suggest giving Nine Years Among The Indians a miss.

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