The mid-1800s brought a great surge westward which aroused and antagonized the Native American tribes whose land was being violated and whose staff of life, the buffalo, was being exterminated. The Indians relentlessly attacked the endless wagon trains, the crews laying the railroad tracks, the pony express riders, the men stringing telegraph wires and the lone prospector seeking hidden mineral wealth on the Indian's sacred grounds. Warring bands waiting silently on high ridges and outcroppings would receive smoke signals from their scouts, whereupon they would descend in full fury upon the unsuspecting trespassers.

The Hostiles is a McCarthy classic, in subject and composition. The rugged land is as much a central character as the Indians who aggressively defend it. The prominent, rocky ledge emphasizes the powerful position of this band, and the point man in particular. The Hostiles embodies the spirit of defiance in the face of all challengers both visible and anticipated.