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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/336-0.txt b/336-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4bff932 --- /dev/null +++ b/336-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4273 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains, by +[AKA Ohiyesa], Charles A. Eastman + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains + +Author: [AKA Ohiyesa], Charles A. Eastman + +Release Date: July 5, 2008 [EBook #336] +Last Updated: October 7, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS *** + + + + +Produced by Judith Boss + + + + + +INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS + +By Charles A. Eastman (Ohiyesa) + + + + + CONTENTS + + + 1. RED CLOUD + 2. SPOTTED TAIL + 3. LITTLE CROW + 4. TAMAHAY + 5. GALL + 6. CRAZY HORSE + 7. SITTING BULL + 8. RAIN-IN-THE-FACE + 9. TWO STRIKE + 10. AMERICAN HORSE + 11. DULL KNIFE + 12. ROMAN NOSE + 13. CHIEF JOSEPH + 14. LITTLE WOLF + 15. HOLE-IN-THE-DAY + + + + + +INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS + + + + +RED CLOUD + + +EVERY age, every race, has its leaders and heroes. There were over sixty +distinct tribes of Indians on this continent, each of which boasted +its notable men. The names and deeds of some of these men will live +in American history, yet in the true sense they are unknown, because +misunderstood. I should like to present some of the greatest chiefs of +modern times in the light of the native character and ideals, believing +that the American people will gladly do them tardy justice. + +It is matter of history that the Sioux nation, to which I belong, +was originally friendly to the Caucasian peoples which it met in +succession-first, to the south the Spaniards; then the French, on the +Mississippi River and along the Great Lakes; later the English, and +finally the Americans. This powerful tribe then roamed over the whole +extent of the Mississippi valley, between that river and the Rockies. +Their usages and government united the various bands more closely than +was the case with many of the neighboring tribes. + +During the early part of the nineteenth century, chiefs such as +Wabashaw, Redwing, and Little Six among the eastern Sioux, Conquering +Bear, Man-Afraid-of-His-Horse, and Hump of the western bands, were the +last of the old type. After these, we have a coterie of new leaders, +products of the new conditions brought about by close contact with the +conquering race. + +This distinction must be borne in mind--that while the early chiefs +were spokesmen and leaders in the simplest sense, possessing no real +authority, those who headed their tribes during the transition period +were more or less rulers and more or less politicians. It is a singular +fact that many of the “chiefs”, well known as such to the American +public, were not chiefs at all according to the accepted usages of +their tribesmen. Their prominence was simply the result of an abnormal +situation, in which representatives of the United States Government made +use of them for a definite purpose. In a few cases, where a chief met +with a violent death, some ambitious man has taken advantage of the +confusion to thrust himself upon the tribe and, perhaps with outside +help, has succeeded in usurping the leadership. + +Red Cloud was born about 1820 near the forks of the Platte River. He +was one of a family of nine children whose father, an able and respected +warrior, reared his son under the old Spartan regime. The young Red +Cloud is said to have been a fine horseman, able to swim across the +Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, of high bearing and unquestionable +courage, yet invariably gentle and courteous in everyday life. This +last trait, together with a singularly musical and agreeable voice, has +always been characteristic of the man. + +When he was about six years old, his father gave him a spirited colt, +and said to him: + +“My son, when you are able to sit quietly upon the back of this colt +without saddle or bridle, I shall be glad, for the boy who can win a +wild creature and learn to use it will as a man be able to win and rule +men.” + +The little fellow, instead of going for advice and help to his +grandfather, as most Indian boys would have done, began quietly to +practice throwing the lariat. In a little while he was able to lasso +the colt. He was dragged off his feet at once, but hung on, and finally +managed to picket him near the teepee. When the big boys drove the herd +of ponies to water, he drove his colt with the rest. Presently the pony +became used to him and allowed himself to be handled. The boy began +to ride him bareback; he was thrown many times, but persisted until he +could ride without even a lariat, sitting with arms folded and guiding +the animal by the movements of his body. From that time on he told me +that he broke all his own ponies, and before long his father’s as well. + +The old men, his contemporaries, have often related to me how Red +Cloud was always successful in the hunt because his horses were so well +broken. At the age of nine, he began to ride his father’s pack pony upon +the buffalo hunt. He was twelve years old, he told me, when he was +first permitted to take part in the chase, and found to his great +mortification that none of his arrows penetrated more than a few +inches. Excited to recklessness, he whipped his horse nearer the fleeing +buffalo, and before his father knew what he was about, he had seized one +of the protruding arrows and tried to push it deeper. The furious animal +tossed his massive head sidewise, and boy and horse were whirled into +the air. Fortunately, the boy was thrown on the farther side of his +pony, which received the full force of the second attack. The thundering +hoofs of the stampeded herd soon passed them by, but the wounded and +maddened buffalo refused to move, and some critical moments passed +before Red Cloud’s father succeeded in attracting its attention so that +the boy might spring to his feet and run for his life. + +I once asked Red Cloud if he could recall having ever been afraid, and +in reply he told me this story. He was about sixteen years old and had +already been once or twice upon the warpath, when one fall his people +were hunting in the Big Horn country, where they might expect trouble at +any moment with the hostile Crows or Shoshones. Red Cloud had followed a +single buffalo bull into the Bad Lands and was out of sight and hearing +of his companions. When he had brought down his game, he noted carefully +every feature of his surroundings so that he might at once detect +anything unusual, and tied his horse with a long lariat to the horn of +the dead bison, while skinning and cutting up the meat so as to pack +it to camp. Every few minutes he paused in his work to scrutinize the +landscape, for he had a feeling that danger was not far off. + +Suddenly, almost over his head, as it seemed, he heard a tremendous +war whoop, and glancing sidewise, thought he beheld the charge of an +overwhelming number of warriors. He tried desperately to give the usual +undaunted war whoop in reply, but instead a yell of terror burst from +his lips, his legs gave way under him, and he fell in a heap. When he +realized, the next instant, that the war whoop was merely the sudden +loud whinnying of his own horse, and the charging army a band of fleeing +elk, he was so ashamed of himself that he never forgot the incident, +although up to that time he had never mentioned it. His subsequent +career would indicate that the lesson was well learned. + +The future leader was still a very young man when he joined a war party +against the Utes. Having pushed eagerly forward on the trail, he found +himself far in advance of his companions as night came on, and at the +same time rain began to fall heavily. Among the scattered scrub pines, +the lone warrior found a natural cave, and after a hasty examination, he +decided to shelter there for the night. + +Scarcely had he rolled himself in his blanket when he heard a slight +rustling at the entrance, as if some creature were preparing to share +his retreat. It was pitch dark. He could see nothing, but judged that it +must be either a man or a grizzly. There was not room to draw a bow. It +must be between knife and knife, or between knife and claws, he said to +himself. + +The intruder made no search but quietly lay down in the opposite corner +of the cave. Red Cloud remained perfectly still, scarcely breathing, +his hand upon his knife. Hour after hour he lay broad awake, while +many thoughts passed through his brain. Suddenly, without warning, +he sneezed, and instantly a strong man sprang to a sitting posture +opposite. The first gray of morning was creeping into their rocky den, +and behold! a Ute hunter sat before him. + +Desperate as the situation appeared, it was not without a grim humor. +Neither could afford to take his eyes from the other’s; the tension was +great, till at last a smile wavered over the expressionless face of the +Ute. Red Cloud answered the smile, and in that instant a treaty of peace +was born between them. + +“Put your knife in its sheath. I shall do so also, and we will smoke +together,” signed Red Cloud. The other assented gladly, and they +ratified thus the truce which assured to each a safe return to his +friends. Having finished their smoke, they shook hands and separated. +Neither had given the other any information. Red Cloud returned to his +party and told his story, adding that he had divulged nothing and had +nothing to report. Some were inclined to censure him for not fighting, +but he was sustained by a majority of the warriors, who commended his +self-restraint. In a day or two they discovered the main camp of the +enemy and fought a remarkable battle, in which Red Cloud especially +distinguished himself + +The Sioux were now entering upon the most stormy period of their +history. The old things were fast giving place to new. The young men, +for the first time engaging in serious and destructive warfare with the +neighboring tribes, armed with the deadly weapons furnished by the +white man, began to realize that they must soon enter upon a desperate +struggle for their ancestral hunting grounds. The old men had been +innocently cultivating the friendship of the stranger, saying among +themselves, “Surely there is land enough for all!” + +Red Cloud was a modest and little known man of about twenty-eight years, +when General Harney called all the western bands of Sioux together at +Fort Laramie, Wyoming, for the purpose of securing an agreement and +right of way through their territory. The Ogallalas held aloof from this +proposal, but Bear Bull, an Ogallala chief, after having been plied with +whisky, undertook to dictate submission to the rest of the clan. Enraged +by failure, he fired upon a group of his own tribesmen, and Red Cloud’s +father and brother fell dead. According to Indian custom, it fell to him +to avenge the deed. Calmly, without uttering a word, he faced old Bear +Bull and his son, who attempted to defend his father, and shot them +both. He did what he believed to be his duty, and the whole band +sustained him. Indeed, the tragedy gave the young man at once a certain +standing, as one who not only defended his people against enemies from +without, but against injustice and aggression within the tribe. From +this time on he was a recognized leader. + +Man-Afraid-of-His-Horse, then head chief of the Ogallalas, took council +with Red Cloud in all important matters, and the young warrior rapidly +advanced in authority and influence. In 1854, when he was barely +thirty-five years old, the various bands were again encamped near Fort +Laramie. A Mormon emigrant train, moving westward, left a footsore cow +behind, and the young men killed her for food. The next day, to their +astonishment, an officer with thirty men appeared at the Indian camp and +demanded of old Conquering Bear that they be given up. The chief in vain +protested that it was all a mistake and offered to make reparation. It +would seem that either the officer was under the influence of liquor, +or else had a mind to bully the Indians, for he would accept neither +explanation nor payment, but demanded point-blank that the young men who +had killed the cow be delivered up to summary punishment. The old chief +refused to be intimidated and was shot dead on the spot. Not one soldier +ever reached the gate of Fort Laramie! Here Red Cloud led the young +Ogallalas, and so intense was the feeling that they even killed the +half-breed interpreter. + +Curiously enough, there was no attempt at retaliation on the part of the +army, and no serious break until 1860, when the Sioux were involved in +troubles with the Cheyennes and Arapahoes. In 1862, a grave outbreak +was precipitated by the eastern Sioux in Minnesota under Little Crow, +in which the western bands took no part. Yet this event ushered in a new +period for their race. The surveyors of the Union Pacific were laying +out the proposed road through the heart of the southern buffalo country, +the rendezvous of Ogallalas, Brules, Arapahoes, Comanches, and Pawnees, +who followed the buffalo as a means of livelihood. To be sure, most of +these tribes were at war with one another, yet during the summer +months they met often to proclaim a truce and hold joint councils and +festivities, which were now largely turned into discussions of the +common enemy. It became evident, however, that some of the smaller +and weaker tribes were inclined to welcome the new order of things, +recognizing that it was the policy of the government to put an end to +tribal warfare. + +Red Cloud’s position was uncompromisingly against submission. He made +some noted speeches in this line, one of which was repeated to me by +an old man who had heard and remembered it with the remarkable verbal +memory of an Indian. + +“Friends,” said Red Cloud, “it has been our misfortune to welcome the +white man. We have been deceived. He brought with him some shining +things that pleased our eyes; he brought weapons more effective than our +own: above all, he brought the spirit water that makes one forget for a +time old age, weakness, and sorrow. But I wish to say to you that if you +would possess these things for yourselves, you must begin anew and put +away the wisdom of your fathers. You must lay up food, and forget the +hungry. When your house is built, your storeroom filled, then look +around for a neighbor whom you can take at a disadvantage, and seize all +that he has! Give away only what you do not want; or rather, do not part +with any of your possessions unless in exchange for another’s. + +“My countrymen, shall the glittering trinkets of this rich man, his +deceitful drink that overcomes the mind, shall these things tempt us to +give up our homes, our hunting grounds, and the honorable teaching of +our old men? Shall we permit ourselves to be driven to and fro--to be +herded like the cattle of the white man?” + +His next speech that has been remembered was made in 1866, just before +the attack on Fort Phil Kearny. The tension of feeling against the +invaders had now reached its height. There was no dissenting voice in +the council upon the Powder River, when it was decided to oppose to +the uttermost the evident purpose of the government. Red Cloud was not +altogether ignorant of the numerical strength and the resourcefulness +of the white man, but he was determined to face any odds rather than +submit. + +“Hear ye, Dakotas!” he exclaimed. “When the Great Father at Washington +sent us his chief soldier [General Harney] to ask for a path through +our hunting grounds, a way for his iron road to the mountains and the +western sea, we were told that they wished merely to pass through our +country, not to tarry among us, but to seek for gold in the far west. +Our old chiefs thought to show their friendship and good will, when they +allowed this dangerous snake in our midst. They promised to protect the +wayfarers. + +“Yet before the ashes of the council fire are cold, the Great Father +is building his forts among us. You have heard the sound of the white +soldier’s ax upon the Little Piney. His presence here is an insult and a +threat. It is an insult to the spirits of our ancestors. Are we then +to give up their sacred graves to be plowed for corn? Dakotas, I am for +war!” + +In less than a week after this speech, the Sioux advanced upon Fort Phil +Kearny, the new sentinel that had just taken her place upon the farthest +frontier, guarding the Oregon Trail. Every detail of the attack had +been planned with care, though not without heated discussion, and +nearly every well-known Sioux chief had agreed in striking the blow. +The brilliant young war leader, Crazy Horse, was appointed to lead the +charge. His lieutenants were Sword, Hump, and Dull Knife, with Little +Chief of the Cheyennes, while the older men acted as councilors. Their +success was instantaneous. In less than half an hour, they had cut down +nearly a hundred men under Captain Fetterman, whom they drew out of the +fort by a ruse and then annihilated. + +Instead of sending troops to punish, the government sent a commission +to treat with the Sioux. The result was the famous treaty of 1868, which +Red Cloud was the last to sign, having refused to do so until all of the +forts within their territory should be vacated. All of his demands were +acceded to, the new road abandoned, the garrisons withdrawn, and in the +new treaty it was distinctly stated that the Black Hills and the Big +Horn were Indian country, set apart for their perpetual occupancy, and +that no white man should enter that region without the consent of the +Sioux. + +Scarcely was this treaty signed, however, when gold was discovered in +the Black Hills, and the popular cry was: “Remove the Indians!” This +was easier said than done. That very territory had just been solemnly +guaranteed to them forever: yet how stem the irresistible rush for gold? +The government, at first, entered some small protest, just enough to +“save its face” as the saying is; but there was no serious attempt to +prevent the wholesale violation of the treaty. It was this state of +affairs that led to the last great speech made by Red Cloud, at a +gathering upon the Little Rosebud River. It is brief, and touches upon +the hopelessness of their future as a race. He seems at about this +time to have reached the conclusion that resistance could not last much +longer; in fact, the greater part of the Sioux nation was already under +government control. + +“We are told,” said he, “that Spotted Tail has consented to be the +Beggars’ Chief. Those Indians who go over to the white man can be +nothing but beggars, for he respects only riches, and how can an Indian +be a rich man? He cannot without ceasing to be an Indian. As for me, +I have listened patiently to the promises of the Great Father, but his +memory is short. I am now done with him. This is all I have to say.” + +The wilder bands separated soon after this council, to follow the drift +of the buffalo, some in the vicinity of the Black Hills and others in +the Big Horn region. Small war parties came down from time to time upon +stray travelers, who received no mercy at their hands, or made dashes +upon neighboring forts. Red Cloud claimed the right to guard and hold +by force, if need be, all this territory which had been conceded to his +people by the treaty of 1868. The land became a very nest of outlawry. +Aside from organized parties of prospectors, there were bands of white +horse thieves and desperadoes who took advantage of the situation to +plunder immigrants and Indians alike. + +An attempt was made by means of military camps to establish control and +force all the Indians upon reservations, and another commission was sent +to negotiate their removal to Indian Territory, but met with an absolute +refusal. After much guerrilla warfare, an important military campaign +against the Sioux was set on foot in 1876, ending in Custer’s signal +defeat upon the Little Big Horn. + +In this notable battle, Red Cloud did not participate in person, nor in +the earlier one with Crook upon the Little Rosebud, but he had a son in +both fights. He was now a councilor rather than a warrior, but his young +men were constantly in the field, while Spotted Tail had definitely +surrendered and was in close touch with representatives of the +government. + +But the inevitable end was near. One morning in the fall of 1876 Red +Cloud was surrounded by United States troops under the command of +Colonel McKenzie, who disarmed his people and brought them into Fort +Robinson, Nebraska. Thence they were removed to the Pine Ridge agency, +where he lived for more than thirty years as a “reservation Indian.” In +order to humiliate him further, government authorities proclaimed the +more tractable Spotted Tail head chief of the Sioux. Of course, Red +Cloud’s own people never recognized any other chief. + +In 1880 he appealed to Professor Marsh, of Yale, head of a scientific +expedition to the Bad Lands, charging certain frauds at the agency +and apparently proving his case; at any rate the matter was considered +worthy of official investigation. In 1890-1891, during the “Ghost Dance +craze” and the difficulties that followed, he was suspected of collusion +with the hostiles, but he did not join them openly, and nothing could +be proved against him. He was already an old man, and became almost +entirely blind before his death in 1909 in his ninetieth year. + +His private life was exemplary. He was faithful to one wife all his +days, and was a devoted father to his children. He was ambitious for his +only son, known as Jack Red Cloud, and much desired him to be a great +warrior. He started him on the warpath at the age of fifteen, not then +realizing that the days of Indian warfare were well-nigh at an end. + +Among latter-day chiefs, Red Cloud was notable as a quiet man, simple +and direct in speech, courageous in action, an ardent lover of his +country, and possessed in a marked degree of the manly qualities +characteristic of the American Indian in his best days. + + + + +SPOTTED TAIL + + +Among the Sioux chiefs of the “transition period” only one was shrewd +enough to read coming events in their true light. It is said of Spotted +Tail that he was rather a slow-moving boy, preferring in their various +games and mimic battles to play the role of councilor, to plan and +assign to the others their parts in the fray. This he did so cleverly +that he soon became a leader among his youthful contemporaries; and +withal he was apt at mimicry and impersonation, so that the other boys +were accustomed to say of him, “He has his grandfather’s wit and the +wisdom of his grandmother!” + +Spotted Tail was an orphan, reared by his grandparents, and at an +early age compelled to shift for himself. Thus he was somewhat at a +disadvantage among the other boys; yet even this fact may have helped +to develop in him courage and ingenuity. One little incident of his boy +life, occurring at about his tenth year, is characteristic of the man. +In the midst of a game, two boys became involved in a dispute which +promised to be a serious one, as both drew knives. The young Spotted +Tail instantly began to cry, “The Shoshones are upon us! To arms! to +arms!” and the other boys joined in the war whoop. This distracted the +attention of the combatants and ended the affair. + +Upon the whole, his boyhood is not so well remembered as is that of most +of his leading contemporaries, probably because he had no parents to +bring him frequently before the people, as was the custom with the +wellborn, whose every step in their progress toward manhood was publicly +announced at a feast given in their honor. It is known, however, that +he began at an early age to carve out a position for himself. It is +personal qualities alone that tell among our people, and the youthful +Spotted Tail gained at every turn. At the age of seventeen, he had +become a sure shot and a clever hunter; but, above all, he had already +shown that he possessed a superior mind. He had come into contact with +white people at the various trading posts, and according to his own +story had made a careful study of the white man’s habits and modes of +thought, especially of his peculiar trait of economy and intense desire +to accumulate property. He was accustomed to watch closely and listen +attentively whenever any of this strange race had dealings with his +people. When a council was held, and the other young men stood at a +distance with their robes over their faces so as to avoid recognition, +Spotted Tail always put himself in a position to hear all that was said +on either side, and weighed all the arguments in his mind. + +When he first went upon the warpath, it appears that he was, if +anything, overzealous to establish himself in the eye of his people; and +as a matter of fact, it was especially hard for him to gain an assured +position among the Brules, with whom he lived, both because he was an +orphan, and because his father had been of another band. Yet it was not +long before he had achieved his ambition, though in doing so he received +several ugly wounds. It was in a battle with the Utes that he first +notably served his people and their cause. + +The Utes were the attacking party and far outnumbered the Sioux on this +occasion. Many of their bravest young men had fallen, and the Brules +were face to face with utter annihilation, when Spotted Tail, with a +handful of daring horsemen, dodged around the enemy’s flank and fell +upon them from the rear with so much spirit that they supposed that +strong reinforcements had arrived, and retreated in confusion. The Sioux +pursued on horseback; and it was in this pursuit that the noted chief +Two Strike gained his historical name. But the chief honors of the fight +belonged to Spotted Tail. The old chiefs, Conquering Bear and the rest, +thanked him and at once made him a war chief. + +It had been the firm belief of Spotted Tail that it was unwise to allow +the white man so much freedom in our country, long before the older +chiefs saw any harm in it. After the opening of the Oregon Trail he, +above all the others, was watchful of the conduct of the Americans as +they journeyed toward the setting sun, and more than once he remarked in +council that these white men were not like the French and the Spanish, +with whom our old chiefs had been used to deal. He was not fully +satisfied with the agreement with General Harney; but as a young warrior +who had only just gained his position in the council, he could not force +his views upon the older men. + +No sooner had the Oregon Trail been secured from the Sioux than Fort +Laramie and other frontier posts were strengthened, and the soldiers +became more insolent and overbearing than ever. It was soon discovered +that the whites were prepared to violate most of the articles of their +treaty as the Indians understood it. At this time, the presence of many +Mormon emigrants on their way to the settlements in Utah and Wyoming +added to the perils of the situation, as they constantly maneuvered for +purposes of their own to bring about a clash between the soldiers and +the Indians. Every summer there were storm-clouds blowing between these +two--clouds usually taking their rise in some affair of the travelers +along the trail. + +In 1854 an event occurred which has already been described and which +snapped the last link of friendship between the races. + +By this time Spotted Tail had proved his courage both abroad and at +home. He had fought a duel with one of the lesser chiefs, by whom he +was attacked. He killed his opponent with an arrow, but himself received +upon his head a blow from a battle-axe which brought him senseless to +the ground. He was left for dead, but fortunately revived just as the +men were preparing his body for burial. + +The Brules sustained him in this quarrel, as he had acted in +self-defense; and for a few years he led them in bloody raids against +the whites along the historic trail. He ambushed many stagecoaches and +emigrant trains, and was responsible for waylaying the Kincaid coach +with twenty thousand dollars. This relentless harrying of travelers soon +brought General Harney to the Brule Sioux to demand explanations and +reparation. + +The old chiefs of the Brules now appealed to Spotted Tail and his +young warriors not to bring any general calamity upon the tribe. To the +surprise of all, Spotted Tail declared that he would give himself up. +He said that he had defended the rights of his people to the best of his +ability, that he had avenged the blood of their chief, Conquering Bear, +and that he was not afraid to accept the consequences. He therefore +voluntarily surrendered to General Harney, and two of his lieutenants, +Red Leaf and Old Woman, followed his example. + +Thus Spotted Tail played an important part at the very outset of those +events which were soon to overthrow the free life of his people. I do +not know how far he foresaw what was to follow; but whether so conceived +or not, his surrender was a master stroke, winning for him not only +the admiration of his own people but the confidence and respect of the +military. + +Thus suddenly he found himself in prison, a hostage for the good +behavior of his followers. There were many rumors as to the punishment +reserved for him; but luckily for Spotted Tail, the promises of General +Harney to the Brule chiefs in respect to him were faithfully kept. +One of his fellow-prisoners committed suicide, but the other held out +bravely for the two-year term of his imprisonment. During the second +year, it was well understood that neither of the men sought to escape, +and they were given much freedom. It was fine schooling for Spotted +Tail, that tireless observer of the ways of the white man! It is a fact +that his engaging personal qualities won for him kindness and sympathy +at the fort before the time came for his release. + +One day some Indian horse thieves of another tribe stampeded the horses +and mules belonging to the garrison. Spotted Tail asked permission of +the commanding officer to accompany the pursuers. That officer, trusting +in the honor of a Sioux brave, gave him a fast horse and a good carbine, +and said to him: “I depend upon you to guide my soldiers so that they +may overtake the thieves and recapture the horses!” + +The soldiers recaptured the horses without any loss, but Spotted Tail +still followed the Indians. When they returned to the fort without him, +everybody agreed that he would never turn up. However, next day he did +“turn up”, with the scalp of one of the marauders! + +Soon after this he was returned to his own people, who honored him by +making him the successor of the old chief, Conquering Bear, whose +blood he had avenged, for which act he had taken upon himself the full +responsibility. He had made good use of his two years at the fort, and +completed his studies of civilization to his own satisfaction. From this +time on he was desirous of reconciling the Indian and the white +man, thoroughly understanding the uselessness of opposition. He was +accordingly in constant communication with the military; but the other +chiefs did not understand his views and seem to have been suspicious of +his motives. + +In 1860-1864 the Southern Cheyennes and Comanches were at war with the +whites, and some of the Brules and Ogallalas, who were their neighbors +and intimates, were suspected of complicity with the hostiles. Doubtless +a few of their young men may have been involved; at any rate, Thunder +Bear and Two Face, together with a few others who were roving with the +warring tribes, purchased two captive white women and brought them to +Fort Laramie. It was, however, reported at the post that these two men +had maltreated the women while under their care. + +Of course, the commander demanded of Spotted Tail, then head chief, that +he give up the guilty ones, and accordingly he had the two men arrested +and delivered at the fort. At this there was an outcry among his own +people; but he argued that if the charges were true, the men deserved +punishment, and if false, they should be tried and cleared by process +of law. The Indians never quite knew what evidence was produced at the +court-martial, but at all events the two men were hanged, and as they +had many influential connections, their relatives lost no time in +fomenting trouble. The Sioux were then camping close by the fort and it +was midwinter, which facts held them in check for a month or two; but as +soon as spring came, they removed their camp across the river and rose +in rebellion. A pitched battle was fought, in which the soldiers got the +worst of it. Even the associate chief, Big Mouth, was against Spotted +Tail, who was practically forced against his will and judgment to take +up arms once more. + +At this juncture came the sudden and bloody uprising in the east among +the Minnesota Sioux, and Sitting Bull’s campaign in the north had begun +in earnest; while to the south the Southern Cheyennes, Comanches, and +Kiowas were all upon the warpath. Spotted Tail at about this time seems +to have conceived the idea of uniting all the Rocky Mountain Indians in +a great confederacy. He once said: “Our cause is as a child’s cause, +in comparison with the power of the white man, unless we can stop +quarreling among ourselves and unite our energies for the common good.” + But old-time antagonisms were too strong; and he was probably held back +also by his consciousness of the fact that the Indians called him “the +white man’s friend”, while the military still had some faith in him +which he did not care to lose. He was undoubtedly one of the brainiest +and most brilliant Sioux who ever lived; and while he could not help +being to a large extent in sympathy with the feeling of his race against +the invader, yet he alone foresaw the inevitable outcome, and the +problem as it presented itself to him was simply this: “What is the best +policy to pursue in the existing situation?” + +Here is his speech as it has been given to me, delivered at the great +council on the Powder River, just before the attack on Fort Phil +Kearny. We can imagine that he threw all his wonderful tact and personal +magnetism into this last effort at conciliation. + +“‘Hay, hay, hay! Alas, alas!’ Thus speaks the old man, when he knows +that his former vigor and freedom is gone from him forever. So we may +exclaim to-day, Alas! There is a time appointed to all things. Think +for a moment how many multitudes of the animal tribes we ourselves +have destroyed! Look upon the snow that appears to-day--to-morrow it +is water! Listen to the dirge of the dry leaves, that were green and +vigorous but a few moons before! We are a part of this life and it seems +that our time is come. + +“Yet note how the decay of one nation invigorates another. This strange +white man--consider him, his gifts are manifold! His tireless brain, +his busy hand do wonders for his race. Those things which we despise +he holds as treasures; yet he is so great and so flourishing that there +must be some virtue and truth in his philosophy. I wish to say to you, +my friends: Be not moved alone by heated arguments and thoughts of +revenge! These are for the young. We are young no longer; let us think +well, and give counsel as old men!” + +These words were greeted with an ominous silence. Not even the customary +“How!” of assent followed the speech, and Sitting Bull immediately got +up and replied in the celebrated harangue which will be introduced under +his own name in another chapter. The situation was critical for Spotted +Tail--the only man present to advocate submission to the stronger race +whose ultimate supremacy he recognized as certain. The decision to +attack Fort Phil Kearny was unanimous without him, and in order to +hold his position among his tribesmen he joined in the charge. Several +bullets passed through his war bonnet, and he was slightly wounded. + +When the commission of 1867-1868 was sent out to negotiate with the +Sioux, Spotted Tail was ready to meet them, and eager to obtain for +his people the very best terms that he could. He often puzzled and +embarrassed them by his remarkable speeches, the pointed questions that +he put, and his telling allusions to former negotiations. Meanwhile Red +Cloud would not come into the council until after several deputations of +Indians had been sent to him, and Sitting Bull did not come at all. + +The famous treaty was signed, and from this time on Spotted Tail never +again took up arms against the whites. On the contrary, it was mainly +attributed to his influence that the hostiles were subdued much sooner +than might have been expected. He came into the reservation with his +band, urged his young men to enlist as government scouts, and assisted +materially in all negotiations. The hostile chiefs no longer influenced +his action, and as soon as they had all been brought under military +control, General Crook named Spotted Tail head chief of the Sioux, thus +humiliating Red Cloud and arousing jealousy and ill-feeling among the +Ogallalas. In order to avoid trouble, he prudently separated himself +from the other bands, and moved to the new agency on Beaver Creek (Fort +Sheridan, Nebraska), which was called “Spotted Tail Agency.” + +Just before the daring war leader, Crazy Horse, surrendered to the +military, he went down to the agency and roundly rebuked Spotted Tail +for signing away the freedom of his people. From the point of view of +the irreconcilables, the diplomatic chief was a “trimmer” and a traitor; +and many of the Sioux have tried to implicate him in the conspiracy +against Crazy Horse which led to his assassination, but I hold that the +facts do not bear out this charge. + +The name of Spotted Tail was prominently before the people during the +rest of his life. An obscure orphan, he had achieved distinction by his +bravery and sagacity; but he copied the white politician too closely +after he entered the reservation. He became a good manipulator, and was +made conceited and overbearing by the attentions of the military and of +the general public. Furthermore, there was an old feud in his immediate +band which affected him closely. Against him for many years were the +followers of Big Mouth, whom he had killed in a duel; and also a party +led by a son and a nephew of the old chief, Conquering Bear, whom +Spotted Tail had succeeded at his death. These two men had hoped that +one or the other of them might obtain the succession. + +Crow Dog, the nephew of Conquering Bear, more than once taunted Spotted +Tail with the fact that he was chief not by the will of the tribe, but +by the help of the white soldiers, and told him that he would “keep +a bullet for him” in case he ever disgraced his high position. Thus +retribution lay in wait for him while at the height of his fame. Several +high-handed actions of his at this time, including his elopement with +another man’s wife, increased his unpopularity with a large element of +his own tribe. On the eve of the chief’s departure for Washington, to +negotiate (or so they suspected) for the sale of more of their land, +Crow Dog took up his gun and fulfilled his threat, regarding +himself, and regarded by his supporters, not as a murderer, but as an +executioner. + +Such was the end of the man who may justly be called the Pontiac of the +west. He possessed a remarkable mind and extraordinary foresight for +an untutored savage; and yet he is the only one of our great men to be +remembered with more honor by the white man, perhaps, than by his own +people. + + + + +LITTLE CROW + + +Chief Little Crow was the eldest son of Cetanwakuwa (Charging Hawk). +It was on account of his father’s name, mistranslated Crow, that he was +called by the whites “Little Crow.” His real name was Taoyateduta, His +Red People. + +As far back as Minnesota history goes, a band of the Sioux called +Kaposia (Light Weight, because they were said to travel light) inhabited +the Mille Lacs region. Later they dwelt about St. Croix Falls, and still +later near St. Paul. In 1840, Cetanwakuwa was still living in what +is now West St. Paul, but he was soon after killed by the accidental +discharge of his gun. + +It was during a period of demoralization for the Kaposias that Little +Crow became the leader of his people. His father, a well-known chief, +had three wives, all from different bands of the Sioux. He was the only +son of the first wife, a Leaf Dweller. There were two sons of the second +and two of the third wife, and the second set of brothers conspired +to kill their half-brother in order to keep the chieftainship in the +family. + +Two kegs of whisky were bought, and all the men of the tribe invited +to a feast. It was planned to pick some sort of quarrel when all were +drunk, and in the confusion Little Crow was to be murdered. The plot +went smoothly until the last instant, when a young brave saved the +intended victim by knocking the gun aside with his hatchet, so that the +shot went wild. However, it broke his right arm, which remained crooked +all his life. The friends of the young chieftain hastily withdrew, +avoiding a general fight; and later the council of the Kaposias +condemned the two brothers, both of whom were executed, leaving him in +undisputed possession. + +Such was the opening of a stormy career. Little Crow’s mother had been +a chief’s daughter, celebrated for her beauty and spirit, and it is said +that she used to plunge him into the lake through a hole in the ice, +rubbing him afterward with snow, to strengthen his nerves, and that she +would remain with him alone in the deep woods for days at a time, so +that he might know that solitude is good, and not fear to be alone with +nature. + +“My son,” she would say, “if you are to be a leader of men, you must +listen in silence to the mystery, the spirit.” + +At a very early age she made a feast for her boy and announced that he +would fast two days. This is what might be called a formal presentation +to the spirit or God. She greatly desired him to become a worthy leader +according to the ideas of her people. It appears that she left her +husband when he took a second wife, and lived with her own band till her +death. She did not marry again. + +Little Crow was an intensely ambitious man and without physical fear. He +was always in perfect training and early acquired the art of warfare of +the Indian type. It is told of him that when he was about ten years old, +he engaged with other boys in a sham battle on the shore of a lake +near St. Paul. Both sides were encamped at a little distance from one +another, and the rule was that the enemy must be surprised, otherwise +the attack would be considered a failure. One must come within so many +paces undiscovered in order to be counted successful. Our hero had a +favorite dog which, at his earnest request, was allowed to take part in +the game, and as a scout he entered the enemy camp unseen, by the help +of his dog. + +When he was twelve, he saved the life of a companion who had broken +through the ice by tying the end of a pack line to a log, then at great +risk to himself carrying it to the edge of the hole where his comrade +went down. It is said that he also broke in, but both boys saved +themselves by means of the line. + +As a young man, Little Crow was always ready to serve his people as a +messenger to other tribes, a duty involving much danger and hardship. +He was also known as one of the best hunters in his band. Although still +young, he had already a war record when he became chief of the Kaposias, +at a time when the Sioux were facing the greatest and most far-reaching +changes that had ever come to them. + +At this juncture in the history of the northwest and its native +inhabitants, the various fur companies had paramount influence. They +did not hesitate to impress the Indians with the idea that they were the +authorized representatives of the white races or peoples, and they were +quick to realize the desirability of controlling the natives through +their most influential chiefs. Little Crow became quite popular with +post traders and factors. He was an orator as well as a diplomat, +and one of the first of his nation to indulge in politics and promote +unstable schemes to the detriment of his people. + +When the United States Government went into the business of acquiring +territory from the Indians so that the flood of western settlement might +not be checked, commissions were sent out to negotiate treaties, and in +case of failure it often happened that a delegation of leading men of +the tribe were invited to Washington. At that period, these visiting +chiefs, attired in all the splendor of their costumes of ceremony, were +treated like ambassadors from foreign countries. + +One winter in the late eighteen-fifties, a major general of the army +gave a dinner to the Indian chiefs then in the city, and on this +occasion Little Crow was appointed toastmaster. There were present a +number of Senators and members of Congress, as well as judges of the +Supreme Court, cabinet officers, and other distinguished citizens. When +all the guests were seated, the Sioux arose and addressed them with much +dignity as follows: + +“Warriors and friends: I am informed that the great white war chief who +of his generosity and comradeship has given us this feast, has expressed +the wish that we may follow to-night the usages and customs of my +people. In other words, this is a warriors’ feast, a braves’ meal. +I call upon the Ojibway chief, the Hole-in-the-Day, to give the lone +wolf’s hunger call, after which we will join him in our usual manner.” + +The tall and handsome Ojibway now rose and straightened his superb form +to utter one of the clearest and longest wolf howls that was ever heard +in Washington, and at its close came a tremendous burst of war whoops +that fairly rent the air, and no doubt electrified the officials there +present. + +On one occasion Little Crow was invited by the commander of Fort +Ridgeley, Minnesota, to call at the fort. On his way back, in company +with a half-breed named Ross and the interpreter Mitchell, he was +ambushed by a party of Ojibways, and again wounded in the same arm that +had been broken in his attempted assassination. His companion Ross was +killed, but he managed to hold the war party at bay until help came and +thus saved his life. + +More and more as time passed, this naturally brave and ambitious man +became a prey to the selfish interests of the traders and politicians. +The immediate causes of the Sioux outbreak of 1862 came in quick +succession to inflame to desperate action an outraged people. The two +bands on the so-called “lower reservations” in Minnesota were Indians +for whom nature had provided most abundantly in their free existence. +After one hundred and fifty years of friendly intercourse first with +the French, then the English, and finally the Americans, they found +themselves cut off from every natural resource, on a tract of land +twenty miles by thirty, which to them was virtual imprisonment. By +treaty stipulation with the government, they were to be fed and clothed, +houses were to be built for them, the men taught agriculture, and +schools provided for the children. In addition to this, a trust fund +of a million and a half was to be set aside for them, at five per cent +interest, the interest to be paid annually per capita. They had signed +the treaty under pressure, believing in these promises on the faith of a +great nation. + +However, on entering the new life, the resources so rosily described to +them failed to materialize. Many families faced starvation every winter, +their only support the store of the Indian trader, who was baiting his +trap for their destruction. Very gradually they awoke to the facts. +At last it was planned to secure from them the north half of their +reservation for ninety-eight thousand dollars, but it was not explained +to the Indians that the traders were to receive all the money. +Little Crow made the greatest mistake of his life when he signed this +agreement. + +Meanwhile, to make matters worse, the cash annuities were not paid for +nearly two years. Civil War had begun. When it was learned that the +traders had taken all of the ninety-eight thousand dollars “on account”, +there was very bitter feeling. In fact, the heads of the leading stores +were afraid to go about as usual, and most of them stayed in St. Paul. +Little Crow was justly held in part responsible for the deceit, and his +life was not safe. + +The murder of a white family near Acton, Minnesota, by a party of Indian +duck hunters in August, 1862, precipitated the break. Messengers were +sent to every village with the news, and at the villages of Little Crow +and Little Six the war council was red-hot. It was proposed to take +advantage of the fact that north and south were at war to wipe out the +white settlers and to regain their freedom. A few men stood out against +such a desperate step, but the conflagration had gone beyond their +control. + +There were many mixed bloods among these Sioux, and some of the Indians +held that these were accomplices of the white people in robbing them +of their possessions, therefore their lives should not be spared. My +father, Many Lightnings, who was practically the leader of the Mankato +band (for Mankato, the chief, was a weak man), fought desperately for +the lives of the half-breeds and the missionaries. The chiefs had great +confidence in my father, yet they would not commit themselves, since +their braves were clamoring for blood. Little Crow had been accused +of all the misfortunes of his tribe, and he now hoped by leading them +against the whites to regain his prestige with his people, and a part at +least of their lost domain. + +There were moments when the pacifists were in grave peril. It was almost +daybreak when my father saw that the approaching calamity could not be +prevented. He and two others said to Little Crow: “If you want war, you +must personally lead your men to-morrow. We will not murder women and +children, but we will fight the soldiers when they come.” They then +left the council and hastened to warn my brother-in-law, Faribault, and +others who were in danger. + +Little Crow declared he would be seen in the front of every battle, and +it is true that he was foremost in all the succeeding bloodshed, urging +his warriors to spare none. He ordered his war leader, Many Hail, to +fire the first shot, killing the trader James Lynd, in the door of his +store. + +After a year of fighting in which he had met with defeat, the +discredited chief retreated to Fort Garry, now Winnipeg, Manitoba, +where, together with Standing Buffalo, he undertook secret negotiations +with his old friends the Indian traders. There was now a price upon his +head, but he planned to reach St. Paul undetected and there surrender +himself to his friends, who he hoped would protect him in return for +past favors. It is true that he had helped them to secure perhaps the +finest country held by any Indian nation for a mere song. + +He left Canada with a few trusted friends, including his youngest and +favorite son. When within two or three days’ journey of St. Paul, he +told the others to return, keeping with him only his son, Wowinape, who +was but fifteen years of age. He meant to steal into the city by night +and go straight to Governor Ramsey, who was his personal friend. He was +very hungry and was obliged to keep to the shelter of the deep woods. +The next morning, as he was picking and eating wild raspberries, he was +seen by a wood-chopper named Lamson. The man did not know who he was. +He only knew that he was an Indian, and that was enough for him, so he +lifted his rifle to his shoulder and fired, then ran at his best pace. +The brilliant but misguided chief, who had made that part of the country +unsafe for any white man to live in, sank to the ground and died without +a struggle. The boy took his father’s gun and made some effort to find +the assassin, but as he did not even know in which direction to look for +him, he soon gave up the attempt and went back to his friends. + +Meanwhile Lamson reached home breathless and made his report. The body +of the chief was found and identified, in part by the twice broken arm, +and this arm and his scalp may be seen to-day in the collection of the +Minnesota Historical Society. + + + + +TAMAHAY + + +There was once a Sioux brave who declared that he would die young, yet +not by his own hand. Tamahay was of heroic proportions, herculean in +strength, a superb runner; in fact, he had all the physical qualities of +an athlete or a typical Indian. In his scanty dress, he was beautiful as +an antique statue in living bronze. When a mere youth, seventeen years +of age, he met with an accident which determined his career. It was +the loss of an eye, a fatal injury to the sensitive and high-spirited +Indian. He announced his purpose in these words: + +“The ‘Great Mystery’ has decreed that I must be disgraced. There will be +no pleasure for me now, and I shall be ridiculed even by my enemies. It +will be well for me to enter soon into Paradise, for I shall be happy +in spending my youth there. But I will sell my life dearly. Hereafter +my name shall be spoken in the traditions of our race.” With this speech +Tamahay began his career. + +He now sought glory and defied danger with even more than the ordinary +Indian recklessness. He accepted a personal friend, which was a custom +among the Sioux, where each man chose a companion for life and death. +The tie was stronger than one of blood relationship, a friendship sealed +by solemn vow and covenant. Tamahay’s intimate was fortunately almost +his equal in physical powers, and the pair became the terror of +neighboring tribes, with whom the Dakotas were continually at war. They +made frequent raids upon their enemies and were usually successful, +although not without thrilling experiences and almost miraculous +escapes. + +Upon one of these occasions the two friends went north into the country +of the Ojibways. After many days’ journey, they discovered a small +village of the foe. The wicked Tamahay proposed to his associate that +they should arrange their toilets after the fashion of the Ojibways, +and go among them; “and perhaps,” he added, “we will indulge in a little +flirtation with their pretty maids, and when we have had enough of the +fun we can take the scalp of a brave or two and retreat!” His friend +construed his daring proposition to be a test of courage, which it would +not become him, as a brave, to decline; therefore he assented with a +show of cheerfulness. + +The handsome strangers were well received by the Ojibway girls, but +their perilous amusement was brought to an untimely close. A young +maiden prematurely discovered their true characters, and her cry of +alarm brought instantly to her side a jealous youth, who had been +watching them from his place of concealment. With him Tamahay had a +single-handed contest, and before a general alarm was given he had +dispatched the foe and fled with his scalp. + +The unfortunate brave had been a favorite and a leader among the tribe; +therefore the maddened Ojibways were soon in hot pursuit. The Sioux +braves were fine runners, yet they were finally driven out upon the +peninsula of a lake. As they became separated in their retreat, Tamahay +shouted, “I’ll meet you at the mouth of the St. Croix River, or in the +spirit land!” Both managed to swim the lake, and so made good their +escape. + +The exploits of this man were not all of a warlike nature. He was +a great traveler and an expert scout, and he had some wonderful +experiences with wild animals. He was once sent, with his intimate +friend, on a scout for game. They were on ponies. + +They located a herd of buffaloes, and on their return to the camp espied +a lonely buffalo. Tamahay suggested that they should chase it in order +to take some fresh meat, as the law of the tribe allowed in the case of +a single animal. His pony stumbled and threw him, after they had wounded +the bison, and the latter attacked the dismounted man viciously. But +he, as usual, was on the alert. He “took the bull by the horns”, as the +saying is, and cleverly straddled him on the neck. The buffalo had no +means of harming his enemy, but pawed the earth and struggled until his +strength was exhausted, when the Indian used his knife on the +animal’s throat. On account of this feat he received the name +“Held-the-Bull-by-the-Horns.” + +The origin of his name “Tamahay” is related as follows. When he was +a young man he accompanied the chief Wabashaw to Mackinaw, Michigan, +together with some other warriors. He was out with his friend one day, +viewing the wonderful sights in the “white man’s country”, when they +came upon a sow with her numerous pink little progeny. He was greatly +amused and picked up one of the young pigs, but as soon as it squealed +the mother ran furiously after them. He kept the pig and fled with +it, still laughing; but his friend was soon compelled to run up the +conveniently inclined trunk of a fallen tree, while our hero reached the +shore of a lake near by, and plunged into the water. He swam and dived +as long as he could, but the beast continued to threaten him with her +sharp teeth, till, almost exhausted, he swam again to shore, where his +friend came up and dispatched the vicious animal with a club. On account +of this watery adventure he was at once called Tamahay, meaning Pike. He +earned many other names, but preferred this one, because it was the name +borne by a great friend of his, Lieutenant Pike, the first officer +of the United States Army who came to Minnesota for the purpose of +exploring the sources of the Mississippi River and of making peace with +the natives. Tamahay assisted this officer in obtaining land from the +Sioux upon which to build Fort Snelling. He appears in history under the +name of “Tahamie” or the “One-Eyed Sioux.” + +Always ready to brave danger and unpopularity, Tamahay was the only +Sioux who sided with the United States in her struggle with Great +Britain in 1819. For having espoused the cause of the Americans, he was +ill-treated by the British officers and free traders, who for a long +time controlled the northwest, even after peace had been effected +between the two nations. At one time he was confined in a fort called +McKay, where now stands the town of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. He had +just returned from St. Louis, and was suspected of exciting his people +to rebel against British subjects. His life was even threatened, but +to this Tamahay merely replied that he was ready to die. A few months +later, this fort was restored to the United States, and upon leaving +it the British set the buildings on fire, though the United States flag +floated above them. Some Indians who were present shouted to Tamahay, +“Your friends’, the Americans’, fort is on fire!” He responded with a +war whoop, rushed into the blazing fort, and brought out the flag. For +this brave act he was rewarded with a present of a flag and medal. He +was never tired of displaying this medal and his recommendation papers, +and even preserved to the end of his life an old colonial stovepipe hat, +which he wore upon state occasions. + +The Sioux long referred to the president of the United States as +“Tamahay’s father.” + +The following story is told of him in his later days. He attempted one +day to cross the first bridge over the Mississippi River, but was not +recognized by the sentinel, who would not allow him to pass until he +paid the toll. Tamahay, who was a privileged character, explained as +best he could, with gestures and broken English, that he was always +permitted to pass free; but as the sentinel still refused, and even +threatened him with his bayonet, the old Indian silently seized the +musket, threw it down into the waters of the Mississippi and went home. +Later in the day a company of soldiers appeared in the Indian village, +and escorted our hero to a sort of court-martial at the fort. When +he was questioned by the Colonel, he simply replied: “If you were +threatened by any one with a weapon, you would, in self-defense, either +disable the man or get rid of the weapon. I did the latter, thinking +that you would need the man more than the gun.” + +Finally the officer said to them, “I see you are both partly wrong. Some +one must be responsible for the loss of the gun; therefore, you two +will wrestle, and the man who is downed must dive for the weapon to the +bottom of the river.” + +Scarcely was this speech ended when Tamahay was upon the soldier, who +was surprised both by the order and by the unexpected readiness of the +wily old Indian, so that he was not prepared, and the Sioux had the +vantage hold. In a moment the bluecoat was down, amid shouts and peals +of laughter from his comrades. Having thrown his man, the other turned +and went home without a word. + +Sad to say, he acquired a great appetite for “minne-wakan”, or +“mysterious water”, as the Sioux call it, which proved a source of +trouble to him in his old age. It is told of him that he was treated +one winter’s day to a drink of whisky in a trader’s store. He afterwards +went home; but even the severe blizzard which soon arose did not prevent +him from returning in the night to the friendly trader. He awoke that +worthy from sleep about twelve o’clock by singing his death dirge upon +the roof of the log cabin. In another moment he had jumped down the mud +chimney, and into the blazing embers of a fire. The trader had to pour +out to him some whisky in a tin pail, after which he begged the old +man to “be good and go home.” On the eve of the so-called “Minnesota +Massacre” by the Sioux in 1862, Tamahay, although he was then very old +and had almost lost the use of his remaining eye, made a famous speech +at the meeting of the conspirators. These are some of his words, as +reported to me by persons who were present. + +“What! What! is this Little Crow? Is that Little Six? You, too, White +Dog, are you here? I cannot see well now, but I can see with my mind’s +eye the stream of blood you are about to pour upon the bosom of this +mother of ours” (meaning the earth). “I stand before you on three legs, +but the third leg has brought me wisdom” [referring to the staff with +which he supported himself]. “I have traveled much, I have visited among +the people whom you think to defy. This means the total surrender of our +beautiful land, the land of a thousand lakes and streams. Methinks you +are about to commit an act like that of the porcupine, who climbs a +tree, balances himself upon a springy bough, and then gnaws off the very +bough upon which he is sitting; hence, when it gives way, he falls upon +the sharp rocks below. Behold the great Pontiac, whose grave I saw near +St. Louis; he was murdered while an exile from his country! Think of the +brave Black Hawk! Methinks his spirit is still wailing through Wisconsin +and Illinois for his lost people! I do not say you have no cause to +complain, but to resist is self-destruction. I am done.” + +It is supposed that this speech was his last, and it was made, though +vainly, in defense of the Americans whom he had loved. He died at Fort +Pierre, South Dakota, in 1864. His people say that he died a natural +death, of old age. And yet his exploits are not forgotten. Thus lived +and departed a most active and fearless Sioux, Tamahay, who desired to +die young! + + + + +GALL + + +Chief Gall was one of the most aggressive leaders of the Sioux nation in +their last stand for freedom. + +The westward pressure of civilization during the past three centuries +has been tremendous. When our hemisphere was “discovered”, it had been +inhabited by the natives for untold ages, but it was held undiscovered +because the original owners did not chart or advertise it. Yet some of +them at least had developed ideals of life which included real liberty +and equality to all men, and they did not recognize individual ownership +in land or other property beyond actual necessity. It was a soul +development leading to essential manhood. Under this system they brought +forth some striking characters. + +Gall was considered by both Indians and whites to be a most impressive +type of physical manhood. From his picture you can judge of this for +yourself. + +Let us follow his trail. He was no tenderfoot. He never asked a soft +place for himself. He always played the game according to the rules and +to a finish. To be sure, like every other man, he made some mistakes, +but he was an Indian and never acted the coward. + +The earliest stories told of his life and doings indicate the spirit of +the man in that of the boy. + +When he was only about three years old, the Blackfoot band of Sioux were +on their usual roving hunt, following the buffalo while living their +natural happy life upon the wonderful wide prairies of the Dakotas. + +It was the way of every Sioux mother to adjust her household effects +on such dogs and pack ponies as she could muster from day to day, often +lending one or two to accommodate some other woman whose horse or dog +had died, or perhaps had been among those stampeded and carried away by +a raiding band of Crow warriors. On this particular occasion, the mother +of our young Sioux brave, Matohinshda, or Bear-Shedding-His-Hair +(Gall’s childhood name), intrusted her boy to an old Eskimo pack dog, +experienced and reliable, except perhaps when unduly excited or very +thirsty. + +On the day of removing camp the caravan made its morning march up the +Powder River. Upon the wide table-land the women were busily digging +teepsinna (an edible sweetish root, much used by them) as the moving +village slowly progressed. As usual at such times, the trail was wide. +An old jack rabbit had waited too long in hiding. Now, finding himself +almost surrounded by the mighty plains people, he sprang up suddenly, +his feathery ears conspicuously erect, a dangerous challenge to the dogs +and the people. + +A whoop went up. Every dog accepted the challenge. Forgotten were the +bundles, the kits, even the babies they were drawing or carrying. The +chase was on, and the screams of the women reechoed from the opposite +cliffs of the Powder, mingled with the yelps of dogs and the neighing of +horses. The hand of every man was against the daring warrior, the lone +Jack, and the confusion was great. + +When the fleeing one cleared the mass of his enemies, he emerged with a +swiftness that commanded respect and gave promise of a determined chase. +Behind him, his pursuers stretched out in a thin line, first the speedy, +unburdened dogs and then the travois dogs headed by the old Eskimo +with his precious freight. The youthful Gall was in a travois, a basket +mounted on trailing poles and harnessed to the sides of the animal. + +“Hey! hey! they are gaining on him!” a warrior shouted. At this juncture +two of the canines had almost nabbed their furry prey by the back. But +he was too cunning for them. He dropped instantly and sent both dogs +over his head, rolling and spinning, then made another flight at right +angles to the first. This gave the Eskimo a chance to cut the triangle. +He gained fifty yards, but being heavily handicapped, two unladen dogs +passed him. The same trick was repeated by the Jack, and this time he +saved himself from instant death by a double loop and was now running +directly toward the crowd, followed by a dozen or more dogs. He was +losing speed, but likewise his pursuers were dropping off steadily. Only +the sturdy Eskimo dog held to his even gait, and behind him in the frail +travois leaned forward the little Matohinshda, nude save a breech clout, +his left hand holding fast the convenient tail of his dog, the right +grasping firmly one of the poles of the travois. His black eyes were +bulging almost out of their sockets; his long hair flowed out behind +like a stream of dark water. + +The Jack now ran directly toward the howling spectators, but his +marvelous speed and alertness were on the wane; while on the other hand +his foremost pursuer, who had taken part in hundreds of similar events, +had every confidence in his own endurance. Each leap brought him nearer, +fiercer and more determined. The last effort of the Jack was to lose +himself in the crowd, like a fish in muddy water; but the big dog made +the one needed leap with unerring aim and his teeth flashed as he caught +the rabbit in viselike jaws and held him limp in air, a victor! + +The people rushed up to him as he laid the victim down, and foremost +among them was the frantic mother of Matohinshda, or Gall. “Michinkshe! +michinkshe!” (My son! my son!) she screamed as she drew near. The boy +seemed to be none the worse for his experience. “Mother!” he cried, “my +dog is brave: he got the rabbit!” She snatched him off the travois, +but he struggled out of her arms to look upon his dog lovingly and +admiringly. Old men and boys crowded about the hero of the day, the dog, +and the thoughtful grandmother of Matohinshda unharnessed him and poured +some water from a parfleche water bag into a basin. “Here, my grandson, +give your friend something to drink.” + +“How, hechetu,” pronounced an old warrior no longer in active service. +“This may be only an accident, an ordinary affair; but such things +sometimes indicate a career. The boy has had a wonderful ride. I +prophesy that he will one day hold the attention of all the people with +his doings.” + +This is the first remembered story of the famous chief, but other boyish +exploits foretold the man he was destined to be. He fought many sham +battles, some successful and others not; but he was always a fierce +fighter and a good loser. + +Once he was engaged in a battle with snowballs. There were probably +nearly a hundred boys on each side, and the rule was that every fair hit +made the receiver officially dead. He must not participate further, but +must remain just where he was struck. + +Gall’s side was fast losing, and the battle was growing hotter every +minute when the youthful warrior worked toward an old water hole and +took up his position there. His side was soon annihilated and there were +eleven men left to fight him. He was pressed close in the wash-out, and +as he dodged under cover before a volley of snowballs, there suddenly +emerged in his stead a huge gray wolf. His opponents fled in every +direction in superstitious terror, for they thought he had been +transformed into the animal. To their astonishment he came out on the +farther side and ran to the line of safety, a winner! + +It happened that the wolf’s den had been partly covered with snow so +that no one had noticed it until the yells of the boys aroused the +inmate, and he beat a hasty retreat. The boys always looked upon this +incident as an omen. + +Gall had an amiable disposition but was quick to resent insult or +injustice. This sometimes involved him in difficulties, but he seldom +fought without good cause and was popular with his associates. One of +his characteristics was his ability to organize, and this was a large +factor in his leadership when he became a man. He was tried in many +ways, and never was known to hesitate when it was a question of physical +courage and endurance. He entered the public service early in life, but +not until he had proved himself competent and passed all tests. + +When a mere boy, he was once scouting for game in midwinter, far from +camp, and was overtaken by a three days’ blizzard. He was forced to +abandon his horse and lie under the snow for that length of time. +He afterward said he was not particularly hungry; it was thirst and +stiffness from which he suffered most. One reason the Indian so loved +his horse or dog was that at such times the animal would stay by him +like a brother. On this occasion Gall’s pony was not more than a stone’s +throw away when the storm subsided and the sun shone. There was a +herd of buffalo in plain sight, and the young hunter was not long in +procuring a meal. + +This chief’s contemporaries still recall his wrestling match with the +equally powerful Cheyenne boy, Roman Nose, who afterward became a chief +well known to American history. It was a custom of the northwestern +Indians, when two friendly tribes camped together, to establish the +physical and athletic supremacy of the youth of the respective camps. + +The “Che-hoo-hoo” is a wrestling game in which there may be any number +on a side, but the numbers are equal. All the boys of each camp are +called together by a leader chosen for the purpose and draw themselves +up in line of battle; then each at a given signal attacks his opponent. + +In this memorable contest, Matohinshda, or Gall, was placed opposite +Roman Nose. The whole people turned out as spectators of the struggle, +and the battlefield was a plateau between the two camps, in the midst +of picturesque Bad Lands. There were many athletic youths present, but +these two were really the Apollos of the two tribes. + +In this kind of sport it is not allowed to strike with the hand, nor +catch around the neck, nor kick, nor pull by the hair. One may break +away and run a few yards to get a fresh start, or clinch, or catch as +catch can. When a boy is thrown and held to the ground, he is counted +out. If a boy has met his superior, he may drop to the ground to escape +rough handling, but it is very seldom one gives up without a full trial +of strength. + +It seemed almost like a real battle, so great was the enthusiasm, as the +shouts of sympathizers on both sides went up in a mighty chorus. At last +all were either conquerors or subdued except Gall and Roman Nose. The +pair seemed equally matched. Both were stripped to the breech clout, now +tugging like two young buffalo or elk in mating time, again writhing and +twisting like serpents. At times they fought like two wild stallions, +straining every muscle of arms, legs, and back in the struggle. Every +now and then one was lifted off his feet for a moment, but came down +planted like a tree, and after swaying to and fro soon became rigid +again. + +All eyes were upon the champions. Finally, either by trick or main +force, Gall laid the other sprawling upon the ground and held him fast +for a minute, then released him and stood erect, panting, a master +youth. Shout after shout went up on the Sioux side of the camp. The +mother of Roman Nose came forward and threw a superbly worked buffalo +robe over Gall, whose mother returned the compliment by covering the +young Cheyenne with a handsome blanket. + +Undoubtedly these early contests had their influence upon our hero’s +career. It was his habit to appear most opportunely in a crisis, and +in a striking and dramatic manner to take command of the situation. The +best known example of this is his entrance on the scene of confusion +when Reno surprised the Sioux on the Little Big Horn. Many of the +excitable youths, almost unarmed, rushed madly and blindly to meet the +intruder, and the scene might have unnerved even an experienced warrior. +It was Gall, with not a garment upon his superb body, who on his black +charger dashed ahead of the boys and faced them. He stopped them on the +dry creek, while the bullets of Reno’s men whistled about their ears. + +“Hold hard, men! Steady, we are not ready yet! Wait for more guns, more +horses, and the day is yours!” + +They obeyed, and in a few minutes the signal to charge was given, and +Reno retreated pell mell before the onset of the Sioux. + +Sitting Bull had confidence in his men so long as Gall planned and +directed the attack, whether against United States soldiers or the +warriors of another tribe. He was a strategist, and able in a twinkling +to note and seize upon an advantage. He was really the mainstay of +Sitting Bull’s effective last stand. He consistently upheld his people’s +right to their buffalo plains and believed that they should hold the +government strictly to its agreements with them. When the treaty of 1868 +was disregarded, he agreed with Sitting Bull in defending the last of +their once vast domain, and after the Custer battle entered Canada +with his chief. They hoped to bring their lost cause before the English +government and were much disappointed when they were asked to return to +the United States. + +Gall finally reported at Fort Peck, Montana, in 1881, and brought half +of the Hunkpapa band with him, whereupon he was soon followed by Sitting +Bull himself. Although they had been promised by the United States +commission who went to Canada to treat with them that they would not be +punished if they returned, no sooner had Gall come down than a part of +his people were attacked, and in the spring they were all brought to +Fort Randall and held as military prisoners. From this point they were +returned to Standing Rock agency. + +When “Buffalo Bill” successfully launched his first show, he made every +effort to secure both Sitting Bull and Gall for his leading attractions. +The military was in complete accord with him in this, for they still had +grave suspicions of these two leaders. While Sitting Bull reluctantly +agreed, Gall haughtily said: “I am not an animal to be exhibited before +the crowd,” and retired to his teepee. His spirit was much worn, and he +lost strength from that time on. That superb manhood dwindled, and in +a few years he died. He was a real hero of a free and natural people, a +type that is never to be seen again. + + + + +CRAZY HORSE + + +Crazy Horse was born on the Republican River about 1845. He was +killed at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, in 1877, so that he lived barely +thirty-three years. + +He was an uncommonly handsome man. While not the equal of Gall in +magnificence and imposing stature, he was physically perfect, an Apollo +in symmetry. Furthermore he was a true type of Indian refinement and +grace. He was modest and courteous as Chief Joseph; the difference is +that he was a born warrior, while Joseph was not. However, he was a +gentle warrior, a true brave, who stood for the highest ideal of the +Sioux. Notwithstanding all that biased historians have said of him, it +is only fair to judge a man by the estimate of his own people rather +than that of his enemies. + +The boyhood of Crazy Horse was passed in the days when the western +Sioux saw a white man but seldom, and then it was usually a trader or a +soldier. He was carefully brought up according to the tribal customs. At +that period the Sioux prided themselves on the training and development +of their sons and daughters, and not a step in that development was +overlooked as an excuse to bring the child before the public by giving +a feast in its honor. At such times the parents often gave so generously +to the needy that they almost impoverished themselves, thus setting an +example to the child of self-denial for the general good. His first +step alone, the first word spoken, first game killed, the attainment of +manhood or womanhood, each was the occasion of a feast and dance in +his honor, at which the poor always benefited to the full extent of the +parents’ ability. + +Big-heartedness, generosity, courage, and self-denial are the +qualifications of a public servant, and the average Indian was keen +to follow this ideal. As every one knows, these characteristic traits +become a weakness when he enters a life founded upon commerce and gain. +Under such conditions the life of Crazy Horse began. His mother, like +other mothers, tender and watchful of her boy, would never once place an +obstacle in the way of his father’s severe physical training. They laid +the spiritual and patriotic foundations of his education in such a way +that he early became conscious of the demands of public service. + +He was perhaps four or five years old when the band was snowed in +one severe winter. They were very short of food, but his father was +a tireless hunter. The buffalo, their main dependence, were not to +be found, but he was out in the storm and cold every day and finally +brought in two antelopes. The little boy got on his pet pony and rode +through the camp, telling the old folks to come to his mother’s +teepee for meat. It turned out that neither his father nor mother had +authorized him to do this. Before they knew it, old men and women were +lined up before the teepee home, ready to receive the meat, in answer to +his invitation. As a result, the mother had to distribute nearly all of +it, keeping only enough for two meals. + +On the following day the child asked for food. His mother told him that +the old folks had taken it all, and added: “Remember, my son, they went +home singing praises in your name, not my name or your father’s. You +must be brave. You must live up to your reputation.” + +Crazy Horse loved horses, and his father gave him a pony of his own when +he was very young. He became a fine horseman and accompanied his father +on buffalo hunts, holding the pack horses while the men chased the +buffalo and thus gradually learning the art. In those days the Sioux had +but few guns, and the hunting was mostly done with bow and arrows. + +Another story told of his boyhood is that when he was about twelve he +went to look for the ponies with his little brother, whom he loved much, +and took a great deal of pains to teach what he had already learned. +They came to some wild cherry trees full of ripe fruit, and while they +were enjoying it, the brothers were startled by the growl and sudden +rush of a bear. Young Crazy Horse pushed his brother up into the nearest +tree and himself sprang upon the back of one of the horses, which was +frightened and ran some distance before he could control him. As soon +as he could, however, he turned him about and came back, yelling and +swinging his lariat over his head. The bear at first showed fight but +finally turned and ran. The old man who told me this story added that +young as he was, he had some power, so that even a grizzly did not +care to tackle him. I believe it is a fact that a silver-tip will dare +anything except a bell or a lasso line, so that accidentally the boy had +hit upon the very thing which would drive him off. + +It was usual for Sioux boys of his day to wait in the field after a +buffalo hunt until sundown, when the young calves would come out in the +open, hungrily seeking their mothers. Then these wild children would +enjoy a mimic hunt, and lasso the calves or drive them into camp. Crazy +Horse was found to be a determined little fellow, and it was settled +one day among the larger boys that they would “stump” him to ride a +good-sized bull calf. He rode the calf, and stayed on its back while it +ran bawling over the hills, followed by the other boys on their ponies, +until his strange mount stood trembling and exhausted. + +At the age of sixteen he joined a war party against the Gros Ventres. He +was well in the front of the charge, and at once established his bravery +by following closely one of the foremost Sioux warriors, by the name of +Hump, drawing the enemy’s fire and circling around their advance guard. +Suddenly Hump’s horse was shot from under him, and there was a rush +of warriors to kill or capture him while down. But amidst a shower of +arrows the youth leaped from his pony, helped his friend into his own +saddle, sprang up behind him, and carried him off in safety, although +they were hotly pursued by the enemy. Thus he associated himself in his +maiden battle with the wizard of Indian warfare, and Hump, who was +then at the height of his own career, pronounced Crazy Horse the coming +warrior of the Teton Sioux. + +At this period of his life, as was customary with the best young men, he +spent much time in prayer and solitude. Just what happened in these days +of his fasting in the wilderness and upon the crown of bald buttes, +no one will ever know; for these things may only be known when one has +lived through the battles of life to an honored old age. He was much +sought after by his youthful associates, but was noticeably reserved and +modest; yet in the moment of danger he at once rose above them all--a +natural leader! Crazy Horse was a typical Sioux brave, and from the +point of view of our race an ideal hero, living at the height of the +epical progress of the American Indian and maintaining in his own +character all that was most subtle and ennobling of their spiritual +life, and that has since been lost in the contact with a material +civilization. + +He loved Hump, that peerless warrior, and the two became close friends, +in spite of the difference in age. Men called them “the grizzly and his +cub.” Again and again the pair saved the day for the Sioux in a skirmish +with some neighboring tribe. But one day they undertook a losing battle +against the Snakes. The Sioux were in full retreat and were fast +being overwhelmed by superior numbers. The old warrior fell in a last +desperate charge; but Crazy Horse and his younger brother, though +dismounted, killed two of the enemy and thus made good their retreat. + +It was observed of him that when he pursued the enemy into their +stronghold, as he was wont to do, he often refrained from killing, and +simply struck them with a switch, showing that he did not fear their +weapons nor care to waste his upon them. In attempting this very feat, +he lost this only brother of his, who emulated him closely. A party of +young warriors, led by Crazy Horse, had dashed upon a frontier post, +killed one of the sentinels, stampeded the horses, and pursued the +herder to the very gate of the stockade, thus drawing upon themselves +the fire of the garrison. The leader escaped without a scratch, but his +young brother was brought down from his horse and killed. + +While he was still under twenty, there was a great winter buffalo +hunt, and he came back with ten buffaloes’ tongues which he sent to the +council lodge for the councilors’ feast. He had in one winter day killed +ten buffalo cows with his bow and arrows, and the unsuccessful hunters +or those who had no swift ponies were made happy by his generosity. When +the hunters returned, these came chanting songs of thanks. He knew that +his father was an expert hunter and had a good horse, so he took no meat +home, putting in practice the spirit of his early teaching. + +He attained his majority at the crisis of the difficulties between the +United States and the Sioux. Even before that time, Crazy Horse had +already proved his worth to his people in Indian warfare. He had risked +his life again and again, and in some instances it was considered almost +a miracle that he had saved others as well as himself. He was no orator +nor was he the son of a chief. His success and influence was purely a +matter of personality. He had never fought the whites up to this time, +and indeed no “coup” was counted for killing or scalping a white man. + +Young Crazy Horse was twenty-one years old when all the Teton Sioux +chiefs (the western or plains dwellers) met in council to determine upon +their future policy toward the invader. Their former agreements had been +by individual bands, each for itself, and every one was friendly. They +reasoned that the country was wide, and that the white traders should be +made welcome. Up to this time they had anticipated no conflict. They +had permitted the Oregon Trail, but now to their astonishment forts were +built and garrisoned in their territory. + +Most of the chiefs advocated a strong resistance. There were a few +influential men who desired still to live in peace, and who were willing +to make another treaty. Among these were White Bull, Two Kettle, Four +Bears, and Swift Bear. Even Spotted Tail, afterward the great peace +chief, was at this time with the majority, who decided in the year 1866 +to defend their rights and territory by force. Attacks were to be made +upon the forts within their country and on every trespasser on the same. + +Crazy Horse took no part in the discussion, but he and all the young +warriors were in accord with the decision of the council. Although so +young, he was already a leader among them. Other prominent young braves +were Sword (brother of the man of that name who was long captain of +police at Pine Ridge), the younger Hump, Charging Bear, Spotted Elk, +Crow King, No Water, Big Road, He Dog, the nephew of Red Cloud, and +Touch-the-Cloud, intimate friend of Crazy Horse. + +The attack on Fort Phil Kearny was the first fruits of the new policy, +and here Crazy Horse was chosen to lead the attack on the woodchoppers, +designed to draw the soldiers out of the fort, while an army of six +hundred lay in wait for them. The success of this stratagem was further +enhanced by his masterful handling of his men. From this time on a +general war was inaugurated; Sitting Bull looked to him as a principal +war leader, and even the Cheyenne chiefs, allies of the Sioux, +practically acknowledged his leadership. Yet during the following ten +years of defensive war he was never known to make a speech, though his +teepee was the rendezvous of the young men. He was depended upon to put +into action the decisions of the council, and was frequently consulted +by the older chiefs. + +Like Osceola, he rose suddenly; like Tecumseh he was always impatient +for battle; like Pontiac, he fought on while his allies were suing for +peace, and like Grant, the silent soldier, he was a man of deeds and +not of words. He won from Custer and Fetterman and Crook. He won every +battle that he undertook, with the exception of one or two occasions +when he was surprised in the midst of his women and children, and +even then he managed to extricate himself in safety from a difficult +position. + +Early in the year 1876, his runners brought word from Sitting Bull +that all the roving bands would converge upon the upper Tongue River in +Montana for summer feasts and conferences. There was conflicting news +from the reservation. It was rumored that the army would fight the Sioux +to a finish; again, it was said that another commission would be sent +out to treat with them. + +The Indians came together early in June, and formed a series of +encampments stretching out from three to four miles, each band keeping +separate camp. On June 17, scouts came in and reported the advance of a +large body of troops under General Crook. The council sent Crazy Horse +with seven hundred men to meet and attack him. These were nearly all +young men, many of them under twenty, the flower of the hostile Sioux. +They set out at night so as to steal a march upon the enemy, but within +three or four miles of his camp they came unexpectedly upon some of his +Crow scouts. There was a hurried exchange of shots; the Crows fled back +to Crook’s camp, pursued by the Sioux. The soldiers had their warning, +and it was impossible to enter the well-protected camp. Again and again +Crazy Horse charged with his bravest men, in the attempt to bring the +troops into the open, but he succeeded only in drawing their fire. +Toward afternoon he withdrew, and returned to camp disappointed. His +scouts remained to watch Crook’s movements, and later brought word +that he had retreated to Goose Creek and seemed to have no further +disposition to disturb the Sioux. It is well known to us that it is +Crook rather than Reno who is to be blamed for cowardice in connection +with Custer’s fate. The latter had no chance to do anything, he was +lucky to save himself; but if Crook had kept on his way, as ordered, +to meet Terry, with his one thousand regulars and two hundred Crow and +Shoshone scouts, he would inevitably have intercepted Custer in his +advance and saved the day for him, and war with the Sioux would have +ended right there. Instead of this, he fell back upon Fort Meade, eating +his horses on the way, in a country swarming with game, for fear of +Crazy Horse and his braves! + +The Indians now crossed the divide between the Tongue and the Little Big +Horn, where they felt safe from immediate pursuit. Here, with all their +precautions, they were caught unawares by General Custer, in the midst +of their midday games and festivities, while many were out upon the +daily hunt. + +On this twenty-fifth of June, 1876, the great camp was scattered for +three miles or more along the level river bottom, back of the thin line +of cottonwoods--five circular rows of teepees, ranging from half a mile +to a mile and a half in circumference. Here and there stood out a large, +white, solitary teepee; these were the lodges or “clubs” of the young +men. Crazy Horse was a member of the “Strong Hearts” and the “Tokala” + or Fox lodge. He was watching a game of ring-toss when the warning came +from the southern end of the camp of the approach of troops. + +The Sioux and the Cheyennes were “minute men”, and although taken by +surprise, they instantly responded. Meanwhile, the women and children +were thrown into confusion. Dogs were howling, ponies running hither and +thither, pursued by their owners, while many of the old men were singing +their lodge songs to encourage the warriors, or praising the “strong +heart” of Crazy Horse. + +That leader had quickly saddled his favorite war pony and was starting +with his young men for the south end of the camp, when a fresh alarm +came from the opposite direction, and looking up, he saw Custer’s force +upon the top of the bluff directly across the river. As quick as a +flash, he took in the situation--the enemy had planned to attack the +camp at both ends at once; and knowing that Custer could not ford the +river at that point, he instantly led his men northward to the ford to +cut him off. The Cheyennes followed closely. Custer must have seen +that wonderful dash up the sage-bush plain, and one wonders whether he +realized its meaning. In a very few minutes, this wild general of the +plains had outwitted one of the most brilliant leaders of the Civil War +and ended at once his military career and his life. + +In this dashing charge, Crazy Horse snatched his most famous victory out +of what seemed frightful peril, for the Sioux could not know how many +were behind Custer. He was caught in his own trap. To the soldiers it +must have seemed as if the Indians rose up from the earth to overwhelm +them. They closed in from three sides and fought until not a white man +was left alive. Then they went down to Reno’s stand and found him so +well intrenched in a deep gully that it was impossible to dislodge him. +Gall and his men held him there until the approach of General Terry +compelled the Sioux to break camp and scatter in different directions. + +While Sitting Bull was pursued into Canada, Crazy Horse and the +Cheyennes wandered about, comparatively undisturbed, during the rest of +that year, until in the winter the army surprised the Cheyennes, but did +not do them much harm, possibly because they knew that Crazy Horse was +not far off. His name was held in wholesome respect. From time to time, +delegations of friendly Indians were sent to him, to urge him to come in +to the reservation, promising a full hearing and fair treatment. + +For some time he held out, but the rapid disappearance of the buffalo, +their only means of support, probably weighed with him more than any +other influence. In July, 1877, he was finally prevailed upon to come in +to Fort Robinson, Nebraska, with several thousand Indians, most of them +Ogallala and Minneconwoju Sioux, on the distinct understanding that the +government would hear and adjust their grievances. + +At this juncture General Crook proclaimed Spotted Tail, who had rendered +much valuable service to the army, head chief of the Sioux, which +was resented by many. The attention paid Crazy Horse was offensive to +Spotted Tail and the Indian scouts, who planned a conspiracy against +him. They reported to General Crook that the young chief would murder +him at the next council, and stampede the Sioux into another war. He was +urged not to attend the council and did not, but sent another officer to +represent him. Meanwhile the friends of Crazy Horse discovered the plot +and told him of it. His reply was, “Only cowards are murderers.” + +His wife was critically ill at the time, and he decided to take her to +her parents at Spotted Tail agency, whereupon his enemies circulated the +story that he had fled, and a party of scouts was sent after him. They +overtook him riding with his wife and one other but did not undertake to +arrest him, and after he had left the sick woman with her people he went +to call on Captain Lea, the agent for the Brules, accompanied by all +the warriors of the Minneconwoju band. This volunteer escort made an +imposing appearance on horseback, shouting and singing, and in the words +of Captain Lea himself and the missionary, the Reverend Mr. Cleveland, +the situation was extremely critical. Indeed, the scouts who had +followed Crazy Horse from Red Cloud agency were advised not to show +themselves, as some of the warriors had urged that they be taken out and +horsewhipped publicly. + +Under these circumstances Crazy Horse again showed his masterful spirit +by holding these young men in check. He said to them in his quiet +way: “It is well to be brave in the field of battle; it is cowardly +to display bravery against one’s own tribesmen. These scouts have been +compelled to do what they did; they are no better than servants of the +white officers. I came here on a peaceful errand.” + +The captain urged him to report at army headquarters to explain himself +and correct false rumors, and on his giving consent, furnished him with +a wagon and escort. It has been said that he went back under arrest, but +this is untrue. Indians have boasted that they had a hand in bringing +him in, but their stories are without foundation. He went of his own +accord, either suspecting no treachery or determined to defy it. + +When he reached the military camp, Little Big Man walked arm-in-arm with +him, and his cousin and friend, Touch-the-Cloud, was just in advance. +After they passed the sentinel, an officer approached them and walked +on his other side. He was unarmed but for the knife which is carried for +ordinary uses by women as well as men. Unsuspectingly he walked toward +the guardhouse, when Touch-the-Cloud suddenly turned back exclaiming: +“Cousin, they will put you in prison!” + +“Another white man’s trick! Let me go! Let me die fighting!” cried Crazy +Horse. He stopped and tried to free himself and draw his knife, but +both arms were held fast by Little Big Man and the officer. While he +struggled thus, a soldier thrust him through with his bayonet from +behind. The wound was mortal, and he died in the course of that night, +his old father singing the death song over him and afterward carrying +away the body, which they said must not be further polluted by the touch +of a white man. They hid it somewhere in the Bad Lands, his resting +place to this day. + +Thus died one of the ablest and truest American Indians. His life was +ideal; his record clean. He was never involved in any of the numerous +massacres on the trail, but was a leader in practically every open +fight. Such characters as those of Crazy Horse and Chief Joseph are not +easily found among so-called civilized people. The reputation of great +men is apt to be shadowed by questionable motives and policies, but here +are two pure patriots, as worthy of honor as any who ever breathed God’s +air in the wide spaces of a new world. + + + + +SITTING BULL + + +IT is not easy to characterize Sitting Bull, of all Sioux chiefs most +generally known to the American people. There are few to whom his name +is not familiar, and still fewer who have learned to connect it with +anything more than the conventional notion of a bloodthirsty savage. The +man was an enigma at best. He was not impulsive, nor was he phlegmatic. +He was most serious when he seemed to be jocose. He was gifted with the +power of sarcasm, and few have used it more artfully than he. + +His father was one of the best-known members of the Unkpapa band of +Sioux. The manner of this man’s death was characteristic. One day, when +the Unkpapas were attacked by a large war party of Crows, he fell upon +the enemy’s war leader with his knife. In a hand-to-hand combat of +this sort, we count the victor as entitled to a war bonnet of trailing +plumes. It means certain death to one or both. In this case, both men +dealt a mortal stroke, and Jumping Buffalo, the father of Sitting Bull, +fell from his saddle and died in a few minutes. The other died later +from the effects of the wound. + +Sitting Bull’s boyhood must have been a happy one. It was long after the +day of the dog-travaux, and his father owned many ponies of variegated +colors. It was said of him in a joking way that his legs were bowed like +the ribs of the ponies that he rode constantly from childhood. He had +also a common nickname that was much to the point. It was “Hunkeshnee”, +which means “Slow”, referring to his inability to run fast, or more +probably to the fact that he seldom appeared on foot. In their boyish +games he was wont to take the part of the “old man”, but this does not +mean that he was not active and brave. It is told that after a buffalo +hunt the boys were enjoying a mimic hunt with the calves that had been +left behind. A large calf turned viciously on Sitting Bull, whose pony +had thrown him, but the alert youth got hold of both ears and struggled +until the calf was pushed back into a buffalo wallow in a sitting +posture. The boys shouted: “He has subdued the buffalo calf! He made +it sit down!” And from this incident was derived his familiar name of +Sitting Bull. + +It is a mistake to suppose that Sitting Bull, or any other Indian +warrior, was of a murderous disposition. It is true that savage warfare +had grown more and more harsh and cruel since the coming of white +traders among them, bringing guns, knives, and whisky. Yet it was still +regarded largely as a sort of game, undertaken in order to develop the +manly qualities of their youth. It was the degree of risk which brought +honor, rather than the number slain, and a brave must mourn thirty days, +with blackened face and loosened hair, for the enemy whose life he had +taken. While the spoils of war were allowed, this did not extend to +territorial aggrandizement, nor was there any wish to overthrow another +nation and enslave its people. It was a point of honor in the old days +to treat a captive with kindness. The common impression that the Indian +is naturally cruel and revengeful is entirely opposed to his philosophy +and training. The revengeful tendency of the Indian was aroused by the +white man. It is not the natural Indian who is mean and tricky; not +Massasoit but King Philip; not Attackullakulla but Weatherford; not +Wabashaw but Little Crow; not Jumping Buffalo but Sitting Bull! These +men lifted their hands against the white man, while their fathers held +theirs out to him with gifts. + +Remember that there were councils which gave their decisions in +accordance with the highest ideal of human justice before there were +any cities on this continent; before there were bridges to span the +Mississippi; before this network of railroads was dreamed of! There were +primitive communities upon the very spot where Chicago or New York City +now stands, where men were as children, innocent of all the crimes +now committed there daily and nightly. True morality is more easily +maintained in connection with the simple life. You must accept the truth +that you demoralize any race whom you have subjugated. + +From this point of view we shall consider Sitting Bull’s career. We say +he is an untutored man: that is true so far as learning of a literary +type is concerned; but he was not an untutored man when you view him +from the standpoint of his nation. To be sure, he did not learn his +lessons from books. This is second-hand information at best. All that he +learned he verified for himself and put into daily practice. In personal +appearance he was rather commonplace and made no immediate impression, +but as he talked he seemed to take hold of his hearers more and more. He +was bull-headed; quick to grasp a situation, and not readily induced to +change his mind. He was not suspicious until he was forced to be so. All +his meaner traits were inevitably developed by the events of his later +career. + +Sitting Bull’s history has been written many times by newspaper men and +army officers, but I find no account of him which is entirely correct. +I met him personally in 1884, and since his death I have gone thoroughly +into the details of his life with his relatives and contemporaries. It +has often been said that he was a physical coward and not a warrior. +Judge of this for yourselves from the deed which first gave him fame in +his own tribe, when he was about twenty-eight years old. + +In an attack upon a band of Crow Indians, one of the enemy took his +stand, after the rest had fled, in a deep ditch from which it seemed +impossible to dislodge him. The situation had already cost the lives of +several warriors, but they could not let him go to repeat such a boast +over the Sioux! + +“Follow me!” said Sitting Bull, and charged. He raced his horse to the +brim of the ditch and struck at the enemy with his coup-staff, thus +compelling him to expose himself to the fire of the others while +shooting his assailant. But the Crow merely poked his empty gun into his +face and dodged back under cover. Then Sitting Bull stopped; he saw that +no one had followed him, and he also perceived that the enemy had no +more ammunition left. He rode deliberately up to the barrier and threw +his loaded gun over it; then he went back to his party and told them +what he thought of them. + +“Now,” said he, “I have armed him, for I will not see a brave man killed +unarmed. I will strike him again with my coup-staff to count the first +feather; who will count the second?” + +Again he led the charge, and this time they all followed him. Sitting +Bull was severely wounded by his own gun in the hands of the enemy, who +was killed by those that came after him. This is a record that so far as +I know was never made by any other warrior. + +The second incident that made him well known was his taking of a boy +captive in battle with the Assiniboines. He saved this boy’s life and +adopted him as his brother. Hohay, as he was called, was devoted to +Sitting Bull and helped much in later years to spread his fame. Sitting +Bull was a born diplomat, a ready speaker, and in middle life he ceased +to go upon the warpath, to become the councilor of his people. From this +time on, this man represented him in all important battles, and upon +every brave deed done was wont to exclaim aloud: + +“I, Sitting Bull’s boy, do this in his name!” + +He had a nephew, now living, who resembles him strongly, and who also +represented him personally upon the field; and so far as there is any +remnant left of his immediate band, they look upon this man One Bull as +their chief. + +When Sitting Bull was a boy, there was no thought of trouble with the +whites. He was acquainted with many of the early traders, Picotte, +Choteau, Primeau, Larpenteur, and others, and liked them, as did most +of his people in those days. All the early records show this friendly +attitude of the Sioux, and the great fur companies for a century and a +half depended upon them for the bulk of their trade. It was not until +the middle of the last century that they woke up all of a sudden to the +danger threatening their very existence. Yet at that time many of the +old chiefs had been already depraved by the whisky and other vices of +the whites, and in the vicinity of the forts and trading posts at Sioux +City, Saint Paul, and Cheyenne, there was general demoralization. The +drunkards and hangers-on were ready to sell almost anything they had +for the favor of the trader. The better and stronger element held aloof. +They would not have anything of the white man except his hatchet, gun, +and knife. They utterly refused to cede their lands; and as for the +rest, they were willing to let him alone as long as he did not interfere +with their life and customs, which was not long. + +It was not, however, the Unkpapa band of Sioux, Sitting Bull’s band, +which first took up arms against the whites; and this was not because +they had come less in contact with them, for they dwelt on the Missouri +River, the natural highway of trade. As early as 1854, the Ogallalas +and Brules had trouble with the soldiers near Fort Laramie; and again +in 1857 Inkpaduta massacred several families of settlers at Spirit Lake, +Iowa. Finally, in 1869, the Minnesota Sioux, goaded by many wrongs, +arose and murdered many of the settlers, afterward fleeing into the +country of the Unkpapas and appealing to them for help, urging that +all Indians should make common cause against the invader. This brought +Sitting Bull face to face with a question which was not yet fully +matured in his own mind; but having satisfied himself of the justice of +their cause, he joined forces with the renegades during the summer of +1863, and from this time on he was an acknowledged leader. + +In 1865 and 1866 he met the Canadian half-breed, Louis Riel, instigator +of two rebellions, who had come across the line for safety; and in fact +at this time he harbored a number of outlaws and fugitives from justice. +His conversations with these, especially with the French mixed-bloods, +who inflamed his prejudices against the Americans, all had their +influence in making of the wily Sioux a determined enemy to the white +man. While among his own people he was always affable and genial, he +became boastful and domineering in his dealings with the hated race. +He once remarked that “if we wish to make any impression upon the +pale-face, it is necessary to put on his mask.” + +Sitting Bull joined in the attack on Fort Phil Kearny and in the +subsequent hostilities; but he accepted in good faith the treaty of +1868, and soon after it was signed he visited Washington with Red Cloud +and Spotted Tail, on which occasion the three distinguished chiefs +attracted much attention and were entertained at dinner by President +Grant and other notables. He considered that the life of the white man +as he saw it was no life for his people, but hoped by close adherence +to the terms of this treaty to preserve the Big Horn and Black Hills +country for a permanent hunting ground. When gold was discovered and the +irrepressible gold seekers made their historic dash across the plains +into this forbidden paradise, then his faith in the white man’s honor +was gone forever, and he took his final and most persistent stand +in defense of his nation and home. His bitter and at the same time +well-grounded and philosophical dislike of the conquering race is well +expressed in a speech made before the purely Indian council before +referred to, upon the Powder River. I will give it in brief as it has +been several times repeated to me by men who were present. + +“Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received +the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their +love! Every seed is awakened, and all animal life. It is through this +mysterious power that we too have our being, and we therefore yield to +our neighbors, even to our animal neighbors, the same right as ourselves +to inhabit this vast land. + +“Yet hear me, friends! we have now to deal with another people, small +and feeble when our forefathers first met with them, but now great and +overbearing. Strangely enough, they have a mind to till the soil, and +the love of possessions is a disease in them. These people have made +many rules that the rich may break, but the poor may not! They have a +religion in which the poor worship, but the rich will not! They even +take tithes of the poor and weak to support the rich and those who rule. +They claim this mother of ours, the Earth, for their own use, and fence +their neighbors away from her, and deface her with their buildings and +their refuse. They compel her to produce out of season, and when sterile +she is made to take medicine in order to produce again. All this is +sacrilege. + +“This nation is like a spring freshet; it overruns its banks and +destroys all who are in its path. We cannot dwell side by side. Only +seven years ago we made a treaty by which we were assured that the +buffalo country should be left to us forever. Now they threaten to take +that from us also. My brothers, shall we submit? or shall we say to +them: ‘First kill me, before you can take possession of my fatherland!’” + +As Sitting Bull spoke, so he felt, and he had the courage to stand +by his words. Crazy Horse led his forces in the field; as for him, he +applied his energies to state affairs, and by his strong and aggressive +personality contributed much to holding the hostiles together. + +It may be said without fear of contradiction that Sitting Bull never +killed any women or children. He was a fair fighter, and while not +prominent in battle after his young manhood, he was the brains of the +Sioux resistance. He has been called a “medicine man” and a “dreamer.” + Strictly speaking, he was neither of these, and the white historians +are prone to confuse the two. A medicine man is a doctor or healer; a +dreamer is an active war prophet who leads his war party according to +his dream or prophecy. What is called by whites “making medicine” in war +time is again a wrong conception. Every warrior carries a bag of sacred +or lucky charms, supposed to protect the wearer alone, but it has +nothing to do with the success or safety of the party as a whole. No one +can make any “medicine” to affect the result of a battle, although it +has been said that Sitting Bull did this at the battle of the Little Big +Horn. + +When Custer and Reno attacked the camp at both ends, the chief was +caught napping. The village was in danger of surprise, and the women and +children must be placed in safety. Like other men of his age, Sitting +Bull got his family together for flight, and then joined the warriors +on the Reno side of the attack. Thus he was not in the famous charge +against Custer; nevertheless, his voice was heard exhorting the warriors +throughout that day. + +During the autumn of 1876, after the fall of Custer, Sitting Bull was +hunted all through the Yellowstone region by the military. The +following characteristic letter, doubtless written at his dictation by +a half-breed interpreter, was sent to Colonel Otis immediately after a +daring attack upon his wagon train. + + “I want to know what you are doing, traveling on this road. + You scare all the buffalo away. I want to hunt in this place. I + want you to turn back from here. If you don’t, I will fight you + again. I want you to leave what you have got here and turn back + from here. + + “I am your friend + + “Sitting Bull.” + + “I need all the rations you have got and some powder. Wish you + would write me as soon as you can.” + +Otis, however, kept on and joined Colonel Miles, who followed Sitting +Bull with about four hundred soldiers. He overtook him at last on Cedar +Creek, near the Yellowstone, and the two met midway between the lines +for a parley. The army report says: “Sitting Bull wanted peace in +his own way.” The truth was that he wanted nothing more than had been +guaranteed to them by the treaty of 1868--the exclusive possession of +their last hunting ground. This the government was not now prepared to +grant, as it had been decided to place all the Indians under military +control upon the various reservations. + +Since it was impossible to reconcile two such conflicting demands, the +hostiles were driven about from pillar to post for several more years, +and finally took refuge across the line in Canada, where Sitting Bull +had placed his last hope of justice and freedom for his race. Here +he was joined from time to time by parties of malcontents from the +reservation, driven largely by starvation and ill-treatment to +seek another home. Here, too, they were followed by United States +commissioners, headed by General Terry, who endeavored to persuade him +to return, promising abundance of food and fair treatment, despite the +fact that the exiles were well aware of the miserable condition of the +“good Indians” upon the reservations. He first refused to meet them at +all, and only did so when advised to that effect by Major Walsh of the +Canadian mounted police. This was his characteristic remark: “If you +have one honest man in Washington, send him here and I will talk to +him.” + +Sitting Bull was not moved by fair words; but when he found that if +they had liberty on that side, they had little else, that the Canadian +government would give them protection but no food; that the buffalo had +been all but exterminated and his starving people were already beginning +to desert him, he was compelled at last, in 1881, to report at Fort +Buford, North Dakota, with his band of hungry, homeless, and discouraged +refugees. It was, after all, to hunger and not to the strong arm of the +military that he surrendered in the end. + +In spite of the invitation that had been extended to him in the name +of the “Great Father” at Washington, he was immediately thrown into a +military prison, and afterward handed over to Colonel Cody (“Buffalo +Bill”) as an advertisement for his “Wild West Show.” After traveling +about for several years with the famous showman, thus increasing his +knowledge of the weaknesses as well as the strength of the white man, +the deposed and humiliated chief settled down quietly with his people +upon the Standing Rock agency in North Dakota, where his immediate band +occupied the Grand River district and set to raising cattle and +horses. They made good progress; much better, in fact, than that of the +“coffee-coolers” or “loafer” Indians, received the missionaries kindly +and were soon a church-going people. + +When the Commissions of 1888 and 1889 came to treat with the Sioux for +a further cession of land and a reduction of their reservations, nearly +all were opposed to consent on any terms. Nevertheless, by hook or by +crook, enough signatures were finally obtained to carry the measure +through, although it is said that many were those of women and the +so-called “squaw-men”, who had no rights in the land. At the same +time, rations were cut down, and there was general hardship and +dissatisfaction. Crazy Horse was long since dead; Spotted Tail had +fallen at the hands of one of his own tribe; Red Cloud had become a +feeble old man, and the disaffected among the Sioux began once more to +look to Sitting Bull for leadership. + +At this crisis a strange thing happened. A half-breed Indian in Nevada +promulgated the news that the Messiah had appeared to him upon a peak in +the Rockies, dressed in rabbit skins, and bringing a message to the red +race. The message was to the effect that since his first coming had been +in vain, since the white people had doubted and reviled him, had nailed +him to the cross, and trampled upon his doctrines, he had come again in +pity to save the Indian. He declared that he would cause the earth to +shake and to overthrow the cities of the whites and destroy them, that +the buffalo would return, and the land belong to the red race forever! +These events were to come to pass within two years; and meanwhile they +were to prepare for his coming by the ceremonies and dances which he +commanded. + +This curious story spread like wildfire and met with eager acceptance +among the suffering and discontented people. The teachings of Christian +missionaries had prepared them to believe in a Messiah, and the +prescribed ceremonial was much more in accord with their traditions than +the conventional worship of the churches. Chiefs of many tribes sent +delegations to the Indian prophet; Short Bull, Kicking Bear, and others +went from among the Sioux, and on their return all inaugurated the +dances at once. There was an attempt at first to keep the matter secret, +but it soon became generally known and seriously disconcerted the Indian +agents and others, who were quick to suspect a hostile conspiracy under +all this religious enthusiasm. As a matter of fact, there was no thought +of an uprising; the dancing was innocent enough, and pathetic enough +their despairing hope in a pitiful Saviour who should overwhelm their +oppressors and bring back their golden age. + +When the Indians refused to give up the “Ghost Dance” at the bidding of +the authorities, the growing suspicion and alarm focused upon Sitting +Bull, who in spirit had never been any too submissive, and it was +determined to order his arrest. At the special request of Major +McLaughlin, agent at Standing Rock, forty of his Indian police were sent +out to Sitting Bull’s home on Grand River to secure his person +(followed at some little distance by a body of United States troops for +reinforcement, in case of trouble). These police are enlisted from +among the tribesmen at each agency, and have proved uniformly brave and +faithful. They entered the cabin at daybreak, aroused the chief from +a sound slumber, helped him to dress, and led him unresisting from the +house; but when he came out in the gray dawn of that December morning in +1890, to find his cabin surrounded by armed men and himself led away to +he knew not what fate, he cried out loudly: + +“They have taken me: what say you to it?” + +Men poured out of the neighboring houses, and in a few minutes the +police were themselves surrounded with an excited and rapidly increasing +throng. They harangued the crowd in vain; Sitting Bull’s blood was up, +and he again appealed to his men. His adopted brother, the Assiniboine +captive whose life he had saved so many years before, was the first to +fire. His shot killed Lieutenant Bull Head, who held Sitting Bull by the +arm. Then there was a short but sharp conflict, in which Sitting Bull +and six of his defenders and six of the Indian police were slain, with +many more wounded. The chief’s young son, Crow Foot, and his devoted +“brother” died with him. When all was over, and the terrified people had +fled precipitately across the river, the soldiers appeared upon the brow +of the long hill and fired their Hotchkiss guns into the deserted camp. + +Thus ended the life of a natural strategist of no mean courage and +ability. The great chief was buried without honors outside the cemetery +at the post, and for some years the grave was marked by a mere board at +its head. Recently some women have built a cairn of rocks there in token +of respect and remembrance. + + + + +RAIN-IN-THE-FACE + + +The noted Sioux warrior, Rain-in-the-Face, whose name once carried +terror to every part of the frontier, died at his home on the Standing +Rock reserve in North Dakota on September 14, 1905. About two months +before his death I went to see him for the last time, where he lay upon +the bed of sickness from which he never rose again, and drew from him +his life-history. + +It had been my experience that you cannot induce an Indian to tell a +story, or even his own name, by asking him directly. + +“Friend,” I said, “even if a man is on a hot trail, he stops for a +smoke! In the good old days, before the charge there was a smoke. At +home, by the fireside, when the old men were asked to tell their brave +deeds, again the pipe was passed. So come, let us smoke now to the +memory of the old days!” + +He took of my tobacco and filled his long pipe, and we smoked. Then I +told an old mirthful story to get him in the humor of relating his own +history. + +The old man lay upon an iron bedstead, covered by a red blanket, in a +corner of the little log cabin. He was all alone that day; only an old +dog lay silent and watchful at his master’s feet. + +Finally he looked up and said with a pleasant smile: + +“True, friend; it is the old custom to retrace one’s trail before +leaving it forever! I know that I am at the door of the spirit home. + +“I was born near the forks of the Cheyenne River, about seventy years +ago. My father was not a chief; my grandfather was not a chief, but +a good hunter and a feast-maker. On my mother’s side I had some noted +ancestors, but they left me no chieftainship. I had to work for my +reputation. + +“When I was a boy, I loved to fight,” he continued. “In all our boyish +games I had the name of being hard to handle, and I took much pride in +the fact. + +“I was about ten years old when we encountered a band of Cheyennes. +They were on friendly terms with us, but we boys always indulged in sham +fights on such occasions, and this time I got in an honest fight with a +Cheyenne boy older than I. I got the best of the boy, but he hit me hard +in the face several times, and my face was all spattered with blood and +streaked where the paint had been washed away. The Sioux boys whooped +and yelled: + +“‘His enemy is down, and his face is spattered as if with rain! +Rain-in-the-Face! His name shall be Rain-in-the-Face!’ + +“Afterwards, when I was a young man, we went on a warpath against the +Gros Ventres. We stole some of their horses, but were overtaken and had +to abandon the horses and fight for our lives. I had wished my face to +represent the sun when partly covered with darkness, so I painted it +half black, half red. We fought all day in the rain, and my face was +partly washed and streaked with red and black: so again I was christened +Rain-in-the-Face. We considered it an honorable name. + +“I had been on many warpaths, but was not especially successful until +about the time the Sioux began to fight with the white man. One of the +most daring attacks that we ever made was at Fort Totten, North Dakota, +in the summer of 1866. + +“Hohay, the Assiniboine captive of Sitting Bull, was the leader in this +raid. Wapaypay, the Fearless Bear, who was afterward hanged at Yankton, +was the bravest man among us. He dared Hohay to make the charge. Hohay +accepted the challenge, and in turn dared the other to ride with him +through the agency and right under the walls of the fort, which was well +garrisoned and strong. + +“Wapaypay and I in those days called each other ‘brother-friend.’ It was +a life-and-death vow. What one does the other must do; and that meant +that I must be in the forefront of the charge, and if he is killed, I +must fight until I die also! + +“I prepared for death. I painted as usual like an eclipse of the sun, +half black and half red.” + +His eyes gleamed and his face lighted up remarkably as he talked, +pushing his black hair back from his forehead with a nervous gesture. + +“Now the signal for the charge was given! I started even with Wapaypay, +but his horse was faster than mine, so he left me a little behind as we +neared the fort. This was bad for me, for by that time the soldiers had +somewhat recovered from the surprise and were aiming better. + +“Their big gun talked very loud, but my Wapaypay was leading on, leaning +forward on his fleet pony like a flying squirrel on a smooth log! He +held his rawhide shield on the right side, a little to the front, and +so did I. Our warwhoop was like the coyotes singing in the evening, when +they smell blood! + +“The soldiers’ guns talked fast, but few were hurt. Their big gun was +like a toothless old dog, who only makes himself hotter the more noise +he makes,” he remarked with some humor. + +“How much harm we did I do not know, but we made things lively for a +time; and the white men acted as people do when a swarm of angry bees +get into camp. We made a successful retreat, but some of the reservation +Indians followed us yelling, until Hohay told them that he did not wish +to fight with the captives of the white man, for there would be no honor +in that. There was blood running down my leg, and I found that both my +horse and I were slightly wounded. + +“Some two years later we attacked a fort west of the Black Hills [Fort +Phil Kearny, Wyoming]. It was there we killed one hundred soldiers.” + [The military reports say eighty men, under the command of Captain +Fetterman--not one left alive to tell the tale!] “Nearly every band of +the Sioux nation was represented in that fight--Red Cloud, Spotted +Tail, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Big Foot, and all our great chiefs were +there. Of course such men as I were then comparatively unknown. However, +there were many noted young warriors, among them Sword, the younger +Young-Man-Afraid, American Horse [afterward chief], Crow King, and +others. + +“This was the plan decided upon after many councils. The main war party +lay in ambush, and a few of the bravest young men were appointed to +attack the woodchoppers who were cutting logs to complete the building +of the fort. We were told not to kill these men, but to chase them into +the fort and retreat slowly, defying the white men; and if the soldiers +should follow, we were to lead them into the ambush. They took our bait +exactly as we had hoped! It was a matter of a very few minutes, for +every soldier lay dead in a shorter time than it takes to annihilate a +small herd of buffalo. + +“This attack was hastened because most of the Sioux on the Missouri +River and eastward had begun to talk of suing for peace. But even this +did not stop the peace movement. The very next year a treaty was signed +at Fort Rice, Dakota Territory, by nearly all the Sioux chiefs, in which +it was agreed on the part of the Great Father in Washington that all the +country north of the Republican River in Nebraska, including the Black +Hills and the Big Horn Mountains, was to be always Sioux country, and no +white man should intrude upon it without our permission. Even with this +agreement Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were not satisfied, and they +would not sign. + +“Up to this time I had fought in some important battles, but had +achieved no great deed. I was ambitious to make a name for myself. +I joined war parties against the Crows, Mandans, Gros Ventres, and +Pawnees, and gained some little distinction. + +“It was when the white men found the yellow metal in our country, and +came in great numbers, driving away our game, that we took up arms +against them for the last time. I must say here that the chiefs who were +loudest for war were among the first to submit and accept reservation +life. Spotted Tail was a great warrior, yet he was one of the first to +yield, because he was promised by the Chief Soldiers that they would +make him chief of all the Sioux. Ugh! he would have stayed with Sitting +Bull to the last had it not been for his ambition. + +“About this time we young warriors began to watch the trails of the +white men into the Black Hills, and when we saw a wagon coming we would +hide at the crossing and kill them all without much trouble. We did +this to discourage the whites from coming into our country without our +permission. It was the duty of our Great Father at Washington, by the +agreement of 1868, to keep his white children away. + +“During the troublesome time after this treaty, which no one seemed to +respect, either white or Indian [but the whites broke it first], I was +like many other young men--much on the warpath, but with little honor. +I had not yet become noted for any great deed. Finally, Wapaypay and I +waylaid and killed a white soldier on his way from the fort to his home +in the east. + +“There were a few Indians who were liars, and never on the warpath, +playing ‘good Indian’ with the Indian agents and the war chiefs at the +forts. Some of this faithless set betrayed me, and told more than I +ever did. I was seized and taken to the fort near Bismarck, North Dakota +[Fort Abraham Lincoln], by a brother [Tom Custer] of the Long-Haired War +Chief, and imprisoned there. These same lying Indians, who were selling +their services as scouts to the white man, told me that I was to be shot +to death, or else hanged upon a tree. I answered that I was not afraid +to die. + +“However, there was an old soldier who used to bring my food and stand +guard over me--he was a white man, it is true, but he had an Indian +heart! He came to me one day and unfastened the iron chain and ball with +which they had locked my leg, saying by signs and what little Sioux he +could muster: + +“‘Go, friend! take the chain and ball with you. I shall shoot, but the +voice of the gun will lie.’ + +“When he had made me understand, you may guess that I ran my best! I was +almost over the bank when he fired his piece at me several times, but +I had already gained cover and was safe. I have never told this before, +and would not, lest it should do him an injury, but he was an old man +then, and I am sure he must be dead long since. That old soldier +taught me that some of the white people have hearts,” he added, quite +seriously. + +“I went back to Standing Rock in the night, and I had to hide for +several days in the woods, where food was brought to me by my relatives. +The Indian police were ordered to retake me, and they pretended to hunt +for me, but really they did not, for if they had found me I would have +died with one or two of them, and they knew it! In a few days I departed +with several others, and we rejoined the hostile camp on the Powder +River and made some trouble for the men who were building the great iron +track north of us [Northern Pacific]. + +“In the spring the hostile Sioux got together again upon the Tongue +River. It was one of the greatest camps of the Sioux that I ever saw. +There were some Northern Cheyennes with us, under Two Moon, and a few +Santee Sioux, renegades from Canada, under Inkpaduta, who had killed +white people in Iowa long before. We had decided to fight the white +soldiers until no warrior should be left.” + +At this point Rain-in-the-Face took up his tobacco pouch and began again +to fill his pipe. + +“Of course the younger warriors were delighted with the prospect of +a great fight! Our scouts had discovered piles of oats for horses and +other supplies near the Missouri River. They had been brought by the +white man’s fire-boats. Presently they reported a great army about a +day’s travel to the south, with Shoshone and Crow scouts. + +“There was excitement among the people, and a great council was held. +Many spoke. I was asked the condition of those Indians who had gone upon +the reservation, and I told them truly that they were nothing more than +prisoners. It was decided to go out and meet Three Stars [General Crook] +at a safe distance from our camp. + +“We met him on the Little Rosebud. I believe that if we had waited +and allowed him to make the attack, he would have fared no better than +Custer. He was too strongly fortified where he was, and I think, too, +that he was saved partly by his Indian allies, for the scouts discovered +us first and fought us first, thus giving him time to make his +preparations. I think he was more wise than brave! After we had left +that neighborhood he might have pushed on and connected with the +Long-Haired Chief. That would have saved Custer and perhaps won the day. + +“When we crossed from Tongue River to the Little Big Horn, on account +of the scarcity of game, we did not anticipate any more trouble. Our +runners had discovered that Crook had retraced his trail to Goose +Creek, and we did not suppose that the white men would care to follow us +farther into the rough country. + +“Suddenly the Long-Haired Chief appeared with his men! It was a +surprise.” + +“What part of the camp were you in when the soldiers attacked the lower +end?” I asked. + +“I had been invited to a feast at one of the young men’s lodges [a sort +of club]. There was a certain warrior who was making preparations to go +against the Crows, and I had decided to go also,” he said. + +“While I was eating my meat we heard the war cry! We all rushed out, +and saw a warrior riding at top speed from the lower camp, giving the +warning as he came. Then we heard the reports of the soldiers’ guns, +which sounded differently from the guns fired by our people in battle. + +“I ran to my teepee and seized my gun, a bow, and a quiver full of +arrows. I already had my stone war club, for you know we usually carry +those by way of ornament. Just as I was about to set out to meet Reno, a +body of soldiers appeared nearly opposite us, at the edge of a long line +of cliffs across the river. + +“All of us who were mounted and ready immediately started down the +stream toward the ford. There were Ogallalas, Minneconjous, Cheyennes, +and some Unkpapas, and those around me seemed to be nearly all very +young men. + +“‘Behold, there is among us a young woman!’ I shouted. ‘Let no young man +hide behind her garment!’ I knew that would make those young men brave. + +“The woman was Tashenamani, or Moving Robe, whose brother had just been +killed in the fight with Three Stars. Holding her brother’s war staff +over her head, and leaning forward upon her charger, she looked as +pretty as a bird. Always when there is a woman in the charge, it causes +the warriors to vie with one another in displaying their valor,” he +added. + +“The foremost warriors had almost surrounded the white men, and more +were continually crossing the stream. The soldiers had dismounted, and +were firing into the camp from the top of the cliff.” + +“My friend, was Sitting Bull in this fight?” I inquired. + +“I did not see him there, but I learned afterward that he was among +those who met Reno, and that was three or four of the white man’s miles +from Custer’s position. Later he joined the attack upon Custer, but was +not among the foremost. + +“When the troops were surrounded on two sides, with the river on the +third, the order came to charge! There were many very young men, some of +whom had only a war staff or a stone war club in hand, who plunged into +the column, knocking the men over and stampeding their horses. + +“The soldiers had mounted and started back, but when the onset came they +dismounted again and separated into several divisions, facing different +ways. They fired as fast as they could load their guns, while we used +chiefly arrows and war clubs. There seemed to be two distinct movements +among the Indians. One body moved continually in a circle, while the +other rode directly into and through the troops. + +“Presently some of the soldiers remounted and fled along the ridge +toward Reno’s position; but they were followed by our warriors, like +hundreds of blackbirds after a hawk. A larger body remained together at +the upper end of a little ravine, and fought bravely until they were cut +to pieces. I had always thought that white men were cowards, but I had a +great respect for them after this day. + +“It is generally said that a young man with nothing but a war staff in +his hand broke through the column and knocked down the leader very early +in the fight. We supposed him to be the leader, because he stood up in +full view, swinging his big knife [sword] over his head, and talking +loud. Some one unknown afterwards shot the chief, and he was probably +killed also; for if not, he would have told of the deed, and called +others to witness it. So it is that no one knows who killed the +Long-Haired Chief [General Custer]. + +“After the first rush was over, coups were counted as usual on the +bodies of the slain. You know four coups [or blows] can be counted on +the body of an enemy, and whoever counts the first one [touches it for +the first time] is entitled to the ‘first feather.’ + +“There was an Indian here called Appearing Elk, who died a short time +ago. He was slightly wounded in the charge. He had some of the weapons +of the Long-Haired Chief, and the Indians used to say jokingly after we +came upon the reservation that Appearing Elk must have killed the Chief, +because he had his sword! However, the scramble for plunder did not +begin until all were dead. I do not think he killed Custer, and if he +had, the time to claim the honor was immediately after the fight. + +“Many lies have been told of me. Some say that I killed the Chief, and +others that I cut out the heart of his brother [Tom Custer], because he +had caused me to be imprisoned. Why, in that fight the excitement was +so great that we scarcely recognized our nearest friends! Everything was +done like lightning. After the battle we young men were chasing horses +all over the prairie, while the old men and women plundered the bodies; +and if any mutilating was done, it was by the old men. + +“I have lived peaceably ever since we came upon the reservation. No one +can say that Rain-in-the-Face has broken the rules of the Great Father. +I fought for my people and my country. When we were conquered I remained +silent, as a warrior should. Rain-in-the-Face was killed when he put +down his weapons before the Great Father. His spirit was gone then; only +his poor body lived on, but now it is almost ready to lie down for the +last time. Ho, hechetu! [It is well.]” + + + + +TWO STRIKE + + +It is a pity that so many interesting names of well-known Indians have +been mistranslated, so that their meaning becomes very vague if it is +not wholly lost. In some cases an opposite meaning is conveyed. For +instance there is the name, “Young-Man-Afraid-of-His-Horses.” It does +not mean that the owner of the name is afraid of his own horse--far from +it! Tashunkekokipapi signifies “The young men [of the enemy] fear his +horses.” Whenever that man attacks, the enemy knows there will be a +determined charge. + +The name Tashunkewitko, or Crazy Horse, is a poetic simile. This leader +was likened to an untrained or untouched horse, wild, ignorant of +domestic uses, splendid in action, and unconscious of danger. + +The name of Two Strike is a deed name. In a battle with the Utes this +man knocked two enemies from the back of a war horse. The true rendering +of the name Nomkahpa would be, “He knocked off two.” + +I was well acquainted with Two Strike and spent many pleasant hours +with him, both at Washington, D. C., and in his home on the Rosebud +reservation. What I have written is not all taken from his own mouth, +because he was modest in talking about himself, but I had him vouch for +the truth of the stories. He said that he was born near the Republican +River about 1832. His earliest recollection was of an attack by the +Shoshones upon their camp on the Little Piney. The first white men he +ever met were traders who visited his people when he was very young. +The incident was still vividly with him, because, he said, “They made +my father crazy,” [drunk]. This made a deep impression upon him, he +told me, so that from that day he was always afraid of the white man’s +“mysterious water.” + +Two Strike was not a large man, but he was very supple and alert in +motion, as agile as an antelope. His face was mobile and intelligent. +Although he had the usual somber visage of an Indian, his expression +brightened up wonderfully when he talked. In some ways wily and shrewd +in intellect, he was not deceitful nor mean. He had a high sense of duty +and honor. Patriotism was his ideal and goal of life. + +As a young man he was modest and even shy, although both his father +and grandfather were well-known chiefs. I could find few noteworthy +incidents in his early life, save that he was an expert rider of wild +horses. At one time I was pressing him to give me some interesting +incident of his boyhood. He replied to the effect that there was plenty +of excitement but “not much in it.” There was a delegation of Sioux +chiefs visiting Washington, and we were spending an evening together in +their hotel. Hollow Horn Bear spoke up and said: + +“Why don’t you tell him how you and a buffalo cow together held your +poor father up and froze him almost to death?” + +Everybody laughed, and another man remarked: “I think he had better tell +the medicine man (meaning myself) how he lost the power of speech when +he first tried to court a girl.” Two Strike, although he was then close +to eighty years of age, was visibly embarrassed by their chaff. + +“Anyway, I stuck to the trail. I kept on till I got what I wanted,” he +muttered. And then came the story. + +The old chief, his father, was very fond of the buffalo hunt; and +being accomplished in horsemanship and a fine shot, although not very +powerfully built, young Two Strike was already following hard in his +footsteps. Like every proud father, his was giving him every incentive +to perfect his skill, and one day challenged his sixteen-year-old son to +the feat of “one arrow to kill” at the very next chase. + +It was midwinter. A large herd of buffalo was reported by the game +scout. The hunters gathered at daybreak prepared for the charge. The +old chief had his tried charger equipped with a soft, pillow-like Indian +saddle and a lariat. His old sinew-backed hickory bow was examined and +strung, and a fine straight arrow with a steel head carefully selected +for the test. He adjusted a keen butcher knife over his leather belt, +which held a warm buffalo robe securely about his body. He wore neither +shirt nor coat, although a piercing wind was blowing from the northwest. +The youthful Two Strike had his favorite bow and his swift pony, which +was perhaps dearer to him than his closest boy comrade. + +Now the hunters crouched upon their horses’ necks like an army in line +of battle, while behind them waited the boys and old men with pack +ponies to carry the meat. “Hukahey!” shouted the leader as a warning. +“Yekiya wo!” (Go) and in an instant all the ponies leaped forward +against the cutting wind, as if it were the start in a horse race. Every +rider leaned forward, tightly wrapped in his robe, watching the flying +herd for an opening in the mass of buffalo, a chance to cut out some of +the fattest cows. This was the object of the race. + +The chief had a fair start; his horse was well trained and needed no +urging nor guidance. Without the slightest pull on the lariat he dashed +into the thickest of the herd. The youth’s pony had been prancing and +rearing impatiently; he started a little behind, yet being swift passed +many. His rider had one clear glimpse of his father ahead of him, then +the snow arose in blinding clouds on the trail of the bison. The whoops +of the hunters, the lowing of the cows, and the menacing glances of the +bulls as they plunged along, or now and then stood at bay, were enough +to unnerve a boy less well tried. He was unable to select his victim. +He had been carried deeply into the midst of the herd and found himself +helpless to make the one sure shot, therefore he held his one arrow in +his mouth and merely strove to separate them so as to get his chance. + +At last the herd parted, and he cut out two fat cows, and was +maneuvering for position when a rider appeared out of the snow cloud on +their other side. This aroused him to make haste lest his rival secure +both cows; he saw his chance, and in a twinkling his arrow sped clear +through one of the animals so that she fell headlong. + +In this instant he observed that the man who had joined him was his +own father, who had met with the same difficulties as himself. When the +young man had shot his only arrow, the old chief with a whoop went after +the cow that was left, but as he gained her broadside, his horse stepped +in a badger hole and fell, throwing him headlong. The maddened buffalo, +as sometimes happens in such cases, turned upon the pony and gored him +to death. His rider lay motionless, while Two Strike rushed forward +to draw her attention, but she merely tossed her head at him, while +persistently standing guard over the dead horse and the all but frozen +Indian. + +Alas for the game of “one arrow to kill!” The boy must think fast, for +his father’s robe had slipped off, and he was playing dead, lying almost +naked in the bitter air upon the trampled snow. His bluff would not +serve, so he flew back to pull out his solitary arrow from the body of +the dead cow. Quickly wheeling again, he sent it into her side and she +fell. The one arrow to kill had become one arrow to kill two buffalo! At +the council lodge that evening Two Strike was the hero. + +The following story is equally characteristic of him, and in explanation +it should be said that in the good old days among the Sioux, a young +man is not supposed to associate with girls until he is ready to take +a wife. It was a rule with our young men, especially the honorable and +well-born, to gain some reputation in the hunt and in war,--the more +difficult the feats achieved the better,--before even speaking to +a young woman. Many a life was risked in the effort to establish a +reputation along these lines. Courtship was no secret, but rather a +social event, often celebrated by the proud parents with feasts and +presents to the poor, and this etiquette was sometimes felt by a shy or +sensitive youth as an insurmountable obstacle to the fulfilment of his +desires. + +Two Strike was the son and grandson of a chief, but he could not claim +any credit for the deeds of his forbears. He had not only to guard their +good name but achieve one for himself. This he had set out to do, and he +did well. He was now of marriageable age with a war record, and admitted +to the council, yet he did not seem to trouble himself at all about a +wife. His was strictly a bachelor career. Meanwhile, as is apt to be the +case, his parents had thought much about a possible daughter-in-law, and +had even collected ponies, fine robes, and other acceptable goods to be +given away in honor of the event, whenever it should take place. Now and +then they would drop a sly hint, but with no perceptible effect. + +They did not and could not know of the inward struggle that racked his +mind at this period of his life. The shy and modest young man was dying +for a wife, yet could not bear even to think of speaking to a young +woman! The fearless hunter of buffaloes, mountain lions, and grizzlies, +the youth who had won his eagle feathers in a battle with the Utes, +could not bring himself to take this tremendous step. + +At last his father appealed to him directly. “My son,” he declared, “it +is your duty to take unto yourself a wife, in order that the honors won +by your ancestors and by yourself may be handed down in the direct line. +There are several eligible young women in our band whose parents have +intimated a wish to have you for their son-in-law.” + +Two Strike made no reply, but he was greatly disturbed. He had no wish +to have the old folks select his bride, for if the truth were told, +his choice was already made. He had simply lacked the courage to go +a-courting! + +The next morning, after making an unusually careful toilet, he took his +best horse and rode to a point overlooking the path by which the girls +went for water. Here the young men were wont to take their stand, and, +if fortunate, intercept the girl of their heart for a brief but fateful +interview. Two Strike had determined to speak straight to the point, +and as soon as he saw the pretty maid he came forward boldly and placed +himself in her way. A long moment passed. She glanced up at him shyly +but not without encouragement. His teeth fairly chattered with fright, +and he could not say a word. She looked again, noted his strange looks, +and believed him suddenly taken ill. He appeared to be suffering. At +last he feebly made signs for her to go on and leave him alone. The +maiden was sympathetic, but as she did not know what else to do she +obeyed his request. + +The poor youth was so ashamed of his cowardice that he afterward +admitted his first thought was to take his own life. He believed he +had disgraced himself forever in the eyes of the only girl he had ever +loved. However, he determined to conquer his weakness and win her, +which he did. The story came out many years after and was told with much +enjoyment by the old men. + +Two Strike was better known by his own people than by the whites, for +he was individually a terror in battle rather than a leader. He achieved +his honorable name in a skirmish with the Utes in Colorado. The Sioux +regarded these people as their bravest enemies, and the outcome of +the fight was for some time uncertain. First the Sioux were forced to +retreat and then their opponents, and at the latter point the horse of a +certain Ute was shot under him. A friend came to his rescue and took him +up behind him. Our hero overtook them in flight, raised his war club, +and knocked both men off with one blow. + +He was a very old man when he died, only two or three years ago, on the +Rosebud reservation. + + + + +AMERICAN HORSE + + +One of the wittiest and shrewdest of the Sioux chiefs was American +Horse, who succeeded to the name and position of an uncle, killed in +the battle of Slim Buttes in 1876. The younger American Horse was born +a little before the encroachments of the whites upon the Sioux country +became serious and their methods aggressive, and his early manhood +brought him into that most trying and critical period of our history. He +had been tutored by his uncle, since his own father was killed in battle +while he was still very young. The American Horse band was closely +attached to a trading post, and its members in consequence were inclined +to be friendly with the whites, a policy closely adhered to by their +leader. + +When he was born, his old grandfather said: “Put him out in the sun! +Let him ask his great-grandfather, the Sun, for the warm blood of a +warrior!” And he had warm blood. He was a genial man, liking notoriety +and excitement. He always seized an opportunity to leap into the center +of the arena. + +In early life he was a clownish sort of boy among the boys--an expert +mimic and impersonator. This talent made him popular and in his way a +leader. He was a natural actor, and early showed marked ability as a +speaker. + +American Horse was about ten years old when he was attacked by three +Crow warriors, while driving a herd of ponies to water. Here he +displayed native cunning and initiative. It seemed he had scarcely a +chance to escape, for the enemy was near. He yelled frantically at the +ponies to start them toward home, while he dropped off into a thicket +of willows and hid there. A part of the herd was caught in sight of +the camp and there was a counter chase, but the Crows got away with the +ponies. Of course his mother was frantic, believing her boy had been +killed or captured; but after the excitement was over, he appeared in +camp unhurt. When questioned about his escape, he remarked: “I knew they +would not take the time to hunt for small game when there was so much +bigger close by.” + +When he was quite a big boy, he joined in a buffalo hunt, and on the way +back with the rest of the hunters his mule became unmanageable. American +Horse had insisted on riding him in addition to a heavy load of meat and +skins, and the animal evidently resented this, for he suddenly began to +run and kick, scattering fresh meat along the road, to the merriment of +the crowd. But the boy turned actor, and made it appear that it was at +his wish the mule had given this diverting performance. He clung to the +back of his plunging and braying mount like a circus rider, singing a +Brave Heart song, and finally brought up amid the laughter and cheers +of his companions. Far from admitting defeat, he boasted of his +horsemanship and declared that his “brother” the donkey would put any +enemy to flight, and that they should be called upon to lead a charge. + +It was several years later that he went to sleep early one night and +slept soundly, having been scouting for two nights previous. It happened +that there was a raid by the Crows, and when he awoke in the midst of +the yelling and confusion, he sprang up and attempted to join in the +fighting. Everybody knew his voice in all the din, so when he fired his +gun and announced a coup, as was the custom, others rushed to the spot, +to find that he had shot a hobbled pony belonging to their own camp. +The laugh was on him, and he never recovered from his chagrin at this +mistake. In fact, although he was undoubtedly fearless and tried hard to +distinguish himself in warfare, he did not succeed. + +It is told of him that he once went with a war party of young men to +the Wind River country against the Shoshones. At last they discovered +a large camp, but there were only a dozen or so of the Sioux, therefore +they hid themselves and watched for their opportunity to attack an +isolated party of hunters. While waiting thus, they ran short of food. +One day a small party of Shoshones was seen near at hand, and in the +midst of the excitement and preparations for the attack, young American +Horse caught sight of a fat black-tail deer close by. Unable to resist +the temptation, he pulled an arrow from his quiver and sent it through +the deer’s heart, then with several of his half-starved companions +sprang upon the yet quivering body of the animal to cut out the liver, +which was sometimes eaten raw. One of the men was knocked down, it is +said, by the last kick of the dying buck, but having swallowed a few +mouthfuls the warriors rushed upon and routed their enemies. It is still +told of American Horse how he killed game and feasted between the ambush +and the attack. + +At another time he was drying his sacred war bonnet and other gear +over a small fire. These articles were held in great veneration by the +Indians and handled accordingly. Suddenly the fire blazed up, and our +hero so far forgot himself as to begin energetically beating out the +flames with the war bonnet, breaking off one of the sacred buffalo horns +in the act. One could almost fill a book with his mishaps and exploits. +I will give one of them in his own words as well as I can remember them. + +“We were as promising a party of young warriors as our tribe ever sent +against any of its ancestral enemies. It was midsummer, and after going +two days’ journey from home we began to send two scouts ahead daily +while the main body kept a half day behind. The scouts set out every +evening and traveled all night. One night the great war pipe was held +out to me and to Young-Man-Afraid-of-His-Horses. At daybreak, having met +no one, we hid our horses and climbed to the top of the nearest butte to +take an observation. It was a very hot day. We lay flat on our blankets, +facing the west where the cliff fell off in a sheer descent, and with +our backs toward the more gradual slope dotted with scrub pines and +cedars. We stuck some tall grass on our heads and proceeded to study the +landscape spread before us for any sign of man. + +“The sweeping valleys were dotted with herds, both large and small, +of buffalo and elk, and now and then we caught a glimpse of a coyote +slinking into the gulches, returning from night hunting to sleep. While +intently watching some moving body at a distance, we could not yet tell +whether of men or animals, I heard a faint noise behind me and slowly +turned my head. Behold! a grizzly bear sneaking up on all fours and +almost ready to spring! + +“‘Run!’ I yelled into the ear of my companion, and we both leaped to our +feet in a second. ‘Separate! separate!’ he shouted, and as we did so, +the bear chose me for his meat. I ran downhill as fast as I could, but +he was gaining. ‘Dodge around a tree!’ screamed Young-Man-Afraid. I took +a deep breath and made a last spurt, desperately circling the first tree +I came to. As the ground was steep just there, I turned a somersault +one way and the bear the other. I picked myself up in time to climb the +tree, and was fairly out of reach when he gathered himself together and +came at me more furiously than ever, holding in one paw the shreds of +my breechcloth, for in the fall he had just scratched my back and cut my +belt in two, and carried off my only garment for a trophy! + +“My friend was well up another tree and laughing heartily at my +predicament, and when the bear saw that he could not get at either of us +he reluctantly departed, after I had politely addressed him and promised +to make an offering to his spirit on my safe return. I don’t think I +ever had a narrower escape,” he concluded. + +During the troublous times from 1865 to 1877, American Horse advocated +yielding to the government at any cost, being no doubt convinced of the +uselessness of resistance. He was not a recognized leader until 1876, +when he took the name and place of his uncle. Up to this time he bore +the nickname of Manishnee (Can not walk, or Played out.) + +When the greater part of the Ogallalas, to which band he belonged, came +into the reservation, he at once allied himself with the peace element +at the Red Cloud agency, near Fort Robinson, Nebraska, and took no small +part in keeping the young braves quiet. Since the older and better-known +chiefs, with the exception of Spotted Tail, were believed to be hostile +at heart, the military made much use of him. Many of his young men +enlisted as scouts by his advice, and even he himself entered the +service. + +In the early part of the year 1876, there was a rumor that certain bands +were in danger of breaking away. Their leader was one Sioux Jim, so +nicknamed by the soldiers. American Horse went to him as peacemaker, but +was told he was a woman and no brave. He returned to his own camp and +told his men that Sioux Jim meant mischief, and in order to prevent +another calamity to the tribe, he must be chastised. He again approached +the warlike Jim with several warriors at his back. The recalcitrant came +out, gun in hand, but the wily chief was too quick for him. He shot and +wounded the rebel, whereupon one of his men came forward and killed him. + +This quelled the people for the time being and up to the killing of +Crazy Horse. In the crisis precipitated by this event, American Horse +was again influential and energetic in the cause of the government. From +this time on he became an active participant in the affairs of the +Teton Sioux. He was noted for his eloquence, which was nearly always +conciliatory, yet he could say very sharp things of the duplicity of +the whites. He had much ease of manner and was a master of repartee. I +recall his saying that if you have got to wear golden slippers to enter +the white man’s heaven no Indian will ever get there, as the whites have +got the Black Hills and with them all the gold. + +It was during the last struggle of his people, at the time of the +Messiah craze in 1890-1891 that he demonstrated as never before the real +greatness of the man. While many of his friends were carried away by +the new thought, he held aloof from it and cautioned his band to do the +same. When it developed into an extensive upheaval among the nations he +took his positive stand against it. + +Presently all Indians who did not dance the Ghost Dance were ordered +to come into camp at Pine Ridge agency. American Horse was the first to +bring in his people. I was there at the time and talked with him daily. +When Little was arrested, it had been agreed among the disaffected to +have him resist, which meant that he would be roughly handled. This was +to be their excuse to attack the Indian police, which would probably +lead to a general massacre or outbreak. I know that this desperate move +was opposed from the beginning by American Horse, and it was believed +that his life was threatened. + +On the day of the “Big Issue”, when thousands of Indians were gathered +at the agency, this man Little, who had been in hiding, walked boldly +among them. Of course the police would arrest him at sight, and he was +led toward the guardhouse. He struggled with them, but was overpowered. +A crowd of warriors rushed to his rescue, and there was confusion and +a general shout of “Hurry up with them! Kill them all!” I saw American +Horse walk out of the agent’s office and calmly face the excited mob. + +“What are you going to do?” he asked. “Stop, men, stop and think before +you act! Will you murder your children, your women, yes, destroy your +nation to-day?” He stood before them like a statue and the men who held +the two policemen helpless paused for an instant. He went on: “You are +brave to-day because you outnumber the white men, but what will you do +to-morrow? There are railroads on all sides of you. The soldiers will +pour in from every direction by thousands and surround you. You have +little food or ammunition. It will be the end of your people. Stop, I +say, stop now!” + +Jack Red Cloud, son of the old chief rushed up to him and thrust a +revolver almost in his face. “It is you and men like you,” he shouted, +“who have reduced our race to slavery and starvation!” American Horse +did not flinch but deliberately reentered the office, followed by Jack +still flourishing the pistol. But his timely appearance and eloquence +had saved the day. Others of the police force had time to reach the +spot, and with a large crowd of friendly Indians had taken command of +the situation. + +When I went into the office I found him alone but apparently quite calm. +“Where are the agent and the clerks?” I asked. “They fled by the back +door,” he replied, smiling. “I think they are in the cellar. These fools +outside had almost caught us asleep, but I think it is over now.” + +American Horse was one of the earliest advocates of education for +the Indian, and his son Samuel and nephew Robert were among the first +students at Carlisle. I think one or two of his daughters were the +handsomest Indian girls of full blood that I ever saw. His record as +a councilor of his people and his policy in the new situation that +confronted them was manly and consistent. + + + + +DULL KNIFE + + +The life of Dull Knife, the Cheyenne, is a true hero tale. Simple, +child-like yet manful, and devoid of selfish aims, or love of gain, he +is a pattern for heroes of any race. + +Dull Knife was a chief of the old school. Among all the Indians of the +plains, nothing counts save proven worth. A man’s caliber is measured +by his courage, unselfishness and intelligence. Many writers confuse +history with fiction, but in Indian history their women and old men and +even children witness the main events, and not being absorbed in daily +papers and magazines, these events are rehearsed over and over with +few variations. Though orally preserved, their accounts are therefore +accurate. But they have seldom been willing to give reliable information +to strangers, especially when asked and paid for. + +Racial prejudice naturally enters into the account of a man’s life by +enemy writers, while one is likely to favor his own race. I am conscious +that many readers may think that I have idealized the Indian. Therefore +I will confess now that we have too many weak and unprincipled men among +us. When I speak of the Indian hero, I do not forget the mongrel in +spirit, false to the ideals of his people. Our trustfulness has been our +weakness, and when the vices of civilization were added to our own, we +fell heavily. + +It is said that Dull Knife as a boy was resourceful and self-reliant. He +was only nine years old when his family was separated from the rest of +the tribe while on a buffalo hunt. His father was away and his mother +busy, and he was playing with his little sister on the banks of a +stream, when a large herd of buffalo swept down upon them on a stampede +for water. His mother climbed a tree, but the little boy led his sister +into an old beaver house whose entrance was above water, and here they +remained in shelter until the buffalo passed and they were found by +their distracted parents. + +Dull Knife was quite a youth when his tribe was caught one winter in a +region devoid of game, and threatened with starvation. The situation was +made worse by heavy storms, but he secured help and led a relief party +a hundred and fifty miles, carrying bales of dried buffalo meat on pack +horses. + +Another exploit that made him dear to his people occurred in battle, +when his brother-in-law was severely wounded and left lying where no one +on either side dared to approach him. As soon as Dull Knife heard of it +he got on a fresh horse, and made so daring a charge that others joined +him; thus under cover of their fire he rescued his brother-in-law, and +in so doing was wounded twice. + +The Sioux knew him as a man of high type, perhaps not so brilliant as +Roman Nose and Two Moon, but surpassing both in honesty and simplicity, +as well as in his war record. (Two Moon, in fact, was never a leader of +his people, and became distinguished only in wars with the whites during +the period of revolt.) A story is told of an ancestor of the same name +that illustrates well the spirit of the age. + +It was the custom in those days for the older men to walk ahead of the +moving caravan and decide upon all halts and camping places. One day the +councilors came to a grove of wild cherries covered with ripe fruit, and +they stopped at once. Suddenly a grizzly charged from the thicket. The +men yelped and hooted, but the bear was not to be bluffed. He knocked +down the first warrior who dared to face him and dragged his victim into +the bushes. + +The whole caravan was in the wildest excitement. Several of the +swiftest-footed warriors charged the bear, to bring him out into the +open, while the women and dogs made all the noise they could. The bear +accepted the challenge, and as he did so, the man whom they had supposed +dead came running from the opposite end of the thicket. The Indians were +delighted, and especially so when in the midst of their cheers, the man +stopped running for his life and began to sing a Brave Heart song as he +approached the grove with his butcher knife in his hand. He would dare +his enemy again! + +The grizzly met him with a tremendous rush, and they went down together. +Instantly the bear began to utter cries of distress, and at the same +time the knife flashed, and he rolled over dead. The warrior was too +quick for the animal; he first bit his sensitive nose to distract his +attention, and then used the knife to stab him to the heart. He fought +many battles with knives thereafter and claimed that the spirit of the +bear gave him success. On one occasion, however, the enemy had a strong +buffalo-hide shield which the Cheyenne bear fighter could not pierce +through, and he was wounded; nevertheless he managed to dispatch his +foe. It was from this incident that he received the name of Dull Knife, +which was handed down to his descendant. + +As is well known, the Northern Cheyennes uncompromisingly supported +the Sioux in their desperate defense of the Black Hills and Big Horn +country. Why not? It was their last buffalo region--their subsistence. +It was what our wheat fields are to a civilized nation. + +About the year 1875, a propaganda was started for confining all the +Indians upon reservations, where they would be practically interned or +imprisoned, regardless of their possessions and rights. The men who +were the strongest advocates of the scheme generally wanted the Indians’ +property--the one main cause back of all Indian wars. From the warlike +Apaches to the peaceful Nez Perces, all the tribes of the plains were +hunted from place to place; then the government resorted to peace +negotiations, but always with an army at hand to coerce. Once disarmed +and helpless, they were to be taken under military guard to the Indian +Territory. + +A few resisted, and declared they would fight to the death rather than +go. Among these were the Sioux, but nearly all the smaller tribes were +deported against their wishes. Of course those Indians who came from +a mountainous and cold country suffered severely. The moist heat and +malaria decimated the exiles. Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces and Chief +Standing Bear of the Poncas appealed to the people of the United States, +and finally succeeded in having their bands or the remnant of them +returned to their own part of the country. Dull Knife was not successful +in his plea, and the story of his flight is one of poignant interest. + +He was regarded by the authorities as a dangerous man, and with his +depleted band was taken to the Indian Territory without his consent in +1876. When he realized that his people were dying like sheep, he was +deeply moved. He called them together. Every man and woman declared that +they would rather die in their own country than stay there longer, and +they resolved to flee to their northern homes. + +Here again was displayed the genius of these people. From the Indian +Territory to Dakota is no short dash for freedom. They knew what they +were facing. Their line of flight lay through a settled country and they +would be closely pursued by the army. No sooner had they started than +the telegraph wires sang one song: “The panther of the Cheyennes is at +large. Not a child or a woman in Kansas or Nebraska is safe.” Yet they +evaded all the pursuing and intercepting troops and reached their native +soil. The strain was terrible, the hardship great, and Dull Knife, like +Joseph, was remarkable for his self-restraint in sparing those who came +within his power on the way. + +But fate was against him, for there were those looking for blood money +who betrayed him when he thought he was among friends. His people were +tired out and famished when they were surrounded and taken to Fort +Robinson. There the men were put in prison, and their wives guarded in +camp. They were allowed to visit their men on certain days. Many of them +had lost everything; there were but a few who had even one child left. +They were heartbroken. + +These despairing women appealed to their husbands to die fighting: their +liberty was gone, their homes broken up, and only slavery and gradual +extinction in sight. At last Dull Knife listened. He said: “I have lived +my life. I am ready.” The others agreed. “If our women are willing to +die with us, who is there to say no? If we are to do the deeds of men, +it rests with you women to bring us our weapons.” + +As they had been allowed to carry moccasins and other things to the men, +so they contrived to take in some guns and knives under this disguise. +The plan was to kill the sentinels and run to the nearest natural +trench, there to make their last stand. The women and children were to +join them. This arrangement was carried out. Not every brave had a gun, +but all had agreed to die together. They fought till their small store +of ammunition was exhausted, then exposed their broad chests for a +target, and the mothers even held up their little ones to be shot. Thus +died the fighting Cheyennes and their dauntless leader. + + + + +ROMAN NOSE + + +This Cheyenne war chief was a contemporary of Dull Knife. He was not +so strong a character as the other, and was inclined to be pompous and +boastful; but with all this he was a true type of native American in +spirit and bravery. + +While Dull Knife was noted in warfare among Indians, Roman Nose made +his record against the whites, in defense of territory embracing the +Republican and Arickaree rivers. He was killed on the latter river in +1868, in the celebrated battle with General Forsythe. + +Save Chief Gall and Washakie in the prime of their manhood, this chief +had no peer in bodily perfection and masterful personality. No Greek or +Roman gymnast was ever a finer model of physical beauty and power. He +thrilled his men to frenzied action when he came upon the field. It was +said of him that he sacrificed more youths by his personal influence in +battle than any other leader, being very reckless himself in grand-stand +charges. He was killed needlessly in this manner. + +Roman Nose always rode an uncommonly fine, spirited horse, and with +his war bonnet and other paraphernalia gave a wonderful exhibition. The +Indians used to say that the soldiers must gaze at him rather than aim +at him, as they so seldom hit him even when running the gantlet before a +firing line. + +He did a remarkable thing once when on a one-arrow-to-kill buffalo hunt +with his brother-in-law. His companion had selected his animal and +drew so powerfully on his sinew bowstring that it broke. Roman Nose +had killed his own cow and was whipping up close to the other when the +misfortune occurred. Both horses were going at full speed and the arrow +jerked up in the air. Roman Nose caught it and shot the cow for him. + +Another curious story told of him is to the effect that he had an +intimate Sioux friend who was courting a Cheyenne girl, but without +success. As the wooing of both Sioux and Cheyennes was pretty much all +effected in the night time, Roman Nose told his friend to let him do +the courting for him. He arranged with the young woman to elope the next +night and to spend the honeymoon among his Sioux friends. He then told +his friend what to do. The Sioux followed instructions and carried off +the Cheyenne maid, and not until morning did she discover her mistake. +It is said she never admitted it, and that the two lived happily +together to a good old age, so perhaps there was no mistake after all. + +Perhaps no other chief attacked more emigrants going west on the Oregon +Trail between 1860 and 1868. He once made an attack on a large party of +Mormons, and in this instance the Mormons had time to form a corral +with their wagons and shelter their women, children, and horses. The +men stood outside and met the Indians with well-aimed volleys, but they +circled the wagons with whirlwind speed, and whenever a white man fell, +it was the signal for Roman Nose to charge and count the “coup.” The +hat of one of the dead men was off, and although he had heavy hair and +beard, the top of his head was bald from the forehead up. As custom +required such a deed to be announced on the spot, the chief yelled at +the top of his voice: + +“Your Roman Nose has counted the first coup on the longest-faced white +man who was ever killed!” + +When the Northern Cheyennes under this daring leader attacked a body of +scouting troops under the brilliant officer General Forsythe, Roman Nose +thought that he had a comparatively easy task. The first onset failed, +and the command entrenched itself on a little island. The wily chief +thought he could stampede them and urged on his braves with the +declaration that the first to reach the island should be entitled to +wear a trailing war bonnet. Nevertheless he was disappointed, and his +men received such a warm reception that none succeeded in reaching it. +In order to inspire them to desperate deeds he had led them in person, +and with him that meant victory or death. According to the army +accounts, it was a thrilling moment, and might well have proved +disastrous to the Forsythe command, whose leader was wounded and +helpless. The danger was acute until Roman Nose fell, and even then his +lieutenants were bent upon crossing at any cost, but some of the older +chiefs prevailed upon them to withdraw. + +Thus the brilliant war chief of the Cheyennes came to his death. If he +had lived until 1876, Sitting Bull would have had another bold ally. + + + + +CHIEF JOSEPH + + +The Nez Perce tribe of Indians, like other tribes too large to be +united under one chief, was composed of several bands, each distinct in +sovereignty. It was a loose confederacy. Joseph and his people occupied +the Imnaha or Grande Ronde valley in Oregon, which was considered +perhaps the finest land in that part of the country. + +When the last treaty was entered into by some of the bands of the Nez +Perce, Joseph’s band was at Lapwai, Idaho, and had nothing to do with +the agreement. The elder chief in dying had counseled his son, then not +more than twenty-two or twenty-three years of age, never to part with +their home, assuring him that he had signed no papers. These peaceful +non-treaty Indians did not even know what land had been ceded until the +agent read them the government order to leave. Of course they refused. +You and I would have done the same. + +When the agent failed to move them, he and the would-be settlers called +upon the army to force them to be good, namely, without a murmur to +leave their pleasant inheritance in the hands of a crowd of greedy +grafters. General O. O. Howard, the Christian soldier, was sent to do +the work. + +He had a long council with Joseph and his leading men, telling them they +must obey the order or be driven out by force. We may be sure that he +presented this hard alternative reluctantly. Joseph was a mere youth +without experience in war or public affairs. He had been well brought +up in obedience to parental wisdom and with his brother Ollicut had +attended Missionary Spaulding’s school where they had listened to the +story of Christ and his religion of brotherhood. He now replied in +his simple way that neither he nor his father had ever made any treaty +disposing of their country, that no other band of the Nez Perces was +authorized to speak for them, and it would seem a mighty injustice and +unkindness to dispossess a friendly band. + +General Howard told them in effect that they had no rights, no voice in +the matter: they had only to obey. Although some of the lesser chiefs +counseled revolt then and there, Joseph maintained his self-control, +seeking to calm his people, and still groping for a peaceful settlement +of their difficulties. He finally asked for thirty days’ time in which +to find and dispose of their stock, and this was granted. + +Joseph steadfastly held his immediate followers to their promise, but +the land-grabbers were impatient, and did everything in their power +to bring about an immediate crisis so as to hasten the eviction of the +Indians. Depredations were committed, and finally the Indians, or some +of them, retaliated, which was just what their enemies had been looking +for. There might be a score of white men murdered among themselves on +the frontier and no outsider would ever hear about it, but if one were +injured by an Indian--“Down with the bloodthirsty savages!” was the cry. + +Joseph told me himself that during all of those thirty days a tremendous +pressure was brought upon him by his own people to resist the government +order. “The worst of it was,” said he, “that everything they said was +true; besides”--he paused for a moment--“it seemed very soon for me to +forget my father’s dying words, ‘Do not give up our home!’” Knowing as I +do just what this would mean to an Indian, I felt for him deeply. + +Among the opposition leaders were Too-hul-hul-sote, White Bird, and +Looking Glass, all of them strong men and respected by the Indians; +while on the other side were men built up by emissaries of the +government for their own purposes and advertised as “great friendly +chiefs.” As a rule such men are unworthy, and this is so well known to +the Indians that it makes them distrustful of the government’s sincerity +at the start. Moreover, while Indians unqualifiedly say what they mean, +the whites have a hundred ways of saying what they do not mean. + +The center of the storm was this simple young man, who so far as I can +learn had never been upon the warpath, and he stood firm for peace and +obedience. As for his father’s sacred dying charge, he told himself that +he would not sign any papers, he would not go of his free will but from +compulsion, and this was his excuse. + +However, the whites were unduly impatient to clear the coveted valley, +and by their insolence they aggravated to the danger point an already +strained situation. The murder of an Indian was the climax and this +happened in the absence of the young chief. He returned to find the +leaders determined to die fighting. The nature of the country was in +their favor and at least they could give the army a chase, but how long +they could hold out they did not know. Even Joseph’s younger brother +Ollicut was won over. There was nothing for him to do but fight; and +then and there began the peaceful Joseph’s career as a general of +unsurpassed strategy in conducting one of the most masterly retreats in +history. + +This is not my judgment, but the unbiased opinion of men whose knowledge +and experience fit them to render it. Bear in mind that these people +were not scalp hunters like the Sioux, Cheyennes, and Utes, but peaceful +hunters and fishermen. The first council of war was a strange business +to Joseph. He had only this to say to his people: + +“I have tried to save you from suffering and sorrow. Resistance means +all of that. We are few. They are many. You can see all we have at a +glance. They have food and ammunition in abundance. We must suffer great +hardship and loss.” After this speech, he quietly began his plans for +the defense. + +The main plan of campaign was to engineer a successful retreat into +Montana and there form a junction with the hostile Sioux and Cheyennes +under Sitting Bull. There was a relay scouting system, one set of +scouts leaving the main body at evening and the second a little before +daybreak, passing the first set on some commanding hill top. There were +also decoy scouts set to trap Indian scouts of the army. I notice that +General Howard charges his Crow scouts with being unfaithful. + +Their greatest difficulty was in meeting an unencumbered army, while +carrying their women, children, and old men, with supplies and such +household effects as were absolutely necessary. Joseph formed an +auxiliary corps that was to effect a retreat at each engagement, upon a +definite plan and in definite order, while the unencumbered women were +made into an ambulance corps to take care of the wounded. + +It was decided that the main rear guard should meet General Howard’s +command in White Bird Canyon, and every detail was planned in advance, +yet left flexible according to Indian custom, giving each leader freedom +to act according to circumstances. Perhaps no better ambush was ever +planned than the one Chief Joseph set for the shrewd and experienced +General Howard. He expected to be hotly pursued, but he calculated that +the pursuing force would consist of not more than two hundred and fifty +soldiers. He prepared false trails to mislead them into thinking that +he was about to cross or had crossed the Salmon River, which he had no +thought of doing at that time. Some of the tents were pitched in plain +sight, while the women and children were hidden on the inaccessible +ridges, and the men concealed in the canyon ready to fire upon the +soldiers with deadly effect with scarcely any danger to themselves. They +could even roll rocks upon them. + +In a very few minutes the troops had learned a lesson. The soldiers +showed some fight, but a large body of frontiersmen who accompanied +them were soon in disorder. The warriors chased them nearly ten miles, +securing rifles and much ammunition, and killing and wounding many. + +The Nez Perces next crossed the river, made a detour and recrossed it +at another point, then took their way eastward. All this was by way of +delaying pursuit. Joseph told me that he estimated it would take six +or seven days to get a sufficient force in the field to take up their +trail, and the correctness of his reasoning is apparent from the facts +as detailed in General Howard’s book. He tells us that he waited six +days for the arrival of men from various forts in his department, then +followed Joseph with six hundred soldiers, beside a large number of +citizen volunteers and his Indian scouts. As it was evident they had +a long chase over trackless wilderness in prospect, he discarded his +supply wagons and took pack mules instead. But by this time the Indians +had a good start. + +Meanwhile General Howard had sent a dispatch to Colonel Gibbons, with +orders to head Joseph off, which he undertook to do at the Montana end +of the Lolo Trail. The wily commander had no knowledge of this move, but +he was not to be surprised. He was too brainy for his pursuers, whom he +constantly outwitted, and only gave battle when he was ready. There at +the Big Hole Pass he met Colonel Gibbons’ fresh troops and pressed them +close. He sent a party under his brother Ollicut to harass Gibbons’ rear +and rout the pack mules, thus throwing him on the defensive and causing +him to send for help, while Joseph continued his masterly retreat toward +the Yellowstone Park, then a wilderness. However, this was but little +advantage to him, since he must necessarily leave a broad trail, and the +army was augmenting its columns day by day with celebrated scouts, both +white and Indian. The two commands came together, and although General +Howard says their horses were by this time worn out, and by inference +the men as well, they persisted on the trail of a party encumbered by +women and children, the old, sick, and wounded. + +It was decided to send a detachment of cavalry under Bacon, to Tash +Pass, the gateway of the National Park, which Joseph would have to pass, +with orders to detain him there until the rest could come up with them. +Here is what General Howard says of the affair. “Bacon got into position +soon enough but he did not have the heart to fight the Indians on +account of their number.” Meanwhile another incident had occurred. Right +under the eyes of the chosen scouts and vigilant sentinels, Joseph’s +warriors fired upon the army camp at night and ran off their mules. He +went straight on toward the park, where Lieutenant Bacon let him get by +and pass through the narrow gateway without firing a shot. + +Here again it was demonstrated that General Howard could not depend upon +the volunteers, many of whom had joined him in the chase, and were going +to show the soldiers how to fight Indians. In this night attack at Camas +Meadow, they were demoralized, and while crossing the river next day +many lost their guns in the water, whereupon all packed up and went +home, leaving the army to be guided by the Indian scouts. + +However, this succession of defeats did not discourage General Howard, +who kept on with as many of his men as were able to carry a gun, +meanwhile sending dispatches to all the frontier posts with orders to +intercept Joseph if possible. Sturgis tried to stop him as the Indians +entered the Park, but they did not meet until he was about to come out, +when there was another fight, with Joseph again victorious. General +Howard came upon the battle field soon afterward and saw that the +Indians were off again, and from here he sent fresh messages to General +Miles, asking for reinforcements. + +Joseph had now turned northeastward toward the Upper Missouri. He told +me that when he got into that part of the country he knew he was very +near the Canadian line and could not be far from Sitting Bull, with whom +he desired to form an alliance. He also believed that he had cleared all +the forts. Therefore he went more slowly and tried to give his people +some rest. Some of their best men had been killed or wounded in battle, +and the wounded were a great burden to him; nevertheless they were +carried and tended patiently all during this wonderful flight. Not one +was ever left behind. + +It is the general belief that Indians are cruel and revengeful, and +surely these people had reason to hate the race who had driven them from +their homes if any people ever had. Yet it is a fact that when Joseph +met visitors and travelers in the Park, some of whom were women, he +allowed them to pass unharmed, and in at least one instance let them +have horses. He told me that he gave strict orders to his men not to +kill any women or children. He wished to meet his adversaries according +to their own standards of warfare, but he afterward learned that in +spite of professions of humanity, white soldiers have not seldom been +known to kill women and children indiscriminately. + +Another remarkable thing about this noted retreat is that Joseph’s +people stood behind him to a man, and even the women and little boys did +each his part. The latter were used as scouts in the immediate vicinity +of the camp. + +The Bittersweet valley, which they had now entered, was full of game, +and the Indians hunted for food, while resting their worn-out ponies. +One morning they had a council to which Joseph rode over bareback, as +they had camped in two divisions a little apart. His fifteen-year-old +daughter went with him. They discussed sending runners to Sitting Bull +to ascertain his exact whereabouts and whether it would be agreeable to +him to join forces with the Nez Perces. In the midst of the council, +a force of United States cavalry charged down the hill between the +two camps. This once Joseph was surprised. He had seen no trace of the +soldiers and had somewhat relaxed his vigilance. + +He told his little daughter to stay where she was, and himself cut right +through the cavalry and rode up to his own teepee, where his wife met +him at the door with his rifle, crying: “Here is your gun, husband!” The +warriors quickly gathered and pressed the soldiers so hard that they +had to withdraw. Meanwhile one set of the people fled while Joseph’s own +band entrenched themselves in a very favorable position from which they +could not easily be dislodged. + +General Miles had received and acted on General Howard’s message, and he +now sent one of his officers with some Indian scouts into Joseph’s camp +to negotiate with the chief. Meantime Howard and Sturgis came up with +the encampment, and Howard had with him two friendly Nez Perce scouts +who were directed to talk to Joseph in his own language. He decided that +there was nothing to do but surrender. + +He had believed that his escape was all but secure: then at the last +moment he was surprised and caught at a disadvantage. His army was +shattered; he had lost most of the leaders in these various fights; +his people, including children, women, and the wounded, had traveled +thirteen hundred miles in about fifty days, and he himself a young man +who had never before taken any important responsibility! Even now he was +not actually conquered. He was well entrenched; his people were willing +to die fighting; but the army of the United States offered peace and he +agreed, as he said, out of pity for his suffering people. Some of his +warriors still refused to surrender and slipped out of the camp at night +and through the lines. Joseph had, as he told me, between three and four +hundred fighting men in the beginning, which means over one thousand +persons, and of these several hundred surrendered with him. + +His own story of the conditions he made was prepared by himself with my +help in 1897, when he came to Washington to present his grievances. I +sat up with him nearly all of one night; and I may add here that we +took the document to General Miles who was then stationed in Washington, +before presenting it to the Department. The General said that every word +of it was true. + +In the first place, his people were to be kept at Fort Keogh, Montana, +over the winter and then returned to their reservation. Instead they +were taken to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and placed between a lagoon and +the Missouri River, where the sanitary conditions made havoc with them. +Those who did not die were then taken to the Indian Territory, where the +health situation was even worse. Joseph appealed to the government again +and again, and at last by the help of Bishops Whipple and Hare he was +moved to the Colville reservation in Washington. Here the land was very +poor, unlike their own fertile valley. General Miles said to the chief +that he had recommended and urged that their agreement be kept, but the +politicians and the people who occupied the Indians’ land declared they +were afraid if he returned he would break out again and murder innocent +white settlers! What irony! + +The great Chief Joseph died broken-spirited and broken-hearted. He did +not hate the whites, for there was nothing small about him, and when he +laid down his weapons he would not fight on with his mind. But he was +profoundly disappointed in the claims of a Christian civilization. I +call him great because he was simple and honest. Without education or +special training he demonstrated his ability to lead and to fight +when justice demanded. He outgeneraled the best and most experienced +commanders in the army of the United States, although their troops were +well provisioned, well armed, and above all unencumbered. He was great +finally, because he never boasted of his remarkable feat. I am proud of +him, because he was a true American. + + + + +LITTLE WOLF + + +If any people ever fought for liberty and justice, it was the Cheyennes. +If any ever demonstrated their physical and moral courage beyond cavil, +it was this race of purely American heroes, among whom Little Wolf was a +leader. + +I knew the chief personally very well. As a young doctor, I was sent to +the Pine Ridge agency in 1890, as government physician to the Sioux and +the Northern Cheyennes. While I heard from his own lips of that gallant +dash of his people from their southern exile to their northern home, I +prefer that Americans should read of it in Doctor George Bird Grinnell’s +book, “The Fighting Cheyennes.” No account could be clearer or simpler; +and then too, the author cannot be charged with a bias in favor of his +own race. + +At the time that I knew him, Little Wolf was a handsome man, with the +native dignity and gentleness, musical voice, and pleasant address of so +many brave leaders of his people. One day when he was dining with us at +our home on the reservation, I asked him, as I had a habit of doing, for +some reminiscences of his early life. He was rather reluctant to speak, +but a friend who was present contributed the following: + +“Perhaps I can tell you why it is that he has been a lucky man all his +life. When quite a small boy, the tribe was one winter in want of food, +and his good mother had saved a small piece of buffalo meat, which she +solemnly brought forth and placed before him with the remark: ‘My son +must be patient, for when he grows up he will know even harder times +than this.’ + +“He had eaten nothing all day and was pretty hungry, but before he could +lay hands on the meat a starving dog snatched it and bolted from +the teepee. The mother ran after the dog and brought him back for +punishment. She tied him to a post and was about to whip him when the +boy interfered. ‘Don’t hurt him, mother!’ he cried; ‘he took the meat +because he was hungrier than I am!’” + +I was told of another kind act of his under trying circumstances. While +still a youth, he was caught out with a party of buffalo hunters in a +blinding blizzard. They were compelled to lie down side by side in the +snowdrifts, and it was a day and a night before they could get out. The +weather turned very cold, and when the men arose they were in danger of +freezing. Little Wolf pressed his fine buffalo robe upon an old man who +was shaking with a chill and himself took the other’s thin blanket. + +As a full-grown young man, he was attracted by a maiden of his tribe, +and according to the custom then in vogue the pair disappeared. When +they returned to the camp as man and wife, behold! there was great +excitement over the affair. It seemed that a certain chief had given +many presents and paid unmistakable court to the maid with the intention +of marrying her, and her parents had accepted the presents, which meant +consent so far as they were concerned. But the girl herself had not +given consent. + +The resentment of the disappointed suitor was great. It was reported in +the village that he had openly declared that the young man who defied +and insulted him must expect to be punished. As soon as Little Wolf +heard of the threats, he told his father and friends that he had done +only what it is every man’s privilege to do. + +“Tell the chief,” said he, “to come out with any weapon he pleases, and +I will meet him within the circle of lodges. He shall either do this +or eat his words. The woman is not his. Her people accepted his gifts +against her wishes. Her heart is mine.” + +The chief apologized, and thus avoided the inevitable duel, which would +have been a fight to the death. + +The early life of Little Wolf offered many examples of the dashing +bravery characteristic of the Cheyennes, and inspired the younger men +to win laurels for themselves. He was still a young man, perhaps +thirty-five, when the most trying crisis in the history of his +people came upon them. As I know and as Doctor Grinnell’s book amply +corroborates, he was the general who largely guided and defended them in +that tragic flight from the Indian Territory to their northern home. I +will not discuss the justice of their cause: I prefer to quote Doctor +Grinnell, lest it appear that I am in any way exaggerating the facts. + +“They had come,” he writes, “from the high, dry country of Montana and +North Dakota to the hot and humid Indian Territory. They had come from +a country where buffalo and other game were still plentiful to a land +where the game had been exterminated. Immediately on their arrival they +were attacked by fever and ague, a disease wholly new to them. Food was +scanty, and they began to starve. The agent testified before a committee +of the Senate that he never received supplies to subsist the Indians for +more than nine months in each year. These people were meat-eaters, but +the beef furnished them by the government inspectors was no more than +skin and bone. The agent in describing their sufferings said: ‘They have +lived and that is about all.’ + +“The Indians endured this for about a year, and then their patience gave +out. They left the agency to which they had been sent and started north. +Though troops were camped close to them, they attempted no concealment +of their purpose. Instead, they openly announced that they intended to +return to their own country. + +“We have heard much in past years of the march of the Nez Perces under +Chief Joseph, but little is remembered of the Dull Knife outbreak and +the march to the north led by Little Wolf. The story of the journey has +not been told, but in the traditions of the old army this campaign was +notable, and old men who were stationed on the plains forty years ago +are apt to tell you, if you ask them, that there never was such another +journey since the Greeks marched to the sea.... + +“The fugitives pressed constantly northward undaunted, while orders were +flying over the wires, and special trains were carrying men and horses +to cut them off at all probable points on the different railway lines +they must cross. Of the three hundred Indians, sixty or seventy were +fighting men--the rest old men, women, and children. An army officer +once told me that thirteen thousand troops were hurrying over the +country to capture or kill these few poor people who had left the +fever-stricken South, and in the face of every obstacle were steadily +marching northward. + +“The War Department set all its resources in operation against them, +yet they kept on. If troops attacked them, they stopped and fought +until they had driven off the soldiers, and then started north again. +Sometimes they did not even stop, but marched along, fighting as they +marched. For the most part they tried--and with success--to avoid +conflicts, and had but four real hard fights, in which they lost half a +dozen men killed and about as many wounded.” + +It must not be overlooked that the appeal to justice had first been +tried before taking this desperate step. Little Wolf had gone to the +agent about the middle of the summer and said to him: “This is not a +good country for us, and we wish to return to our home in the mountains +where we were always well. If you have not the power to give permission, +let some of us go to Washington and tell them there how it is, or do you +write to Washington and get permission for us to go back.” + +“Stay one more year,” replied the agent, “and then we will see what we +can do for you.” “No,” said Little Wolf. “Before another year there will +be none left to travel north. We must go now.” + +Soon after this it was found that three of the Indians had disappeared +and the chief was ordered to surrender ten men as hostages for their +return. He refused. “Three men,” said he, “who are traveling over wild +country can hide so that they cannot be found. You would never get back +these three, and you would keep my men prisoners always.” + +The agent then threatened if the ten men were not given up to withhold +their rations and starve the entire tribe into submission. He forgot +that he was addressing a Cheyenne. These people had not understood that +they were prisoners when they agreed to friendly relations with the +government and came upon the reservation. Little Wolf stood up and shook +hands with all present before making his final deliberate address. + +“Listen, my friends, I am a friend of the white people and have been so +for a long time. I do not want to see blood spilt about this agency. I +am going north to my own country. If you are going to send your soldiers +after me, I wish you would let us get a little distance away. Then if +you want to fight, I will fight you, and we can make the ground bloody +at that place.” + +The Cheyenne was not bluffing. He said just what he meant, and I presume +the agent took the hint, for although the military were there they +did not undertake to prevent the Indians’ departure. Next morning the +teepees were pulled down early and quickly. Toward evening of the second +day, the scouts signaled the approach of troops. Little Wolf called his +men together and advised them under no circumstances to fire until +fired upon. An Arapahoe scout was sent to them with a message. “If you +surrender now, you will get your rations and be well treated.” After +what they had endured, it was impossible not to hear such a promise with +contempt. Said Little Wolf: “We are going back to our own country. We do +not want to fight.” He was riding still nearer when the soldiers fired, +and at a signal the Cheyennes made a charge. They succeeded in holding +off the troops for two days, with only five men wounded and none killed, +and when the military retreated the Indians continued northward carrying +their wounded. + +This sort of thing was repeated again and again. Meanwhile Little +Wolf held his men under perfect control. There were practically no +depredations. They secured some boxes of ammunition left behind by +retreating troops, and at one point the young men were eager to follow +and destroy an entire command who were apparently at their mercy, but +their leader withheld them. They had now reached the buffalo country, +and he always kept his main object in sight. He was extraordinarily +calm. Doctor Grinnell was told by one of his men years afterward: +“Little Wolf did not seem like a human being. He seemed like a bear.” + It is true that a man of his type in a crisis becomes spiritually +transformed and moves as one in a dream. + +At the Running Water the band divided, Dull Knife going toward Red Cloud +agency. He was near Fort Robinson when he surrendered and met his sad +fate. Little Wolf remained all winter in the Sand Hills, where there was +plenty of game and no white men. Later he went to Montana and then to +Pine Ridge, where he and his people remained in peace until they were +removed to Lame Deer, Montana, and there he spent the remainder of his +days. There is a clear sky beyond the clouds of racial prejudice, and +in that final Court of Honor a noble soul like that of Little Wolf has a +place. + + + +HOLE-IN-THE-DAY + +[I wish to thank Reverend C. H. Beaulieu of Le Soeur, Minnesota, for +much of the material used in this chapter.] + +In the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Indian nations of the +Northwest first experienced the pressure of civilization. At this period +there were among them some brilliant leaders unknown to history, for the +curious reason that they cordially received and welcomed the newcomers +rather than opposed them. The only difficulties were those arising among +the European nations themselves, and often involving the native tribes. +Thus new environments brought new motives, and our temptations were +increased manyfold with the new weapons, new goods, and above all the +subtly destructive “spirit water.” + +Gradually it became known that the new race had a definite purpose, and +that purpose was to chart and possess the whole country, regardless of +the rights of its earlier inhabitants. Still the old chiefs cautioned +their people to be patient, for, said they, the land is vast, both races +can live on it, each in their own way. Let us therefore befriend them +and trust to their friendship. While they reasoned thus, the temptations +of graft and self-aggrandizement overtook some of the leaders. + +Hole-in-the-Day (or Bug-o-nay-ki-shig) was born in the opening days of +this era. The word “ki-shig” means either “day” or “sky”, and the name +is perhaps more correctly translated Hole-in-the-Sky. This gifted man +inherited his name and much of his ability from his father, who was a +war chief among the Ojibways, a Napoleon of the common people, and who +carried on a relentless warfare against the Sioux. And yet, as was our +custom at the time, peaceful meetings were held every summer, at which +representatives of the two tribes would recount to one another all the +events that had come to pass during the preceding year. + +Hole-in-the-Day the younger was a handsome man, tall and symmetrically +formed, with much grace of manner and natural refinement. He was an +astute student of diplomacy. The Ojibways allowed polygamy, and whether +or not he approved the principle, he made political use of it by +marrying the daughter of a chief in nearly every band. Through these +alliances he held a controlling influence over the whole Ojibway nation. +Reverend Claude H. Beaulieu says of him: + +“Hole-in-the-Day was a man of distinguished appearance and native +courtliness of manner. His voice was musical and magnetic, and with +these qualities he had a subtle brain, a logical mind, and quite a +remarkable gift of oratory. In speech he was not impassioned, but clear +and convincing, and held fast the attention of his hearers.” + +It is of interest to note that his everyday name among his tribesmen was +“The Boy.” What a boy he must have been! I wonder if the name had the +same significance as with the Sioux, who applied it to any man who +performs a difficult duty with alertness, dash, and natural courage. +“The Man” applies to one who adds to these qualities wisdom and maturity +of judgment. + +The Sioux tell many stories of both the elder and the younger +Hole-in-the-Day. Once when The Boy was still under ten years of age, he +was fishing on Gull Lake in a leaky birch-bark canoe. Presently there +came such a burst of frantic warwhoops that his father was startled. He +could not think of anything but an attack by the dreaded Sioux. Seizing +his weapons, he ran to the rescue of his son, only to find that the +little fellow had caught a fish so large that it was pulling his canoe +all over the lake. “Ugh,” exclaimed the father, “if a mere fish scares +you so badly, I fear you will never make a warrior!” + +It is told of him that when he was very small, the father once brought +home two bear cubs and gave them to him for pets. The Boy was feeding +and getting acquainted with them outside his mother’s birch-bark teepee, +when suddenly he was heard to yell for help. The two little bears had +treed The Boy and were waltzing around the tree. His mother scared them +off, but again the father laughed at him for thinking that he could +climb trees better than a bear. + +The elder Hole-in-the-Day was a daring warrior and once attacked and +scalped a Sioux who was carrying his pelts to the trading post, in full +sight of his friends. Of course he was instantly pursued, and he leaped +into a canoe which was lying near by and crossed to an island in the +Mississippi River near Fort Snelling. When almost surrounded by Sioux +warriors, he left the canoe and swam along the shore with only his nose +above water, but as they were about to head him off he landed and hid +behind the falling sheet of water known as Minnehaha Falls, thus saving +his life. + +It often happens that one who offers his life freely will after all +die a natural death. The elder Hole-in-the-Day so died when The Boy was +still a youth. Like Philip of Massachusetts, Chief Joseph the younger, +and the brilliant Osceola, the mantle fell gracefully upon his +shoulders, and he wore it during a short but eventful term of +chieftainship. It was his to see the end of the original democracy on +this continent. The clouds were fast thickening on the eastern horizon. +The day of individualism and equity between man and man must yield to +the terrific forces of civilization, the mass play of materialism, +the cupidity of commerce with its twin brother politics. Under such +conditions the younger Hole-in-the-Day undertook to guide his tribesmen. +At first they were inclined to doubt the wisdom of so young a leader, +but he soon proved a ready student of his people’s traditions, and yet, +like Spotted Tail and Little Crow, he adopted too willingly the white +man’s politics. He maintained the territory won from the Sioux by +his predecessors. He negotiated treaties with the ability of a born +diplomat, with one exception, and that exception cost him his life. + +Like other able Indians who foresaw the inevitable downfall of their +race, he favored a gradual change of customs leading to complete +adoption of the white man’s ways. In order to accustom the people to a +new standard, he held that the chiefs must have authority and must be +given compensation for their services. This was a serious departure from +the old rule but was tacitly accepted, and in every treaty he made there +was provision for himself in the way of a land grant or a cash payment. +He early departed from the old idea of joint ownership with the Lake +Superior Ojibways, because he foresaw that it would cause no end of +trouble for the Mississippi River branch of which he was then the +recognized head. But there were difficulties to come with the Leech Lake +and Red Lake bands, who held aloof from his policy, and the question of +boundaries began to arise. + +In the first treaty negotiated with the government by young +Hole-in-the-Day in 1855, a “surplus” was provided for the chiefs +aside from the regular per capita payment, and this surplus was to +be distributed in proportion to the number of Indians under each. +Hole-in-the-Day had by far the largest enrollment, therefore he got the +lion’s share of this fund. Furthermore he received another sum set apart +for the use of the “head chief”, and these things did not look right to +the tribe. In the very next treaty he provided himself with an annuity +of one thousand dollars for twenty years, beside a section of land near +the village of Crow Wing, and the government was induced to build him +a good house upon this land. In his home he had many white servants and +henchmen and really lived like a lord. He dressed well in native style +with a touch of civilized elegance, wearing coat and leggings of fine +broadcloth, linen shirt with collar, and, topping all, a handsome +black or blue blanket. His moccasins were of the finest deerskin and +beautifully worked. His long beautiful hair added much to his personal +appearance. He was fond of entertaining and being entertained and was +a favorite both among army officers and civilians. He was especially +popular with the ladies, and this fact will appear later in the story. + +At about this time, the United States government took it upon itself to +put an end to warfare between the Sioux and Ojibways. A peace meeting +was arranged at Fort Snelling, with the United States as mediator. +When the representatives of the two nations met at this grand council, +Hole-in-the-Day came as the head chief of his people, and with the +other chiefs appeared in considerable pomp and dignity. The wives of the +government officials were eager for admission to this unusual gathering, +but when they arrived there was hardly any space left except next to +the Sioux chiefs, and the white ladies soon crowded this space to +overflowing. One of the Sioux remarked: “I thought this was to be a +council of chiefs and braves, but I see many women among us.” Thereupon +the Ojibway arose and spoke in his courtliest manner. “The Ojibway +chiefs will feel highly honored,” said he, “if the ladies will consent +to sit on our side.” + +Another sign of his alertness to gain favor among the whites was seen in +the fact that he took part in the territorial campaigns, a most unusual +thing for an Indian of that day. Being a man of means and influence, +he was listened to with respect by the scattered white settlers in his +vicinity. He would make a political speech through an interpreter, but +would occasionally break loose in his broken English, and wind up with +an invitation to drink in the following words: “Chentimen, you Pemicans +(Republicans), come out and drink!” + +From 1855 to 1864 Hole-in-the-Day was a well-known figure in Minnesota, +and scarcely less so in Washington, for he visited the capital quite +often on tribal affairs. As I have said before, he was an unusually +handsome man, and was not unresponsive to flattery and the attentions +of women. At the time of this incident he was perhaps thirty-five years +old, but looked younger. He had called upon the President and was on his +way back to his hotel, when he happened to pass the Treasury building +just as the clerks were leaving for the day. He was immediately +surrounded by an inquisitive throng. Among them was a handsome young +woman who asked through the interpreter if the chief would consent to +an interview about his people, to aid her in a paper she had promised to +prepare. + +Hole-in-the-Day replied: “If the beautiful lady is willing to risk +calling on the chief at his hotel, her request will be granted.” The +lady went, and the result was so sudden and strong an attachment that +both forgot all racial biases and differences of language and custom. +She followed him as far as Minneapolis, and there the chief advised her +to remain, for he feared the jealousy of some of his many wives. She +died there, soon after giving birth to a son, who was brought up by a +family named Woodbury; and some fifteen years ago I met the young man +in Washington and was taken by him to call upon certain of his mother’s +relatives. + +The ascendancy of Hole-in-the-Day was not gained entirely through the +consent of his people, but largely by government favor, therefore there +was strong suppressed resentment among his associate chiefs, and the Red +Lake and Leech Lake bands in fact never acknowledged him as their head, +while they suspected him of making treaties which involved some of their +land. He was in personal danger from this source, and his life was +twice attempted, but, though wounded, in each case he recovered. His +popularity with Indian agents and officers lasted till the Republicans +came into power in the sixties and there was a new deal. The chief no +longer received the favors and tips to which he was accustomed; in +fact he was in want of luxuries, and worse still, his pride was hurt by +neglect. The new party had promised Christian treatment to the Indians, +but it appeared that they were greater grafters than their predecessors, +and unlike them kept everything for themselves, allowing no perquisites +to any Indian chief. + +In his indignation at this treatment, Hole-in-the-Day began exposing +the frauds on his people, and so at a late day was converted to their +defense. Perhaps he had not fully understood the nature of graft until +he was in a position to view it from the outside. After all, he was +excusable in seeking to maintain the dignity of his office, but he had +departed from one of the fundamental rules of the race, namely: “Let no +material gain be the motive or reward of public duty.” He had wounded +the ideals of his people beyond forgiveness, and he suffered the +penalty; yet his courage was not diminished by the mistakes of his past. +Like the Sioux chief Little Crow, he was called “the betrayer of +his people”, and like him he made a desperate effort to regain lost +prestige, and turned savagely against the original betrayers of his +confidence, the agents and Indian traders. + +When the Sioux finally broke out in 1862, the first thought of the +local politicians was to humiliate Hole-in-the-Day by arresting him +and proclaiming some other “head chief” in his stead. In so doing they +almost forced the Ojibways to fight under his leadership. The chief had +no thought of alliance with the Sioux, and was wholly unaware of the +proposed action of the military on pretense of such a conspiracy on his +part. He was on his way to the agency in his own carriage when a runner +warned him of his danger. He thereupon jumped down and instructed the +driver to proceed. His coachman was arrested by a file of soldiers, who +when they discovered their mistake went to his residence in search of +him, but meanwhile he had sent runners in every direction to notify +his warriors, and had moved his family across the Mississippi. When +the military reached the river bank he was still in sight, and the +lieutenant called upon him to surrender. When he refused, the soldiers +were ordered to fire upon him, but he replied with his own rifle, and +with a whoop disappeared among the pine groves. + +It was remarkable how the whole tribe now rallied to the call of +Hole-in-the-Day. He allowed no depredations to the young men under +his leadership, but camped openly near the agency and awaited an +explanation. Presently Judge Cooper of St. Paul, a personal friend +of the chief, appeared, and later on the Assistant Secretary of the +Interior, accompanied by Mr. Nicolay, private secretary of President +Lincoln. Apparently that great humanitarian President saw the whole +injustice of the proceeding against a loyal nation, and the difficulty +was at an end. + +Through the treaties of 1864, 1867, and 1868 was accomplished the final +destiny of the Mississippi River Ojibways. Hole-in-the-Day was against +their removal to what is now White Earth reservation, but he was +defeated in this and realized that the new turn of events meant the +downfall of his race. He declared that he would never go on the new +reservation, and he kept his word. He remained on one of his land grants +near Crow Wing. As the other chiefs assumed more power, the old feeling +of suspicion and hatred became stronger, especially among the Pillager +and Red Lake bands. One day he was waylaid and shot by a party of these +disaffected Indians. He uttered a whoop and fell dead from his buggy. + +Thus died one of the most brilliant chiefs of the Northwest, who never +defended his birthright by force of arms, although almost compelled to +do so. He succeeded in diplomacy so long as he was the recognized head +of his people. Since we have not passed over his weaknesses, he should +be given credit for much insight in causing the article prohibiting the +introduction of liquor into the Indian country to be inserted into the +treaty of 1858. I think it was in 1910 that this forgotten provision was +discovered and again enforced over a large expanse of territory occupied +by whites, it being found that the provision had never been repealed. + +Although he left many children, none seem to have made their mark, yet +it may be that in one of his descendants that undaunted spirit will rise +again. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains, by +[AKA Ohiyesa], Charles A. 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Eastman (Ohiyesa) + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains, by +[AKA Ohiyesa], Charles A. Eastman + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains + +Author: [AKA Ohiyesa], Charles A. Eastman + +Release Date: July 5, 2008 [EBook #336] +Last Updated: October 7, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS *** + + + + +Produced by Judith Boss, and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Charles A. Eastman (Ohiyesa) + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <big><b>INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS</b></big> + </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> RED CLOUD </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> SPOTTED TAIL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> LITTLE CROW </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> TAMAHAY </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> GALL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> CRAZY HORSE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> SITTING BULL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> RAIN-IN-THE-FACE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> TWO STRIKE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> AMERICAN HORSE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> DULL KNIFE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> ROMAN NOSE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> CHIEF JOSEPH </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> LITTLE WOLF </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkhole"> HOLE-IN-THE-DAY </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h1> + INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + RED CLOUD + </h2> + <p> + EVERY age, every race, has its leaders and heroes. There were over sixty + distinct tribes of Indians on this continent, each of which boasted its + notable men. The names and deeds of some of these men will live in + American history, yet in the true sense they are unknown, because + misunderstood. I should like to present some of the greatest chiefs of + modern times in the light of the native character and ideals, believing + that the American people will gladly do them tardy justice. + </p> + <p> + It is matter of history that the Sioux nation, to which I belong, was + originally friendly to the Caucasian peoples which it met in + succession-first, to the south the Spaniards; then the French, on the + Mississippi River and along the Great Lakes; later the English, and + finally the Americans. This powerful tribe then roamed over the whole + extent of the Mississippi valley, between that river and the Rockies. + Their usages and government united the various bands more closely than was + the case with many of the neighboring tribes. + </p> + <p> + During the early part of the nineteenth century, chiefs such as Wabashaw, + Redwing, and Little Six among the eastern Sioux, Conquering Bear, + Man-Afraid-of-His-Horse, and Hump of the western bands, were the last of + the old type. After these, we have a coterie of new leaders, products of + the new conditions brought about by close contact with the conquering + race. + </p> + <p> + This distinction must be borne in mind—that while the early chiefs + were spokesmen and leaders in the simplest sense, possessing no real + authority, those who headed their tribes during the transition period were + more or less rulers and more or less politicians. It is a singular fact + that many of the “chiefs”, well known as such to the American public, were + not chiefs at all according to the accepted usages of their tribesmen. + Their prominence was simply the result of an abnormal situation, in which + representatives of the United States Government made use of them for a + definite purpose. In a few cases, where a chief met with a violent death, + some ambitious man has taken advantage of the confusion to thrust himself + upon the tribe and, perhaps with outside help, has succeeded in usurping + the leadership. + </p> + <p> + Red Cloud was born about 1820 near the forks of the Platte River. He was + one of a family of nine children whose father, an able and respected + warrior, reared his son under the old Spartan regime. The young Red Cloud + is said to have been a fine horseman, able to swim across the Missouri and + Yellowstone rivers, of high bearing and unquestionable courage, yet + invariably gentle and courteous in everyday life. This last trait, + together with a singularly musical and agreeable voice, has always been + characteristic of the man. + </p> + <p> + When he was about six years old, his father gave him a spirited colt, and + said to him: + </p> + <p> + “My son, when you are able to sit quietly upon the back of this colt + without saddle or bridle, I shall be glad, for the boy who can win a wild + creature and learn to use it will as a man be able to win and rule men.” + </p> + <p> + The little fellow, instead of going for advice and help to his + grandfather, as most Indian boys would have done, began quietly to + practice throwing the lariat. In a little while he was able to lasso the + colt. He was dragged off his feet at once, but hung on, and finally + managed to picket him near the teepee. When the big boys drove the herd of + ponies to water, he drove his colt with the rest. Presently the pony + became used to him and allowed himself to be handled. The boy began to + ride him bareback; he was thrown many times, but persisted until he could + ride without even a lariat, sitting with arms folded and guiding the + animal by the movements of his body. From that time on he told me that he + broke all his own ponies, and before long his father’s as well. + </p> + <p> + The old men, his contemporaries, have often related to me how Red Cloud + was always successful in the hunt because his horses were so well broken. + At the age of nine, he began to ride his father’s pack pony upon the + buffalo hunt. He was twelve years old, he told me, when he was first + permitted to take part in the chase, and found to his great mortification + that none of his arrows penetrated more than a few inches. Excited to + recklessness, he whipped his horse nearer the fleeing buffalo, and before + his father knew what he was about, he had seized one of the protruding + arrows and tried to push it deeper. The furious animal tossed his massive + head sidewise, and boy and horse were whirled into the air. Fortunately, + the boy was thrown on the farther side of his pony, which received the + full force of the second attack. The thundering hoofs of the stampeded + herd soon passed them by, but the wounded and maddened buffalo refused to + move, and some critical moments passed before Red Cloud’s father succeeded + in attracting its attention so that the boy might spring to his feet and + run for his life. + </p> + <p> + I once asked Red Cloud if he could recall having ever been afraid, and in + reply he told me this story. He was about sixteen years old and had + already been once or twice upon the warpath, when one fall his people were + hunting in the Big Horn country, where they might expect trouble at any + moment with the hostile Crows or Shoshones. Red Cloud had followed a + single buffalo bull into the Bad Lands and was out of sight and hearing of + his companions. When he had brought down his game, he noted carefully + every feature of his surroundings so that he might at once detect anything + unusual, and tied his horse with a long lariat to the horn of the dead + bison, while skinning and cutting up the meat so as to pack it to camp. + Every few minutes he paused in his work to scrutinize the landscape, for + he had a feeling that danger was not far off. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, almost over his head, as it seemed, he heard a tremendous war + whoop, and glancing sidewise, thought he beheld the charge of an + overwhelming number of warriors. He tried desperately to give the usual + undaunted war whoop in reply, but instead a yell of terror burst from his + lips, his legs gave way under him, and he fell in a heap. When he + realized, the next instant, that the war whoop was merely the sudden loud + whinnying of his own horse, and the charging army a band of fleeing elk, + he was so ashamed of himself that he never forgot the incident, although + up to that time he had never mentioned it. His subsequent career would + indicate that the lesson was well learned. + </p> + <p> + The future leader was still a very young man when he joined a war party + against the Utes. Having pushed eagerly forward on the trail, he found + himself far in advance of his companions as night came on, and at the same + time rain began to fall heavily. Among the scattered scrub pines, the lone + warrior found a natural cave, and after a hasty examination, he decided to + shelter there for the night. + </p> + <p> + Scarcely had he rolled himself in his blanket when he heard a slight + rustling at the entrance, as if some creature were preparing to share his + retreat. It was pitch dark. He could see nothing, but judged that it must + be either a man or a grizzly. There was not room to draw a bow. It must be + between knife and knife, or between knife and claws, he said to himself. + </p> + <p> + The intruder made no search but quietly lay down in the opposite corner of + the cave. Red Cloud remained perfectly still, scarcely breathing, his hand + upon his knife. Hour after hour he lay broad awake, while many thoughts + passed through his brain. Suddenly, without warning, he sneezed, and + instantly a strong man sprang to a sitting posture opposite. The first + gray of morning was creeping into their rocky den, and behold! a Ute + hunter sat before him. + </p> + <p> + Desperate as the situation appeared, it was not without a grim humor. + Neither could afford to take his eyes from the other’s; the tension was + great, till at last a smile wavered over the expressionless face of the + Ute. Red Cloud answered the smile, and in that instant a treaty of peace + was born between them. + </p> + <p> + “Put your knife in its sheath. I shall do so also, and we will smoke + together,” signed Red Cloud. The other assented gladly, and they ratified + thus the truce which assured to each a safe return to his friends. Having + finished their smoke, they shook hands and separated. Neither had given + the other any information. Red Cloud returned to his party and told his + story, adding that he had divulged nothing and had nothing to report. Some + were inclined to censure him for not fighting, but he was sustained by a + majority of the warriors, who commended his self-restraint. In a day or + two they discovered the main camp of the enemy and fought a remarkable + battle, in which Red Cloud especially distinguished himself + </p> + <p> + The Sioux were now entering upon the most stormy period of their history. + The old things were fast giving place to new. The young men, for the first + time engaging in serious and destructive warfare with the neighboring + tribes, armed with the deadly weapons furnished by the white man, began to + realize that they must soon enter upon a desperate struggle for their + ancestral hunting grounds. The old men had been innocently cultivating the + friendship of the stranger, saying among themselves, “Surely there is land + enough for all!” + </p> + <p> + Red Cloud was a modest and little known man of about twenty-eight years, + when General Harney called all the western bands of Sioux together at Fort + Laramie, Wyoming, for the purpose of securing an agreement and right of + way through their territory. The Ogallalas held aloof from this proposal, + but Bear Bull, an Ogallala chief, after having been plied with whisky, + undertook to dictate submission to the rest of the clan. Enraged by + failure, he fired upon a group of his own tribesmen, and Red Cloud’s + father and brother fell dead. According to Indian custom, it fell to him + to avenge the deed. Calmly, without uttering a word, he faced old Bear + Bull and his son, who attempted to defend his father, and shot them both. + He did what he believed to be his duty, and the whole band sustained him. + Indeed, the tragedy gave the young man at once a certain standing, as one + who not only defended his people against enemies from without, but against + injustice and aggression within the tribe. From this time on he was a + recognized leader. + </p> + <p> + Man-Afraid-of-His-Horse, then head chief of the Ogallalas, took council + with Red Cloud in all important matters, and the young warrior rapidly + advanced in authority and influence. In 1854, when he was barely + thirty-five years old, the various bands were again encamped near Fort + Laramie. A Mormon emigrant train, moving westward, left a footsore cow + behind, and the young men killed her for food. The next day, to their + astonishment, an officer with thirty men appeared at the Indian camp and + demanded of old Conquering Bear that they be given up. The chief in vain + protested that it was all a mistake and offered to make reparation. It + would seem that either the officer was under the influence of liquor, or + else had a mind to bully the Indians, for he would accept neither + explanation nor payment, but demanded point-blank that the young men who + had killed the cow be delivered up to summary punishment. The old chief + refused to be intimidated and was shot dead on the spot. Not one soldier + ever reached the gate of Fort Laramie! Here Red Cloud led the young + Ogallalas, and so intense was the feeling that they even killed the + half-breed interpreter. + </p> + <p> + Curiously enough, there was no attempt at retaliation on the part of the + army, and no serious break until 1860, when the Sioux were involved in + troubles with the Cheyennes and Arapahoes. In 1862, a grave outbreak was + precipitated by the eastern Sioux in Minnesota under Little Crow, in which + the western bands took no part. Yet this event ushered in a new period for + their race. The surveyors of the Union Pacific were laying out the + proposed road through the heart of the southern buffalo country, the + rendezvous of Ogallalas, Brules, Arapahoes, Comanches, and Pawnees, who + followed the buffalo as a means of livelihood. To be sure, most of these + tribes were at war with one another, yet during the summer months they met + often to proclaim a truce and hold joint councils and festivities, which + were now largely turned into discussions of the common enemy. It became + evident, however, that some of the smaller and weaker tribes were inclined + to welcome the new order of things, recognizing that it was the policy of + the government to put an end to tribal warfare. + </p> + <p> + Red Cloud’s position was uncompromisingly against submission. He made some + noted speeches in this line, one of which was repeated to me by an old man + who had heard and remembered it with the remarkable verbal memory of an + Indian. + </p> + <p> + “Friends,” said Red Cloud, “it has been our misfortune to welcome the + white man. We have been deceived. He brought with him some shining things + that pleased our eyes; he brought weapons more effective than our own: + above all, he brought the spirit water that makes one forget for a time + old age, weakness, and sorrow. But I wish to say to you that if you would + possess these things for yourselves, you must begin anew and put away the + wisdom of your fathers. You must lay up food, and forget the hungry. When + your house is built, your storeroom filled, then look around for a + neighbor whom you can take at a disadvantage, and seize all that he has! + Give away only what you do not want; or rather, do not part with any of + your possessions unless in exchange for another’s. + </p> + <p> + “My countrymen, shall the glittering trinkets of this rich man, his + deceitful drink that overcomes the mind, shall these things tempt us to + give up our homes, our hunting grounds, and the honorable teaching of our + old men? Shall we permit ourselves to be driven to and fro—to be + herded like the cattle of the white man?” + </p> + <p> + His next speech that has been remembered was made in 1866, just before the + attack on Fort Phil Kearny. The tension of feeling against the invaders + had now reached its height. There was no dissenting voice in the council + upon the Powder River, when it was decided to oppose to the uttermost the + evident purpose of the government. Red Cloud was not altogether ignorant + of the numerical strength and the resourcefulness of the white man, but he + was determined to face any odds rather than submit. + </p> + <p> + “Hear ye, Dakotas!” he exclaimed. “When the Great Father at Washington + sent us his chief soldier [General Harney] to ask for a path through our + hunting grounds, a way for his iron road to the mountains and the western + sea, we were told that they wished merely to pass through our country, not + to tarry among us, but to seek for gold in the far west. Our old chiefs + thought to show their friendship and good will, when they allowed this + dangerous snake in our midst. They promised to protect the wayfarers. + </p> + <p> + “Yet before the ashes of the council fire are cold, the Great Father is + building his forts among us. You have heard the sound of the white + soldier’s ax upon the Little Piney. His presence here is an insult and a + threat. It is an insult to the spirits of our ancestors. Are we then to + give up their sacred graves to be plowed for corn? Dakotas, I am for war!” + </p> + <p> + In less than a week after this speech, the Sioux advanced upon Fort Phil + Kearny, the new sentinel that had just taken her place upon the farthest + frontier, guarding the Oregon Trail. Every detail of the attack had been + planned with care, though not without heated discussion, and nearly every + well-known Sioux chief had agreed in striking the blow. The brilliant + young war leader, Crazy Horse, was appointed to lead the charge. His + lieutenants were Sword, Hump, and Dull Knife, with Little Chief of the + Cheyennes, while the older men acted as councilors. Their success was + instantaneous. In less than half an hour, they had cut down nearly a + hundred men under Captain Fetterman, whom they drew out of the fort by a + ruse and then annihilated. + </p> + <p> + Instead of sending troops to punish, the government sent a commission to + treat with the Sioux. The result was the famous treaty of 1868, which Red + Cloud was the last to sign, having refused to do so until all of the forts + within their territory should be vacated. All of his demands were acceded + to, the new road abandoned, the garrisons withdrawn, and in the new treaty + it was distinctly stated that the Black Hills and the Big Horn were Indian + country, set apart for their perpetual occupancy, and that no white man + should enter that region without the consent of the Sioux. + </p> + <p> + Scarcely was this treaty signed, however, when gold was discovered in the + Black Hills, and the popular cry was: “Remove the Indians!” This was + easier said than done. That very territory had just been solemnly + guaranteed to them forever: yet how stem the irresistible rush for gold? + The government, at first, entered some small protest, just enough to “save + its face” as the saying is; but there was no serious attempt to prevent + the wholesale violation of the treaty. It was this state of affairs that + led to the last great speech made by Red Cloud, at a gathering upon the + Little Rosebud River. It is brief, and touches upon the hopelessness of + their future as a race. He seems at about this time to have reached the + conclusion that resistance could not last much longer; in fact, the + greater part of the Sioux nation was already under government control. + </p> + <p> + “We are told,” said he, “that Spotted Tail has consented to be the + Beggars’ Chief. Those Indians who go over to the white man can be nothing + but beggars, for he respects only riches, and how can an Indian be a rich + man? He cannot without ceasing to be an Indian. As for me, I have listened + patiently to the promises of the Great Father, but his memory is short. I + am now done with him. This is all I have to say.” + </p> + <p> + The wilder bands separated soon after this council, to follow the drift of + the buffalo, some in the vicinity of the Black Hills and others in the Big + Horn region. Small war parties came down from time to time upon stray + travelers, who received no mercy at their hands, or made dashes upon + neighboring forts. Red Cloud claimed the right to guard and hold by force, + if need be, all this territory which had been conceded to his people by + the treaty of 1868. The land became a very nest of outlawry. Aside from + organized parties of prospectors, there were bands of white horse thieves + and desperadoes who took advantage of the situation to plunder immigrants + and Indians alike. + </p> + <p> + An attempt was made by means of military camps to establish control and + force all the Indians upon reservations, and another commission was sent + to negotiate their removal to Indian Territory, but met with an absolute + refusal. After much guerrilla warfare, an important military campaign + against the Sioux was set on foot in 1876, ending in Custer’s signal + defeat upon the Little Big Horn. + </p> + <p> + In this notable battle, Red Cloud did not participate in person, nor in + the earlier one with Crook upon the Little Rosebud, but he had a son in + both fights. He was now a councilor rather than a warrior, but his young + men were constantly in the field, while Spotted Tail had definitely + surrendered and was in close touch with representatives of the government. + </p> + <p> + But the inevitable end was near. One morning in the fall of 1876 Red Cloud + was surrounded by United States troops under the command of Colonel + McKenzie, who disarmed his people and brought them into Fort Robinson, + Nebraska. Thence they were removed to the Pine Ridge agency, where he + lived for more than thirty years as a “reservation Indian.” In order to + humiliate him further, government authorities proclaimed the more + tractable Spotted Tail head chief of the Sioux. Of course, Red Cloud’s own + people never recognized any other chief. + </p> + <p> + In 1880 he appealed to Professor Marsh, of Yale, head of a scientific + expedition to the Bad Lands, charging certain frauds at the agency and + apparently proving his case; at any rate the matter was considered worthy + of official investigation. In 1890-1891, during the “Ghost Dance craze” + and the difficulties that followed, he was suspected of collusion with the + hostiles, but he did not join them openly, and nothing could be proved + against him. He was already an old man, and became almost entirely blind + before his death in 1909 in his ninetieth year. + </p> + <p> + His private life was exemplary. He was faithful to one wife all his days, + and was a devoted father to his children. He was ambitious for his only + son, known as Jack Red Cloud, and much desired him to be a great warrior. + He started him on the warpath at the age of fifteen, not then realizing + that the days of Indian warfare were well-nigh at an end. + </p> + <p> + Among latter-day chiefs, Red Cloud was notable as a quiet man, simple and + direct in speech, courageous in action, an ardent lover of his country, + and possessed in a marked degree of the manly qualities characteristic of + the American Indian in his best days. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SPOTTED TAIL + </h2> + <p> + Among the Sioux chiefs of the “transition period” only one was shrewd + enough to read coming events in their true light. It is said of Spotted + Tail that he was rather a slow-moving boy, preferring in their various + games and mimic battles to play the role of councilor, to plan and assign + to the others their parts in the fray. This he did so cleverly that he + soon became a leader among his youthful contemporaries; and withal he was + apt at mimicry and impersonation, so that the other boys were accustomed + to say of him, “He has his grandfather’s wit and the wisdom of his + grandmother!” + </p> + <p> + Spotted Tail was an orphan, reared by his grandparents, and at an early + age compelled to shift for himself. Thus he was somewhat at a disadvantage + among the other boys; yet even this fact may have helped to develop in him + courage and ingenuity. One little incident of his boy life, occurring at + about his tenth year, is characteristic of the man. In the midst of a + game, two boys became involved in a dispute which promised to be a serious + one, as both drew knives. The young Spotted Tail instantly began to cry, + “The Shoshones are upon us! To arms! to arms!” and the other boys joined + in the war whoop. This distracted the attention of the combatants and + ended the affair. + </p> + <p> + Upon the whole, his boyhood is not so well remembered as is that of most + of his leading contemporaries, probably because he had no parents to bring + him frequently before the people, as was the custom with the wellborn, + whose every step in their progress toward manhood was publicly announced + at a feast given in their honor. It is known, however, that he began at an + early age to carve out a position for himself. It is personal qualities + alone that tell among our people, and the youthful Spotted Tail gained at + every turn. At the age of seventeen, he had become a sure shot and a + clever hunter; but, above all, he had already shown that he possessed a + superior mind. He had come into contact with white people at the various + trading posts, and according to his own story had made a careful study of + the white man’s habits and modes of thought, especially of his peculiar + trait of economy and intense desire to accumulate property. He was + accustomed to watch closely and listen attentively whenever any of this + strange race had dealings with his people. When a council was held, and + the other young men stood at a distance with their robes over their faces + so as to avoid recognition, Spotted Tail always put himself in a position + to hear all that was said on either side, and weighed all the arguments in + his mind. + </p> + <p> + When he first went upon the warpath, it appears that he was, if anything, + overzealous to establish himself in the eye of his people; and as a matter + of fact, it was especially hard for him to gain an assured position among + the Brules, with whom he lived, both because he was an orphan, and because + his father had been of another band. Yet it was not long before he had + achieved his ambition, though in doing so he received several ugly wounds. + It was in a battle with the Utes that he first notably served his people + and their cause. + </p> + <p> + The Utes were the attacking party and far outnumbered the Sioux on this + occasion. Many of their bravest young men had fallen, and the Brules were + face to face with utter annihilation, when Spotted Tail, with a handful of + daring horsemen, dodged around the enemy’s flank and fell upon them from + the rear with so much spirit that they supposed that strong reinforcements + had arrived, and retreated in confusion. The Sioux pursued on horseback; + and it was in this pursuit that the noted chief Two Strike gained his + historical name. But the chief honors of the fight belonged to Spotted + Tail. The old chiefs, Conquering Bear and the rest, thanked him and at + once made him a war chief. + </p> + <p> + It had been the firm belief of Spotted Tail that it was unwise to allow + the white man so much freedom in our country, long before the older chiefs + saw any harm in it. After the opening of the Oregon Trail he, above all + the others, was watchful of the conduct of the Americans as they journeyed + toward the setting sun, and more than once he remarked in council that + these white men were not like the French and the Spanish, with whom our + old chiefs had been used to deal. He was not fully satisfied with the + agreement with General Harney; but as a young warrior who had only just + gained his position in the council, he could not force his views upon the + older men. + </p> + <p> + No sooner had the Oregon Trail been secured from the Sioux than Fort + Laramie and other frontier posts were strengthened, and the soldiers + became more insolent and overbearing than ever. It was soon discovered + that the whites were prepared to violate most of the articles of their + treaty as the Indians understood it. At this time, the presence of many + Mormon emigrants on their way to the settlements in Utah and Wyoming added + to the perils of the situation, as they constantly maneuvered for purposes + of their own to bring about a clash between the soldiers and the Indians. + Every summer there were storm-clouds blowing between these two—clouds + usually taking their rise in some affair of the travelers along the trail. + </p> + <p> + In 1854 an event occurred which has already been described and which + snapped the last link of friendship between the races. + </p> + <p> + By this time Spotted Tail had proved his courage both abroad and at home. + He had fought a duel with one of the lesser chiefs, by whom he was + attacked. He killed his opponent with an arrow, but himself received upon + his head a blow from a battle-axe which brought him senseless to the + ground. He was left for dead, but fortunately revived just as the men were + preparing his body for burial. + </p> + <p> + The Brules sustained him in this quarrel, as he had acted in self-defense; + and for a few years he led them in bloody raids against the whites along + the historic trail. He ambushed many stagecoaches and emigrant trains, and + was responsible for waylaying the Kincaid coach with twenty thousand + dollars. This relentless harrying of travelers soon brought General Harney + to the Brule Sioux to demand explanations and reparation. + </p> + <p> + The old chiefs of the Brules now appealed to Spotted Tail and his young + warriors not to bring any general calamity upon the tribe. To the surprise + of all, Spotted Tail declared that he would give himself up. He said that + he had defended the rights of his people to the best of his ability, that + he had avenged the blood of their chief, Conquering Bear, and that he was + not afraid to accept the consequences. He therefore voluntarily + surrendered to General Harney, and two of his lieutenants, Red Leaf and + Old Woman, followed his example. + </p> + <p> + Thus Spotted Tail played an important part at the very outset of those + events which were soon to overthrow the free life of his people. I do not + know how far he foresaw what was to follow; but whether so conceived or + not, his surrender was a master stroke, winning for him not only the + admiration of his own people but the confidence and respect of the + military. + </p> + <p> + Thus suddenly he found himself in prison, a hostage for the good behavior + of his followers. There were many rumors as to the punishment reserved for + him; but luckily for Spotted Tail, the promises of General Harney to the + Brule chiefs in respect to him were faithfully kept. One of his + fellow-prisoners committed suicide, but the other held out bravely for the + two-year term of his imprisonment. During the second year, it was well + understood that neither of the men sought to escape, and they were given + much freedom. It was fine schooling for Spotted Tail, that tireless + observer of the ways of the white man! It is a fact that his engaging + personal qualities won for him kindness and sympathy at the fort before + the time came for his release. + </p> + <p> + One day some Indian horse thieves of another tribe stampeded the horses + and mules belonging to the garrison. Spotted Tail asked permission of the + commanding officer to accompany the pursuers. That officer, trusting in + the honor of a Sioux brave, gave him a fast horse and a good carbine, and + said to him: “I depend upon you to guide my soldiers so that they may + overtake the thieves and recapture the horses!” + </p> + <p> + The soldiers recaptured the horses without any loss, but Spotted Tail + still followed the Indians. When they returned to the fort without him, + everybody agreed that he would never turn up. However, next day he did + “turn up”, with the scalp of one of the marauders! + </p> + <p> + Soon after this he was returned to his own people, who honored him by + making him the successor of the old chief, Conquering Bear, whose blood he + had avenged, for which act he had taken upon himself the full + responsibility. He had made good use of his two years at the fort, and + completed his studies of civilization to his own satisfaction. From this + time on he was desirous of reconciling the Indian and the white man, + thoroughly understanding the uselessness of opposition. He was accordingly + in constant communication with the military; but the other chiefs did not + understand his views and seem to have been suspicious of his motives. + </p> + <p> + In 1860-1864 the Southern Cheyennes and Comanches were at war with the + whites, and some of the Brules and Ogallalas, who were their neighbors and + intimates, were suspected of complicity with the hostiles. Doubtless a few + of their young men may have been involved; at any rate, Thunder Bear and + Two Face, together with a few others who were roving with the warring + tribes, purchased two captive white women and brought them to Fort + Laramie. It was, however, reported at the post that these two men had + maltreated the women while under their care. + </p> + <p> + Of course, the commander demanded of Spotted Tail, then head chief, that + he give up the guilty ones, and accordingly he had the two men arrested + and delivered at the fort. At this there was an outcry among his own + people; but he argued that if the charges were true, the men deserved + punishment, and if false, they should be tried and cleared by process of + law. The Indians never quite knew what evidence was produced at the + court-martial, but at all events the two men were hanged, and as they had + many influential connections, their relatives lost no time in fomenting + trouble. The Sioux were then camping close by the fort and it was + midwinter, which facts held them in check for a month or two; but as soon + as spring came, they removed their camp across the river and rose in + rebellion. A pitched battle was fought, in which the soldiers got the + worst of it. Even the associate chief, Big Mouth, was against Spotted + Tail, who was practically forced against his will and judgment to take up + arms once more. + </p> + <p> + At this juncture came the sudden and bloody uprising in the east among the + Minnesota Sioux, and Sitting Bull’s campaign in the north had begun in + earnest; while to the south the Southern Cheyennes, Comanches, and Kiowas + were all upon the warpath. Spotted Tail at about this time seems to have + conceived the idea of uniting all the Rocky Mountain Indians in a great + confederacy. He once said: “Our cause is as a child’s cause, in comparison + with the power of the white man, unless we can stop quarreling among + ourselves and unite our energies for the common good.” But old-time + antagonisms were too strong; and he was probably held back also by his + consciousness of the fact that the Indians called him “the white man’s + friend”, while the military still had some faith in him which he did not + care to lose. He was undoubtedly one of the brainiest and most brilliant + Sioux who ever lived; and while he could not help being to a large extent + in sympathy with the feeling of his race against the invader, yet he alone + foresaw the inevitable outcome, and the problem as it presented itself to + him was simply this: “What is the best policy to pursue in the existing + situation?” + </p> + <p> + Here is his speech as it has been given to me, delivered at the great + council on the Powder River, just before the attack on Fort Phil Kearny. + We can imagine that he threw all his wonderful tact and personal magnetism + into this last effort at conciliation. + </p> + <p> + “‘Hay, hay, hay! Alas, alas!’ Thus speaks the old man, when he knows that + his former vigor and freedom is gone from him forever. So we may exclaim + to-day, Alas! There is a time appointed to all things. Think for a moment + how many multitudes of the animal tribes we ourselves have destroyed! Look + upon the snow that appears to-day—to-morrow it is water! Listen to + the dirge of the dry leaves, that were green and vigorous but a few moons + before! We are a part of this life and it seems that our time is come. + </p> + <p> + “Yet note how the decay of one nation invigorates another. This strange + white man—consider him, his gifts are manifold! His tireless brain, + his busy hand do wonders for his race. Those things which we despise he + holds as treasures; yet he is so great and so flourishing that there must + be some virtue and truth in his philosophy. I wish to say to you, my + friends: Be not moved alone by heated arguments and thoughts of revenge! + These are for the young. We are young no longer; let us think well, and + give counsel as old men!” + </p> + <p> + These words were greeted with an ominous silence. Not even the customary + “How!” of assent followed the speech, and Sitting Bull immediately got up + and replied in the celebrated harangue which will be introduced under his + own name in another chapter. The situation was critical for Spotted Tail—the + only man present to advocate submission to the stronger race whose + ultimate supremacy he recognized as certain. The decision to attack Fort + Phil Kearny was unanimous without him, and in order to hold his position + among his tribesmen he joined in the charge. Several bullets passed + through his war bonnet, and he was slightly wounded. + </p> + <p> + When the commission of 1867-1868 was sent out to negotiate with the Sioux, + Spotted Tail was ready to meet them, and eager to obtain for his people + the very best terms that he could. He often puzzled and embarrassed them + by his remarkable speeches, the pointed questions that he put, and his + telling allusions to former negotiations. Meanwhile Red Cloud would not + come into the council until after several deputations of Indians had been + sent to him, and Sitting Bull did not come at all. + </p> + <p> + The famous treaty was signed, and from this time on Spotted Tail never + again took up arms against the whites. On the contrary, it was mainly + attributed to his influence that the hostiles were subdued much sooner + than might have been expected. He came into the reservation with his band, + urged his young men to enlist as government scouts, and assisted + materially in all negotiations. The hostile chiefs no longer influenced + his action, and as soon as they had all been brought under military + control, General Crook named Spotted Tail head chief of the Sioux, thus + humiliating Red Cloud and arousing jealousy and ill-feeling among the + Ogallalas. In order to avoid trouble, he prudently separated himself from + the other bands, and moved to the new agency on Beaver Creek (Fort + Sheridan, Nebraska), which was called “Spotted Tail Agency.” + </p> + <p> + Just before the daring war leader, Crazy Horse, surrendered to the + military, he went down to the agency and roundly rebuked Spotted Tail for + signing away the freedom of his people. From the point of view of the + irreconcilables, the diplomatic chief was a “trimmer” and a traitor; and + many of the Sioux have tried to implicate him in the conspiracy against + Crazy Horse which led to his assassination, but I hold that the facts do + not bear out this charge. + </p> + <p> + The name of Spotted Tail was prominently before the people during the rest + of his life. An obscure orphan, he had achieved distinction by his bravery + and sagacity; but he copied the white politician too closely after he + entered the reservation. He became a good manipulator, and was made + conceited and overbearing by the attentions of the military and of the + general public. Furthermore, there was an old feud in his immediate band + which affected him closely. Against him for many years were the followers + of Big Mouth, whom he had killed in a duel; and also a party led by a son + and a nephew of the old chief, Conquering Bear, whom Spotted Tail had + succeeded at his death. These two men had hoped that one or the other of + them might obtain the succession. + </p> + <p> + Crow Dog, the nephew of Conquering Bear, more than once taunted Spotted + Tail with the fact that he was chief not by the will of the tribe, but by + the help of the white soldiers, and told him that he would “keep a bullet + for him” in case he ever disgraced his high position. Thus retribution lay + in wait for him while at the height of his fame. Several high-handed + actions of his at this time, including his elopement with another man’s + wife, increased his unpopularity with a large element of his own tribe. On + the eve of the chief’s departure for Washington, to negotiate (or so they + suspected) for the sale of more of their land, Crow Dog took up his gun + and fulfilled his threat, regarding himself, and regarded by his + supporters, not as a murderer, but as an executioner. + </p> + <p> + Such was the end of the man who may justly be called the Pontiac of the + west. He possessed a remarkable mind and extraordinary foresight for an + untutored savage; and yet he is the only one of our great men to be + remembered with more honor by the white man, perhaps, than by his own + people. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + LITTLE CROW + </h2> + <p> + Chief Little Crow was the eldest son of Cetanwakuwa (Charging Hawk). It + was on account of his father’s name, mistranslated Crow, that he was + called by the whites “Little Crow.” His real name was Taoyateduta, His Red + People. + </p> + <p> + As far back as Minnesota history goes, a band of the Sioux called Kaposia + (Light Weight, because they were said to travel light) inhabited the Mille + Lacs region. Later they dwelt about St. Croix Falls, and still later near + St. Paul. In 1840, Cetanwakuwa was still living in what is now West St. + Paul, but he was soon after killed by the accidental discharge of his gun. + </p> + <p> + It was during a period of demoralization for the Kaposias that Little Crow + became the leader of his people. His father, a well-known chief, had three + wives, all from different bands of the Sioux. He was the only son of the + first wife, a Leaf Dweller. There were two sons of the second and two of + the third wife, and the second set of brothers conspired to kill their + half-brother in order to keep the chieftainship in the family. + </p> + <p> + Two kegs of whisky were bought, and all the men of the tribe invited to a + feast. It was planned to pick some sort of quarrel when all were drunk, + and in the confusion Little Crow was to be murdered. The plot went + smoothly until the last instant, when a young brave saved the intended + victim by knocking the gun aside with his hatchet, so that the shot went + wild. However, it broke his right arm, which remained crooked all his + life. The friends of the young chieftain hastily withdrew, avoiding a + general fight; and later the council of the Kaposias condemned the two + brothers, both of whom were executed, leaving him in undisputed + possession. + </p> + <p> + Such was the opening of a stormy career. Little Crow’s mother had been a + chief’s daughter, celebrated for her beauty and spirit, and it is said + that she used to plunge him into the lake through a hole in the ice, + rubbing him afterward with snow, to strengthen his nerves, and that she + would remain with him alone in the deep woods for days at a time, so that + he might know that solitude is good, and not fear to be alone with nature. + </p> + <p> + “My son,” she would say, “if you are to be a leader of men, you must + listen in silence to the mystery, the spirit.” + </p> + <p> + At a very early age she made a feast for her boy and announced that he + would fast two days. This is what might be called a formal presentation to + the spirit or God. She greatly desired him to become a worthy leader + according to the ideas of her people. It appears that she left her husband + when he took a second wife, and lived with her own band till her death. + She did not marry again. + </p> + <p> + Little Crow was an intensely ambitious man and without physical fear. He + was always in perfect training and early acquired the art of warfare of + the Indian type. It is told of him that when he was about ten years old, + he engaged with other boys in a sham battle on the shore of a lake near + St. Paul. Both sides were encamped at a little distance from one another, + and the rule was that the enemy must be surprised, otherwise the attack + would be considered a failure. One must come within so many paces + undiscovered in order to be counted successful. Our hero had a favorite + dog which, at his earnest request, was allowed to take part in the game, + and as a scout he entered the enemy camp unseen, by the help of his dog. + </p> + <p> + When he was twelve, he saved the life of a companion who had broken + through the ice by tying the end of a pack line to a log, then at great + risk to himself carrying it to the edge of the hole where his comrade went + down. It is said that he also broke in, but both boys saved themselves by + means of the line. + </p> + <p> + As a young man, Little Crow was always ready to serve his people as a + messenger to other tribes, a duty involving much danger and hardship. He + was also known as one of the best hunters in his band. Although still + young, he had already a war record when he became chief of the Kaposias, + at a time when the Sioux were facing the greatest and most far-reaching + changes that had ever come to them. + </p> + <p> + At this juncture in the history of the northwest and its native + inhabitants, the various fur companies had paramount influence. They did + not hesitate to impress the Indians with the idea that they were the + authorized representatives of the white races or peoples, and they were + quick to realize the desirability of controlling the natives through their + most influential chiefs. Little Crow became quite popular with post + traders and factors. He was an orator as well as a diplomat, and one of + the first of his nation to indulge in politics and promote unstable + schemes to the detriment of his people. + </p> + <p> + When the United States Government went into the business of acquiring + territory from the Indians so that the flood of western settlement might + not be checked, commissions were sent out to negotiate treaties, and in + case of failure it often happened that a delegation of leading men of the + tribe were invited to Washington. At that period, these visiting chiefs, + attired in all the splendor of their costumes of ceremony, were treated + like ambassadors from foreign countries. + </p> + <p> + One winter in the late eighteen-fifties, a major general of the army gave + a dinner to the Indian chiefs then in the city, and on this occasion + Little Crow was appointed toastmaster. There were present a number of + Senators and members of Congress, as well as judges of the Supreme Court, + cabinet officers, and other distinguished citizens. When all the guests + were seated, the Sioux arose and addressed them with much dignity as + follows: + </p> + <p> + “Warriors and friends: I am informed that the great white war chief who of + his generosity and comradeship has given us this feast, has expressed the + wish that we may follow to-night the usages and customs of my people. In + other words, this is a warriors’ feast, a braves’ meal. I call upon the + Ojibway chief, the Hole-in-the-Day, to give the lone wolf’s hunger call, + after which we will join him in our usual manner.” + </p> + <p> + The tall and handsome Ojibway now rose and straightened his superb form to + utter one of the clearest and longest wolf howls that was ever heard in + Washington, and at its close came a tremendous burst of war whoops that + fairly rent the air, and no doubt electrified the officials there present. + </p> + <p> + On one occasion Little Crow was invited by the commander of Fort Ridgeley, + Minnesota, to call at the fort. On his way back, in company with a + half-breed named Ross and the interpreter Mitchell, he was ambushed by a + party of Ojibways, and again wounded in the same arm that had been broken + in his attempted assassination. His companion Ross was killed, but he + managed to hold the war party at bay until help came and thus saved his + life. + </p> + <p> + More and more as time passed, this naturally brave and ambitious man + became a prey to the selfish interests of the traders and politicians. The + immediate causes of the Sioux outbreak of 1862 came in quick succession to + inflame to desperate action an outraged people. The two bands on the + so-called “lower reservations” in Minnesota were Indians for whom nature + had provided most abundantly in their free existence. After one hundred + and fifty years of friendly intercourse first with the French, then the + English, and finally the Americans, they found themselves cut off from + every natural resource, on a tract of land twenty miles by thirty, which + to them was virtual imprisonment. By treaty stipulation with the + government, they were to be fed and clothed, houses were to be built for + them, the men taught agriculture, and schools provided for the children. + In addition to this, a trust fund of a million and a half was to be set + aside for them, at five per cent interest, the interest to be paid + annually per capita. They had signed the treaty under pressure, believing + in these promises on the faith of a great nation. + </p> + <p> + However, on entering the new life, the resources so rosily described to + them failed to materialize. Many families faced starvation every winter, + their only support the store of the Indian trader, who was baiting his + trap for their destruction. Very gradually they awoke to the facts. At + last it was planned to secure from them the north half of their + reservation for ninety-eight thousand dollars, but it was not explained to + the Indians that the traders were to receive all the money. Little Crow + made the greatest mistake of his life when he signed this agreement. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, to make matters worse, the cash annuities were not paid for + nearly two years. Civil War had begun. When it was learned that the + traders had taken all of the ninety-eight thousand dollars “on account”, + there was very bitter feeling. In fact, the heads of the leading stores + were afraid to go about as usual, and most of them stayed in St. Paul. + Little Crow was justly held in part responsible for the deceit, and his + life was not safe. + </p> + <p> + The murder of a white family near Acton, Minnesota, by a party of Indian + duck hunters in August, 1862, precipitated the break. Messengers were sent + to every village with the news, and at the villages of Little Crow and + Little Six the war council was red-hot. It was proposed to take advantage + of the fact that north and south were at war to wipe out the white + settlers and to regain their freedom. A few men stood out against such a + desperate step, but the conflagration had gone beyond their control. + </p> + <p> + There were many mixed bloods among these Sioux, and some of the Indians + held that these were accomplices of the white people in robbing them of + their possessions, therefore their lives should not be spared. My father, + Many Lightnings, who was practically the leader of the Mankato band (for + Mankato, the chief, was a weak man), fought desperately for the lives of + the half-breeds and the missionaries. The chiefs had great confidence in + my father, yet they would not commit themselves, since their braves were + clamoring for blood. Little Crow had been accused of all the misfortunes + of his tribe, and he now hoped by leading them against the whites to + regain his prestige with his people, and a part at least of their lost + domain. + </p> + <p> + There were moments when the pacifists were in grave peril. It was almost + daybreak when my father saw that the approaching calamity could not be + prevented. He and two others said to Little Crow: “If you want war, you + must personally lead your men to-morrow. We will not murder women and + children, but we will fight the soldiers when they come.” They then left + the council and hastened to warn my brother-in-law, Faribault, and others + who were in danger. + </p> + <p> + Little Crow declared he would be seen in the front of every battle, and it + is true that he was foremost in all the succeeding bloodshed, urging his + warriors to spare none. He ordered his war leader, Many Hail, to fire the + first shot, killing the trader James Lynd, in the door of his store. + </p> + <p> + After a year of fighting in which he had met with defeat, the discredited + chief retreated to Fort Garry, now Winnipeg, Manitoba, where, together + with Standing Buffalo, he undertook secret negotiations with his old + friends the Indian traders. There was now a price upon his head, but he + planned to reach St. Paul undetected and there surrender himself to his + friends, who he hoped would protect him in return for past favors. It is + true that he had helped them to secure perhaps the finest country held by + any Indian nation for a mere song. + </p> + <p> + He left Canada with a few trusted friends, including his youngest and + favorite son. When within two or three days’ journey of St. Paul, he told + the others to return, keeping with him only his son, Wowinape, who was but + fifteen years of age. He meant to steal into the city by night and go + straight to Governor Ramsey, who was his personal friend. He was very + hungry and was obliged to keep to the shelter of the deep woods. The next + morning, as he was picking and eating wild raspberries, he was seen by a + wood-chopper named Lamson. The man did not know who he was. He only knew + that he was an Indian, and that was enough for him, so he lifted his rifle + to his shoulder and fired, then ran at his best pace. The brilliant but + misguided chief, who had made that part of the country unsafe for any + white man to live in, sank to the ground and died without a struggle. The + boy took his father’s gun and made some effort to find the assassin, but + as he did not even know in which direction to look for him, he soon gave + up the attempt and went back to his friends. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile Lamson reached home breathless and made his report. The body of + the chief was found and identified, in part by the twice broken arm, and + this arm and his scalp may be seen to-day in the collection of the + Minnesota Historical Society. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + TAMAHAY + </h2> + <p> + There was once a Sioux brave who declared that he would die young, yet not + by his own hand. Tamahay was of heroic proportions, herculean in strength, + a superb runner; in fact, he had all the physical qualities of an athlete + or a typical Indian. In his scanty dress, he was beautiful as an antique + statue in living bronze. When a mere youth, seventeen years of age, he met + with an accident which determined his career. It was the loss of an eye, a + fatal injury to the sensitive and high-spirited Indian. He announced his + purpose in these words: + </p> + <p> + “The ‘Great Mystery’ has decreed that I must be disgraced. There will be + no pleasure for me now, and I shall be ridiculed even by my enemies. It + will be well for me to enter soon into Paradise, for I shall be happy in + spending my youth there. But I will sell my life dearly. Hereafter my name + shall be spoken in the traditions of our race.” With this speech Tamahay + began his career. + </p> + <p> + He now sought glory and defied danger with even more than the ordinary + Indian recklessness. He accepted a personal friend, which was a custom + among the Sioux, where each man chose a companion for life and death. The + tie was stronger than one of blood relationship, a friendship sealed by + solemn vow and covenant. Tamahay’s intimate was fortunately almost his + equal in physical powers, and the pair became the terror of neighboring + tribes, with whom the Dakotas were continually at war. They made frequent + raids upon their enemies and were usually successful, although not without + thrilling experiences and almost miraculous escapes. + </p> + <p> + Upon one of these occasions the two friends went north into the country of + the Ojibways. After many days’ journey, they discovered a small village of + the foe. The wicked Tamahay proposed to his associate that they should + arrange their toilets after the fashion of the Ojibways, and go among + them; “and perhaps,” he added, “we will indulge in a little flirtation + with their pretty maids, and when we have had enough of the fun we can + take the scalp of a brave or two and retreat!” His friend construed his + daring proposition to be a test of courage, which it would not become him, + as a brave, to decline; therefore he assented with a show of cheerfulness. + </p> + <p> + The handsome strangers were well received by the Ojibway girls, but their + perilous amusement was brought to an untimely close. A young maiden + prematurely discovered their true characters, and her cry of alarm brought + instantly to her side a jealous youth, who had been watching them from his + place of concealment. With him Tamahay had a single-handed contest, and + before a general alarm was given he had dispatched the foe and fled with + his scalp. + </p> + <p> + The unfortunate brave had been a favorite and a leader among the tribe; + therefore the maddened Ojibways were soon in hot pursuit. The Sioux braves + were fine runners, yet they were finally driven out upon the peninsula of + a lake. As they became separated in their retreat, Tamahay shouted, “I’ll + meet you at the mouth of the St. Croix River, or in the spirit land!” Both + managed to swim the lake, and so made good their escape. + </p> + <p> + The exploits of this man were not all of a warlike nature. He was a great + traveler and an expert scout, and he had some wonderful experiences with + wild animals. He was once sent, with his intimate friend, on a scout for + game. They were on ponies. + </p> + <p> + They located a herd of buffaloes, and on their return to the camp espied a + lonely buffalo. Tamahay suggested that they should chase it in order to + take some fresh meat, as the law of the tribe allowed in the case of a + single animal. His pony stumbled and threw him, after they had wounded the + bison, and the latter attacked the dismounted man viciously. But he, as + usual, was on the alert. He “took the bull by the horns”, as the saying + is, and cleverly straddled him on the neck. The buffalo had no means of + harming his enemy, but pawed the earth and struggled until his strength + was exhausted, when the Indian used his knife on the animal’s throat. On + account of this feat he received the name “Held-the-Bull-by-the-Horns.” + </p> + <p> + The origin of his name “Tamahay” is related as follows. When he was a + young man he accompanied the chief Wabashaw to Mackinaw, Michigan, + together with some other warriors. He was out with his friend one day, + viewing the wonderful sights in the “white man’s country”, when they came + upon a sow with her numerous pink little progeny. He was greatly amused + and picked up one of the young pigs, but as soon as it squealed the mother + ran furiously after them. He kept the pig and fled with it, still + laughing; but his friend was soon compelled to run up the conveniently + inclined trunk of a fallen tree, while our hero reached the shore of a + lake near by, and plunged into the water. He swam and dived as long as he + could, but the beast continued to threaten him with her sharp teeth, till, + almost exhausted, he swam again to shore, where his friend came up and + dispatched the vicious animal with a club. On account of this watery + adventure he was at once called Tamahay, meaning Pike. He earned many + other names, but preferred this one, because it was the name borne by a + great friend of his, Lieutenant Pike, the first officer of the United + States Army who came to Minnesota for the purpose of exploring the sources + of the Mississippi River and of making peace with the natives. Tamahay + assisted this officer in obtaining land from the Sioux upon which to build + Fort Snelling. He appears in history under the name of “Tahamie” or the + “One-Eyed Sioux.” + </p> + <p> + Always ready to brave danger and unpopularity, Tamahay was the only Sioux + who sided with the United States in her struggle with Great Britain in + 1819. For having espoused the cause of the Americans, he was ill-treated + by the British officers and free traders, who for a long time controlled + the northwest, even after peace had been effected between the two nations. + At one time he was confined in a fort called McKay, where now stands the + town of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. He had just returned from St. Louis, + and was suspected of exciting his people to rebel against British + subjects. His life was even threatened, but to this Tamahay merely replied + that he was ready to die. A few months later, this fort was restored to + the United States, and upon leaving it the British set the buildings on + fire, though the United States flag floated above them. Some Indians who + were present shouted to Tamahay, “Your friends’, the Americans’, fort is + on fire!” He responded with a war whoop, rushed into the blazing fort, and + brought out the flag. For this brave act he was rewarded with a present of + a flag and medal. He was never tired of displaying this medal and his + recommendation papers, and even preserved to the end of his life an old + colonial stovepipe hat, which he wore upon state occasions. + </p> + <p> + The Sioux long referred to the president of the United States as + “Tamahay’s father.” + </p> + <p> + The following story is told of him in his later days. He attempted one day + to cross the first bridge over the Mississippi River, but was not + recognized by the sentinel, who would not allow him to pass until he paid + the toll. Tamahay, who was a privileged character, explained as best he + could, with gestures and broken English, that he was always permitted to + pass free; but as the sentinel still refused, and even threatened him with + his bayonet, the old Indian silently seized the musket, threw it down into + the waters of the Mississippi and went home. Later in the day a company of + soldiers appeared in the Indian village, and escorted our hero to a sort + of court-martial at the fort. When he was questioned by the Colonel, he + simply replied: “If you were threatened by any one with a weapon, you + would, in self-defense, either disable the man or get rid of the weapon. I + did the latter, thinking that you would need the man more than the gun.” + </p> + <p> + Finally the officer said to them, “I see you are both partly wrong. Some + one must be responsible for the loss of the gun; therefore, you two will + wrestle, and the man who is downed must dive for the weapon to the bottom + of the river.” + </p> + <p> + Scarcely was this speech ended when Tamahay was upon the soldier, who was + surprised both by the order and by the unexpected readiness of the wily + old Indian, so that he was not prepared, and the Sioux had the vantage + hold. In a moment the bluecoat was down, amid shouts and peals of laughter + from his comrades. Having thrown his man, the other turned and went home + without a word. + </p> + <p> + Sad to say, he acquired a great appetite for “minne-wakan”, or “mysterious + water”, as the Sioux call it, which proved a source of trouble to him in + his old age. It is told of him that he was treated one winter’s day to a + drink of whisky in a trader’s store. He afterwards went home; but even the + severe blizzard which soon arose did not prevent him from returning in the + night to the friendly trader. He awoke that worthy from sleep about twelve + o’clock by singing his death dirge upon the roof of the log cabin. In + another moment he had jumped down the mud chimney, and into the blazing + embers of a fire. The trader had to pour out to him some whisky in a tin + pail, after which he begged the old man to “be good and go home.” On the + eve of the so-called “Minnesota Massacre” by the Sioux in 1862, Tamahay, + although he was then very old and had almost lost the use of his remaining + eye, made a famous speech at the meeting of the conspirators. These are + some of his words, as reported to me by persons who were present. + </p> + <p> + “What! What! is this Little Crow? Is that Little Six? You, too, White Dog, + are you here? I cannot see well now, but I can see with my mind’s eye the + stream of blood you are about to pour upon the bosom of this mother of + ours” (meaning the earth). “I stand before you on three legs, but the + third leg has brought me wisdom” [referring to the staff with which he + supported himself]. “I have traveled much, I have visited among the people + whom you think to defy. This means the total surrender of our beautiful + land, the land of a thousand lakes and streams. Methinks you are about to + commit an act like that of the porcupine, who climbs a tree, balances + himself upon a springy bough, and then gnaws off the very bough upon which + he is sitting; hence, when it gives way, he falls upon the sharp rocks + below. Behold the great Pontiac, whose grave I saw near St. Louis; he was + murdered while an exile from his country! Think of the brave Black Hawk! + Methinks his spirit is still wailing through Wisconsin and Illinois for + his lost people! I do not say you have no cause to complain, but to resist + is self-destruction. I am done.” + </p> + <p> + It is supposed that this speech was his last, and it was made, though + vainly, in defense of the Americans whom he had loved. He died at Fort + Pierre, South Dakota, in 1864. His people say that he died a natural + death, of old age. And yet his exploits are not forgotten. Thus lived and + departed a most active and fearless Sioux, Tamahay, who desired to die + young! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + GALL + </h2> + <p> + Chief Gall was one of the most aggressive leaders of the Sioux nation in + their last stand for freedom. + </p> + <p> + The westward pressure of civilization during the past three centuries has + been tremendous. When our hemisphere was “discovered”, it had been + inhabited by the natives for untold ages, but it was held undiscovered + because the original owners did not chart or advertise it. Yet some of + them at least had developed ideals of life which included real liberty and + equality to all men, and they did not recognize individual ownership in + land or other property beyond actual necessity. It was a soul development + leading to essential manhood. Under this system they brought forth some + striking characters. + </p> + <p> + Gall was considered by both Indians and whites to be a most impressive + type of physical manhood. From his picture you can judge of this for + yourself. + </p> + <p> + Let us follow his trail. He was no tenderfoot. He never asked a soft place + for himself. He always played the game according to the rules and to a + finish. To be sure, like every other man, he made some mistakes, but he + was an Indian and never acted the coward. + </p> + <p> + The earliest stories told of his life and doings indicate the spirit of + the man in that of the boy. + </p> + <p> + When he was only about three years old, the Blackfoot band of Sioux were + on their usual roving hunt, following the buffalo while living their + natural happy life upon the wonderful wide prairies of the Dakotas. + </p> + <p> + It was the way of every Sioux mother to adjust her household effects on + such dogs and pack ponies as she could muster from day to day, often + lending one or two to accommodate some other woman whose horse or dog had + died, or perhaps had been among those stampeded and carried away by a + raiding band of Crow warriors. On this particular occasion, the mother of + our young Sioux brave, Matohinshda, or Bear-Shedding-His-Hair (Gall’s + childhood name), intrusted her boy to an old Eskimo pack dog, experienced + and reliable, except perhaps when unduly excited or very thirsty. + </p> + <p> + On the day of removing camp the caravan made its morning march up the + Powder River. Upon the wide table-land the women were busily digging + teepsinna (an edible sweetish root, much used by them) as the moving + village slowly progressed. As usual at such times, the trail was wide. An + old jack rabbit had waited too long in hiding. Now, finding himself almost + surrounded by the mighty plains people, he sprang up suddenly, his + feathery ears conspicuously erect, a dangerous challenge to the dogs and + the people. + </p> + <p> + A whoop went up. Every dog accepted the challenge. Forgotten were the + bundles, the kits, even the babies they were drawing or carrying. The + chase was on, and the screams of the women reechoed from the opposite + cliffs of the Powder, mingled with the yelps of dogs and the neighing of + horses. The hand of every man was against the daring warrior, the lone + Jack, and the confusion was great. + </p> + <p> + When the fleeing one cleared the mass of his enemies, he emerged with a + swiftness that commanded respect and gave promise of a determined chase. + Behind him, his pursuers stretched out in a thin line, first the speedy, + unburdened dogs and then the travois dogs headed by the old Eskimo with + his precious freight. The youthful Gall was in a travois, a basket mounted + on trailing poles and harnessed to the sides of the animal. + </p> + <p> + “Hey! hey! they are gaining on him!” a warrior shouted. At this juncture + two of the canines had almost nabbed their furry prey by the back. But he + was too cunning for them. He dropped instantly and sent both dogs over his + head, rolling and spinning, then made another flight at right angles to + the first. This gave the Eskimo a chance to cut the triangle. He gained + fifty yards, but being heavily handicapped, two unladen dogs passed him. + The same trick was repeated by the Jack, and this time he saved himself + from instant death by a double loop and was now running directly toward + the crowd, followed by a dozen or more dogs. He was losing speed, but + likewise his pursuers were dropping off steadily. Only the sturdy Eskimo + dog held to his even gait, and behind him in the frail travois leaned + forward the little Matohinshda, nude save a breech clout, his left hand + holding fast the convenient tail of his dog, the right grasping firmly one + of the poles of the travois. His black eyes were bulging almost out of + their sockets; his long hair flowed out behind like a stream of dark + water. + </p> + <p> + The Jack now ran directly toward the howling spectators, but his marvelous + speed and alertness were on the wane; while on the other hand his foremost + pursuer, who had taken part in hundreds of similar events, had every + confidence in his own endurance. Each leap brought him nearer, fiercer and + more determined. The last effort of the Jack was to lose himself in the + crowd, like a fish in muddy water; but the big dog made the one needed + leap with unerring aim and his teeth flashed as he caught the rabbit in + viselike jaws and held him limp in air, a victor! + </p> + <p> + The people rushed up to him as he laid the victim down, and foremost among + them was the frantic mother of Matohinshda, or Gall. “Michinkshe! + michinkshe!” (My son! my son!) she screamed as she drew near. The boy + seemed to be none the worse for his experience. “Mother!” he cried, “my + dog is brave: he got the rabbit!” She snatched him off the travois, but he + struggled out of her arms to look upon his dog lovingly and admiringly. + Old men and boys crowded about the hero of the day, the dog, and the + thoughtful grandmother of Matohinshda unharnessed him and poured some + water from a parfleche water bag into a basin. “Here, my grandson, give + your friend something to drink.” + </p> + <p> + “How, hechetu,” pronounced an old warrior no longer in active service. + “This may be only an accident, an ordinary affair; but such things + sometimes indicate a career. The boy has had a wonderful ride. I prophesy + that he will one day hold the attention of all the people with his + doings.” + </p> + <p> + This is the first remembered story of the famous chief, but other boyish + exploits foretold the man he was destined to be. He fought many sham + battles, some successful and others not; but he was always a fierce + fighter and a good loser. + </p> + <p> + Once he was engaged in a battle with snowballs. There were probably nearly + a hundred boys on each side, and the rule was that every fair hit made the + receiver officially dead. He must not participate further, but must remain + just where he was struck. + </p> + <p> + Gall’s side was fast losing, and the battle was growing hotter every + minute when the youthful warrior worked toward an old water hole and took + up his position there. His side was soon annihilated and there were eleven + men left to fight him. He was pressed close in the wash-out, and as he + dodged under cover before a volley of snowballs, there suddenly emerged in + his stead a huge gray wolf. His opponents fled in every direction in + superstitious terror, for they thought he had been transformed into the + animal. To their astonishment he came out on the farther side and ran to + the line of safety, a winner! + </p> + <p> + It happened that the wolf’s den had been partly covered with snow so that + no one had noticed it until the yells of the boys aroused the inmate, and + he beat a hasty retreat. The boys always looked upon this incident as an + omen. + </p> + <p> + Gall had an amiable disposition but was quick to resent insult or + injustice. This sometimes involved him in difficulties, but he seldom + fought without good cause and was popular with his associates. One of his + characteristics was his ability to organize, and this was a large factor + in his leadership when he became a man. He was tried in many ways, and + never was known to hesitate when it was a question of physical courage and + endurance. He entered the public service early in life, but not until he + had proved himself competent and passed all tests. + </p> + <p> + When a mere boy, he was once scouting for game in midwinter, far from + camp, and was overtaken by a three days’ blizzard. He was forced to + abandon his horse and lie under the snow for that length of time. He + afterward said he was not particularly hungry; it was thirst and stiffness + from which he suffered most. One reason the Indian so loved his horse or + dog was that at such times the animal would stay by him like a brother. On + this occasion Gall’s pony was not more than a stone’s throw away when the + storm subsided and the sun shone. There was a herd of buffalo in plain + sight, and the young hunter was not long in procuring a meal. + </p> + <p> + This chief’s contemporaries still recall his wrestling match with the + equally powerful Cheyenne boy, Roman Nose, who afterward became a chief + well known to American history. It was a custom of the northwestern + Indians, when two friendly tribes camped together, to establish the + physical and athletic supremacy of the youth of the respective camps. + </p> + <p> + The “Che-hoo-hoo” is a wrestling game in which there may be any number on + a side, but the numbers are equal. All the boys of each camp are called + together by a leader chosen for the purpose and draw themselves up in line + of battle; then each at a given signal attacks his opponent. + </p> + <p> + In this memorable contest, Matohinshda, or Gall, was placed opposite Roman + Nose. The whole people turned out as spectators of the struggle, and the + battlefield was a plateau between the two camps, in the midst of + picturesque Bad Lands. There were many athletic youths present, but these + two were really the Apollos of the two tribes. + </p> + <p> + In this kind of sport it is not allowed to strike with the hand, nor catch + around the neck, nor kick, nor pull by the hair. One may break away and + run a few yards to get a fresh start, or clinch, or catch as catch can. + When a boy is thrown and held to the ground, he is counted out. If a boy + has met his superior, he may drop to the ground to escape rough handling, + but it is very seldom one gives up without a full trial of strength. + </p> + <p> + It seemed almost like a real battle, so great was the enthusiasm, as the + shouts of sympathizers on both sides went up in a mighty chorus. At last + all were either conquerors or subdued except Gall and Roman Nose. The pair + seemed equally matched. Both were stripped to the breech clout, now + tugging like two young buffalo or elk in mating time, again writhing and + twisting like serpents. At times they fought like two wild stallions, + straining every muscle of arms, legs, and back in the struggle. Every now + and then one was lifted off his feet for a moment, but came down planted + like a tree, and after swaying to and fro soon became rigid again. + </p> + <p> + All eyes were upon the champions. Finally, either by trick or main force, + Gall laid the other sprawling upon the ground and held him fast for a + minute, then released him and stood erect, panting, a master youth. Shout + after shout went up on the Sioux side of the camp. The mother of Roman + Nose came forward and threw a superbly worked buffalo robe over Gall, + whose mother returned the compliment by covering the young Cheyenne with a + handsome blanket. + </p> + <p> + Undoubtedly these early contests had their influence upon our hero’s + career. It was his habit to appear most opportunely in a crisis, and in a + striking and dramatic manner to take command of the situation. The best + known example of this is his entrance on the scene of confusion when Reno + surprised the Sioux on the Little Big Horn. Many of the excitable youths, + almost unarmed, rushed madly and blindly to meet the intruder, and the + scene might have unnerved even an experienced warrior. It was Gall, with + not a garment upon his superb body, who on his black charger dashed ahead + of the boys and faced them. He stopped them on the dry creek, while the + bullets of Reno’s men whistled about their ears. + </p> + <p> + “Hold hard, men! Steady, we are not ready yet! Wait for more guns, more + horses, and the day is yours!” + </p> + <p> + They obeyed, and in a few minutes the signal to charge was given, and Reno + retreated pell mell before the onset of the Sioux. + </p> + <p> + Sitting Bull had confidence in his men so long as Gall planned and + directed the attack, whether against United States soldiers or the + warriors of another tribe. He was a strategist, and able in a twinkling to + note and seize upon an advantage. He was really the mainstay of Sitting + Bull’s effective last stand. He consistently upheld his people’s right to + their buffalo plains and believed that they should hold the government + strictly to its agreements with them. When the treaty of 1868 was + disregarded, he agreed with Sitting Bull in defending the last of their + once vast domain, and after the Custer battle entered Canada with his + chief. They hoped to bring their lost cause before the English government + and were much disappointed when they were asked to return to the United + States. + </p> + <p> + Gall finally reported at Fort Peck, Montana, in 1881, and brought half of + the Hunkpapa band with him, whereupon he was soon followed by Sitting Bull + himself. Although they had been promised by the United States commission + who went to Canada to treat with them that they would not be punished if + they returned, no sooner had Gall come down than a part of his people were + attacked, and in the spring they were all brought to Fort Randall and held + as military prisoners. From this point they were returned to Standing Rock + agency. + </p> + <p> + When “Buffalo Bill” successfully launched his first show, he made every + effort to secure both Sitting Bull and Gall for his leading attractions. + The military was in complete accord with him in this, for they still had + grave suspicions of these two leaders. While Sitting Bull reluctantly + agreed, Gall haughtily said: “I am not an animal to be exhibited before + the crowd,” and retired to his teepee. His spirit was much worn, and he + lost strength from that time on. That superb manhood dwindled, and in a + few years he died. He was a real hero of a free and natural people, a type + that is never to be seen again. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CRAZY HORSE + </h2> + <p> + Crazy Horse was born on the Republican River about 1845. He was killed at + Fort Robinson, Nebraska, in 1877, so that he lived barely thirty-three + years. + </p> + <p> + He was an uncommonly handsome man. While not the equal of Gall in + magnificence and imposing stature, he was physically perfect, an Apollo in + symmetry. Furthermore he was a true type of Indian refinement and grace. + He was modest and courteous as Chief Joseph; the difference is that he was + a born warrior, while Joseph was not. However, he was a gentle warrior, a + true brave, who stood for the highest ideal of the Sioux. Notwithstanding + all that biased historians have said of him, it is only fair to judge a + man by the estimate of his own people rather than that of his enemies. + </p> + <p> + The boyhood of Crazy Horse was passed in the days when the western Sioux + saw a white man but seldom, and then it was usually a trader or a soldier. + He was carefully brought up according to the tribal customs. At that + period the Sioux prided themselves on the training and development of + their sons and daughters, and not a step in that development was + overlooked as an excuse to bring the child before the public by giving a + feast in its honor. At such times the parents often gave so generously to + the needy that they almost impoverished themselves, thus setting an + example to the child of self-denial for the general good. His first step + alone, the first word spoken, first game killed, the attainment of manhood + or womanhood, each was the occasion of a feast and dance in his honor, at + which the poor always benefited to the full extent of the parents’ + ability. + </p> + <p> + Big-heartedness, generosity, courage, and self-denial are the + qualifications of a public servant, and the average Indian was keen to + follow this ideal. As every one knows, these characteristic traits become + a weakness when he enters a life founded upon commerce and gain. Under + such conditions the life of Crazy Horse began. His mother, like other + mothers, tender and watchful of her boy, would never once place an + obstacle in the way of his father’s severe physical training. They laid + the spiritual and patriotic foundations of his education in such a way + that he early became conscious of the demands of public service. + </p> + <p> + He was perhaps four or five years old when the band was snowed in one + severe winter. They were very short of food, but his father was a tireless + hunter. The buffalo, their main dependence, were not to be found, but he + was out in the storm and cold every day and finally brought in two + antelopes. The little boy got on his pet pony and rode through the camp, + telling the old folks to come to his mother’s teepee for meat. It turned + out that neither his father nor mother had authorized him to do this. + Before they knew it, old men and women were lined up before the teepee + home, ready to receive the meat, in answer to his invitation. As a result, + the mother had to distribute nearly all of it, keeping only enough for two + meals. + </p> + <p> + On the following day the child asked for food. His mother told him that + the old folks had taken it all, and added: “Remember, my son, they went + home singing praises in your name, not my name or your father’s. You must + be brave. You must live up to your reputation.” + </p> + <p> + Crazy Horse loved horses, and his father gave him a pony of his own when + he was very young. He became a fine horseman and accompanied his father on + buffalo hunts, holding the pack horses while the men chased the buffalo + and thus gradually learning the art. In those days the Sioux had but few + guns, and the hunting was mostly done with bow and arrows. + </p> + <p> + Another story told of his boyhood is that when he was about twelve he went + to look for the ponies with his little brother, whom he loved much, and + took a great deal of pains to teach what he had already learned. They came + to some wild cherry trees full of ripe fruit, and while they were enjoying + it, the brothers were startled by the growl and sudden rush of a bear. + Young Crazy Horse pushed his brother up into the nearest tree and himself + sprang upon the back of one of the horses, which was frightened and ran + some distance before he could control him. As soon as he could, however, + he turned him about and came back, yelling and swinging his lariat over + his head. The bear at first showed fight but finally turned and ran. The + old man who told me this story added that young as he was, he had some + power, so that even a grizzly did not care to tackle him. I believe it is + a fact that a silver-tip will dare anything except a bell or a lasso line, + so that accidentally the boy had hit upon the very thing which would drive + him off. + </p> + <p> + It was usual for Sioux boys of his day to wait in the field after a + buffalo hunt until sundown, when the young calves would come out in the + open, hungrily seeking their mothers. Then these wild children would enjoy + a mimic hunt, and lasso the calves or drive them into camp. Crazy Horse + was found to be a determined little fellow, and it was settled one day + among the larger boys that they would “stump” him to ride a good-sized + bull calf. He rode the calf, and stayed on its back while it ran bawling + over the hills, followed by the other boys on their ponies, until his + strange mount stood trembling and exhausted. + </p> + <p> + At the age of sixteen he joined a war party against the Gros Ventres. He + was well in the front of the charge, and at once established his bravery + by following closely one of the foremost Sioux warriors, by the name of + Hump, drawing the enemy’s fire and circling around their advance guard. + Suddenly Hump’s horse was shot from under him, and there was a rush of + warriors to kill or capture him while down. But amidst a shower of arrows + the youth leaped from his pony, helped his friend into his own saddle, + sprang up behind him, and carried him off in safety, although they were + hotly pursued by the enemy. Thus he associated himself in his maiden + battle with the wizard of Indian warfare, and Hump, who was then at the + height of his own career, pronounced Crazy Horse the coming warrior of the + Teton Sioux. + </p> + <p> + At this period of his life, as was customary with the best young men, he + spent much time in prayer and solitude. Just what happened in these days + of his fasting in the wilderness and upon the crown of bald buttes, no one + will ever know; for these things may only be known when one has lived + through the battles of life to an honored old age. He was much sought + after by his youthful associates, but was noticeably reserved and modest; + yet in the moment of danger he at once rose above them all—a natural + leader! Crazy Horse was a typical Sioux brave, and from the point of view + of our race an ideal hero, living at the height of the epical progress of + the American Indian and maintaining in his own character all that was most + subtle and ennobling of their spiritual life, and that has since been lost + in the contact with a material civilization. + </p> + <p> + He loved Hump, that peerless warrior, and the two became close friends, in + spite of the difference in age. Men called them “the grizzly and his cub.” + Again and again the pair saved the day for the Sioux in a skirmish with + some neighboring tribe. But one day they undertook a losing battle against + the Snakes. The Sioux were in full retreat and were fast being overwhelmed + by superior numbers. The old warrior fell in a last desperate charge; but + Crazy Horse and his younger brother, though dismounted, killed two of the + enemy and thus made good their retreat. + </p> + <p> + It was observed of him that when he pursued the enemy into their + stronghold, as he was wont to do, he often refrained from killing, and + simply struck them with a switch, showing that he did not fear their + weapons nor care to waste his upon them. In attempting this very feat, he + lost this only brother of his, who emulated him closely. A party of young + warriors, led by Crazy Horse, had dashed upon a frontier post, killed one + of the sentinels, stampeded the horses, and pursued the herder to the very + gate of the stockade, thus drawing upon themselves the fire of the + garrison. The leader escaped without a scratch, but his young brother was + brought down from his horse and killed. + </p> + <p> + While he was still under twenty, there was a great winter buffalo hunt, + and he came back with ten buffaloes’ tongues which he sent to the council + lodge for the councilors’ feast. He had in one winter day killed ten + buffalo cows with his bow and arrows, and the unsuccessful hunters or + those who had no swift ponies were made happy by his generosity. When the + hunters returned, these came chanting songs of thanks. He knew that his + father was an expert hunter and had a good horse, so he took no meat home, + putting in practice the spirit of his early teaching. + </p> + <p> + He attained his majority at the crisis of the difficulties between the + United States and the Sioux. Even before that time, Crazy Horse had + already proved his worth to his people in Indian warfare. He had risked + his life again and again, and in some instances it was considered almost a + miracle that he had saved others as well as himself. He was no orator nor + was he the son of a chief. His success and influence was purely a matter + of personality. He had never fought the whites up to this time, and indeed + no “coup” was counted for killing or scalping a white man. + </p> + <p> + Young Crazy Horse was twenty-one years old when all the Teton Sioux chiefs + (the western or plains dwellers) met in council to determine upon their + future policy toward the invader. Their former agreements had been by + individual bands, each for itself, and every one was friendly. They + reasoned that the country was wide, and that the white traders should be + made welcome. Up to this time they had anticipated no conflict. They had + permitted the Oregon Trail, but now to their astonishment forts were built + and garrisoned in their territory. + </p> + <p> + Most of the chiefs advocated a strong resistance. There were a few + influential men who desired still to live in peace, and who were willing + to make another treaty. Among these were White Bull, Two Kettle, Four + Bears, and Swift Bear. Even Spotted Tail, afterward the great peace chief, + was at this time with the majority, who decided in the year 1866 to defend + their rights and territory by force. Attacks were to be made upon the + forts within their country and on every trespasser on the same. + </p> + <p> + Crazy Horse took no part in the discussion, but he and all the young + warriors were in accord with the decision of the council. Although so + young, he was already a leader among them. Other prominent young braves + were Sword (brother of the man of that name who was long captain of police + at Pine Ridge), the younger Hump, Charging Bear, Spotted Elk, Crow King, + No Water, Big Road, He Dog, the nephew of Red Cloud, and Touch-the-Cloud, + intimate friend of Crazy Horse. + </p> + <p> + The attack on Fort Phil Kearny was the first fruits of the new policy, and + here Crazy Horse was chosen to lead the attack on the woodchoppers, + designed to draw the soldiers out of the fort, while an army of six + hundred lay in wait for them. The success of this stratagem was further + enhanced by his masterful handling of his men. From this time on a general + war was inaugurated; Sitting Bull looked to him as a principal war leader, + and even the Cheyenne chiefs, allies of the Sioux, practically + acknowledged his leadership. Yet during the following ten years of + defensive war he was never known to make a speech, though his teepee was + the rendezvous of the young men. He was depended upon to put into action + the decisions of the council, and was frequently consulted by the older + chiefs. + </p> + <p> + Like Osceola, he rose suddenly; like Tecumseh he was always impatient for + battle; like Pontiac, he fought on while his allies were suing for peace, + and like Grant, the silent soldier, he was a man of deeds and not of + words. He won from Custer and Fetterman and Crook. He won every battle + that he undertook, with the exception of one or two occasions when he was + surprised in the midst of his women and children, and even then he managed + to extricate himself in safety from a difficult position. + </p> + <p> + Early in the year 1876, his runners brought word from Sitting Bull that + all the roving bands would converge upon the upper Tongue River in Montana + for summer feasts and conferences. There was conflicting news from the + reservation. It was rumored that the army would fight the Sioux to a + finish; again, it was said that another commission would be sent out to + treat with them. + </p> + <p> + The Indians came together early in June, and formed a series of + encampments stretching out from three to four miles, each band keeping + separate camp. On June 17, scouts came in and reported the advance of a + large body of troops under General Crook. The council sent Crazy Horse + with seven hundred men to meet and attack him. These were nearly all young + men, many of them under twenty, the flower of the hostile Sioux. They set + out at night so as to steal a march upon the enemy, but within three or + four miles of his camp they came unexpectedly upon some of his Crow + scouts. There was a hurried exchange of shots; the Crows fled back to + Crook’s camp, pursued by the Sioux. The soldiers had their warning, and it + was impossible to enter the well-protected camp. Again and again Crazy + Horse charged with his bravest men, in the attempt to bring the troops + into the open, but he succeeded only in drawing their fire. Toward + afternoon he withdrew, and returned to camp disappointed. His scouts + remained to watch Crook’s movements, and later brought word that he had + retreated to Goose Creek and seemed to have no further disposition to + disturb the Sioux. It is well known to us that it is Crook rather than + Reno who is to be blamed for cowardice in connection with Custer’s fate. + The latter had no chance to do anything, he was lucky to save himself; but + if Crook had kept on his way, as ordered, to meet Terry, with his one + thousand regulars and two hundred Crow and Shoshone scouts, he would + inevitably have intercepted Custer in his advance and saved the day for + him, and war with the Sioux would have ended right there. Instead of this, + he fell back upon Fort Meade, eating his horses on the way, in a country + swarming with game, for fear of Crazy Horse and his braves! + </p> + <p> + The Indians now crossed the divide between the Tongue and the Little Big + Horn, where they felt safe from immediate pursuit. Here, with all their + precautions, they were caught unawares by General Custer, in the midst of + their midday games and festivities, while many were out upon the daily + hunt. + </p> + <p> + On this twenty-fifth of June, 1876, the great camp was scattered for three + miles or more along the level river bottom, back of the thin line of + cottonwoods—five circular rows of teepees, ranging from half a mile + to a mile and a half in circumference. Here and there stood out a large, + white, solitary teepee; these were the lodges or “clubs” of the young men. + Crazy Horse was a member of the “Strong Hearts” and the “Tokala” or Fox + lodge. He was watching a game of ring-toss when the warning came from the + southern end of the camp of the approach of troops. + </p> + <p> + The Sioux and the Cheyennes were “minute men”, and although taken by + surprise, they instantly responded. Meanwhile, the women and children were + thrown into confusion. Dogs were howling, ponies running hither and + thither, pursued by their owners, while many of the old men were singing + their lodge songs to encourage the warriors, or praising the “strong + heart” of Crazy Horse. + </p> + <p> + That leader had quickly saddled his favorite war pony and was starting + with his young men for the south end of the camp, when a fresh alarm came + from the opposite direction, and looking up, he saw Custer’s force upon + the top of the bluff directly across the river. As quick as a flash, he + took in the situation—the enemy had planned to attack the camp at + both ends at once; and knowing that Custer could not ford the river at + that point, he instantly led his men northward to the ford to cut him off. + The Cheyennes followed closely. Custer must have seen that wonderful dash + up the sage-bush plain, and one wonders whether he realized its meaning. + In a very few minutes, this wild general of the plains had outwitted one + of the most brilliant leaders of the Civil War and ended at once his + military career and his life. + </p> + <p> + In this dashing charge, Crazy Horse snatched his most famous victory out + of what seemed frightful peril, for the Sioux could not know how many were + behind Custer. He was caught in his own trap. To the soldiers it must have + seemed as if the Indians rose up from the earth to overwhelm them. They + closed in from three sides and fought until not a white man was left + alive. Then they went down to Reno’s stand and found him so well + intrenched in a deep gully that it was impossible to dislodge him. Gall + and his men held him there until the approach of General Terry compelled + the Sioux to break camp and scatter in different directions. + </p> + <p> + While Sitting Bull was pursued into Canada, Crazy Horse and the Cheyennes + wandered about, comparatively undisturbed, during the rest of that year, + until in the winter the army surprised the Cheyennes, but did not do them + much harm, possibly because they knew that Crazy Horse was not far off. + His name was held in wholesome respect. From time to time, delegations of + friendly Indians were sent to him, to urge him to come in to the + reservation, promising a full hearing and fair treatment. + </p> + <p> + For some time he held out, but the rapid disappearance of the buffalo, + their only means of support, probably weighed with him more than any other + influence. In July, 1877, he was finally prevailed upon to come in to Fort + Robinson, Nebraska, with several thousand Indians, most of them Ogallala + and Minneconwoju Sioux, on the distinct understanding that the government + would hear and adjust their grievances. + </p> + <p> + At this juncture General Crook proclaimed Spotted Tail, who had rendered + much valuable service to the army, head chief of the Sioux, which was + resented by many. The attention paid Crazy Horse was offensive to Spotted + Tail and the Indian scouts, who planned a conspiracy against him. They + reported to General Crook that the young chief would murder him at the + next council, and stampede the Sioux into another war. He was urged not to + attend the council and did not, but sent another officer to represent him. + Meanwhile the friends of Crazy Horse discovered the plot and told him of + it. His reply was, “Only cowards are murderers.” + </p> + <p> + His wife was critically ill at the time, and he decided to take her to her + parents at Spotted Tail agency, whereupon his enemies circulated the story + that he had fled, and a party of scouts was sent after him. They overtook + him riding with his wife and one other but did not undertake to arrest + him, and after he had left the sick woman with her people he went to call + on Captain Lea, the agent for the Brules, accompanied by all the warriors + of the Minneconwoju band. This volunteer escort made an imposing + appearance on horseback, shouting and singing, and in the words of Captain + Lea himself and the missionary, the Reverend Mr. Cleveland, the situation + was extremely critical. Indeed, the scouts who had followed Crazy Horse + from Red Cloud agency were advised not to show themselves, as some of the + warriors had urged that they be taken out and horsewhipped publicly. + </p> + <p> + Under these circumstances Crazy Horse again showed his masterful spirit by + holding these young men in check. He said to them in his quiet way: “It is + well to be brave in the field of battle; it is cowardly to display bravery + against one’s own tribesmen. These scouts have been compelled to do what + they did; they are no better than servants of the white officers. I came + here on a peaceful errand.” + </p> + <p> + The captain urged him to report at army headquarters to explain himself + and correct false rumors, and on his giving consent, furnished him with a + wagon and escort. It has been said that he went back under arrest, but + this is untrue. Indians have boasted that they had a hand in bringing him + in, but their stories are without foundation. He went of his own accord, + either suspecting no treachery or determined to defy it. + </p> + <p> + When he reached the military camp, Little Big Man walked arm-in-arm with + him, and his cousin and friend, Touch-the-Cloud, was just in advance. + After they passed the sentinel, an officer approached them and walked on + his other side. He was unarmed but for the knife which is carried for + ordinary uses by women as well as men. Unsuspectingly he walked toward the + guardhouse, when Touch-the-Cloud suddenly turned back exclaiming: “Cousin, + they will put you in prison!” + </p> + <p> + “Another white man’s trick! Let me go! Let me die fighting!” cried Crazy + Horse. He stopped and tried to free himself and draw his knife, but both + arms were held fast by Little Big Man and the officer. While he struggled + thus, a soldier thrust him through with his bayonet from behind. The wound + was mortal, and he died in the course of that night, his old father + singing the death song over him and afterward carrying away the body, + which they said must not be further polluted by the touch of a white man. + They hid it somewhere in the Bad Lands, his resting place to this day. + </p> + <p> + Thus died one of the ablest and truest American Indians. His life was + ideal; his record clean. He was never involved in any of the numerous + massacres on the trail, but was a leader in practically every open fight. + Such characters as those of Crazy Horse and Chief Joseph are not easily + found among so-called civilized people. The reputation of great men is apt + to be shadowed by questionable motives and policies, but here are two pure + patriots, as worthy of honor as any who ever breathed God’s air in the + wide spaces of a new world. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SITTING BULL + </h2> + <p> + IT is not easy to characterize Sitting Bull, of all Sioux chiefs most + generally known to the American people. There are few to whom his name is + not familiar, and still fewer who have learned to connect it with anything + more than the conventional notion of a bloodthirsty savage. The man was an + enigma at best. He was not impulsive, nor was he phlegmatic. He was most + serious when he seemed to be jocose. He was gifted with the power of + sarcasm, and few have used it more artfully than he. + </p> + <p> + His father was one of the best-known members of the Unkpapa band of Sioux. + The manner of this man’s death was characteristic. One day, when the + Unkpapas were attacked by a large war party of Crows, he fell upon the + enemy’s war leader with his knife. In a hand-to-hand combat of this sort, + we count the victor as entitled to a war bonnet of trailing plumes. It + means certain death to one or both. In this case, both men dealt a mortal + stroke, and Jumping Buffalo, the father of Sitting Bull, fell from his + saddle and died in a few minutes. The other died later from the effects of + the wound. + </p> + <p> + Sitting Bull’s boyhood must have been a happy one. It was long after the + day of the dog-travaux, and his father owned many ponies of variegated + colors. It was said of him in a joking way that his legs were bowed like + the ribs of the ponies that he rode constantly from childhood. He had also + a common nickname that was much to the point. It was “Hunkeshnee”, which + means “Slow”, referring to his inability to run fast, or more probably to + the fact that he seldom appeared on foot. In their boyish games he was + wont to take the part of the “old man”, but this does not mean that he was + not active and brave. It is told that after a buffalo hunt the boys were + enjoying a mimic hunt with the calves that had been left behind. A large + calf turned viciously on Sitting Bull, whose pony had thrown him, but the + alert youth got hold of both ears and struggled until the calf was pushed + back into a buffalo wallow in a sitting posture. The boys shouted: “He has + subdued the buffalo calf! He made it sit down!” And from this incident was + derived his familiar name of Sitting Bull. + </p> + <p> + It is a mistake to suppose that Sitting Bull, or any other Indian warrior, + was of a murderous disposition. It is true that savage warfare had grown + more and more harsh and cruel since the coming of white traders among + them, bringing guns, knives, and whisky. Yet it was still regarded largely + as a sort of game, undertaken in order to develop the manly qualities of + their youth. It was the degree of risk which brought honor, rather than + the number slain, and a brave must mourn thirty days, with blackened face + and loosened hair, for the enemy whose life he had taken. While the spoils + of war were allowed, this did not extend to territorial aggrandizement, + nor was there any wish to overthrow another nation and enslave its people. + It was a point of honor in the old days to treat a captive with kindness. + The common impression that the Indian is naturally cruel and revengeful is + entirely opposed to his philosophy and training. The revengeful tendency + of the Indian was aroused by the white man. It is not the natural Indian + who is mean and tricky; not Massasoit but King Philip; not Attackullakulla + but Weatherford; not Wabashaw but Little Crow; not Jumping Buffalo but + Sitting Bull! These men lifted their hands against the white man, while + their fathers held theirs out to him with gifts. + </p> + <p> + Remember that there were councils which gave their decisions in accordance + with the highest ideal of human justice before there were any cities on + this continent; before there were bridges to span the Mississippi; before + this network of railroads was dreamed of! There were primitive communities + upon the very spot where Chicago or New York City now stands, where men + were as children, innocent of all the crimes now committed there daily and + nightly. True morality is more easily maintained in connection with the + simple life. You must accept the truth that you demoralize any race whom + you have subjugated. + </p> + <p> + From this point of view we shall consider Sitting Bull’s career. We say he + is an untutored man: that is true so far as learning of a literary type is + concerned; but he was not an untutored man when you view him from the + standpoint of his nation. To be sure, he did not learn his lessons from + books. This is second-hand information at best. All that he learned he + verified for himself and put into daily practice. In personal appearance + he was rather commonplace and made no immediate impression, but as he + talked he seemed to take hold of his hearers more and more. He was + bull-headed; quick to grasp a situation, and not readily induced to change + his mind. He was not suspicious until he was forced to be so. All his + meaner traits were inevitably developed by the events of his later career. + </p> + <p> + Sitting Bull’s history has been written many times by newspaper men and + army officers, but I find no account of him which is entirely correct. I + met him personally in 1884, and since his death I have gone thoroughly + into the details of his life with his relatives and contemporaries. It has + often been said that he was a physical coward and not a warrior. Judge of + this for yourselves from the deed which first gave him fame in his own + tribe, when he was about twenty-eight years old. + </p> + <p> + In an attack upon a band of Crow Indians, one of the enemy took his stand, + after the rest had fled, in a deep ditch from which it seemed impossible + to dislodge him. The situation had already cost the lives of several + warriors, but they could not let him go to repeat such a boast over the + Sioux! + </p> + <p> + “Follow me!” said Sitting Bull, and charged. He raced his horse to the + brim of the ditch and struck at the enemy with his coup-staff, thus + compelling him to expose himself to the fire of the others while shooting + his assailant. But the Crow merely poked his empty gun into his face and + dodged back under cover. Then Sitting Bull stopped; he saw that no one had + followed him, and he also perceived that the enemy had no more ammunition + left. He rode deliberately up to the barrier and threw his loaded gun over + it; then he went back to his party and told them what he thought of them. + </p> + <p> + “Now,” said he, “I have armed him, for I will not see a brave man killed + unarmed. I will strike him again with my coup-staff to count the first + feather; who will count the second?” + </p> + <p> + Again he led the charge, and this time they all followed him. Sitting Bull + was severely wounded by his own gun in the hands of the enemy, who was + killed by those that came after him. This is a record that so far as I + know was never made by any other warrior. + </p> + <p> + The second incident that made him well known was his taking of a boy + captive in battle with the Assiniboines. He saved this boy’s life and + adopted him as his brother. Hohay, as he was called, was devoted to + Sitting Bull and helped much in later years to spread his fame. Sitting + Bull was a born diplomat, a ready speaker, and in middle life he ceased to + go upon the warpath, to become the councilor of his people. From this time + on, this man represented him in all important battles, and upon every + brave deed done was wont to exclaim aloud: + </p> + <p> + “I, Sitting Bull’s boy, do this in his name!” + </p> + <p> + He had a nephew, now living, who resembles him strongly, and who also + represented him personally upon the field; and so far as there is any + remnant left of his immediate band, they look upon this man One Bull as + their chief. + </p> + <p> + When Sitting Bull was a boy, there was no thought of trouble with the + whites. He was acquainted with many of the early traders, Picotte, + Choteau, Primeau, Larpenteur, and others, and liked them, as did most of + his people in those days. All the early records show this friendly + attitude of the Sioux, and the great fur companies for a century and a + half depended upon them for the bulk of their trade. It was not until the + middle of the last century that they woke up all of a sudden to the danger + threatening their very existence. Yet at that time many of the old chiefs + had been already depraved by the whisky and other vices of the whites, and + in the vicinity of the forts and trading posts at Sioux City, Saint Paul, + and Cheyenne, there was general demoralization. The drunkards and + hangers-on were ready to sell almost anything they had for the favor of + the trader. The better and stronger element held aloof. They would not + have anything of the white man except his hatchet, gun, and knife. They + utterly refused to cede their lands; and as for the rest, they were + willing to let him alone as long as he did not interfere with their life + and customs, which was not long. + </p> + <p> + It was not, however, the Unkpapa band of Sioux, Sitting Bull’s band, which + first took up arms against the whites; and this was not because they had + come less in contact with them, for they dwelt on the Missouri River, the + natural highway of trade. As early as 1854, the Ogallalas and Brules had + trouble with the soldiers near Fort Laramie; and again in 1857 Inkpaduta + massacred several families of settlers at Spirit Lake, Iowa. Finally, in + 1869, the Minnesota Sioux, goaded by many wrongs, arose and murdered many + of the settlers, afterward fleeing into the country of the Unkpapas and + appealing to them for help, urging that all Indians should make common + cause against the invader. This brought Sitting Bull face to face with a + question which was not yet fully matured in his own mind; but having + satisfied himself of the justice of their cause, he joined forces with the + renegades during the summer of 1863, and from this time on he was an + acknowledged leader. + </p> + <p> + In 1865 and 1866 he met the Canadian half-breed, Louis Riel, instigator of + two rebellions, who had come across the line for safety; and in fact at + this time he harbored a number of outlaws and fugitives from justice. His + conversations with these, especially with the French mixed-bloods, who + inflamed his prejudices against the Americans, all had their influence in + making of the wily Sioux a determined enemy to the white man. While among + his own people he was always affable and genial, he became boastful and + domineering in his dealings with the hated race. He once remarked that “if + we wish to make any impression upon the pale-face, it is necessary to put + on his mask.” + </p> + <p> + Sitting Bull joined in the attack on Fort Phil Kearny and in the + subsequent hostilities; but he accepted in good faith the treaty of 1868, + and soon after it was signed he visited Washington with Red Cloud and + Spotted Tail, on which occasion the three distinguished chiefs attracted + much attention and were entertained at dinner by President Grant and other + notables. He considered that the life of the white man as he saw it was no + life for his people, but hoped by close adherence to the terms of this + treaty to preserve the Big Horn and Black Hills country for a permanent + hunting ground. When gold was discovered and the irrepressible gold + seekers made their historic dash across the plains into this forbidden + paradise, then his faith in the white man’s honor was gone forever, and he + took his final and most persistent stand in defense of his nation and + home. His bitter and at the same time well-grounded and philosophical + dislike of the conquering race is well expressed in a speech made before + the purely Indian council before referred to, upon the Powder River. I + will give it in brief as it has been several times repeated to me by men + who were present. + </p> + <p> + “Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the + embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love! + Every seed is awakened, and all animal life. It is through this mysterious + power that we too have our being, and we therefore yield to our neighbors, + even to our animal neighbors, the same right as ourselves to inhabit this + vast land. + </p> + <p> + “Yet hear me, friends! we have now to deal with another people, small and + feeble when our forefathers first met with them, but now great and + overbearing. Strangely enough, they have a mind to till the soil, and the + love of possessions is a disease in them. These people have made many + rules that the rich may break, but the poor may not! They have a religion + in which the poor worship, but the rich will not! They even take tithes of + the poor and weak to support the rich and those who rule. They claim this + mother of ours, the Earth, for their own use, and fence their neighbors + away from her, and deface her with their buildings and their refuse. They + compel her to produce out of season, and when sterile she is made to take + medicine in order to produce again. All this is sacrilege. + </p> + <p> + “This nation is like a spring freshet; it overruns its banks and destroys + all who are in its path. We cannot dwell side by side. Only seven years + ago we made a treaty by which we were assured that the buffalo country + should be left to us forever. Now they threaten to take that from us also. + My brothers, shall we submit? or shall we say to them: ‘First kill me, + before you can take possession of my fatherland!’” + </p> + <p> + As Sitting Bull spoke, so he felt, and he had the courage to stand by his + words. Crazy Horse led his forces in the field; as for him, he applied his + energies to state affairs, and by his strong and aggressive personality + contributed much to holding the hostiles together. + </p> + <p> + It may be said without fear of contradiction that Sitting Bull never + killed any women or children. He was a fair fighter, and while not + prominent in battle after his young manhood, he was the brains of the + Sioux resistance. He has been called a “medicine man” and a “dreamer.” + Strictly speaking, he was neither of these, and the white historians are + prone to confuse the two. A medicine man is a doctor or healer; a dreamer + is an active war prophet who leads his war party according to his dream or + prophecy. What is called by whites “making medicine” in war time is again + a wrong conception. Every warrior carries a bag of sacred or lucky charms, + supposed to protect the wearer alone, but it has nothing to do with the + success or safety of the party as a whole. No one can make any “medicine” + to affect the result of a battle, although it has been said that Sitting + Bull did this at the battle of the Little Big Horn. + </p> + <p> + When Custer and Reno attacked the camp at both ends, the chief was caught + napping. The village was in danger of surprise, and the women and children + must be placed in safety. Like other men of his age, Sitting Bull got his + family together for flight, and then joined the warriors on the Reno side + of the attack. Thus he was not in the famous charge against Custer; + nevertheless, his voice was heard exhorting the warriors throughout that + day. + </p> + <p> + During the autumn of 1876, after the fall of Custer, Sitting Bull was + hunted all through the Yellowstone region by the military. The following + characteristic letter, doubtless written at his dictation by a half-breed + interpreter, was sent to Colonel Otis immediately after a daring attack + upon his wagon train. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I want to know what you are doing, traveling on this road. + You scare all the buffalo away. I want to hunt in this place. I + want you to turn back from here. If you don’t, I will fight you + again. I want you to leave what you have got here and turn back + from here. + + “I am your friend + + “Sitting Bull.” + + “I need all the rations you have got and some powder. Wish you + would write me as soon as you can.” + </pre> + <p> + Otis, however, kept on and joined Colonel Miles, who followed Sitting Bull + with about four hundred soldiers. He overtook him at last on Cedar Creek, + near the Yellowstone, and the two met midway between the lines for a + parley. The army report says: “Sitting Bull wanted peace in his own way.” + The truth was that he wanted nothing more than had been guaranteed to them + by the treaty of 1868—the exclusive possession of their last hunting + ground. This the government was not now prepared to grant, as it had been + decided to place all the Indians under military control upon the various + reservations. + </p> + <p> + Since it was impossible to reconcile two such conflicting demands, the + hostiles were driven about from pillar to post for several more years, and + finally took refuge across the line in Canada, where Sitting Bull had + placed his last hope of justice and freedom for his race. Here he was + joined from time to time by parties of malcontents from the reservation, + driven largely by starvation and ill-treatment to seek another home. Here, + too, they were followed by United States commissioners, headed by General + Terry, who endeavored to persuade him to return, promising abundance of + food and fair treatment, despite the fact that the exiles were well aware + of the miserable condition of the “good Indians” upon the reservations. He + first refused to meet them at all, and only did so when advised to that + effect by Major Walsh of the Canadian mounted police. This was his + characteristic remark: “If you have one honest man in Washington, send him + here and I will talk to him.” + </p> + <p> + Sitting Bull was not moved by fair words; but when he found that if they + had liberty on that side, they had little else, that the Canadian + government would give them protection but no food; that the buffalo had + been all but exterminated and his starving people were already beginning + to desert him, he was compelled at last, in 1881, to report at Fort + Buford, North Dakota, with his band of hungry, homeless, and discouraged + refugees. It was, after all, to hunger and not to the strong arm of the + military that he surrendered in the end. + </p> + <p> + In spite of the invitation that had been extended to him in the name of + the “Great Father” at Washington, he was immediately thrown into a + military prison, and afterward handed over to Colonel Cody (“Buffalo + Bill”) as an advertisement for his “Wild West Show.” After traveling about + for several years with the famous showman, thus increasing his knowledge + of the weaknesses as well as the strength of the white man, the deposed + and humiliated chief settled down quietly with his people upon the + Standing Rock agency in North Dakota, where his immediate band occupied + the Grand River district and set to raising cattle and horses. They made + good progress; much better, in fact, than that of the “coffee-coolers” or + “loafer” Indians, received the missionaries kindly and were soon a + church-going people. + </p> + <p> + When the Commissions of 1888 and 1889 came to treat with the Sioux for a + further cession of land and a reduction of their reservations, nearly all + were opposed to consent on any terms. Nevertheless, by hook or by crook, + enough signatures were finally obtained to carry the measure through, + although it is said that many were those of women and the so-called + “squaw-men”, who had no rights in the land. At the same time, rations were + cut down, and there was general hardship and dissatisfaction. Crazy Horse + was long since dead; Spotted Tail had fallen at the hands of one of his + own tribe; Red Cloud had become a feeble old man, and the disaffected + among the Sioux began once more to look to Sitting Bull for leadership. + </p> + <p> + At this crisis a strange thing happened. A half-breed Indian in Nevada + promulgated the news that the Messiah had appeared to him upon a peak in + the Rockies, dressed in rabbit skins, and bringing a message to the red + race. The message was to the effect that since his first coming had been + in vain, since the white people had doubted and reviled him, had nailed + him to the cross, and trampled upon his doctrines, he had come again in + pity to save the Indian. He declared that he would cause the earth to + shake and to overthrow the cities of the whites and destroy them, that the + buffalo would return, and the land belong to the red race forever! These + events were to come to pass within two years; and meanwhile they were to + prepare for his coming by the ceremonies and dances which he commanded. + </p> + <p> + This curious story spread like wildfire and met with eager acceptance + among the suffering and discontented people. The teachings of Christian + missionaries had prepared them to believe in a Messiah, and the prescribed + ceremonial was much more in accord with their traditions than the + conventional worship of the churches. Chiefs of many tribes sent + delegations to the Indian prophet; Short Bull, Kicking Bear, and others + went from among the Sioux, and on their return all inaugurated the dances + at once. There was an attempt at first to keep the matter secret, but it + soon became generally known and seriously disconcerted the Indian agents + and others, who were quick to suspect a hostile conspiracy under all this + religious enthusiasm. As a matter of fact, there was no thought of an + uprising; the dancing was innocent enough, and pathetic enough their + despairing hope in a pitiful Saviour who should overwhelm their oppressors + and bring back their golden age. + </p> + <p> + When the Indians refused to give up the “Ghost Dance” at the bidding of + the authorities, the growing suspicion and alarm focused upon Sitting + Bull, who in spirit had never been any too submissive, and it was + determined to order his arrest. At the special request of Major + McLaughlin, agent at Standing Rock, forty of his Indian police were sent + out to Sitting Bull’s home on Grand River to secure his person (followed + at some little distance by a body of United States troops for + reinforcement, in case of trouble). These police are enlisted from among + the tribesmen at each agency, and have proved uniformly brave and + faithful. They entered the cabin at daybreak, aroused the chief from a + sound slumber, helped him to dress, and led him unresisting from the + house; but when he came out in the gray dawn of that December morning in + 1890, to find his cabin surrounded by armed men and himself led away to he + knew not what fate, he cried out loudly: + </p> + <p> + “They have taken me: what say you to it?” + </p> + <p> + Men poured out of the neighboring houses, and in a few minutes the police + were themselves surrounded with an excited and rapidly increasing throng. + They harangued the crowd in vain; Sitting Bull’s blood was up, and he + again appealed to his men. His adopted brother, the Assiniboine captive + whose life he had saved so many years before, was the first to fire. His + shot killed Lieutenant Bull Head, who held Sitting Bull by the arm. Then + there was a short but sharp conflict, in which Sitting Bull and six of his + defenders and six of the Indian police were slain, with many more wounded. + The chief’s young son, Crow Foot, and his devoted “brother” died with him. + When all was over, and the terrified people had fled precipitately across + the river, the soldiers appeared upon the brow of the long hill and fired + their Hotchkiss guns into the deserted camp. + </p> + <p> + Thus ended the life of a natural strategist of no mean courage and + ability. The great chief was buried without honors outside the cemetery at + the post, and for some years the grave was marked by a mere board at its + head. Recently some women have built a cairn of rocks there in token of + respect and remembrance. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + RAIN-IN-THE-FACE + </h2> + <p> + The noted Sioux warrior, Rain-in-the-Face, whose name once carried terror + to every part of the frontier, died at his home on the Standing Rock + reserve in North Dakota on September 14, 1905. About two months before his + death I went to see him for the last time, where he lay upon the bed of + sickness from which he never rose again, and drew from him his + life-history. + </p> + <p> + It had been my experience that you cannot induce an Indian to tell a + story, or even his own name, by asking him directly. + </p> + <p> + “Friend,” I said, “even if a man is on a hot trail, he stops for a smoke! + In the good old days, before the charge there was a smoke. At home, by the + fireside, when the old men were asked to tell their brave deeds, again the + pipe was passed. So come, let us smoke now to the memory of the old days!” + </p> + <p> + He took of my tobacco and filled his long pipe, and we smoked. Then I told + an old mirthful story to get him in the humor of relating his own history. + </p> + <p> + The old man lay upon an iron bedstead, covered by a red blanket, in a + corner of the little log cabin. He was all alone that day; only an old dog + lay silent and watchful at his master’s feet. + </p> + <p> + Finally he looked up and said with a pleasant smile: + </p> + <p> + “True, friend; it is the old custom to retrace one’s trail before leaving + it forever! I know that I am at the door of the spirit home. + </p> + <p> + “I was born near the forks of the Cheyenne River, about seventy years ago. + My father was not a chief; my grandfather was not a chief, but a good + hunter and a feast-maker. On my mother’s side I had some noted ancestors, + but they left me no chieftainship. I had to work for my reputation. + </p> + <p> + “When I was a boy, I loved to fight,” he continued. “In all our boyish + games I had the name of being hard to handle, and I took much pride in the + fact. + </p> + <p> + “I was about ten years old when we encountered a band of Cheyennes. They + were on friendly terms with us, but we boys always indulged in sham fights + on such occasions, and this time I got in an honest fight with a Cheyenne + boy older than I. I got the best of the boy, but he hit me hard in the + face several times, and my face was all spattered with blood and streaked + where the paint had been washed away. The Sioux boys whooped and yelled: + </p> + <p> + “‘His enemy is down, and his face is spattered as if with rain! + Rain-in-the-Face! His name shall be Rain-in-the-Face!’ + </p> + <p> + “Afterwards, when I was a young man, we went on a warpath against the Gros + Ventres. We stole some of their horses, but were overtaken and had to + abandon the horses and fight for our lives. I had wished my face to + represent the sun when partly covered with darkness, so I painted it half + black, half red. We fought all day in the rain, and my face was partly + washed and streaked with red and black: so again I was christened + Rain-in-the-Face. We considered it an honorable name. + </p> + <p> + “I had been on many warpaths, but was not especially successful until + about the time the Sioux began to fight with the white man. One of the + most daring attacks that we ever made was at Fort Totten, North Dakota, in + the summer of 1866. + </p> + <p> + “Hohay, the Assiniboine captive of Sitting Bull, was the leader in this + raid. Wapaypay, the Fearless Bear, who was afterward hanged at Yankton, + was the bravest man among us. He dared Hohay to make the charge. Hohay + accepted the challenge, and in turn dared the other to ride with him + through the agency and right under the walls of the fort, which was well + garrisoned and strong. + </p> + <p> + “Wapaypay and I in those days called each other ‘brother-friend.’ It was a + life-and-death vow. What one does the other must do; and that meant that I + must be in the forefront of the charge, and if he is killed, I must fight + until I die also! + </p> + <p> + “I prepared for death. I painted as usual like an eclipse of the sun, half + black and half red.” + </p> + <p> + His eyes gleamed and his face lighted up remarkably as he talked, pushing + his black hair back from his forehead with a nervous gesture. + </p> + <p> + “Now the signal for the charge was given! I started even with Wapaypay, + but his horse was faster than mine, so he left me a little behind as we + neared the fort. This was bad for me, for by that time the soldiers had + somewhat recovered from the surprise and were aiming better. + </p> + <p> + “Their big gun talked very loud, but my Wapaypay was leading on, leaning + forward on his fleet pony like a flying squirrel on a smooth log! He held + his rawhide shield on the right side, a little to the front, and so did I. + Our warwhoop was like the coyotes singing in the evening, when they smell + blood! + </p> + <p> + “The soldiers’ guns talked fast, but few were hurt. Their big gun was like + a toothless old dog, who only makes himself hotter the more noise he + makes,” he remarked with some humor. + </p> + <p> + “How much harm we did I do not know, but we made things lively for a time; + and the white men acted as people do when a swarm of angry bees get into + camp. We made a successful retreat, but some of the reservation Indians + followed us yelling, until Hohay told them that he did not wish to fight + with the captives of the white man, for there would be no honor in that. + There was blood running down my leg, and I found that both my horse and I + were slightly wounded. + </p> + <p> + “Some two years later we attacked a fort west of the Black Hills [Fort + Phil Kearny, Wyoming]. It was there we killed one hundred soldiers.” [The + military reports say eighty men, under the command of Captain Fetterman—not + one left alive to tell the tale!] “Nearly every band of the Sioux nation + was represented in that fight—Red Cloud, Spotted Tail, Crazy Horse, + Sitting Bull, Big Foot, and all our great chiefs were there. Of course + such men as I were then comparatively unknown. However, there were many + noted young warriors, among them Sword, the younger Young-Man-Afraid, + American Horse [afterward chief], Crow King, and others. + </p> + <p> + “This was the plan decided upon after many councils. The main war party + lay in ambush, and a few of the bravest young men were appointed to attack + the woodchoppers who were cutting logs to complete the building of the + fort. We were told not to kill these men, but to chase them into the fort + and retreat slowly, defying the white men; and if the soldiers should + follow, we were to lead them into the ambush. They took our bait exactly + as we had hoped! It was a matter of a very few minutes, for every soldier + lay dead in a shorter time than it takes to annihilate a small herd of + buffalo. + </p> + <p> + “This attack was hastened because most of the Sioux on the Missouri River + and eastward had begun to talk of suing for peace. But even this did not + stop the peace movement. The very next year a treaty was signed at Fort + Rice, Dakota Territory, by nearly all the Sioux chiefs, in which it was + agreed on the part of the Great Father in Washington that all the country + north of the Republican River in Nebraska, including the Black Hills and + the Big Horn Mountains, was to be always Sioux country, and no white man + should intrude upon it without our permission. Even with this agreement + Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were not satisfied, and they would not sign. + </p> + <p> + “Up to this time I had fought in some important battles, but had achieved + no great deed. I was ambitious to make a name for myself. I joined war + parties against the Crows, Mandans, Gros Ventres, and Pawnees, and gained + some little distinction. + </p> + <p> + “It was when the white men found the yellow metal in our country, and came + in great numbers, driving away our game, that we took up arms against them + for the last time. I must say here that the chiefs who were loudest for + war were among the first to submit and accept reservation life. Spotted + Tail was a great warrior, yet he was one of the first to yield, because he + was promised by the Chief Soldiers that they would make him chief of all + the Sioux. Ugh! he would have stayed with Sitting Bull to the last had it + not been for his ambition. + </p> + <p> + “About this time we young warriors began to watch the trails of the white + men into the Black Hills, and when we saw a wagon coming we would hide at + the crossing and kill them all without much trouble. We did this to + discourage the whites from coming into our country without our permission. + It was the duty of our Great Father at Washington, by the agreement of + 1868, to keep his white children away. + </p> + <p> + “During the troublesome time after this treaty, which no one seemed to + respect, either white or Indian [but the whites broke it first], I was + like many other young men—much on the warpath, but with little + honor. I had not yet become noted for any great deed. Finally, Wapaypay + and I waylaid and killed a white soldier on his way from the fort to his + home in the east. + </p> + <p> + “There were a few Indians who were liars, and never on the warpath, + playing ‘good Indian’ with the Indian agents and the war chiefs at the + forts. Some of this faithless set betrayed me, and told more than I ever + did. I was seized and taken to the fort near Bismarck, North Dakota [Fort + Abraham Lincoln], by a brother [Tom Custer] of the Long-Haired War Chief, + and imprisoned there. These same lying Indians, who were selling their + services as scouts to the white man, told me that I was to be shot to + death, or else hanged upon a tree. I answered that I was not afraid to + die. + </p> + <p> + “However, there was an old soldier who used to bring my food and stand + guard over me—he was a white man, it is true, but he had an Indian + heart! He came to me one day and unfastened the iron chain and ball with + which they had locked my leg, saying by signs and what little Sioux he + could muster: + </p> + <p> + “‘Go, friend! take the chain and ball with you. I shall shoot, but the + voice of the gun will lie.’ + </p> + <p> + “When he had made me understand, you may guess that I ran my best! I was + almost over the bank when he fired his piece at me several times, but I + had already gained cover and was safe. I have never told this before, and + would not, lest it should do him an injury, but he was an old man then, + and I am sure he must be dead long since. That old soldier taught me that + some of the white people have hearts,” he added, quite seriously. + </p> + <p> + “I went back to Standing Rock in the night, and I had to hide for several + days in the woods, where food was brought to me by my relatives. The + Indian police were ordered to retake me, and they pretended to hunt for + me, but really they did not, for if they had found me I would have died + with one or two of them, and they knew it! In a few days I departed with + several others, and we rejoined the hostile camp on the Powder River and + made some trouble for the men who were building the great iron track north + of us [Northern Pacific]. + </p> + <p> + “In the spring the hostile Sioux got together again upon the Tongue River. + It was one of the greatest camps of the Sioux that I ever saw. There were + some Northern Cheyennes with us, under Two Moon, and a few Santee Sioux, + renegades from Canada, under Inkpaduta, who had killed white people in + Iowa long before. We had decided to fight the white soldiers until no + warrior should be left.” + </p> + <p> + At this point Rain-in-the-Face took up his tobacco pouch and began again + to fill his pipe. + </p> + <p> + “Of course the younger warriors were delighted with the prospect of a + great fight! Our scouts had discovered piles of oats for horses and other + supplies near the Missouri River. They had been brought by the white man’s + fire-boats. Presently they reported a great army about a day’s travel to + the south, with Shoshone and Crow scouts. + </p> + <p> + “There was excitement among the people, and a great council was held. Many + spoke. I was asked the condition of those Indians who had gone upon the + reservation, and I told them truly that they were nothing more than + prisoners. It was decided to go out and meet Three Stars [General Crook] + at a safe distance from our camp. + </p> + <p> + “We met him on the Little Rosebud. I believe that if we had waited and + allowed him to make the attack, he would have fared no better than Custer. + He was too strongly fortified where he was, and I think, too, that he was + saved partly by his Indian allies, for the scouts discovered us first and + fought us first, thus giving him time to make his preparations. I think he + was more wise than brave! After we had left that neighborhood he might + have pushed on and connected with the Long-Haired Chief. That would have + saved Custer and perhaps won the day. + </p> + <p> + “When we crossed from Tongue River to the Little Big Horn, on account of + the scarcity of game, we did not anticipate any more trouble. Our runners + had discovered that Crook had retraced his trail to Goose Creek, and we + did not suppose that the white men would care to follow us farther into + the rough country. + </p> + <p> + “Suddenly the Long-Haired Chief appeared with his men! It was a surprise.” + </p> + <p> + “What part of the camp were you in when the soldiers attacked the lower + end?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “I had been invited to a feast at one of the young men’s lodges [a sort of + club]. There was a certain warrior who was making preparations to go + against the Crows, and I had decided to go also,” he said. + </p> + <p> + “While I was eating my meat we heard the war cry! We all rushed out, and + saw a warrior riding at top speed from the lower camp, giving the warning + as he came. Then we heard the reports of the soldiers’ guns, which sounded + differently from the guns fired by our people in battle. + </p> + <p> + “I ran to my teepee and seized my gun, a bow, and a quiver full of arrows. + I already had my stone war club, for you know we usually carry those by + way of ornament. Just as I was about to set out to meet Reno, a body of + soldiers appeared nearly opposite us, at the edge of a long line of cliffs + across the river. + </p> + <p> + “All of us who were mounted and ready immediately started down the stream + toward the ford. There were Ogallalas, Minneconjous, Cheyennes, and some + Unkpapas, and those around me seemed to be nearly all very young men. + </p> + <p> + “‘Behold, there is among us a young woman!’ I shouted. ‘Let no young man + hide behind her garment!’ I knew that would make those young men brave. + </p> + <p> + “The woman was Tashenamani, or Moving Robe, whose brother had just been + killed in the fight with Three Stars. Holding her brother’s war staff over + her head, and leaning forward upon her charger, she looked as pretty as a + bird. Always when there is a woman in the charge, it causes the warriors + to vie with one another in displaying their valor,” he added. + </p> + <p> + “The foremost warriors had almost surrounded the white men, and more were + continually crossing the stream. The soldiers had dismounted, and were + firing into the camp from the top of the cliff.” + </p> + <p> + “My friend, was Sitting Bull in this fight?” I inquired. + </p> + <p> + “I did not see him there, but I learned afterward that he was among those + who met Reno, and that was three or four of the white man’s miles from + Custer’s position. Later he joined the attack upon Custer, but was not + among the foremost. + </p> + <p> + “When the troops were surrounded on two sides, with the river on the + third, the order came to charge! There were many very young men, some of + whom had only a war staff or a stone war club in hand, who plunged into + the column, knocking the men over and stampeding their horses. + </p> + <p> + “The soldiers had mounted and started back, but when the onset came they + dismounted again and separated into several divisions, facing different + ways. They fired as fast as they could load their guns, while we used + chiefly arrows and war clubs. There seemed to be two distinct movements + among the Indians. One body moved continually in a circle, while the other + rode directly into and through the troops. + </p> + <p> + “Presently some of the soldiers remounted and fled along the ridge toward + Reno’s position; but they were followed by our warriors, like hundreds of + blackbirds after a hawk. A larger body remained together at the upper end + of a little ravine, and fought bravely until they were cut to pieces. I + had always thought that white men were cowards, but I had a great respect + for them after this day. + </p> + <p> + “It is generally said that a young man with nothing but a war staff in his + hand broke through the column and knocked down the leader very early in + the fight. We supposed him to be the leader, because he stood up in full + view, swinging his big knife [sword] over his head, and talking loud. Some + one unknown afterwards shot the chief, and he was probably killed also; + for if not, he would have told of the deed, and called others to witness + it. So it is that no one knows who killed the Long-Haired Chief [General + Custer]. + </p> + <p> + “After the first rush was over, coups were counted as usual on the bodies + of the slain. You know four coups [or blows] can be counted on the body of + an enemy, and whoever counts the first one [touches it for the first time] + is entitled to the ‘first feather.’ + </p> + <p> + “There was an Indian here called Appearing Elk, who died a short time ago. + He was slightly wounded in the charge. He had some of the weapons of the + Long-Haired Chief, and the Indians used to say jokingly after we came upon + the reservation that Appearing Elk must have killed the Chief, because he + had his sword! However, the scramble for plunder did not begin until all + were dead. I do not think he killed Custer, and if he had, the time to + claim the honor was immediately after the fight. + </p> + <p> + “Many lies have been told of me. Some say that I killed the Chief, and + others that I cut out the heart of his brother [Tom Custer], because he + had caused me to be imprisoned. Why, in that fight the excitement was so + great that we scarcely recognized our nearest friends! Everything was done + like lightning. After the battle we young men were chasing horses all over + the prairie, while the old men and women plundered the bodies; and if any + mutilating was done, it was by the old men. + </p> + <p> + “I have lived peaceably ever since we came upon the reservation. No one + can say that Rain-in-the-Face has broken the rules of the Great Father. I + fought for my people and my country. When we were conquered I remained + silent, as a warrior should. Rain-in-the-Face was killed when he put down + his weapons before the Great Father. His spirit was gone then; only his + poor body lived on, but now it is almost ready to lie down for the last + time. Ho, hechetu! [It is well.]” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + TWO STRIKE + </h2> + <p> + It is a pity that so many interesting names of well-known Indians have + been mistranslated, so that their meaning becomes very vague if it is not + wholly lost. In some cases an opposite meaning is conveyed. For instance + there is the name, “Young-Man-Afraid-of-His-Horses.” It does not mean that + the owner of the name is afraid of his own horse—far from it! + Tashunkekokipapi signifies “The young men [of the enemy] fear his horses.” + Whenever that man attacks, the enemy knows there will be a determined + charge. + </p> + <p> + The name Tashunkewitko, or Crazy Horse, is a poetic simile. This leader + was likened to an untrained or untouched horse, wild, ignorant of domestic + uses, splendid in action, and unconscious of danger. + </p> + <p> + The name of Two Strike is a deed name. In a battle with the Utes this man + knocked two enemies from the back of a war horse. The true rendering of + the name Nomkahpa would be, “He knocked off two.” + </p> + <p> + I was well acquainted with Two Strike and spent many pleasant hours with + him, both at Washington, D. C., and in his home on the Rosebud + reservation. What I have written is not all taken from his own mouth, + because he was modest in talking about himself, but I had him vouch for + the truth of the stories. He said that he was born near the Republican + River about 1832. His earliest recollection was of an attack by the + Shoshones upon their camp on the Little Piney. The first white men he ever + met were traders who visited his people when he was very young. The + incident was still vividly with him, because, he said, “They made my + father crazy,” [drunk]. This made a deep impression upon him, he told me, + so that from that day he was always afraid of the white man’s “mysterious + water.” + </p> + <p> + Two Strike was not a large man, but he was very supple and alert in + motion, as agile as an antelope. His face was mobile and intelligent. + Although he had the usual somber visage of an Indian, his expression + brightened up wonderfully when he talked. In some ways wily and shrewd in + intellect, he was not deceitful nor mean. He had a high sense of duty and + honor. Patriotism was his ideal and goal of life. + </p> + <p> + As a young man he was modest and even shy, although both his father and + grandfather were well-known chiefs. I could find few noteworthy incidents + in his early life, save that he was an expert rider of wild horses. At one + time I was pressing him to give me some interesting incident of his + boyhood. He replied to the effect that there was plenty of excitement but + “not much in it.” There was a delegation of Sioux chiefs visiting + Washington, and we were spending an evening together in their hotel. + Hollow Horn Bear spoke up and said: + </p> + <p> + “Why don’t you tell him how you and a buffalo cow together held your poor + father up and froze him almost to death?” + </p> + <p> + Everybody laughed, and another man remarked: “I think he had better tell + the medicine man (meaning myself) how he lost the power of speech when he + first tried to court a girl.” Two Strike, although he was then close to + eighty years of age, was visibly embarrassed by their chaff. + </p> + <p> + “Anyway, I stuck to the trail. I kept on till I got what I wanted,” he + muttered. And then came the story. + </p> + <p> + The old chief, his father, was very fond of the buffalo hunt; and being + accomplished in horsemanship and a fine shot, although not very powerfully + built, young Two Strike was already following hard in his footsteps. Like + every proud father, his was giving him every incentive to perfect his + skill, and one day challenged his sixteen-year-old son to the feat of “one + arrow to kill” at the very next chase. + </p> + <p> + It was midwinter. A large herd of buffalo was reported by the game scout. + The hunters gathered at daybreak prepared for the charge. The old chief + had his tried charger equipped with a soft, pillow-like Indian saddle and + a lariat. His old sinew-backed hickory bow was examined and strung, and a + fine straight arrow with a steel head carefully selected for the test. He + adjusted a keen butcher knife over his leather belt, which held a warm + buffalo robe securely about his body. He wore neither shirt nor coat, + although a piercing wind was blowing from the northwest. The youthful Two + Strike had his favorite bow and his swift pony, which was perhaps dearer + to him than his closest boy comrade. + </p> + <p> + Now the hunters crouched upon their horses’ necks like an army in line of + battle, while behind them waited the boys and old men with pack ponies to + carry the meat. “Hukahey!” shouted the leader as a warning. “Yekiya wo!” + (Go) and in an instant all the ponies leaped forward against the cutting + wind, as if it were the start in a horse race. Every rider leaned forward, + tightly wrapped in his robe, watching the flying herd for an opening in + the mass of buffalo, a chance to cut out some of the fattest cows. This + was the object of the race. + </p> + <p> + The chief had a fair start; his horse was well trained and needed no + urging nor guidance. Without the slightest pull on the lariat he dashed + into the thickest of the herd. The youth’s pony had been prancing and + rearing impatiently; he started a little behind, yet being swift passed + many. His rider had one clear glimpse of his father ahead of him, then the + snow arose in blinding clouds on the trail of the bison. The whoops of the + hunters, the lowing of the cows, and the menacing glances of the bulls as + they plunged along, or now and then stood at bay, were enough to unnerve a + boy less well tried. He was unable to select his victim. He had been + carried deeply into the midst of the herd and found himself helpless to + make the one sure shot, therefore he held his one arrow in his mouth and + merely strove to separate them so as to get his chance. + </p> + <p> + At last the herd parted, and he cut out two fat cows, and was maneuvering + for position when a rider appeared out of the snow cloud on their other + side. This aroused him to make haste lest his rival secure both cows; he + saw his chance, and in a twinkling his arrow sped clear through one of the + animals so that she fell headlong. + </p> + <p> + In this instant he observed that the man who had joined him was his own + father, who had met with the same difficulties as himself. When the young + man had shot his only arrow, the old chief with a whoop went after the cow + that was left, but as he gained her broadside, his horse stepped in a + badger hole and fell, throwing him headlong. The maddened buffalo, as + sometimes happens in such cases, turned upon the pony and gored him to + death. His rider lay motionless, while Two Strike rushed forward to draw + her attention, but she merely tossed her head at him, while persistently + standing guard over the dead horse and the all but frozen Indian. + </p> + <p> + Alas for the game of “one arrow to kill!” The boy must think fast, for his + father’s robe had slipped off, and he was playing dead, lying almost naked + in the bitter air upon the trampled snow. His bluff would not serve, so he + flew back to pull out his solitary arrow from the body of the dead cow. + Quickly wheeling again, he sent it into her side and she fell. The one + arrow to kill had become one arrow to kill two buffalo! At the council + lodge that evening Two Strike was the hero. + </p> + <p> + The following story is equally characteristic of him, and in explanation + it should be said that in the good old days among the Sioux, a young man + is not supposed to associate with girls until he is ready to take a wife. + It was a rule with our young men, especially the honorable and well-born, + to gain some reputation in the hunt and in war,—the more difficult + the feats achieved the better,—before even speaking to a young + woman. Many a life was risked in the effort to establish a reputation + along these lines. Courtship was no secret, but rather a social event, + often celebrated by the proud parents with feasts and presents to the + poor, and this etiquette was sometimes felt by a shy or sensitive youth as + an insurmountable obstacle to the fulfilment of his desires. + </p> + <p> + Two Strike was the son and grandson of a chief, but he could not claim any + credit for the deeds of his forbears. He had not only to guard their good + name but achieve one for himself. This he had set out to do, and he did + well. He was now of marriageable age with a war record, and admitted to + the council, yet he did not seem to trouble himself at all about a wife. + His was strictly a bachelor career. Meanwhile, as is apt to be the case, + his parents had thought much about a possible daughter-in-law, and had + even collected ponies, fine robes, and other acceptable goods to be given + away in honor of the event, whenever it should take place. Now and then + they would drop a sly hint, but with no perceptible effect. + </p> + <p> + They did not and could not know of the inward struggle that racked his + mind at this period of his life. The shy and modest young man was dying + for a wife, yet could not bear even to think of speaking to a young woman! + The fearless hunter of buffaloes, mountain lions, and grizzlies, the youth + who had won his eagle feathers in a battle with the Utes, could not bring + himself to take this tremendous step. + </p> + <p> + At last his father appealed to him directly. “My son,” he declared, “it is + your duty to take unto yourself a wife, in order that the honors won by + your ancestors and by yourself may be handed down in the direct line. + There are several eligible young women in our band whose parents have + intimated a wish to have you for their son-in-law.” + </p> + <p> + Two Strike made no reply, but he was greatly disturbed. He had no wish to + have the old folks select his bride, for if the truth were told, his + choice was already made. He had simply lacked the courage to go + a-courting! + </p> + <p> + The next morning, after making an unusually careful toilet, he took his + best horse and rode to a point overlooking the path by which the girls + went for water. Here the young men were wont to take their stand, and, if + fortunate, intercept the girl of their heart for a brief but fateful + interview. Two Strike had determined to speak straight to the point, and + as soon as he saw the pretty maid he came forward boldly and placed + himself in her way. A long moment passed. She glanced up at him shyly but + not without encouragement. His teeth fairly chattered with fright, and he + could not say a word. She looked again, noted his strange looks, and + believed him suddenly taken ill. He appeared to be suffering. At last he + feebly made signs for her to go on and leave him alone. The maiden was + sympathetic, but as she did not know what else to do she obeyed his + request. + </p> + <p> + The poor youth was so ashamed of his cowardice that he afterward admitted + his first thought was to take his own life. He believed he had disgraced + himself forever in the eyes of the only girl he had ever loved. However, + he determined to conquer his weakness and win her, which he did. The story + came out many years after and was told with much enjoyment by the old men. + </p> + <p> + Two Strike was better known by his own people than by the whites, for he + was individually a terror in battle rather than a leader. He achieved his + honorable name in a skirmish with the Utes in Colorado. The Sioux regarded + these people as their bravest enemies, and the outcome of the fight was + for some time uncertain. First the Sioux were forced to retreat and then + their opponents, and at the latter point the horse of a certain Ute was + shot under him. A friend came to his rescue and took him up behind him. + Our hero overtook them in flight, raised his war club, and knocked both + men off with one blow. + </p> + <p> + He was a very old man when he died, only two or three years ago, on the + Rosebud reservation. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + AMERICAN HORSE + </h2> + <p> + One of the wittiest and shrewdest of the Sioux chiefs was American Horse, + who succeeded to the name and position of an uncle, killed in the battle + of Slim Buttes in 1876. The younger American Horse was born a little + before the encroachments of the whites upon the Sioux country became + serious and their methods aggressive, and his early manhood brought him + into that most trying and critical period of our history. He had been + tutored by his uncle, since his own father was killed in battle while he + was still very young. The American Horse band was closely attached to a + trading post, and its members in consequence were inclined to be friendly + with the whites, a policy closely adhered to by their leader. + </p> + <p> + When he was born, his old grandfather said: “Put him out in the sun! Let + him ask his great-grandfather, the Sun, for the warm blood of a warrior!” + And he had warm blood. He was a genial man, liking notoriety and + excitement. He always seized an opportunity to leap into the center of the + arena. + </p> + <p> + In early life he was a clownish sort of boy among the boys—an expert + mimic and impersonator. This talent made him popular and in his way a + leader. He was a natural actor, and early showed marked ability as a + speaker. + </p> + <p> + American Horse was about ten years old when he was attacked by three Crow + warriors, while driving a herd of ponies to water. Here he displayed + native cunning and initiative. It seemed he had scarcely a chance to + escape, for the enemy was near. He yelled frantically at the ponies to + start them toward home, while he dropped off into a thicket of willows and + hid there. A part of the herd was caught in sight of the camp and there + was a counter chase, but the Crows got away with the ponies. Of course his + mother was frantic, believing her boy had been killed or captured; but + after the excitement was over, he appeared in camp unhurt. When questioned + about his escape, he remarked: “I knew they would not take the time to + hunt for small game when there was so much bigger close by.” + </p> + <p> + When he was quite a big boy, he joined in a buffalo hunt, and on the way + back with the rest of the hunters his mule became unmanageable. American + Horse had insisted on riding him in addition to a heavy load of meat and + skins, and the animal evidently resented this, for he suddenly began to + run and kick, scattering fresh meat along the road, to the merriment of + the crowd. But the boy turned actor, and made it appear that it was at his + wish the mule had given this diverting performance. He clung to the back + of his plunging and braying mount like a circus rider, singing a Brave + Heart song, and finally brought up amid the laughter and cheers of his + companions. Far from admitting defeat, he boasted of his horsemanship and + declared that his “brother” the donkey would put any enemy to flight, and + that they should be called upon to lead a charge. + </p> + <p> + It was several years later that he went to sleep early one night and slept + soundly, having been scouting for two nights previous. It happened that + there was a raid by the Crows, and when he awoke in the midst of the + yelling and confusion, he sprang up and attempted to join in the fighting. + Everybody knew his voice in all the din, so when he fired his gun and + announced a coup, as was the custom, others rushed to the spot, to find + that he had shot a hobbled pony belonging to their own camp. The laugh was + on him, and he never recovered from his chagrin at this mistake. In fact, + although he was undoubtedly fearless and tried hard to distinguish himself + in warfare, he did not succeed. + </p> + <p> + It is told of him that he once went with a war party of young men to the + Wind River country against the Shoshones. At last they discovered a large + camp, but there were only a dozen or so of the Sioux, therefore they hid + themselves and watched for their opportunity to attack an isolated party + of hunters. While waiting thus, they ran short of food. One day a small + party of Shoshones was seen near at hand, and in the midst of the + excitement and preparations for the attack, young American Horse caught + sight of a fat black-tail deer close by. Unable to resist the temptation, + he pulled an arrow from his quiver and sent it through the deer’s heart, + then with several of his half-starved companions sprang upon the yet + quivering body of the animal to cut out the liver, which was sometimes + eaten raw. One of the men was knocked down, it is said, by the last kick + of the dying buck, but having swallowed a few mouthfuls the warriors + rushed upon and routed their enemies. It is still told of American Horse + how he killed game and feasted between the ambush and the attack. + </p> + <p> + At another time he was drying his sacred war bonnet and other gear over a + small fire. These articles were held in great veneration by the Indians + and handled accordingly. Suddenly the fire blazed up, and our hero so far + forgot himself as to begin energetically beating out the flames with the + war bonnet, breaking off one of the sacred buffalo horns in the act. One + could almost fill a book with his mishaps and exploits. I will give one of + them in his own words as well as I can remember them. + </p> + <p> + “We were as promising a party of young warriors as our tribe ever sent + against any of its ancestral enemies. It was midsummer, and after going + two days’ journey from home we began to send two scouts ahead daily while + the main body kept a half day behind. The scouts set out every evening and + traveled all night. One night the great war pipe was held out to me and to + Young-Man-Afraid-of-His-Horses. At daybreak, having met no one, we hid our + horses and climbed to the top of the nearest butte to take an observation. + It was a very hot day. We lay flat on our blankets, facing the west where + the cliff fell off in a sheer descent, and with our backs toward the more + gradual slope dotted with scrub pines and cedars. We stuck some tall grass + on our heads and proceeded to study the landscape spread before us for any + sign of man. + </p> + <p> + “The sweeping valleys were dotted with herds, both large and small, of + buffalo and elk, and now and then we caught a glimpse of a coyote slinking + into the gulches, returning from night hunting to sleep. While intently + watching some moving body at a distance, we could not yet tell whether of + men or animals, I heard a faint noise behind me and slowly turned my head. + Behold! a grizzly bear sneaking up on all fours and almost ready to + spring! + </p> + <p> + “‘Run!’ I yelled into the ear of my companion, and we both leaped to our + feet in a second. ‘Separate! separate!’ he shouted, and as we did so, the + bear chose me for his meat. I ran downhill as fast as I could, but he was + gaining. ‘Dodge around a tree!’ screamed Young-Man-Afraid. I took a deep + breath and made a last spurt, desperately circling the first tree I came + to. As the ground was steep just there, I turned a somersault one way and + the bear the other. I picked myself up in time to climb the tree, and was + fairly out of reach when he gathered himself together and came at me more + furiously than ever, holding in one paw the shreds of my breechcloth, for + in the fall he had just scratched my back and cut my belt in two, and + carried off my only garment for a trophy! + </p> + <p> + “My friend was well up another tree and laughing heartily at my + predicament, and when the bear saw that he could not get at either of us + he reluctantly departed, after I had politely addressed him and promised + to make an offering to his spirit on my safe return. I don’t think I ever + had a narrower escape,” he concluded. + </p> + <p> + During the troublous times from 1865 to 1877, American Horse advocated + yielding to the government at any cost, being no doubt convinced of the + uselessness of resistance. He was not a recognized leader until 1876, when + he took the name and place of his uncle. Up to this time he bore the + nickname of Manishnee (Can not walk, or Played out.) + </p> + <p> + When the greater part of the Ogallalas, to which band he belonged, came + into the reservation, he at once allied himself with the peace element at + the Red Cloud agency, near Fort Robinson, Nebraska, and took no small part + in keeping the young braves quiet. Since the older and better-known + chiefs, with the exception of Spotted Tail, were believed to be hostile at + heart, the military made much use of him. Many of his young men enlisted + as scouts by his advice, and even he himself entered the service. + </p> + <p> + In the early part of the year 1876, there was a rumor that certain bands + were in danger of breaking away. Their leader was one Sioux Jim, so + nicknamed by the soldiers. American Horse went to him as peacemaker, but + was told he was a woman and no brave. He returned to his own camp and told + his men that Sioux Jim meant mischief, and in order to prevent another + calamity to the tribe, he must be chastised. He again approached the + warlike Jim with several warriors at his back. The recalcitrant came out, + gun in hand, but the wily chief was too quick for him. He shot and wounded + the rebel, whereupon one of his men came forward and killed him. + </p> + <p> + This quelled the people for the time being and up to the killing of Crazy + Horse. In the crisis precipitated by this event, American Horse was again + influential and energetic in the cause of the government. From this time + on he became an active participant in the affairs of the Teton Sioux. He + was noted for his eloquence, which was nearly always conciliatory, yet he + could say very sharp things of the duplicity of the whites. He had much + ease of manner and was a master of repartee. I recall his saying that if + you have got to wear golden slippers to enter the white man’s heaven no + Indian will ever get there, as the whites have got the Black Hills and + with them all the gold. + </p> + <p> + It was during the last struggle of his people, at the time of the Messiah + craze in 1890-1891 that he demonstrated as never before the real greatness + of the man. While many of his friends were carried away by the new + thought, he held aloof from it and cautioned his band to do the same. When + it developed into an extensive upheaval among the nations he took his + positive stand against it. + </p> + <p> + Presently all Indians who did not dance the Ghost Dance were ordered to + come into camp at Pine Ridge agency. American Horse was the first to bring + in his people. I was there at the time and talked with him daily. When + Little was arrested, it had been agreed among the disaffected to have him + resist, which meant that he would be roughly handled. This was to be their + excuse to attack the Indian police, which would probably lead to a general + massacre or outbreak. I know that this desperate move was opposed from the + beginning by American Horse, and it was believed that his life was + threatened. + </p> + <p> + On the day of the “Big Issue”, when thousands of Indians were gathered at + the agency, this man Little, who had been in hiding, walked boldly among + them. Of course the police would arrest him at sight, and he was led + toward the guardhouse. He struggled with them, but was overpowered. A + crowd of warriors rushed to his rescue, and there was confusion and a + general shout of “Hurry up with them! Kill them all!” I saw American Horse + walk out of the agent’s office and calmly face the excited mob. + </p> + <p> + “What are you going to do?” he asked. “Stop, men, stop and think before + you act! Will you murder your children, your women, yes, destroy your + nation to-day?” He stood before them like a statue and the men who held + the two policemen helpless paused for an instant. He went on: “You are + brave to-day because you outnumber the white men, but what will you do + to-morrow? There are railroads on all sides of you. The soldiers will pour + in from every direction by thousands and surround you. You have little + food or ammunition. It will be the end of your people. Stop, I say, stop + now!” + </p> + <p> + Jack Red Cloud, son of the old chief rushed up to him and thrust a + revolver almost in his face. “It is you and men like you,” he shouted, + “who have reduced our race to slavery and starvation!” American Horse did + not flinch but deliberately reentered the office, followed by Jack still + flourishing the pistol. But his timely appearance and eloquence had saved + the day. Others of the police force had time to reach the spot, and with a + large crowd of friendly Indians had taken command of the situation. + </p> + <p> + When I went into the office I found him alone but apparently quite calm. + “Where are the agent and the clerks?” I asked. “They fled by the back + door,” he replied, smiling. “I think they are in the cellar. These fools + outside had almost caught us asleep, but I think it is over now.” + </p> + <p> + American Horse was one of the earliest advocates of education for the + Indian, and his son Samuel and nephew Robert were among the first students + at Carlisle. I think one or two of his daughters were the handsomest + Indian girls of full blood that I ever saw. His record as a councilor of + his people and his policy in the new situation that confronted them was + manly and consistent. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + DULL KNIFE + </h2> + <p> + The life of Dull Knife, the Cheyenne, is a true hero tale. Simple, + child-like yet manful, and devoid of selfish aims, or love of gain, he is + a pattern for heroes of any race. + </p> + <p> + Dull Knife was a chief of the old school. Among all the Indians of the + plains, nothing counts save proven worth. A man’s caliber is measured by + his courage, unselfishness and intelligence. Many writers confuse history + with fiction, but in Indian history their women and old men and even + children witness the main events, and not being absorbed in daily papers + and magazines, these events are rehearsed over and over with few + variations. Though orally preserved, their accounts are therefore + accurate. But they have seldom been willing to give reliable information + to strangers, especially when asked and paid for. + </p> + <p> + Racial prejudice naturally enters into the account of a man’s life by + enemy writers, while one is likely to favor his own race. I am conscious + that many readers may think that I have idealized the Indian. Therefore I + will confess now that we have too many weak and unprincipled men among us. + When I speak of the Indian hero, I do not forget the mongrel in spirit, + false to the ideals of his people. Our trustfulness has been our weakness, + and when the vices of civilization were added to our own, we fell heavily. + </p> + <p> + It is said that Dull Knife as a boy was resourceful and self-reliant. He + was only nine years old when his family was separated from the rest of the + tribe while on a buffalo hunt. His father was away and his mother busy, + and he was playing with his little sister on the banks of a stream, when a + large herd of buffalo swept down upon them on a stampede for water. His + mother climbed a tree, but the little boy led his sister into an old + beaver house whose entrance was above water, and here they remained in + shelter until the buffalo passed and they were found by their distracted + parents. + </p> + <p> + Dull Knife was quite a youth when his tribe was caught one winter in a + region devoid of game, and threatened with starvation. The situation was + made worse by heavy storms, but he secured help and led a relief party a + hundred and fifty miles, carrying bales of dried buffalo meat on pack + horses. + </p> + <p> + Another exploit that made him dear to his people occurred in battle, when + his brother-in-law was severely wounded and left lying where no one on + either side dared to approach him. As soon as Dull Knife heard of it he + got on a fresh horse, and made so daring a charge that others joined him; + thus under cover of their fire he rescued his brother-in-law, and in so + doing was wounded twice. + </p> + <p> + The Sioux knew him as a man of high type, perhaps not so brilliant as + Roman Nose and Two Moon, but surpassing both in honesty and simplicity, as + well as in his war record. (Two Moon, in fact, was never a leader of his + people, and became distinguished only in wars with the whites during the + period of revolt.) A story is told of an ancestor of the same name that + illustrates well the spirit of the age. + </p> + <p> + It was the custom in those days for the older men to walk ahead of the + moving caravan and decide upon all halts and camping places. One day the + councilors came to a grove of wild cherries covered with ripe fruit, and + they stopped at once. Suddenly a grizzly charged from the thicket. The men + yelped and hooted, but the bear was not to be bluffed. He knocked down the + first warrior who dared to face him and dragged his victim into the + bushes. + </p> + <p> + The whole caravan was in the wildest excitement. Several of the + swiftest-footed warriors charged the bear, to bring him out into the open, + while the women and dogs made all the noise they could. The bear accepted + the challenge, and as he did so, the man whom they had supposed dead came + running from the opposite end of the thicket. The Indians were delighted, + and especially so when in the midst of their cheers, the man stopped + running for his life and began to sing a Brave Heart song as he approached + the grove with his butcher knife in his hand. He would dare his enemy + again! + </p> + <p> + The grizzly met him with a tremendous rush, and they went down together. + Instantly the bear began to utter cries of distress, and at the same time + the knife flashed, and he rolled over dead. The warrior was too quick for + the animal; he first bit his sensitive nose to distract his attention, and + then used the knife to stab him to the heart. He fought many battles with + knives thereafter and claimed that the spirit of the bear gave him + success. On one occasion, however, the enemy had a strong buffalo-hide + shield which the Cheyenne bear fighter could not pierce through, and he + was wounded; nevertheless he managed to dispatch his foe. It was from this + incident that he received the name of Dull Knife, which was handed down to + his descendant. + </p> + <p> + As is well known, the Northern Cheyennes uncompromisingly supported the + Sioux in their desperate defense of the Black Hills and Big Horn country. + Why not? It was their last buffalo region—their subsistence. It was + what our wheat fields are to a civilized nation. + </p> + <p> + About the year 1875, a propaganda was started for confining all the + Indians upon reservations, where they would be practically interned or + imprisoned, regardless of their possessions and rights. The men who were + the strongest advocates of the scheme generally wanted the Indians’ + property—the one main cause back of all Indian wars. From the + warlike Apaches to the peaceful Nez Perces, all the tribes of the plains + were hunted from place to place; then the government resorted to peace + negotiations, but always with an army at hand to coerce. Once disarmed and + helpless, they were to be taken under military guard to the Indian + Territory. + </p> + <p> + A few resisted, and declared they would fight to the death rather than go. + Among these were the Sioux, but nearly all the smaller tribes were + deported against their wishes. Of course those Indians who came from a + mountainous and cold country suffered severely. The moist heat and malaria + decimated the exiles. Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces and Chief Standing + Bear of the Poncas appealed to the people of the United States, and + finally succeeded in having their bands or the remnant of them returned to + their own part of the country. Dull Knife was not successful in his plea, + and the story of his flight is one of poignant interest. + </p> + <p> + He was regarded by the authorities as a dangerous man, and with his + depleted band was taken to the Indian Territory without his consent in + 1876. When he realized that his people were dying like sheep, he was + deeply moved. He called them together. Every man and woman declared that + they would rather die in their own country than stay there longer, and + they resolved to flee to their northern homes. + </p> + <p> + Here again was displayed the genius of these people. From the Indian + Territory to Dakota is no short dash for freedom. They knew what they were + facing. Their line of flight lay through a settled country and they would + be closely pursued by the army. No sooner had they started than the + telegraph wires sang one song: “The panther of the Cheyennes is at large. + Not a child or a woman in Kansas or Nebraska is safe.” Yet they evaded all + the pursuing and intercepting troops and reached their native soil. The + strain was terrible, the hardship great, and Dull Knife, like Joseph, was + remarkable for his self-restraint in sparing those who came within his + power on the way. + </p> + <p> + But fate was against him, for there were those looking for blood money who + betrayed him when he thought he was among friends. His people were tired + out and famished when they were surrounded and taken to Fort Robinson. + There the men were put in prison, and their wives guarded in camp. They + were allowed to visit their men on certain days. Many of them had lost + everything; there were but a few who had even one child left. They were + heartbroken. + </p> + <p> + These despairing women appealed to their husbands to die fighting: their + liberty was gone, their homes broken up, and only slavery and gradual + extinction in sight. At last Dull Knife listened. He said: “I have lived + my life. I am ready.” The others agreed. “If our women are willing to die + with us, who is there to say no? If we are to do the deeds of men, it + rests with you women to bring us our weapons.” + </p> + <p> + As they had been allowed to carry moccasins and other things to the men, + so they contrived to take in some guns and knives under this disguise. The + plan was to kill the sentinels and run to the nearest natural trench, + there to make their last stand. The women and children were to join them. + This arrangement was carried out. Not every brave had a gun, but all had + agreed to die together. They fought till their small store of ammunition + was exhausted, then exposed their broad chests for a target, and the + mothers even held up their little ones to be shot. Thus died the fighting + Cheyennes and their dauntless leader. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + ROMAN NOSE + </h2> + <p> + This Cheyenne war chief was a contemporary of Dull Knife. He was not so + strong a character as the other, and was inclined to be pompous and + boastful; but with all this he was a true type of native American in + spirit and bravery. + </p> + <p> + While Dull Knife was noted in warfare among Indians, Roman Nose made his + record against the whites, in defense of territory embracing the + Republican and Arickaree rivers. He was killed on the latter river in + 1868, in the celebrated battle with General Forsythe. + </p> + <p> + Save Chief Gall and Washakie in the prime of their manhood, this chief had + no peer in bodily perfection and masterful personality. No Greek or Roman + gymnast was ever a finer model of physical beauty and power. He thrilled + his men to frenzied action when he came upon the field. It was said of him + that he sacrificed more youths by his personal influence in battle than + any other leader, being very reckless himself in grand-stand charges. He + was killed needlessly in this manner. + </p> + <p> + Roman Nose always rode an uncommonly fine, spirited horse, and with his + war bonnet and other paraphernalia gave a wonderful exhibition. The + Indians used to say that the soldiers must gaze at him rather than aim at + him, as they so seldom hit him even when running the gantlet before a + firing line. + </p> + <p> + He did a remarkable thing once when on a one-arrow-to-kill buffalo hunt + with his brother-in-law. His companion had selected his animal and drew so + powerfully on his sinew bowstring that it broke. Roman Nose had killed his + own cow and was whipping up close to the other when the misfortune + occurred. Both horses were going at full speed and the arrow jerked up in + the air. Roman Nose caught it and shot the cow for him. + </p> + <p> + Another curious story told of him is to the effect that he had an intimate + Sioux friend who was courting a Cheyenne girl, but without success. As the + wooing of both Sioux and Cheyennes was pretty much all effected in the + night time, Roman Nose told his friend to let him do the courting for him. + He arranged with the young woman to elope the next night and to spend the + honeymoon among his Sioux friends. He then told his friend what to do. The + Sioux followed instructions and carried off the Cheyenne maid, and not + until morning did she discover her mistake. It is said she never admitted + it, and that the two lived happily together to a good old age, so perhaps + there was no mistake after all. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps no other chief attacked more emigrants going west on the Oregon + Trail between 1860 and 1868. He once made an attack on a large party of + Mormons, and in this instance the Mormons had time to form a corral with + their wagons and shelter their women, children, and horses. The men stood + outside and met the Indians with well-aimed volleys, but they circled the + wagons with whirlwind speed, and whenever a white man fell, it was the + signal for Roman Nose to charge and count the “coup.” The hat of one of + the dead men was off, and although he had heavy hair and beard, the top of + his head was bald from the forehead up. As custom required such a deed to + be announced on the spot, the chief yelled at the top of his voice: + </p> + <p> + “Your Roman Nose has counted the first coup on the longest-faced white man + who was ever killed!” + </p> + <p> + When the Northern Cheyennes under this daring leader attacked a body of + scouting troops under the brilliant officer General Forsythe, Roman Nose + thought that he had a comparatively easy task. The first onset failed, and + the command entrenched itself on a little island. The wily chief thought + he could stampede them and urged on his braves with the declaration that + the first to reach the island should be entitled to wear a trailing war + bonnet. Nevertheless he was disappointed, and his men received such a warm + reception that none succeeded in reaching it. In order to inspire them to + desperate deeds he had led them in person, and with him that meant victory + or death. According to the army accounts, it was a thrilling moment, and + might well have proved disastrous to the Forsythe command, whose leader + was wounded and helpless. The danger was acute until Roman Nose fell, and + even then his lieutenants were bent upon crossing at any cost, but some of + the older chiefs prevailed upon them to withdraw. + </p> + <p> + Thus the brilliant war chief of the Cheyennes came to his death. If he had + lived until 1876, Sitting Bull would have had another bold ally. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHIEF JOSEPH + </h2> + <p> + The Nez Perce tribe of Indians, like other tribes too large to be united + under one chief, was composed of several bands, each distinct in + sovereignty. It was a loose confederacy. Joseph and his people occupied + the Imnaha or Grande Ronde valley in Oregon, which was considered perhaps + the finest land in that part of the country. + </p> + <p> + When the last treaty was entered into by some of the bands of the Nez + Perce, Joseph’s band was at Lapwai, Idaho, and had nothing to do with the + agreement. The elder chief in dying had counseled his son, then not more + than twenty-two or twenty-three years of age, never to part with their + home, assuring him that he had signed no papers. These peaceful non-treaty + Indians did not even know what land had been ceded until the agent read + them the government order to leave. Of course they refused. You and I + would have done the same. + </p> + <p> + When the agent failed to move them, he and the would-be settlers called + upon the army to force them to be good, namely, without a murmur to leave + their pleasant inheritance in the hands of a crowd of greedy grafters. + General O. O. Howard, the Christian soldier, was sent to do the work. + </p> + <p> + He had a long council with Joseph and his leading men, telling them they + must obey the order or be driven out by force. We may be sure that he + presented this hard alternative reluctantly. Joseph was a mere youth + without experience in war or public affairs. He had been well brought up + in obedience to parental wisdom and with his brother Ollicut had attended + Missionary Spaulding’s school where they had listened to the story of + Christ and his religion of brotherhood. He now replied in his simple way + that neither he nor his father had ever made any treaty disposing of their + country, that no other band of the Nez Perces was authorized to speak for + them, and it would seem a mighty injustice and unkindness to dispossess a + friendly band. + </p> + <p> + General Howard told them in effect that they had no rights, no voice in + the matter: they had only to obey. Although some of the lesser chiefs + counseled revolt then and there, Joseph maintained his self-control, + seeking to calm his people, and still groping for a peaceful settlement of + their difficulties. He finally asked for thirty days’ time in which to + find and dispose of their stock, and this was granted. + </p> + <p> + Joseph steadfastly held his immediate followers to their promise, but the + land-grabbers were impatient, and did everything in their power to bring + about an immediate crisis so as to hasten the eviction of the Indians. + Depredations were committed, and finally the Indians, or some of them, + retaliated, which was just what their enemies had been looking for. There + might be a score of white men murdered among themselves on the frontier + and no outsider would ever hear about it, but if one were injured by an + Indian—“Down with the bloodthirsty savages!” was the cry. + </p> + <p> + Joseph told me himself that during all of those thirty days a tremendous + pressure was brought upon him by his own people to resist the government + order. “The worst of it was,” said he, “that everything they said was + true; besides”—he paused for a moment—“it seemed very soon for + me to forget my father’s dying words, ‘Do not give up our home!’” Knowing + as I do just what this would mean to an Indian, I felt for him deeply. + </p> + <p> + Among the opposition leaders were Too-hul-hul-sote, White Bird, and + Looking Glass, all of them strong men and respected by the Indians; while + on the other side were men built up by emissaries of the government for + their own purposes and advertised as “great friendly chiefs.” As a rule + such men are unworthy, and this is so well known to the Indians that it + makes them distrustful of the government’s sincerity at the start. + Moreover, while Indians unqualifiedly say what they mean, the whites have + a hundred ways of saying what they do not mean. + </p> + <p> + The center of the storm was this simple young man, who so far as I can + learn had never been upon the warpath, and he stood firm for peace and + obedience. As for his father’s sacred dying charge, he told himself that + he would not sign any papers, he would not go of his free will but from + compulsion, and this was his excuse. + </p> + <p> + However, the whites were unduly impatient to clear the coveted valley, and + by their insolence they aggravated to the danger point an already strained + situation. The murder of an Indian was the climax and this happened in the + absence of the young chief. He returned to find the leaders determined to + die fighting. The nature of the country was in their favor and at least + they could give the army a chase, but how long they could hold out they + did not know. Even Joseph’s younger brother Ollicut was won over. There + was nothing for him to do but fight; and then and there began the peaceful + Joseph’s career as a general of unsurpassed strategy in conducting one of + the most masterly retreats in history. + </p> + <p> + This is not my judgment, but the unbiased opinion of men whose knowledge + and experience fit them to render it. Bear in mind that these people were + not scalp hunters like the Sioux, Cheyennes, and Utes, but peaceful + hunters and fishermen. The first council of war was a strange business to + Joseph. He had only this to say to his people: + </p> + <p> + “I have tried to save you from suffering and sorrow. Resistance means all + of that. We are few. They are many. You can see all we have at a glance. + They have food and ammunition in abundance. We must suffer great hardship + and loss.” After this speech, he quietly began his plans for the defense. + </p> + <p> + The main plan of campaign was to engineer a successful retreat into + Montana and there form a junction with the hostile Sioux and Cheyennes + under Sitting Bull. There was a relay scouting system, one set of scouts + leaving the main body at evening and the second a little before daybreak, + passing the first set on some commanding hill top. There were also decoy + scouts set to trap Indian scouts of the army. I notice that General Howard + charges his Crow scouts with being unfaithful. + </p> + <p> + Their greatest difficulty was in meeting an unencumbered army, while + carrying their women, children, and old men, with supplies and such + household effects as were absolutely necessary. Joseph formed an auxiliary + corps that was to effect a retreat at each engagement, upon a definite + plan and in definite order, while the unencumbered women were made into an + ambulance corps to take care of the wounded. + </p> + <p> + It was decided that the main rear guard should meet General Howard’s + command in White Bird Canyon, and every detail was planned in advance, yet + left flexible according to Indian custom, giving each leader freedom to + act according to circumstances. Perhaps no better ambush was ever planned + than the one Chief Joseph set for the shrewd and experienced General + Howard. He expected to be hotly pursued, but he calculated that the + pursuing force would consist of not more than two hundred and fifty + soldiers. He prepared false trails to mislead them into thinking that he + was about to cross or had crossed the Salmon River, which he had no + thought of doing at that time. Some of the tents were pitched in plain + sight, while the women and children were hidden on the inaccessible + ridges, and the men concealed in the canyon ready to fire upon the + soldiers with deadly effect with scarcely any danger to themselves. They + could even roll rocks upon them. + </p> + <p> + In a very few minutes the troops had learned a lesson. The soldiers showed + some fight, but a large body of frontiersmen who accompanied them were + soon in disorder. The warriors chased them nearly ten miles, securing + rifles and much ammunition, and killing and wounding many. + </p> + <p> + The Nez Perces next crossed the river, made a detour and recrossed it at + another point, then took their way eastward. All this was by way of + delaying pursuit. Joseph told me that he estimated it would take six or + seven days to get a sufficient force in the field to take up their trail, + and the correctness of his reasoning is apparent from the facts as + detailed in General Howard’s book. He tells us that he waited six days for + the arrival of men from various forts in his department, then followed + Joseph with six hundred soldiers, beside a large number of citizen + volunteers and his Indian scouts. As it was evident they had a long chase + over trackless wilderness in prospect, he discarded his supply wagons and + took pack mules instead. But by this time the Indians had a good start. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile General Howard had sent a dispatch to Colonel Gibbons, with + orders to head Joseph off, which he undertook to do at the Montana end of + the Lolo Trail. The wily commander had no knowledge of this move, but he + was not to be surprised. He was too brainy for his pursuers, whom he + constantly outwitted, and only gave battle when he was ready. There at the + Big Hole Pass he met Colonel Gibbons’ fresh troops and pressed them close. + He sent a party under his brother Ollicut to harass Gibbons’ rear and rout + the pack mules, thus throwing him on the defensive and causing him to send + for help, while Joseph continued his masterly retreat toward the + Yellowstone Park, then a wilderness. However, this was but little + advantage to him, since he must necessarily leave a broad trail, and the + army was augmenting its columns day by day with celebrated scouts, both + white and Indian. The two commands came together, and although General + Howard says their horses were by this time worn out, and by inference the + men as well, they persisted on the trail of a party encumbered by women + and children, the old, sick, and wounded. + </p> + <p> + It was decided to send a detachment of cavalry under Bacon, to Tash Pass, + the gateway of the National Park, which Joseph would have to pass, with + orders to detain him there until the rest could come up with them. Here is + what General Howard says of the affair. “Bacon got into position soon + enough but he did not have the heart to fight the Indians on account of + their number.” Meanwhile another incident had occurred. Right under the + eyes of the chosen scouts and vigilant sentinels, Joseph’s warriors fired + upon the army camp at night and ran off their mules. He went straight on + toward the park, where Lieutenant Bacon let him get by and pass through + the narrow gateway without firing a shot. + </p> + <p> + Here again it was demonstrated that General Howard could not depend upon + the volunteers, many of whom had joined him in the chase, and were going + to show the soldiers how to fight Indians. In this night attack at Camas + Meadow, they were demoralized, and while crossing the river next day many + lost their guns in the water, whereupon all packed up and went home, + leaving the army to be guided by the Indian scouts. + </p> + <p> + However, this succession of defeats did not discourage General Howard, who + kept on with as many of his men as were able to carry a gun, meanwhile + sending dispatches to all the frontier posts with orders to intercept + Joseph if possible. Sturgis tried to stop him as the Indians entered the + Park, but they did not meet until he was about to come out, when there was + another fight, with Joseph again victorious. General Howard came upon the + battle field soon afterward and saw that the Indians were off again, and + from here he sent fresh messages to General Miles, asking for + reinforcements. + </p> + <p> + Joseph had now turned northeastward toward the Upper Missouri. He told me + that when he got into that part of the country he knew he was very near + the Canadian line and could not be far from Sitting Bull, with whom he + desired to form an alliance. He also believed that he had cleared all the + forts. Therefore he went more slowly and tried to give his people some + rest. Some of their best men had been killed or wounded in battle, and the + wounded were a great burden to him; nevertheless they were carried and + tended patiently all during this wonderful flight. Not one was ever left + behind. + </p> + <p> + It is the general belief that Indians are cruel and revengeful, and surely + these people had reason to hate the race who had driven them from their + homes if any people ever had. Yet it is a fact that when Joseph met + visitors and travelers in the Park, some of whom were women, he allowed + them to pass unharmed, and in at least one instance let them have horses. + He told me that he gave strict orders to his men not to kill any women or + children. He wished to meet his adversaries according to their own + standards of warfare, but he afterward learned that in spite of + professions of humanity, white soldiers have not seldom been known to kill + women and children indiscriminately. + </p> + <p> + Another remarkable thing about this noted retreat is that Joseph’s people + stood behind him to a man, and even the women and little boys did each his + part. The latter were used as scouts in the immediate vicinity of the + camp. + </p> + <p> + The Bittersweet valley, which they had now entered, was full of game, and + the Indians hunted for food, while resting their worn-out ponies. One + morning they had a council to which Joseph rode over bareback, as they had + camped in two divisions a little apart. His fifteen-year-old daughter went + with him. They discussed sending runners to Sitting Bull to ascertain his + exact whereabouts and whether it would be agreeable to him to join forces + with the Nez Perces. In the midst of the council, a force of United States + cavalry charged down the hill between the two camps. This once Joseph was + surprised. He had seen no trace of the soldiers and had somewhat relaxed + his vigilance. + </p> + <p> + He told his little daughter to stay where she was, and himself cut right + through the cavalry and rode up to his own teepee, where his wife met him + at the door with his rifle, crying: “Here is your gun, husband!” The + warriors quickly gathered and pressed the soldiers so hard that they had + to withdraw. Meanwhile one set of the people fled while Joseph’s own band + entrenched themselves in a very favorable position from which they could + not easily be dislodged. + </p> + <p> + General Miles had received and acted on General Howard’s message, and he + now sent one of his officers with some Indian scouts into Joseph’s camp to + negotiate with the chief. Meantime Howard and Sturgis came up with the + encampment, and Howard had with him two friendly Nez Perce scouts who were + directed to talk to Joseph in his own language. He decided that there was + nothing to do but surrender. + </p> + <p> + He had believed that his escape was all but secure: then at the last + moment he was surprised and caught at a disadvantage. His army was + shattered; he had lost most of the leaders in these various fights; his + people, including children, women, and the wounded, had traveled thirteen + hundred miles in about fifty days, and he himself a young man who had + never before taken any important responsibility! Even now he was not + actually conquered. He was well entrenched; his people were willing to die + fighting; but the army of the United States offered peace and he agreed, + as he said, out of pity for his suffering people. Some of his warriors + still refused to surrender and slipped out of the camp at night and + through the lines. Joseph had, as he told me, between three and four + hundred fighting men in the beginning, which means over one thousand + persons, and of these several hundred surrendered with him. + </p> + <p> + His own story of the conditions he made was prepared by himself with my + help in 1897, when he came to Washington to present his grievances. I sat + up with him nearly all of one night; and I may add here that we took the + document to General Miles who was then stationed in Washington, before + presenting it to the Department. The General said that every word of it + was true. + </p> + <p> + In the first place, his people were to be kept at Fort Keogh, Montana, + over the winter and then returned to their reservation. Instead they were + taken to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and placed between a lagoon and the + Missouri River, where the sanitary conditions made havoc with them. Those + who did not die were then taken to the Indian Territory, where the health + situation was even worse. Joseph appealed to the government again and + again, and at last by the help of Bishops Whipple and Hare he was moved to + the Colville reservation in Washington. Here the land was very poor, + unlike their own fertile valley. General Miles said to the chief that he + had recommended and urged that their agreement be kept, but the + politicians and the people who occupied the Indians’ land declared they + were afraid if he returned he would break out again and murder innocent + white settlers! What irony! + </p> + <p> + The great Chief Joseph died broken-spirited and broken-hearted. He did not + hate the whites, for there was nothing small about him, and when he laid + down his weapons he would not fight on with his mind. But he was + profoundly disappointed in the claims of a Christian civilization. I call + him great because he was simple and honest. Without education or special + training he demonstrated his ability to lead and to fight when justice + demanded. He outgeneraled the best and most experienced commanders in the + army of the United States, although their troops were well provisioned, + well armed, and above all unencumbered. He was great finally, because he + never boasted of his remarkable feat. I am proud of him, because he was a + true American. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + LITTLE WOLF + </h2> + <p> + If any people ever fought for liberty and justice, it was the Cheyennes. + If any ever demonstrated their physical and moral courage beyond cavil, it + was this race of purely American heroes, among whom Little Wolf was a + leader. + </p> + <p> + I knew the chief personally very well. As a young doctor, I was sent to + the Pine Ridge agency in 1890, as government physician to the Sioux and + the Northern Cheyennes. While I heard from his own lips of that gallant + dash of his people from their southern exile to their northern home, I + prefer that Americans should read of it in Doctor George Bird Grinnell’s + book, “The Fighting Cheyennes.” No account could be clearer or simpler; + and then too, the author cannot be charged with a bias in favor of his own + race. + </p> + <p> + At the time that I knew him, Little Wolf was a handsome man, with the + native dignity and gentleness, musical voice, and pleasant address of so + many brave leaders of his people. One day when he was dining with us at + our home on the reservation, I asked him, as I had a habit of doing, for + some reminiscences of his early life. He was rather reluctant to speak, + but a friend who was present contributed the following: + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps I can tell you why it is that he has been a lucky man all his + life. When quite a small boy, the tribe was one winter in want of food, + and his good mother had saved a small piece of buffalo meat, which she + solemnly brought forth and placed before him with the remark: ‘My son must + be patient, for when he grows up he will know even harder times than + this.’ + </p> + <p> + “He had eaten nothing all day and was pretty hungry, but before he could + lay hands on the meat a starving dog snatched it and bolted from the + teepee. The mother ran after the dog and brought him back for punishment. + She tied him to a post and was about to whip him when the boy interfered. + ‘Don’t hurt him, mother!’ he cried; ‘he took the meat because he was + hungrier than I am!’” + </p> + <p> + I was told of another kind act of his under trying circumstances. While + still a youth, he was caught out with a party of buffalo hunters in a + blinding blizzard. They were compelled to lie down side by side in the + snowdrifts, and it was a day and a night before they could get out. The + weather turned very cold, and when the men arose they were in danger of + freezing. Little Wolf pressed his fine buffalo robe upon an old man who + was shaking with a chill and himself took the other’s thin blanket. + </p> + <p> + As a full-grown young man, he was attracted by a maiden of his tribe, and + according to the custom then in vogue the pair disappeared. When they + returned to the camp as man and wife, behold! there was great excitement + over the affair. It seemed that a certain chief had given many presents + and paid unmistakable court to the maid with the intention of marrying + her, and her parents had accepted the presents, which meant consent so far + as they were concerned. But the girl herself had not given consent. + </p> + <p> + The resentment of the disappointed suitor was great. It was reported in + the village that he had openly declared that the young man who defied and + insulted him must expect to be punished. As soon as Little Wolf heard of + the threats, he told his father and friends that he had done only what it + is every man’s privilege to do. + </p> + <p> + “Tell the chief,” said he, “to come out with any weapon he pleases, and I + will meet him within the circle of lodges. He shall either do this or eat + his words. The woman is not his. Her people accepted his gifts against her + wishes. Her heart is mine.” + </p> + <p> + The chief apologized, and thus avoided the inevitable duel, which would + have been a fight to the death. + </p> + <p> + The early life of Little Wolf offered many examples of the dashing bravery + characteristic of the Cheyennes, and inspired the younger men to win + laurels for themselves. He was still a young man, perhaps thirty-five, + when the most trying crisis in the history of his people came upon them. + As I know and as Doctor Grinnell’s book amply corroborates, he was the + general who largely guided and defended them in that tragic flight from + the Indian Territory to their northern home. I will not discuss the + justice of their cause: I prefer to quote Doctor Grinnell, lest it appear + that I am in any way exaggerating the facts. + </p> + <p> + “They had come,” he writes, “from the high, dry country of Montana and + North Dakota to the hot and humid Indian Territory. They had come from a + country where buffalo and other game were still plentiful to a land where + the game had been exterminated. Immediately on their arrival they were + attacked by fever and ague, a disease wholly new to them. Food was scanty, + and they began to starve. The agent testified before a committee of the + Senate that he never received supplies to subsist the Indians for more + than nine months in each year. These people were meat-eaters, but the beef + furnished them by the government inspectors was no more than skin and + bone. The agent in describing their sufferings said: ‘They have lived and + that is about all.’ + </p> + <p> + “The Indians endured this for about a year, and then their patience gave + out. They left the agency to which they had been sent and started north. + Though troops were camped close to them, they attempted no concealment of + their purpose. Instead, they openly announced that they intended to return + to their own country. + </p> + <p> + “We have heard much in past years of the march of the Nez Perces under + Chief Joseph, but little is remembered of the Dull Knife outbreak and the + march to the north led by Little Wolf. The story of the journey has not + been told, but in the traditions of the old army this campaign was + notable, and old men who were stationed on the plains forty years ago are + apt to tell you, if you ask them, that there never was such another + journey since the Greeks marched to the sea.... + </p> + <p> + “The fugitives pressed constantly northward undaunted, while orders were + flying over the wires, and special trains were carrying men and horses to + cut them off at all probable points on the different railway lines they + must cross. Of the three hundred Indians, sixty or seventy were fighting + men—the rest old men, women, and children. An army officer once told + me that thirteen thousand troops were hurrying over the country to capture + or kill these few poor people who had left the fever-stricken South, and + in the face of every obstacle were steadily marching northward. + </p> + <p> + “The War Department set all its resources in operation against them, yet + they kept on. If troops attacked them, they stopped and fought until they + had driven off the soldiers, and then started north again. Sometimes they + did not even stop, but marched along, fighting as they marched. For the + most part they tried—and with success—to avoid conflicts, and + had but four real hard fights, in which they lost half a dozen men killed + and about as many wounded.” + </p> + <p> + It must not be overlooked that the appeal to justice had first been tried + before taking this desperate step. Little Wolf had gone to the agent about + the middle of the summer and said to him: “This is not a good country for + us, and we wish to return to our home in the mountains where we were + always well. If you have not the power to give permission, let some of us + go to Washington and tell them there how it is, or do you write to + Washington and get permission for us to go back.” + </p> + <p> + “Stay one more year,” replied the agent, “and then we will see what we can + do for you.” “No,” said Little Wolf. “Before another year there will be + none left to travel north. We must go now.” + </p> + <p> + Soon after this it was found that three of the Indians had disappeared and + the chief was ordered to surrender ten men as hostages for their return. + He refused. “Three men,” said he, “who are traveling over wild country can + hide so that they cannot be found. You would never get back these three, + and you would keep my men prisoners always.” + </p> + <p> + The agent then threatened if the ten men were not given up to withhold + their rations and starve the entire tribe into submission. He forgot that + he was addressing a Cheyenne. These people had not understood that they + were prisoners when they agreed to friendly relations with the government + and came upon the reservation. Little Wolf stood up and shook hands with + all present before making his final deliberate address. + </p> + <p> + “Listen, my friends, I am a friend of the white people and have been so + for a long time. I do not want to see blood spilt about this agency. I am + going north to my own country. If you are going to send your soldiers + after me, I wish you would let us get a little distance away. Then if you + want to fight, I will fight you, and we can make the ground bloody at that + place.” + </p> + <p> + The Cheyenne was not bluffing. He said just what he meant, and I presume + the agent took the hint, for although the military were there they did not + undertake to prevent the Indians’ departure. Next morning the teepees were + pulled down early and quickly. Toward evening of the second day, the + scouts signaled the approach of troops. Little Wolf called his men + together and advised them under no circumstances to fire until fired upon. + An Arapahoe scout was sent to them with a message. “If you surrender now, + you will get your rations and be well treated.” After what they had + endured, it was impossible not to hear such a promise with contempt. Said + Little Wolf: “We are going back to our own country. We do not want to + fight.” He was riding still nearer when the soldiers fired, and at a + signal the Cheyennes made a charge. They succeeded in holding off the + troops for two days, with only five men wounded and none killed, and when + the military retreated the Indians continued northward carrying their + wounded. + </p> + <p> + This sort of thing was repeated again and again. Meanwhile Little Wolf + held his men under perfect control. There were practically no + depredations. They secured some boxes of ammunition left behind by + retreating troops, and at one point the young men were eager to follow and + destroy an entire command who were apparently at their mercy, but their + leader withheld them. They had now reached the buffalo country, and he + always kept his main object in sight. He was extraordinarily calm. Doctor + Grinnell was told by one of his men years afterward: “Little Wolf did not + seem like a human being. He seemed like a bear.” It is true that a man of + his type in a crisis becomes spiritually transformed and moves as one in a + dream. + </p> + <p> + At the Running Water the band divided, Dull Knife going toward Red Cloud + agency. He was near Fort Robinson when he surrendered and met his sad + fate. Little Wolf remained all winter in the Sand Hills, where there was + plenty of game and no white men. Later he went to Montana and then to Pine + Ridge, where he and his people remained in peace until they were removed + to Lame Deer, Montana, and there he spent the remainder of his days. There + is a clear sky beyond the clouds of racial prejudice, and in that final + Court of Honor a noble soul like that of Little Wolf has a place. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /><a name="linkhole" id="linkhole"></a> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + HOLE-IN-THE-DAY + </h2> + <p> + [I wish to thank Reverend C. H. Beaulieu of Le Soeur, Minnesota, for much + of the material used in this chapter.] + </p> + <p> + In the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Indian nations of the + Northwest first experienced the pressure of civilization. At this period + there were among them some brilliant leaders unknown to history, for the + curious reason that they cordially received and welcomed the newcomers + rather than opposed them. The only difficulties were those arising among + the European nations themselves, and often involving the native tribes. + Thus new environments brought new motives, and our temptations were + increased manyfold with the new weapons, new goods, and above all the + subtly destructive “spirit water.” + </p> + <p> + Gradually it became known that the new race had a definite purpose, and + that purpose was to chart and possess the whole country, regardless of the + rights of its earlier inhabitants. Still the old chiefs cautioned their + people to be patient, for, said they, the land is vast, both races can + live on it, each in their own way. Let us therefore befriend them and + trust to their friendship. While they reasoned thus, the temptations of + graft and self-aggrandizement overtook some of the leaders. + </p> + <p> + Hole-in-the-Day (or Bug-o-nay-ki-shig) was born in the opening days of + this era. The word “ki-shig” means either “day” or “sky”, and the name is + perhaps more correctly translated Hole-in-the-Sky. This gifted man + inherited his name and much of his ability from his father, who was a war + chief among the Ojibways, a Napoleon of the common people, and who carried + on a relentless warfare against the Sioux. And yet, as was our custom at + the time, peaceful meetings were held every summer, at which + representatives of the two tribes would recount to one another all the + events that had come to pass during the preceding year. + </p> + <p> + Hole-in-the-Day the younger was a handsome man, tall and symmetrically + formed, with much grace of manner and natural refinement. He was an astute + student of diplomacy. The Ojibways allowed polygamy, and whether or not he + approved the principle, he made political use of it by marrying the + daughter of a chief in nearly every band. Through these alliances he held + a controlling influence over the whole Ojibway nation. Reverend Claude H. + Beaulieu says of him: + </p> + <p> + “Hole-in-the-Day was a man of distinguished appearance and native + courtliness of manner. His voice was musical and magnetic, and with these + qualities he had a subtle brain, a logical mind, and quite a remarkable + gift of oratory. In speech he was not impassioned, but clear and + convincing, and held fast the attention of his hearers.” + </p> + <p> + It is of interest to note that his everyday name among his tribesmen was + “The Boy.” What a boy he must have been! I wonder if the name had the same + significance as with the Sioux, who applied it to any man who performs a + difficult duty with alertness, dash, and natural courage. “The Man” + applies to one who adds to these qualities wisdom and maturity of + judgment. + </p> + <p> + The Sioux tell many stories of both the elder and the younger + Hole-in-the-Day. Once when The Boy was still under ten years of age, he + was fishing on Gull Lake in a leaky birch-bark canoe. Presently there came + such a burst of frantic warwhoops that his father was startled. He could + not think of anything but an attack by the dreaded Sioux. Seizing his + weapons, he ran to the rescue of his son, only to find that the little + fellow had caught a fish so large that it was pulling his canoe all over + the lake. “Ugh,” exclaimed the father, “if a mere fish scares you so + badly, I fear you will never make a warrior!” + </p> + <p> + It is told of him that when he was very small, the father once brought + home two bear cubs and gave them to him for pets. The Boy was feeding and + getting acquainted with them outside his mother’s birch-bark teepee, when + suddenly he was heard to yell for help. The two little bears had treed The + Boy and were waltzing around the tree. His mother scared them off, but + again the father laughed at him for thinking that he could climb trees + better than a bear. + </p> + <p> + The elder Hole-in-the-Day was a daring warrior and once attacked and + scalped a Sioux who was carrying his pelts to the trading post, in full + sight of his friends. Of course he was instantly pursued, and he leaped + into a canoe which was lying near by and crossed to an island in the + Mississippi River near Fort Snelling. When almost surrounded by Sioux + warriors, he left the canoe and swam along the shore with only his nose + above water, but as they were about to head him off he landed and hid + behind the falling sheet of water known as Minnehaha Falls, thus saving + his life. + </p> + <p> + It often happens that one who offers his life freely will after all die a + natural death. The elder Hole-in-the-Day so died when The Boy was still a + youth. Like Philip of Massachusetts, Chief Joseph the younger, and the + brilliant Osceola, the mantle fell gracefully upon his shoulders, and he + wore it during a short but eventful term of chieftainship. It was his to + see the end of the original democracy on this continent. The clouds were + fast thickening on the eastern horizon. The day of individualism and + equity between man and man must yield to the terrific forces of + civilization, the mass play of materialism, the cupidity of commerce with + its twin brother politics. Under such conditions the younger + Hole-in-the-Day undertook to guide his tribesmen. At first they were + inclined to doubt the wisdom of so young a leader, but he soon proved a + ready student of his people’s traditions, and yet, like Spotted Tail and + Little Crow, he adopted too willingly the white man’s politics. He + maintained the territory won from the Sioux by his predecessors. He + negotiated treaties with the ability of a born diplomat, with one + exception, and that exception cost him his life. + </p> + <p> + Like other able Indians who foresaw the inevitable downfall of their race, + he favored a gradual change of customs leading to complete adoption of the + white man’s ways. In order to accustom the people to a new standard, he + held that the chiefs must have authority and must be given compensation + for their services. This was a serious departure from the old rule but was + tacitly accepted, and in every treaty he made there was provision for + himself in the way of a land grant or a cash payment. He early departed + from the old idea of joint ownership with the Lake Superior Ojibways, + because he foresaw that it would cause no end of trouble for the + Mississippi River branch of which he was then the recognized head. But + there were difficulties to come with the Leech Lake and Red Lake bands, + who held aloof from his policy, and the question of boundaries began to + arise. + </p> + <p> + In the first treaty negotiated with the government by young + Hole-in-the-Day in 1855, a “surplus” was provided for the chiefs aside + from the regular per capita payment, and this surplus was to be + distributed in proportion to the number of Indians under each. + Hole-in-the-Day had by far the largest enrollment, therefore he got the + lion’s share of this fund. Furthermore he received another sum set apart + for the use of the “head chief”, and these things did not look right to + the tribe. In the very next treaty he provided himself with an annuity of + one thousand dollars for twenty years, beside a section of land near the + village of Crow Wing, and the government was induced to build him a good + house upon this land. In his home he had many white servants and henchmen + and really lived like a lord. He dressed well in native style with a touch + of civilized elegance, wearing coat and leggings of fine broadcloth, linen + shirt with collar, and, topping all, a handsome black or blue blanket. His + moccasins were of the finest deerskin and beautifully worked. His long + beautiful hair added much to his personal appearance. He was fond of + entertaining and being entertained and was a favorite both among army + officers and civilians. He was especially popular with the ladies, and + this fact will appear later in the story. + </p> + <p> + At about this time, the United States government took it upon itself to + put an end to warfare between the Sioux and Ojibways. A peace meeting was + arranged at Fort Snelling, with the United States as mediator. When the + representatives of the two nations met at this grand council, + Hole-in-the-Day came as the head chief of his people, and with the other + chiefs appeared in considerable pomp and dignity. The wives of the + government officials were eager for admission to this unusual gathering, + but when they arrived there was hardly any space left except next to the + Sioux chiefs, and the white ladies soon crowded this space to overflowing. + One of the Sioux remarked: “I thought this was to be a council of chiefs + and braves, but I see many women among us.” Thereupon the Ojibway arose + and spoke in his courtliest manner. “The Ojibway chiefs will feel highly + honored,” said he, “if the ladies will consent to sit on our side.” + </p> + <p> + Another sign of his alertness to gain favor among the whites was seen in + the fact that he took part in the territorial campaigns, a most unusual + thing for an Indian of that day. Being a man of means and influence, he + was listened to with respect by the scattered white settlers in his + vicinity. He would make a political speech through an interpreter, but + would occasionally break loose in his broken English, and wind up with an + invitation to drink in the following words: “Chentimen, you Pemicans + (Republicans), come out and drink!” + </p> + <p> + From 1855 to 1864 Hole-in-the-Day was a well-known figure in Minnesota, + and scarcely less so in Washington, for he visited the capital quite often + on tribal affairs. As I have said before, he was an unusually handsome + man, and was not unresponsive to flattery and the attentions of women. At + the time of this incident he was perhaps thirty-five years old, but looked + younger. He had called upon the President and was on his way back to his + hotel, when he happened to pass the Treasury building just as the clerks + were leaving for the day. He was immediately surrounded by an inquisitive + throng. Among them was a handsome young woman who asked through the + interpreter if the chief would consent to an interview about his people, + to aid her in a paper she had promised to prepare. + </p> + <p> + Hole-in-the-Day replied: “If the beautiful lady is willing to risk calling + on the chief at his hotel, her request will be granted.” The lady went, + and the result was so sudden and strong an attachment that both forgot all + racial biases and differences of language and custom. She followed him as + far as Minneapolis, and there the chief advised her to remain, for he + feared the jealousy of some of his many wives. She died there, soon after + giving birth to a son, who was brought up by a family named Woodbury; and + some fifteen years ago I met the young man in Washington and was taken by + him to call upon certain of his mother’s relatives. + </p> + <p> + The ascendancy of Hole-in-the-Day was not gained entirely through the + consent of his people, but largely by government favor, therefore there + was strong suppressed resentment among his associate chiefs, and the Red + Lake and Leech Lake bands in fact never acknowledged him as their head, + while they suspected him of making treaties which involved some of their + land. He was in personal danger from this source, and his life was twice + attempted, but, though wounded, in each case he recovered. His popularity + with Indian agents and officers lasted till the Republicans came into + power in the sixties and there was a new deal. The chief no longer + received the favors and tips to which he was accustomed; in fact he was in + want of luxuries, and worse still, his pride was hurt by neglect. The new + party had promised Christian treatment to the Indians, but it appeared + that they were greater grafters than their predecessors, and unlike them + kept everything for themselves, allowing no perquisites to any Indian + chief. + </p> + <p> + In his indignation at this treatment, Hole-in-the-Day began exposing the + frauds on his people, and so at a late day was converted to their defense. + Perhaps he had not fully understood the nature of graft until he was in a + position to view it from the outside. After all, he was excusable in + seeking to maintain the dignity of his office, but he had departed from + one of the fundamental rules of the race, namely: “Let no material gain be + the motive or reward of public duty.” He had wounded the ideals of his + people beyond forgiveness, and he suffered the penalty; yet his courage + was not diminished by the mistakes of his past. Like the Sioux chief + Little Crow, he was called “the betrayer of his people”, and like him he + made a desperate effort to regain lost prestige, and turned savagely + against the original betrayers of his confidence, the agents and Indian + traders. + </p> + <p> + When the Sioux finally broke out in 1862, the first thought of the local + politicians was to humiliate Hole-in-the-Day by arresting him and + proclaiming some other “head chief” in his stead. In so doing they almost + forced the Ojibways to fight under his leadership. The chief had no + thought of alliance with the Sioux, and was wholly unaware of the proposed + action of the military on pretense of such a conspiracy on his part. He + was on his way to the agency in his own carriage when a runner warned him + of his danger. He thereupon jumped down and instructed the driver to + proceed. His coachman was arrested by a file of soldiers, who when they + discovered their mistake went to his residence in search of him, but + meanwhile he had sent runners in every direction to notify his warriors, + and had moved his family across the Mississippi. When the military reached + the river bank he was still in sight, and the lieutenant called upon him + to surrender. When he refused, the soldiers were ordered to fire upon him, + but he replied with his own rifle, and with a whoop disappeared among the + pine groves. + </p> + <p> + It was remarkable how the whole tribe now rallied to the call of + Hole-in-the-Day. He allowed no depredations to the young men under his + leadership, but camped openly near the agency and awaited an explanation. + Presently Judge Cooper of St. Paul, a personal friend of the chief, + appeared, and later on the Assistant Secretary of the Interior, + accompanied by Mr. Nicolay, private secretary of President Lincoln. + Apparently that great humanitarian President saw the whole injustice of + the proceeding against a loyal nation, and the difficulty was at an end. + </p> + <p> + Through the treaties of 1864, 1867, and 1868 was accomplished the final + destiny of the Mississippi River Ojibways. Hole-in-the-Day was against + their removal to what is now White Earth reservation, but he was defeated + in this and realized that the new turn of events meant the downfall of his + race. He declared that he would never go on the new reservation, and he + kept his word. He remained on one of his land grants near Crow Wing. As + the other chiefs assumed more power, the old feeling of suspicion and + hatred became stronger, especially among the Pillager and Red Lake bands. + One day he was waylaid and shot by a party of these disaffected Indians. + He uttered a whoop and fell dead from his buggy. + </p> + <p> + Thus died one of the most brilliant chiefs of the Northwest, who never + defended his birthright by force of arms, although almost compelled to do + so. He succeeded in diplomacy so long as he was the recognized head of his + people. Since we have not passed over his weaknesses, he should be given + credit for much insight in causing the article prohibiting the + introduction of liquor into the Indian country to be inserted into the + treaty of 1858. I think it was in 1910 that this forgotten provision was + discovered and again enforced over a large expanse of territory occupied + by whites, it being found that the provision had never been repealed. + </p> + <p> + Although he left many children, none seem to have made their mark, yet it + may be that in one of his descendants that undaunted spirit will rise + again. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains, by +[AKA Ohiyesa], Charles A. 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Eastman + +Release Date: July 5, 2008 [EBook #336] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS *** + + + + +Produced by Judith Boss + + + + + +INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS + +By Charles A. Eastman (Ohiyesa) + + + + + CONTENTS + + + 1. RED CLOUD + 2. SPOTTED TAIL + 3. LITTLE CROW + 4. TAMAHAY + 5. GALL + 6. CRAZY HORSE + 7. SITTING BULL + 8. RAIN-IN-THE-FACE + 9. TWO STRIKE + 10. AMERICAN HORSE + 11. DULL KNIFE + 12. ROMAN NOSE + 13. CHIEF JOSEPH + 14. LITTLE WOLF + 15. HOLE-IN-THE-DAY + + + + + +INDIAN HEROES AND GREAT CHIEFTAINS + + + + +RED CLOUD + + +EVERY age, every race, has its leaders and heroes. There were over sixty +distinct tribes of Indians on this continent, each of which boasted +its notable men. The names and deeds of some of these men will live +in American history, yet in the true sense they are unknown, because +misunderstood. I should like to present some of the greatest chiefs of +modern times in the light of the native character and ideals, believing +that the American people will gladly do them tardy justice. + +It is matter of history that the Sioux nation, to which I belong, +was originally friendly to the Caucasian peoples which it met in +succession-first, to the south the Spaniards; then the French, on the +Mississippi River and along the Great Lakes; later the English, and +finally the Americans. This powerful tribe then roamed over the whole +extent of the Mississippi valley, between that river and the Rockies. +Their usages and government united the various bands more closely than +was the case with many of the neighboring tribes. + +During the early part of the nineteenth century, chiefs such as +Wabashaw, Redwing, and Little Six among the eastern Sioux, Conquering +Bear, Man-Afraid-of-His-Horse, and Hump of the western bands, were the +last of the old type. After these, we have a coterie of new leaders, +products of the new conditions brought about by close contact with the +conquering race. + +This distinction must be borne in mind--that while the early chiefs +were spokesmen and leaders in the simplest sense, possessing no real +authority, those who headed their tribes during the transition period +were more or less rulers and more or less politicians. It is a singular +fact that many of the "chiefs", well known as such to the American +public, were not chiefs at all according to the accepted usages of +their tribesmen. Their prominence was simply the result of an abnormal +situation, in which representatives of the United States Government made +use of them for a definite purpose. In a few cases, where a chief met +with a violent death, some ambitious man has taken advantage of the +confusion to thrust himself upon the tribe and, perhaps with outside +help, has succeeded in usurping the leadership. + +Red Cloud was born about 1820 near the forks of the Platte River. He +was one of a family of nine children whose father, an able and respected +warrior, reared his son under the old Spartan regime. The young Red +Cloud is said to have been a fine horseman, able to swim across the +Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, of high bearing and unquestionable +courage, yet invariably gentle and courteous in everyday life. This +last trait, together with a singularly musical and agreeable voice, has +always been characteristic of the man. + +When he was about six years old, his father gave him a spirited colt, +and said to him: + +"My son, when you are able to sit quietly upon the back of this colt +without saddle or bridle, I shall be glad, for the boy who can win a +wild creature and learn to use it will as a man be able to win and rule +men." + +The little fellow, instead of going for advice and help to his +grandfather, as most Indian boys would have done, began quietly to +practice throwing the lariat. In a little while he was able to lasso +the colt. He was dragged off his feet at once, but hung on, and finally +managed to picket him near the teepee. When the big boys drove the herd +of ponies to water, he drove his colt with the rest. Presently the pony +became used to him and allowed himself to be handled. The boy began +to ride him bareback; he was thrown many times, but persisted until he +could ride without even a lariat, sitting with arms folded and guiding +the animal by the movements of his body. From that time on he told me +that he broke all his own ponies, and before long his father's as well. + +The old men, his contemporaries, have often related to me how Red +Cloud was always successful in the hunt because his horses were so well +broken. At the age of nine, he began to ride his father's pack pony upon +the buffalo hunt. He was twelve years old, he told me, when he was +first permitted to take part in the chase, and found to his great +mortification that none of his arrows penetrated more than a few +inches. Excited to recklessness, he whipped his horse nearer the fleeing +buffalo, and before his father knew what he was about, he had seized one +of the protruding arrows and tried to push it deeper. The furious animal +tossed his massive head sidewise, and boy and horse were whirled into +the air. Fortunately, the boy was thrown on the farther side of his +pony, which received the full force of the second attack. The thundering +hoofs of the stampeded herd soon passed them by, but the wounded and +maddened buffalo refused to move, and some critical moments passed +before Red Cloud's father succeeded in attracting its attention so that +the boy might spring to his feet and run for his life. + +I once asked Red Cloud if he could recall having ever been afraid, and +in reply he told me this story. He was about sixteen years old and had +already been once or twice upon the warpath, when one fall his people +were hunting in the Big Horn country, where they might expect trouble at +any moment with the hostile Crows or Shoshones. Red Cloud had followed a +single buffalo bull into the Bad Lands and was out of sight and hearing +of his companions. When he had brought down his game, he noted carefully +every feature of his surroundings so that he might at once detect +anything unusual, and tied his horse with a long lariat to the horn of +the dead bison, while skinning and cutting up the meat so as to pack +it to camp. Every few minutes he paused in his work to scrutinize the +landscape, for he had a feeling that danger was not far off. + +Suddenly, almost over his head, as it seemed, he heard a tremendous +war whoop, and glancing sidewise, thought he beheld the charge of an +overwhelming number of warriors. He tried desperately to give the usual +undaunted war whoop in reply, but instead a yell of terror burst from +his lips, his legs gave way under him, and he fell in a heap. When he +realized, the next instant, that the war whoop was merely the sudden +loud whinnying of his own horse, and the charging army a band of fleeing +elk, he was so ashamed of himself that he never forgot the incident, +although up to that time he had never mentioned it. His subsequent +career would indicate that the lesson was well learned. + +The future leader was still a very young man when he joined a war party +against the Utes. Having pushed eagerly forward on the trail, he found +himself far in advance of his companions as night came on, and at the +same time rain began to fall heavily. Among the scattered scrub pines, +the lone warrior found a natural cave, and after a hasty examination, he +decided to shelter there for the night. + +Scarcely had he rolled himself in his blanket when he heard a slight +rustling at the entrance, as if some creature were preparing to share +his retreat. It was pitch dark. He could see nothing, but judged that it +must be either a man or a grizzly. There was not room to draw a bow. It +must be between knife and knife, or between knife and claws, he said to +himself. + +The intruder made no search but quietly lay down in the opposite corner +of the cave. Red Cloud remained perfectly still, scarcely breathing, +his hand upon his knife. Hour after hour he lay broad awake, while +many thoughts passed through his brain. Suddenly, without warning, +he sneezed, and instantly a strong man sprang to a sitting posture +opposite. The first gray of morning was creeping into their rocky den, +and behold! a Ute hunter sat before him. + +Desperate as the situation appeared, it was not without a grim humor. +Neither could afford to take his eyes from the other's; the tension was +great, till at last a smile wavered over the expressionless face of the +Ute. Red Cloud answered the smile, and in that instant a treaty of peace +was born between them. + +"Put your knife in its sheath. I shall do so also, and we will smoke +together," signed Red Cloud. The other assented gladly, and they +ratified thus the truce which assured to each a safe return to his +friends. Having finished their smoke, they shook hands and separated. +Neither had given the other any information. Red Cloud returned to his +party and told his story, adding that he had divulged nothing and had +nothing to report. Some were inclined to censure him for not fighting, +but he was sustained by a majority of the warriors, who commended his +self-restraint. In a day or two they discovered the main camp of the +enemy and fought a remarkable battle, in which Red Cloud especially +distinguished himself + +The Sioux were now entering upon the most stormy period of their +history. The old things were fast giving place to new. The young men, +for the first time engaging in serious and destructive warfare with the +neighboring tribes, armed with the deadly weapons furnished by the +white man, began to realize that they must soon enter upon a desperate +struggle for their ancestral hunting grounds. The old men had been +innocently cultivating the friendship of the stranger, saying among +themselves, "Surely there is land enough for all!" + +Red Cloud was a modest and little known man of about twenty-eight years, +when General Harney called all the western bands of Sioux together at +Fort Laramie, Wyoming, for the purpose of securing an agreement and +right of way through their territory. The Ogallalas held aloof from this +proposal, but Bear Bull, an Ogallala chief, after having been plied with +whisky, undertook to dictate submission to the rest of the clan. Enraged +by failure, he fired upon a group of his own tribesmen, and Red Cloud's +father and brother fell dead. According to Indian custom, it fell to him +to avenge the deed. Calmly, without uttering a word, he faced old Bear +Bull and his son, who attempted to defend his father, and shot them +both. He did what he believed to be his duty, and the whole band +sustained him. Indeed, the tragedy gave the young man at once a certain +standing, as one who not only defended his people against enemies from +without, but against injustice and aggression within the tribe. From +this time on he was a recognized leader. + +Man-Afraid-of-His-Horse, then head chief of the Ogallalas, took council +with Red Cloud in all important matters, and the young warrior rapidly +advanced in authority and influence. In 1854, when he was barely +thirty-five years old, the various bands were again encamped near Fort +Laramie. A Mormon emigrant train, moving westward, left a footsore cow +behind, and the young men killed her for food. The next day, to their +astonishment, an officer with thirty men appeared at the Indian camp and +demanded of old Conquering Bear that they be given up. The chief in vain +protested that it was all a mistake and offered to make reparation. It +would seem that either the officer was under the influence of liquor, +or else had a mind to bully the Indians, for he would accept neither +explanation nor payment, but demanded point-blank that the young men who +had killed the cow be delivered up to summary punishment. The old chief +refused to be intimidated and was shot dead on the spot. Not one soldier +ever reached the gate of Fort Laramie! Here Red Cloud led the young +Ogallalas, and so intense was the feeling that they even killed the +half-breed interpreter. + +Curiously enough, there was no attempt at retaliation on the part of the +army, and no serious break until 1860, when the Sioux were involved in +troubles with the Cheyennes and Arapahoes. In 1862, a grave outbreak +was precipitated by the eastern Sioux in Minnesota under Little Crow, +in which the western bands took no part. Yet this event ushered in a new +period for their race. The surveyors of the Union Pacific were laying +out the proposed road through the heart of the southern buffalo country, +the rendezvous of Ogallalas, Brules, Arapahoes, Comanches, and Pawnees, +who followed the buffalo as a means of livelihood. To be sure, most of +these tribes were at war with one another, yet during the summer +months they met often to proclaim a truce and hold joint councils and +festivities, which were now largely turned into discussions of the +common enemy. It became evident, however, that some of the smaller +and weaker tribes were inclined to welcome the new order of things, +recognizing that it was the policy of the government to put an end to +tribal warfare. + +Red Cloud's position was uncompromisingly against submission. He made +some noted speeches in this line, one of which was repeated to me by +an old man who had heard and remembered it with the remarkable verbal +memory of an Indian. + +"Friends," said Red Cloud, "it has been our misfortune to welcome the +white man. We have been deceived. He brought with him some shining +things that pleased our eyes; he brought weapons more effective than our +own: above all, he brought the spirit water that makes one forget for a +time old age, weakness, and sorrow. But I wish to say to you that if you +would possess these things for yourselves, you must begin anew and put +away the wisdom of your fathers. You must lay up food, and forget the +hungry. When your house is built, your storeroom filled, then look +around for a neighbor whom you can take at a disadvantage, and seize all +that he has! Give away only what you do not want; or rather, do not part +with any of your possessions unless in exchange for another's. + +"My countrymen, shall the glittering trinkets of this rich man, his +deceitful drink that overcomes the mind, shall these things tempt us to +give up our homes, our hunting grounds, and the honorable teaching of +our old men? Shall we permit ourselves to be driven to and fro--to be +herded like the cattle of the white man?" + +His next speech that has been remembered was made in 1866, just before +the attack on Fort Phil Kearny. The tension of feeling against the +invaders had now reached its height. There was no dissenting voice in +the council upon the Powder River, when it was decided to oppose to +the uttermost the evident purpose of the government. Red Cloud was not +altogether ignorant of the numerical strength and the resourcefulness +of the white man, but he was determined to face any odds rather than +submit. + +"Hear ye, Dakotas!" he exclaimed. "When the Great Father at Washington +sent us his chief soldier [General Harney] to ask for a path through +our hunting grounds, a way for his iron road to the mountains and the +western sea, we were told that they wished merely to pass through our +country, not to tarry among us, but to seek for gold in the far west. +Our old chiefs thought to show their friendship and good will, when they +allowed this dangerous snake in our midst. They promised to protect the +wayfarers. + +"Yet before the ashes of the council fire are cold, the Great Father +is building his forts among us. You have heard the sound of the white +soldier's ax upon the Little Piney. His presence here is an insult and a +threat. It is an insult to the spirits of our ancestors. Are we then +to give up their sacred graves to be plowed for corn? Dakotas, I am for +war!" + +In less than a week after this speech, the Sioux advanced upon Fort Phil +Kearny, the new sentinel that had just taken her place upon the farthest +frontier, guarding the Oregon Trail. Every detail of the attack had +been planned with care, though not without heated discussion, and +nearly every well-known Sioux chief had agreed in striking the blow. +The brilliant young war leader, Crazy Horse, was appointed to lead the +charge. His lieutenants were Sword, Hump, and Dull Knife, with Little +Chief of the Cheyennes, while the older men acted as councilors. Their +success was instantaneous. In less than half an hour, they had cut down +nearly a hundred men under Captain Fetterman, whom they drew out of the +fort by a ruse and then annihilated. + +Instead of sending troops to punish, the government sent a commission +to treat with the Sioux. The result was the famous treaty of 1868, which +Red Cloud was the last to sign, having refused to do so until all of the +forts within their territory should be vacated. All of his demands were +acceded to, the new road abandoned, the garrisons withdrawn, and in the +new treaty it was distinctly stated that the Black Hills and the Big +Horn were Indian country, set apart for their perpetual occupancy, and +that no white man should enter that region without the consent of the +Sioux. + +Scarcely was this treaty signed, however, when gold was discovered in +the Black Hills, and the popular cry was: "Remove the Indians!" This +was easier said than done. That very territory had just been solemnly +guaranteed to them forever: yet how stem the irresistible rush for gold? +The government, at first, entered some small protest, just enough to +"save its face" as the saying is; but there was no serious attempt to +prevent the wholesale violation of the treaty. It was this state of +affairs that led to the last great speech made by Red Cloud, at a +gathering upon the Little Rosebud River. It is brief, and touches upon +the hopelessness of their future as a race. He seems at about this +time to have reached the conclusion that resistance could not last much +longer; in fact, the greater part of the Sioux nation was already under +government control. + +"We are told," said he, "that Spotted Tail has consented to be the +Beggars' Chief. Those Indians who go over to the white man can be +nothing but beggars, for he respects only riches, and how can an Indian +be a rich man? He cannot without ceasing to be an Indian. As for me, +I have listened patiently to the promises of the Great Father, but his +memory is short. I am now done with him. This is all I have to say." + +The wilder bands separated soon after this council, to follow the drift +of the buffalo, some in the vicinity of the Black Hills and others in +the Big Horn region. Small war parties came down from time to time upon +stray travelers, who received no mercy at their hands, or made dashes +upon neighboring forts. Red Cloud claimed the right to guard and hold +by force, if need be, all this territory which had been conceded to his +people by the treaty of 1868. The land became a very nest of outlawry. +Aside from organized parties of prospectors, there were bands of white +horse thieves and desperadoes who took advantage of the situation to +plunder immigrants and Indians alike. + +An attempt was made by means of military camps to establish control and +force all the Indians upon reservations, and another commission was sent +to negotiate their removal to Indian Territory, but met with an absolute +refusal. After much guerrilla warfare, an important military campaign +against the Sioux was set on foot in 1876, ending in Custer's signal +defeat upon the Little Big Horn. + +In this notable battle, Red Cloud did not participate in person, nor in +the earlier one with Crook upon the Little Rosebud, but he had a son in +both fights. He was now a councilor rather than a warrior, but his young +men were constantly in the field, while Spotted Tail had definitely +surrendered and was in close touch with representatives of the +government. + +But the inevitable end was near. One morning in the fall of 1876 Red +Cloud was surrounded by United States troops under the command of +Colonel McKenzie, who disarmed his people and brought them into Fort +Robinson, Nebraska. Thence they were removed to the Pine Ridge agency, +where he lived for more than thirty years as a "reservation Indian." In +order to humiliate him further, government authorities proclaimed the +more tractable Spotted Tail head chief of the Sioux. Of course, Red +Cloud's own people never recognized any other chief. + +In 1880 he appealed to Professor Marsh, of Yale, head of a scientific +expedition to the Bad Lands, charging certain frauds at the agency +and apparently proving his case; at any rate the matter was considered +worthy of official investigation. In 1890-1891, during the "Ghost Dance +craze" and the difficulties that followed, he was suspected of collusion +with the hostiles, but he did not join them openly, and nothing could +be proved against him. He was already an old man, and became almost +entirely blind before his death in 1909 in his ninetieth year. + +His private life was exemplary. He was faithful to one wife all his +days, and was a devoted father to his children. He was ambitious for his +only son, known as Jack Red Cloud, and much desired him to be a great +warrior. He started him on the warpath at the age of fifteen, not then +realizing that the days of Indian warfare were well-nigh at an end. + +Among latter-day chiefs, Red Cloud was notable as a quiet man, simple +and direct in speech, courageous in action, an ardent lover of his +country, and possessed in a marked degree of the manly qualities +characteristic of the American Indian in his best days. + + + + +SPOTTED TAIL + + +Among the Sioux chiefs of the "transition period" only one was shrewd +enough to read coming events in their true light. It is said of Spotted +Tail that he was rather a slow-moving boy, preferring in their various +games and mimic battles to play the role of councilor, to plan and +assign to the others their parts in the fray. This he did so cleverly +that he soon became a leader among his youthful contemporaries; and +withal he was apt at mimicry and impersonation, so that the other boys +were accustomed to say of him, "He has his grandfather's wit and the +wisdom of his grandmother!" + +Spotted Tail was an orphan, reared by his grandparents, and at an +early age compelled to shift for himself. Thus he was somewhat at a +disadvantage among the other boys; yet even this fact may have helped +to develop in him courage and ingenuity. One little incident of his boy +life, occurring at about his tenth year, is characteristic of the man. +In the midst of a game, two boys became involved in a dispute which +promised to be a serious one, as both drew knives. The young Spotted +Tail instantly began to cry, "The Shoshones are upon us! To arms! to +arms!" and the other boys joined in the war whoop. This distracted the +attention of the combatants and ended the affair. + +Upon the whole, his boyhood is not so well remembered as is that of most +of his leading contemporaries, probably because he had no parents to +bring him frequently before the people, as was the custom with the +wellborn, whose every step in their progress toward manhood was publicly +announced at a feast given in their honor. It is known, however, that +he began at an early age to carve out a position for himself. It is +personal qualities alone that tell among our people, and the youthful +Spotted Tail gained at every turn. At the age of seventeen, he had +become a sure shot and a clever hunter; but, above all, he had already +shown that he possessed a superior mind. He had come into contact with +white people at the various trading posts, and according to his own +story had made a careful study of the white man's habits and modes of +thought, especially of his peculiar trait of economy and intense desire +to accumulate property. He was accustomed to watch closely and listen +attentively whenever any of this strange race had dealings with his +people. When a council was held, and the other young men stood at a +distance with their robes over their faces so as to avoid recognition, +Spotted Tail always put himself in a position to hear all that was said +on either side, and weighed all the arguments in his mind. + +When he first went upon the warpath, it appears that he was, if +anything, overzealous to establish himself in the eye of his people; and +as a matter of fact, it was especially hard for him to gain an assured +position among the Brules, with whom he lived, both because he was an +orphan, and because his father had been of another band. Yet it was not +long before he had achieved his ambition, though in doing so he received +several ugly wounds. It was in a battle with the Utes that he first +notably served his people and their cause. + +The Utes were the attacking party and far outnumbered the Sioux on this +occasion. Many of their bravest young men had fallen, and the Brules +were face to face with utter annihilation, when Spotted Tail, with a +handful of daring horsemen, dodged around the enemy's flank and fell +upon them from the rear with so much spirit that they supposed that +strong reinforcements had arrived, and retreated in confusion. The Sioux +pursued on horseback; and it was in this pursuit that the noted chief +Two Strike gained his historical name. But the chief honors of the fight +belonged to Spotted Tail. The old chiefs, Conquering Bear and the rest, +thanked him and at once made him a war chief. + +It had been the firm belief of Spotted Tail that it was unwise to allow +the white man so much freedom in our country, long before the older +chiefs saw any harm in it. After the opening of the Oregon Trail he, +above all the others, was watchful of the conduct of the Americans as +they journeyed toward the setting sun, and more than once he remarked in +council that these white men were not like the French and the Spanish, +with whom our old chiefs had been used to deal. He was not fully +satisfied with the agreement with General Harney; but as a young warrior +who had only just gained his position in the council, he could not force +his views upon the older men. + +No sooner had the Oregon Trail been secured from the Sioux than Fort +Laramie and other frontier posts were strengthened, and the soldiers +became more insolent and overbearing than ever. It was soon discovered +that the whites were prepared to violate most of the articles of their +treaty as the Indians understood it. At this time, the presence of many +Mormon emigrants on their way to the settlements in Utah and Wyoming +added to the perils of the situation, as they constantly maneuvered for +purposes of their own to bring about a clash between the soldiers and +the Indians. Every summer there were storm-clouds blowing between these +two--clouds usually taking their rise in some affair of the travelers +along the trail. + +In 1854 an event occurred which has already been described and which +snapped the last link of friendship between the races. + +By this time Spotted Tail had proved his courage both abroad and at +home. He had fought a duel with one of the lesser chiefs, by whom he +was attacked. He killed his opponent with an arrow, but himself received +upon his head a blow from a battle-axe which brought him senseless to +the ground. He was left for dead, but fortunately revived just as the +men were preparing his body for burial. + +The Brules sustained him in this quarrel, as he had acted in +self-defense; and for a few years he led them in bloody raids against +the whites along the historic trail. He ambushed many stagecoaches and +emigrant trains, and was responsible for waylaying the Kincaid coach +with twenty thousand dollars. This relentless harrying of travelers soon +brought General Harney to the Brule Sioux to demand explanations and +reparation. + +The old chiefs of the Brules now appealed to Spotted Tail and his +young warriors not to bring any general calamity upon the tribe. To the +surprise of all, Spotted Tail declared that he would give himself up. +He said that he had defended the rights of his people to the best of his +ability, that he had avenged the blood of their chief, Conquering Bear, +and that he was not afraid to accept the consequences. He therefore +voluntarily surrendered to General Harney, and two of his lieutenants, +Red Leaf and Old Woman, followed his example. + +Thus Spotted Tail played an important part at the very outset of those +events which were soon to overthrow the free life of his people. I do +not know how far he foresaw what was to follow; but whether so conceived +or not, his surrender was a master stroke, winning for him not only +the admiration of his own people but the confidence and respect of the +military. + +Thus suddenly he found himself in prison, a hostage for the good +behavior of his followers. There were many rumors as to the punishment +reserved for him; but luckily for Spotted Tail, the promises of General +Harney to the Brule chiefs in respect to him were faithfully kept. +One of his fellow-prisoners committed suicide, but the other held out +bravely for the two-year term of his imprisonment. During the second +year, it was well understood that neither of the men sought to escape, +and they were given much freedom. It was fine schooling for Spotted +Tail, that tireless observer of the ways of the white man! It is a fact +that his engaging personal qualities won for him kindness and sympathy +at the fort before the time came for his release. + +One day some Indian horse thieves of another tribe stampeded the horses +and mules belonging to the garrison. Spotted Tail asked permission of +the commanding officer to accompany the pursuers. That officer, trusting +in the honor of a Sioux brave, gave him a fast horse and a good carbine, +and said to him: "I depend upon you to guide my soldiers so that they +may overtake the thieves and recapture the horses!" + +The soldiers recaptured the horses without any loss, but Spotted Tail +still followed the Indians. When they returned to the fort without him, +everybody agreed that he would never turn up. However, next day he did +"turn up", with the scalp of one of the marauders! + +Soon after this he was returned to his own people, who honored him by +making him the successor of the old chief, Conquering Bear, whose +blood he had avenged, for which act he had taken upon himself the full +responsibility. He had made good use of his two years at the fort, and +completed his studies of civilization to his own satisfaction. From this +time on he was desirous of reconciling the Indian and the white +man, thoroughly understanding the uselessness of opposition. He was +accordingly in constant communication with the military; but the other +chiefs did not understand his views and seem to have been suspicious of +his motives. + +In 1860-1864 the Southern Cheyennes and Comanches were at war with the +whites, and some of the Brules and Ogallalas, who were their neighbors +and intimates, were suspected of complicity with the hostiles. Doubtless +a few of their young men may have been involved; at any rate, Thunder +Bear and Two Face, together with a few others who were roving with the +warring tribes, purchased two captive white women and brought them to +Fort Laramie. It was, however, reported at the post that these two men +had maltreated the women while under their care. + +Of course, the commander demanded of Spotted Tail, then head chief, that +he give up the guilty ones, and accordingly he had the two men arrested +and delivered at the fort. At this there was an outcry among his own +people; but he argued that if the charges were true, the men deserved +punishment, and if false, they should be tried and cleared by process +of law. The Indians never quite knew what evidence was produced at the +court-martial, but at all events the two men were hanged, and as they +had many influential connections, their relatives lost no time in +fomenting trouble. The Sioux were then camping close by the fort and it +was midwinter, which facts held them in check for a month or two; but as +soon as spring came, they removed their camp across the river and rose +in rebellion. A pitched battle was fought, in which the soldiers got the +worst of it. Even the associate chief, Big Mouth, was against Spotted +Tail, who was practically forced against his will and judgment to take +up arms once more. + +At this juncture came the sudden and bloody uprising in the east among +the Minnesota Sioux, and Sitting Bull's campaign in the north had begun +in earnest; while to the south the Southern Cheyennes, Comanches, and +Kiowas were all upon the warpath. Spotted Tail at about this time seems +to have conceived the idea of uniting all the Rocky Mountain Indians in +a great confederacy. He once said: "Our cause is as a child's cause, +in comparison with the power of the white man, unless we can stop +quarreling among ourselves and unite our energies for the common good." +But old-time antagonisms were too strong; and he was probably held back +also by his consciousness of the fact that the Indians called him "the +white man's friend", while the military still had some faith in him +which he did not care to lose. He was undoubtedly one of the brainiest +and most brilliant Sioux who ever lived; and while he could not help +being to a large extent in sympathy with the feeling of his race against +the invader, yet he alone foresaw the inevitable outcome, and the +problem as it presented itself to him was simply this: "What is the best +policy to pursue in the existing situation?" + +Here is his speech as it has been given to me, delivered at the great +council on the Powder River, just before the attack on Fort Phil +Kearny. We can imagine that he threw all his wonderful tact and personal +magnetism into this last effort at conciliation. + +"'Hay, hay, hay! Alas, alas!' Thus speaks the old man, when he knows +that his former vigor and freedom is gone from him forever. So we may +exclaim to-day, Alas! There is a time appointed to all things. Think +for a moment how many multitudes of the animal tribes we ourselves +have destroyed! Look upon the snow that appears to-day--to-morrow it +is water! Listen to the dirge of the dry leaves, that were green and +vigorous but a few moons before! We are a part of this life and it seems +that our time is come. + +"Yet note how the decay of one nation invigorates another. This strange +white man--consider him, his gifts are manifold! His tireless brain, +his busy hand do wonders for his race. Those things which we despise +he holds as treasures; yet he is so great and so flourishing that there +must be some virtue and truth in his philosophy. I wish to say to you, +my friends: Be not moved alone by heated arguments and thoughts of +revenge! These are for the young. We are young no longer; let us think +well, and give counsel as old men!" + +These words were greeted with an ominous silence. Not even the customary +"How!" of assent followed the speech, and Sitting Bull immediately got +up and replied in the celebrated harangue which will be introduced under +his own name in another chapter. The situation was critical for Spotted +Tail--the only man present to advocate submission to the stronger race +whose ultimate supremacy he recognized as certain. The decision to +attack Fort Phil Kearny was unanimous without him, and in order to +hold his position among his tribesmen he joined in the charge. Several +bullets passed through his war bonnet, and he was slightly wounded. + +When the commission of 1867-1868 was sent out to negotiate with the +Sioux, Spotted Tail was ready to meet them, and eager to obtain for +his people the very best terms that he could. He often puzzled and +embarrassed them by his remarkable speeches, the pointed questions that +he put, and his telling allusions to former negotiations. Meanwhile Red +Cloud would not come into the council until after several deputations of +Indians had been sent to him, and Sitting Bull did not come at all. + +The famous treaty was signed, and from this time on Spotted Tail never +again took up arms against the whites. On the contrary, it was mainly +attributed to his influence that the hostiles were subdued much sooner +than might have been expected. He came into the reservation with his +band, urged his young men to enlist as government scouts, and assisted +materially in all negotiations. The hostile chiefs no longer influenced +his action, and as soon as they had all been brought under military +control, General Crook named Spotted Tail head chief of the Sioux, thus +humiliating Red Cloud and arousing jealousy and ill-feeling among the +Ogallalas. In order to avoid trouble, he prudently separated himself +from the other bands, and moved to the new agency on Beaver Creek (Fort +Sheridan, Nebraska), which was called "Spotted Tail Agency." + +Just before the daring war leader, Crazy Horse, surrendered to the +military, he went down to the agency and roundly rebuked Spotted Tail +for signing away the freedom of his people. From the point of view of +the irreconcilables, the diplomatic chief was a "trimmer" and a traitor; +and many of the Sioux have tried to implicate him in the conspiracy +against Crazy Horse which led to his assassination, but I hold that the +facts do not bear out this charge. + +The name of Spotted Tail was prominently before the people during the +rest of his life. An obscure orphan, he had achieved distinction by his +bravery and sagacity; but he copied the white politician too closely +after he entered the reservation. He became a good manipulator, and was +made conceited and overbearing by the attentions of the military and of +the general public. Furthermore, there was an old feud in his immediate +band which affected him closely. Against him for many years were the +followers of Big Mouth, whom he had killed in a duel; and also a party +led by a son and a nephew of the old chief, Conquering Bear, whom +Spotted Tail had succeeded at his death. These two men had hoped that +one or the other of them might obtain the succession. + +Crow Dog, the nephew of Conquering Bear, more than once taunted Spotted +Tail with the fact that he was chief not by the will of the tribe, but +by the help of the white soldiers, and told him that he would "keep +a bullet for him" in case he ever disgraced his high position. Thus +retribution lay in wait for him while at the height of his fame. Several +high-handed actions of his at this time, including his elopement with +another man's wife, increased his unpopularity with a large element of +his own tribe. On the eve of the chief's departure for Washington, to +negotiate (or so they suspected) for the sale of more of their land, +Crow Dog took up his gun and fulfilled his threat, regarding +himself, and regarded by his supporters, not as a murderer, but as an +executioner. + +Such was the end of the man who may justly be called the Pontiac of the +west. He possessed a remarkable mind and extraordinary foresight for +an untutored savage; and yet he is the only one of our great men to be +remembered with more honor by the white man, perhaps, than by his own +people. + + + + +LITTLE CROW + + +Chief Little Crow was the eldest son of Cetanwakuwa (Charging Hawk). +It was on account of his father's name, mistranslated Crow, that he was +called by the whites "Little Crow." His real name was Taoyateduta, His +Red People. + +As far back as Minnesota history goes, a band of the Sioux called +Kaposia (Light Weight, because they were said to travel light) inhabited +the Mille Lacs region. Later they dwelt about St. Croix Falls, and still +later near St. Paul. In 1840, Cetanwakuwa was still living in what +is now West St. Paul, but he was soon after killed by the accidental +discharge of his gun. + +It was during a period of demoralization for the Kaposias that Little +Crow became the leader of his people. His father, a well-known chief, +had three wives, all from different bands of the Sioux. He was the only +son of the first wife, a Leaf Dweller. There were two sons of the second +and two of the third wife, and the second set of brothers conspired +to kill their half-brother in order to keep the chieftainship in the +family. + +Two kegs of whisky were bought, and all the men of the tribe invited +to a feast. It was planned to pick some sort of quarrel when all were +drunk, and in the confusion Little Crow was to be murdered. The plot +went smoothly until the last instant, when a young brave saved the +intended victim by knocking the gun aside with his hatchet, so that the +shot went wild. However, it broke his right arm, which remained crooked +all his life. The friends of the young chieftain hastily withdrew, +avoiding a general fight; and later the council of the Kaposias +condemned the two brothers, both of whom were executed, leaving him in +undisputed possession. + +Such was the opening of a stormy career. Little Crow's mother had been +a chief's daughter, celebrated for her beauty and spirit, and it is said +that she used to plunge him into the lake through a hole in the ice, +rubbing him afterward with snow, to strengthen his nerves, and that she +would remain with him alone in the deep woods for days at a time, so +that he might know that solitude is good, and not fear to be alone with +nature. + +"My son," she would say, "if you are to be a leader of men, you must +listen in silence to the mystery, the spirit." + +At a very early age she made a feast for her boy and announced that he +would fast two days. This is what might be called a formal presentation +to the spirit or God. She greatly desired him to become a worthy leader +according to the ideas of her people. It appears that she left her +husband when he took a second wife, and lived with her own band till her +death. She did not marry again. + +Little Crow was an intensely ambitious man and without physical fear. He +was always in perfect training and early acquired the art of warfare of +the Indian type. It is told of him that when he was about ten years old, +he engaged with other boys in a sham battle on the shore of a lake +near St. Paul. Both sides were encamped at a little distance from one +another, and the rule was that the enemy must be surprised, otherwise +the attack would be considered a failure. One must come within so many +paces undiscovered in order to be counted successful. Our hero had a +favorite dog which, at his earnest request, was allowed to take part in +the game, and as a scout he entered the enemy camp unseen, by the help +of his dog. + +When he was twelve, he saved the life of a companion who had broken +through the ice by tying the end of a pack line to a log, then at great +risk to himself carrying it to the edge of the hole where his comrade +went down. It is said that he also broke in, but both boys saved +themselves by means of the line. + +As a young man, Little Crow was always ready to serve his people as a +messenger to other tribes, a duty involving much danger and hardship. +He was also known as one of the best hunters in his band. Although still +young, he had already a war record when he became chief of the Kaposias, +at a time when the Sioux were facing the greatest and most far-reaching +changes that had ever come to them. + +At this juncture in the history of the northwest and its native +inhabitants, the various fur companies had paramount influence. They +did not hesitate to impress the Indians with the idea that they were the +authorized representatives of the white races or peoples, and they were +quick to realize the desirability of controlling the natives through +their most influential chiefs. Little Crow became quite popular with +post traders and factors. He was an orator as well as a diplomat, +and one of the first of his nation to indulge in politics and promote +unstable schemes to the detriment of his people. + +When the United States Government went into the business of acquiring +territory from the Indians so that the flood of western settlement might +not be checked, commissions were sent out to negotiate treaties, and in +case of failure it often happened that a delegation of leading men of +the tribe were invited to Washington. At that period, these visiting +chiefs, attired in all the splendor of their costumes of ceremony, were +treated like ambassadors from foreign countries. + +One winter in the late eighteen-fifties, a major general of the army +gave a dinner to the Indian chiefs then in the city, and on this +occasion Little Crow was appointed toastmaster. There were present a +number of Senators and members of Congress, as well as judges of the +Supreme Court, cabinet officers, and other distinguished citizens. When +all the guests were seated, the Sioux arose and addressed them with much +dignity as follows: + +"Warriors and friends: I am informed that the great white war chief who +of his generosity and comradeship has given us this feast, has expressed +the wish that we may follow to-night the usages and customs of my +people. In other words, this is a warriors' feast, a braves' meal. +I call upon the Ojibway chief, the Hole-in-the-Day, to give the lone +wolf's hunger call, after which we will join him in our usual manner." + +The tall and handsome Ojibway now rose and straightened his superb form +to utter one of the clearest and longest wolf howls that was ever heard +in Washington, and at its close came a tremendous burst of war whoops +that fairly rent the air, and no doubt electrified the officials there +present. + +On one occasion Little Crow was invited by the commander of Fort +Ridgeley, Minnesota, to call at the fort. On his way back, in company +with a half-breed named Ross and the interpreter Mitchell, he was +ambushed by a party of Ojibways, and again wounded in the same arm that +had been broken in his attempted assassination. His companion Ross was +killed, but he managed to hold the war party at bay until help came and +thus saved his life. + +More and more as time passed, this naturally brave and ambitious man +became a prey to the selfish interests of the traders and politicians. +The immediate causes of the Sioux outbreak of 1862 came in quick +succession to inflame to desperate action an outraged people. The two +bands on the so-called "lower reservations" in Minnesota were Indians +for whom nature had provided most abundantly in their free existence. +After one hundred and fifty years of friendly intercourse first with +the French, then the English, and finally the Americans, they found +themselves cut off from every natural resource, on a tract of land +twenty miles by thirty, which to them was virtual imprisonment. By +treaty stipulation with the government, they were to be fed and clothed, +houses were to be built for them, the men taught agriculture, and +schools provided for the children. In addition to this, a trust fund +of a million and a half was to be set aside for them, at five per cent +interest, the interest to be paid annually per capita. They had signed +the treaty under pressure, believing in these promises on the faith of a +great nation. + +However, on entering the new life, the resources so rosily described to +them failed to materialize. Many families faced starvation every winter, +their only support the store of the Indian trader, who was baiting his +trap for their destruction. Very gradually they awoke to the facts. +At last it was planned to secure from them the north half of their +reservation for ninety-eight thousand dollars, but it was not explained +to the Indians that the traders were to receive all the money. +Little Crow made the greatest mistake of his life when he signed this +agreement. + +Meanwhile, to make matters worse, the cash annuities were not paid for +nearly two years. Civil War had begun. When it was learned that the +traders had taken all of the ninety-eight thousand dollars "on account", +there was very bitter feeling. In fact, the heads of the leading stores +were afraid to go about as usual, and most of them stayed in St. Paul. +Little Crow was justly held in part responsible for the deceit, and his +life was not safe. + +The murder of a white family near Acton, Minnesota, by a party of Indian +duck hunters in August, 1862, precipitated the break. Messengers were +sent to every village with the news, and at the villages of Little Crow +and Little Six the war council was red-hot. It was proposed to take +advantage of the fact that north and south were at war to wipe out the +white settlers and to regain their freedom. A few men stood out against +such a desperate step, but the conflagration had gone beyond their +control. + +There were many mixed bloods among these Sioux, and some of the Indians +held that these were accomplices of the white people in robbing them +of their possessions, therefore their lives should not be spared. My +father, Many Lightnings, who was practically the leader of the Mankato +band (for Mankato, the chief, was a weak man), fought desperately for +the lives of the half-breeds and the missionaries. The chiefs had great +confidence in my father, yet they would not commit themselves, since +their braves were clamoring for blood. Little Crow had been accused +of all the misfortunes of his tribe, and he now hoped by leading them +against the whites to regain his prestige with his people, and a part at +least of their lost domain. + +There were moments when the pacifists were in grave peril. It was almost +daybreak when my father saw that the approaching calamity could not be +prevented. He and two others said to Little Crow: "If you want war, you +must personally lead your men to-morrow. We will not murder women and +children, but we will fight the soldiers when they come." They then +left the council and hastened to warn my brother-in-law, Faribault, and +others who were in danger. + +Little Crow declared he would be seen in the front of every battle, and +it is true that he was foremost in all the succeeding bloodshed, urging +his warriors to spare none. He ordered his war leader, Many Hail, to +fire the first shot, killing the trader James Lynd, in the door of his +store. + +After a year of fighting in which he had met with defeat, the +discredited chief retreated to Fort Garry, now Winnipeg, Manitoba, +where, together with Standing Buffalo, he undertook secret negotiations +with his old friends the Indian traders. There was now a price upon his +head, but he planned to reach St. Paul undetected and there surrender +himself to his friends, who he hoped would protect him in return for +past favors. It is true that he had helped them to secure perhaps the +finest country held by any Indian nation for a mere song. + +He left Canada with a few trusted friends, including his youngest and +favorite son. When within two or three days' journey of St. Paul, he +told the others to return, keeping with him only his son, Wowinape, who +was but fifteen years of age. He meant to steal into the city by night +and go straight to Governor Ramsey, who was his personal friend. He was +very hungry and was obliged to keep to the shelter of the deep woods. +The next morning, as he was picking and eating wild raspberries, he was +seen by a wood-chopper named Lamson. The man did not know who he was. +He only knew that he was an Indian, and that was enough for him, so he +lifted his rifle to his shoulder and fired, then ran at his best pace. +The brilliant but misguided chief, who had made that part of the country +unsafe for any white man to live in, sank to the ground and died without +a struggle. The boy took his father's gun and made some effort to find +the assassin, but as he did not even know in which direction to look for +him, he soon gave up the attempt and went back to his friends. + +Meanwhile Lamson reached home breathless and made his report. The body +of the chief was found and identified, in part by the twice broken arm, +and this arm and his scalp may be seen to-day in the collection of the +Minnesota Historical Society. + + + + +TAMAHAY + + +There was once a Sioux brave who declared that he would die young, yet +not by his own hand. Tamahay was of heroic proportions, herculean in +strength, a superb runner; in fact, he had all the physical qualities of +an athlete or a typical Indian. In his scanty dress, he was beautiful as +an antique statue in living bronze. When a mere youth, seventeen years +of age, he met with an accident which determined his career. It was +the loss of an eye, a fatal injury to the sensitive and high-spirited +Indian. He announced his purpose in these words: + +"The 'Great Mystery' has decreed that I must be disgraced. There will be +no pleasure for me now, and I shall be ridiculed even by my enemies. It +will be well for me to enter soon into Paradise, for I shall be happy +in spending my youth there. But I will sell my life dearly. Hereafter +my name shall be spoken in the traditions of our race." With this speech +Tamahay began his career. + +He now sought glory and defied danger with even more than the ordinary +Indian recklessness. He accepted a personal friend, which was a custom +among the Sioux, where each man chose a companion for life and death. +The tie was stronger than one of blood relationship, a friendship sealed +by solemn vow and covenant. Tamahay's intimate was fortunately almost +his equal in physical powers, and the pair became the terror of +neighboring tribes, with whom the Dakotas were continually at war. They +made frequent raids upon their enemies and were usually successful, +although not without thrilling experiences and almost miraculous +escapes. + +Upon one of these occasions the two friends went north into the country +of the Ojibways. After many days' journey, they discovered a small +village of the foe. The wicked Tamahay proposed to his associate that +they should arrange their toilets after the fashion of the Ojibways, +and go among them; "and perhaps," he added, "we will indulge in a little +flirtation with their pretty maids, and when we have had enough of the +fun we can take the scalp of a brave or two and retreat!" His friend +construed his daring proposition to be a test of courage, which it would +not become him, as a brave, to decline; therefore he assented with a +show of cheerfulness. + +The handsome strangers were well received by the Ojibway girls, but +their perilous amusement was brought to an untimely close. A young +maiden prematurely discovered their true characters, and her cry of +alarm brought instantly to her side a jealous youth, who had been +watching them from his place of concealment. With him Tamahay had a +single-handed contest, and before a general alarm was given he had +dispatched the foe and fled with his scalp. + +The unfortunate brave had been a favorite and a leader among the tribe; +therefore the maddened Ojibways were soon in hot pursuit. The Sioux +braves were fine runners, yet they were finally driven out upon the +peninsula of a lake. As they became separated in their retreat, Tamahay +shouted, "I'll meet you at the mouth of the St. Croix River, or in the +spirit land!" Both managed to swim the lake, and so made good their +escape. + +The exploits of this man were not all of a warlike nature. He was +a great traveler and an expert scout, and he had some wonderful +experiences with wild animals. He was once sent, with his intimate +friend, on a scout for game. They were on ponies. + +They located a herd of buffaloes, and on their return to the camp espied +a lonely buffalo. Tamahay suggested that they should chase it in order +to take some fresh meat, as the law of the tribe allowed in the case of +a single animal. His pony stumbled and threw him, after they had wounded +the bison, and the latter attacked the dismounted man viciously. But +he, as usual, was on the alert. He "took the bull by the horns", as the +saying is, and cleverly straddled him on the neck. The buffalo had no +means of harming his enemy, but pawed the earth and struggled until his +strength was exhausted, when the Indian used his knife on the +animal's throat. On account of this feat he received the name +"Held-the-Bull-by-the-Horns." + +The origin of his name "Tamahay" is related as follows. When he was +a young man he accompanied the chief Wabashaw to Mackinaw, Michigan, +together with some other warriors. He was out with his friend one day, +viewing the wonderful sights in the "white man's country", when they +came upon a sow with her numerous pink little progeny. He was greatly +amused and picked up one of the young pigs, but as soon as it squealed +the mother ran furiously after them. He kept the pig and fled with +it, still laughing; but his friend was soon compelled to run up the +conveniently inclined trunk of a fallen tree, while our hero reached the +shore of a lake near by, and plunged into the water. He swam and dived +as long as he could, but the beast continued to threaten him with her +sharp teeth, till, almost exhausted, he swam again to shore, where his +friend came up and dispatched the vicious animal with a club. On account +of this watery adventure he was at once called Tamahay, meaning Pike. He +earned many other names, but preferred this one, because it was the name +borne by a great friend of his, Lieutenant Pike, the first officer +of the United States Army who came to Minnesota for the purpose of +exploring the sources of the Mississippi River and of making peace with +the natives. Tamahay assisted this officer in obtaining land from the +Sioux upon which to build Fort Snelling. He appears in history under the +name of "Tahamie" or the "One-Eyed Sioux." + +Always ready to brave danger and unpopularity, Tamahay was the only +Sioux who sided with the United States in her struggle with Great +Britain in 1819. For having espoused the cause of the Americans, he was +ill-treated by the British officers and free traders, who for a long +time controlled the northwest, even after peace had been effected +between the two nations. At one time he was confined in a fort called +McKay, where now stands the town of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. He had +just returned from St. Louis, and was suspected of exciting his people +to rebel against British subjects. His life was even threatened, but +to this Tamahay merely replied that he was ready to die. A few months +later, this fort was restored to the United States, and upon leaving +it the British set the buildings on fire, though the United States flag +floated above them. Some Indians who were present shouted to Tamahay, +"Your friends', the Americans', fort is on fire!" He responded with a +war whoop, rushed into the blazing fort, and brought out the flag. For +this brave act he was rewarded with a present of a flag and medal. He +was never tired of displaying this medal and his recommendation papers, +and even preserved to the end of his life an old colonial stovepipe hat, +which he wore upon state occasions. + +The Sioux long referred to the president of the United States as +"Tamahay's father." + +The following story is told of him in his later days. He attempted one +day to cross the first bridge over the Mississippi River, but was not +recognized by the sentinel, who would not allow him to pass until he +paid the toll. Tamahay, who was a privileged character, explained as +best he could, with gestures and broken English, that he was always +permitted to pass free; but as the sentinel still refused, and even +threatened him with his bayonet, the old Indian silently seized the +musket, threw it down into the waters of the Mississippi and went home. +Later in the day a company of soldiers appeared in the Indian village, +and escorted our hero to a sort of court-martial at the fort. When +he was questioned by the Colonel, he simply replied: "If you were +threatened by any one with a weapon, you would, in self-defense, either +disable the man or get rid of the weapon. I did the latter, thinking +that you would need the man more than the gun." + +Finally the officer said to them, "I see you are both partly wrong. Some +one must be responsible for the loss of the gun; therefore, you two +will wrestle, and the man who is downed must dive for the weapon to the +bottom of the river." + +Scarcely was this speech ended when Tamahay was upon the soldier, who +was surprised both by the order and by the unexpected readiness of the +wily old Indian, so that he was not prepared, and the Sioux had the +vantage hold. In a moment the bluecoat was down, amid shouts and peals +of laughter from his comrades. Having thrown his man, the other turned +and went home without a word. + +Sad to say, he acquired a great appetite for "minne-wakan", or +"mysterious water", as the Sioux call it, which proved a source of +trouble to him in his old age. It is told of him that he was treated +one winter's day to a drink of whisky in a trader's store. He afterwards +went home; but even the severe blizzard which soon arose did not prevent +him from returning in the night to the friendly trader. He awoke that +worthy from sleep about twelve o'clock by singing his death dirge upon +the roof of the log cabin. In another moment he had jumped down the mud +chimney, and into the blazing embers of a fire. The trader had to pour +out to him some whisky in a tin pail, after which he begged the old +man to "be good and go home." On the eve of the so-called "Minnesota +Massacre" by the Sioux in 1862, Tamahay, although he was then very old +and had almost lost the use of his remaining eye, made a famous speech +at the meeting of the conspirators. These are some of his words, as +reported to me by persons who were present. + +"What! What! is this Little Crow? Is that Little Six? You, too, White +Dog, are you here? I cannot see well now, but I can see with my mind's +eye the stream of blood you are about to pour upon the bosom of this +mother of ours" (meaning the earth). "I stand before you on three legs, +but the third leg has brought me wisdom" [referring to the staff with +which he supported himself]. "I have traveled much, I have visited among +the people whom you think to defy. This means the total surrender of our +beautiful land, the land of a thousand lakes and streams. Methinks you +are about to commit an act like that of the porcupine, who climbs a +tree, balances himself upon a springy bough, and then gnaws off the very +bough upon which he is sitting; hence, when it gives way, he falls upon +the sharp rocks below. Behold the great Pontiac, whose grave I saw near +St. Louis; he was murdered while an exile from his country! Think of the +brave Black Hawk! Methinks his spirit is still wailing through Wisconsin +and Illinois for his lost people! I do not say you have no cause to +complain, but to resist is self-destruction. I am done." + +It is supposed that this speech was his last, and it was made, though +vainly, in defense of the Americans whom he had loved. He died at Fort +Pierre, South Dakota, in 1864. His people say that he died a natural +death, of old age. And yet his exploits are not forgotten. Thus lived +and departed a most active and fearless Sioux, Tamahay, who desired to +die young! + + + + +GALL + + +Chief Gall was one of the most aggressive leaders of the Sioux nation in +their last stand for freedom. + +The westward pressure of civilization during the past three centuries +has been tremendous. When our hemisphere was "discovered", it had been +inhabited by the natives for untold ages, but it was held undiscovered +because the original owners did not chart or advertise it. Yet some of +them at least had developed ideals of life which included real liberty +and equality to all men, and they did not recognize individual ownership +in land or other property beyond actual necessity. It was a soul +development leading to essential manhood. Under this system they brought +forth some striking characters. + +Gall was considered by both Indians and whites to be a most impressive +type of physical manhood. From his picture you can judge of this for +yourself. + +Let us follow his trail. He was no tenderfoot. He never asked a soft +place for himself. He always played the game according to the rules and +to a finish. To be sure, like every other man, he made some mistakes, +but he was an Indian and never acted the coward. + +The earliest stories told of his life and doings indicate the spirit of +the man in that of the boy. + +When he was only about three years old, the Blackfoot band of Sioux were +on their usual roving hunt, following the buffalo while living their +natural happy life upon the wonderful wide prairies of the Dakotas. + +It was the way of every Sioux mother to adjust her household effects +on such dogs and pack ponies as she could muster from day to day, often +lending one or two to accommodate some other woman whose horse or dog +had died, or perhaps had been among those stampeded and carried away by +a raiding band of Crow warriors. On this particular occasion, the mother +of our young Sioux brave, Matohinshda, or Bear-Shedding-His-Hair +(Gall's childhood name), intrusted her boy to an old Eskimo pack dog, +experienced and reliable, except perhaps when unduly excited or very +thirsty. + +On the day of removing camp the caravan made its morning march up the +Powder River. Upon the wide table-land the women were busily digging +teepsinna (an edible sweetish root, much used by them) as the moving +village slowly progressed. As usual at such times, the trail was wide. +An old jack rabbit had waited too long in hiding. Now, finding himself +almost surrounded by the mighty plains people, he sprang up suddenly, +his feathery ears conspicuously erect, a dangerous challenge to the dogs +and the people. + +A whoop went up. Every dog accepted the challenge. Forgotten were the +bundles, the kits, even the babies they were drawing or carrying. The +chase was on, and the screams of the women reechoed from the opposite +cliffs of the Powder, mingled with the yelps of dogs and the neighing of +horses. The hand of every man was against the daring warrior, the lone +Jack, and the confusion was great. + +When the fleeing one cleared the mass of his enemies, he emerged with a +swiftness that commanded respect and gave promise of a determined chase. +Behind him, his pursuers stretched out in a thin line, first the speedy, +unburdened dogs and then the travois dogs headed by the old Eskimo +with his precious freight. The youthful Gall was in a travois, a basket +mounted on trailing poles and harnessed to the sides of the animal. + +"Hey! hey! they are gaining on him!" a warrior shouted. At this juncture +two of the canines had almost nabbed their furry prey by the back. But +he was too cunning for them. He dropped instantly and sent both dogs +over his head, rolling and spinning, then made another flight at right +angles to the first. This gave the Eskimo a chance to cut the triangle. +He gained fifty yards, but being heavily handicapped, two unladen dogs +passed him. The same trick was repeated by the Jack, and this time he +saved himself from instant death by a double loop and was now running +directly toward the crowd, followed by a dozen or more dogs. He was +losing speed, but likewise his pursuers were dropping off steadily. Only +the sturdy Eskimo dog held to his even gait, and behind him in the frail +travois leaned forward the little Matohinshda, nude save a breech clout, +his left hand holding fast the convenient tail of his dog, the right +grasping firmly one of the poles of the travois. His black eyes were +bulging almost out of their sockets; his long hair flowed out behind +like a stream of dark water. + +The Jack now ran directly toward the howling spectators, but his +marvelous speed and alertness were on the wane; while on the other hand +his foremost pursuer, who had taken part in hundreds of similar events, +had every confidence in his own endurance. Each leap brought him nearer, +fiercer and more determined. The last effort of the Jack was to lose +himself in the crowd, like a fish in muddy water; but the big dog made +the one needed leap with unerring aim and his teeth flashed as he caught +the rabbit in viselike jaws and held him limp in air, a victor! + +The people rushed up to him as he laid the victim down, and foremost +among them was the frantic mother of Matohinshda, or Gall. "Michinkshe! +michinkshe!" (My son! my son!) she screamed as she drew near. The boy +seemed to be none the worse for his experience. "Mother!" he cried, "my +dog is brave: he got the rabbit!" She snatched him off the travois, +but he struggled out of her arms to look upon his dog lovingly and +admiringly. Old men and boys crowded about the hero of the day, the dog, +and the thoughtful grandmother of Matohinshda unharnessed him and poured +some water from a parfleche water bag into a basin. "Here, my grandson, +give your friend something to drink." + +"How, hechetu," pronounced an old warrior no longer in active service. +"This may be only an accident, an ordinary affair; but such things +sometimes indicate a career. The boy has had a wonderful ride. I +prophesy that he will one day hold the attention of all the people with +his doings." + +This is the first remembered story of the famous chief, but other boyish +exploits foretold the man he was destined to be. He fought many sham +battles, some successful and others not; but he was always a fierce +fighter and a good loser. + +Once he was engaged in a battle with snowballs. There were probably +nearly a hundred boys on each side, and the rule was that every fair hit +made the receiver officially dead. He must not participate further, but +must remain just where he was struck. + +Gall's side was fast losing, and the battle was growing hotter every +minute when the youthful warrior worked toward an old water hole and +took up his position there. His side was soon annihilated and there were +eleven men left to fight him. He was pressed close in the wash-out, and +as he dodged under cover before a volley of snowballs, there suddenly +emerged in his stead a huge gray wolf. His opponents fled in every +direction in superstitious terror, for they thought he had been +transformed into the animal. To their astonishment he came out on the +farther side and ran to the line of safety, a winner! + +It happened that the wolf's den had been partly covered with snow so +that no one had noticed it until the yells of the boys aroused the +inmate, and he beat a hasty retreat. The boys always looked upon this +incident as an omen. + +Gall had an amiable disposition but was quick to resent insult or +injustice. This sometimes involved him in difficulties, but he seldom +fought without good cause and was popular with his associates. One of +his characteristics was his ability to organize, and this was a large +factor in his leadership when he became a man. He was tried in many +ways, and never was known to hesitate when it was a question of physical +courage and endurance. He entered the public service early in life, but +not until he had proved himself competent and passed all tests. + +When a mere boy, he was once scouting for game in midwinter, far from +camp, and was overtaken by a three days' blizzard. He was forced to +abandon his horse and lie under the snow for that length of time. +He afterward said he was not particularly hungry; it was thirst and +stiffness from which he suffered most. One reason the Indian so loved +his horse or dog was that at such times the animal would stay by him +like a brother. On this occasion Gall's pony was not more than a stone's +throw away when the storm subsided and the sun shone. There was a +herd of buffalo in plain sight, and the young hunter was not long in +procuring a meal. + +This chief's contemporaries still recall his wrestling match with the +equally powerful Cheyenne boy, Roman Nose, who afterward became a chief +well known to American history. It was a custom of the northwestern +Indians, when two friendly tribes camped together, to establish the +physical and athletic supremacy of the youth of the respective camps. + +The "Che-hoo-hoo" is a wrestling game in which there may be any number +on a side, but the numbers are equal. All the boys of each camp are +called together by a leader chosen for the purpose and draw themselves +up in line of battle; then each at a given signal attacks his opponent. + +In this memorable contest, Matohinshda, or Gall, was placed opposite +Roman Nose. The whole people turned out as spectators of the struggle, +and the battlefield was a plateau between the two camps, in the midst +of picturesque Bad Lands. There were many athletic youths present, but +these two were really the Apollos of the two tribes. + +In this kind of sport it is not allowed to strike with the hand, nor +catch around the neck, nor kick, nor pull by the hair. One may break +away and run a few yards to get a fresh start, or clinch, or catch as +catch can. When a boy is thrown and held to the ground, he is counted +out. If a boy has met his superior, he may drop to the ground to escape +rough handling, but it is very seldom one gives up without a full trial +of strength. + +It seemed almost like a real battle, so great was the enthusiasm, as the +shouts of sympathizers on both sides went up in a mighty chorus. At last +all were either conquerors or subdued except Gall and Roman Nose. The +pair seemed equally matched. Both were stripped to the breech clout, now +tugging like two young buffalo or elk in mating time, again writhing and +twisting like serpents. At times they fought like two wild stallions, +straining every muscle of arms, legs, and back in the struggle. Every +now and then one was lifted off his feet for a moment, but came down +planted like a tree, and after swaying to and fro soon became rigid +again. + +All eyes were upon the champions. Finally, either by trick or main +force, Gall laid the other sprawling upon the ground and held him fast +for a minute, then released him and stood erect, panting, a master +youth. Shout after shout went up on the Sioux side of the camp. The +mother of Roman Nose came forward and threw a superbly worked buffalo +robe over Gall, whose mother returned the compliment by covering the +young Cheyenne with a handsome blanket. + +Undoubtedly these early contests had their influence upon our hero's +career. It was his habit to appear most opportunely in a crisis, and +in a striking and dramatic manner to take command of the situation. The +best known example of this is his entrance on the scene of confusion +when Reno surprised the Sioux on the Little Big Horn. Many of the +excitable youths, almost unarmed, rushed madly and blindly to meet the +intruder, and the scene might have unnerved even an experienced warrior. +It was Gall, with not a garment upon his superb body, who on his black +charger dashed ahead of the boys and faced them. He stopped them on the +dry creek, while the bullets of Reno's men whistled about their ears. + +"Hold hard, men! Steady, we are not ready yet! Wait for more guns, more +horses, and the day is yours!" + +They obeyed, and in a few minutes the signal to charge was given, and +Reno retreated pell mell before the onset of the Sioux. + +Sitting Bull had confidence in his men so long as Gall planned and +directed the attack, whether against United States soldiers or the +warriors of another tribe. He was a strategist, and able in a twinkling +to note and seize upon an advantage. He was really the mainstay of +Sitting Bull's effective last stand. He consistently upheld his people's +right to their buffalo plains and believed that they should hold the +government strictly to its agreements with them. When the treaty of 1868 +was disregarded, he agreed with Sitting Bull in defending the last of +their once vast domain, and after the Custer battle entered Canada +with his chief. They hoped to bring their lost cause before the English +government and were much disappointed when they were asked to return to +the United States. + +Gall finally reported at Fort Peck, Montana, in 1881, and brought half +of the Hunkpapa band with him, whereupon he was soon followed by Sitting +Bull himself. Although they had been promised by the United States +commission who went to Canada to treat with them that they would not be +punished if they returned, no sooner had Gall come down than a part of +his people were attacked, and in the spring they were all brought to +Fort Randall and held as military prisoners. From this point they were +returned to Standing Rock agency. + +When "Buffalo Bill" successfully launched his first show, he made every +effort to secure both Sitting Bull and Gall for his leading attractions. +The military was in complete accord with him in this, for they still had +grave suspicions of these two leaders. While Sitting Bull reluctantly +agreed, Gall haughtily said: "I am not an animal to be exhibited before +the crowd," and retired to his teepee. His spirit was much worn, and he +lost strength from that time on. That superb manhood dwindled, and in +a few years he died. He was a real hero of a free and natural people, a +type that is never to be seen again. + + + + +CRAZY HORSE + + +Crazy Horse was born on the Republican River about 1845. He was +killed at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, in 1877, so that he lived barely +thirty-three years. + +He was an uncommonly handsome man. While not the equal of Gall in +magnificence and imposing stature, he was physically perfect, an Apollo +in symmetry. Furthermore he was a true type of Indian refinement and +grace. He was modest and courteous as Chief Joseph; the difference is +that he was a born warrior, while Joseph was not. However, he was a +gentle warrior, a true brave, who stood for the highest ideal of the +Sioux. Notwithstanding all that biased historians have said of him, it +is only fair to judge a man by the estimate of his own people rather +than that of his enemies. + +The boyhood of Crazy Horse was passed in the days when the western +Sioux saw a white man but seldom, and then it was usually a trader or a +soldier. He was carefully brought up according to the tribal customs. At +that period the Sioux prided themselves on the training and development +of their sons and daughters, and not a step in that development was +overlooked as an excuse to bring the child before the public by giving +a feast in its honor. At such times the parents often gave so generously +to the needy that they almost impoverished themselves, thus setting an +example to the child of self-denial for the general good. His first +step alone, the first word spoken, first game killed, the attainment of +manhood or womanhood, each was the occasion of a feast and dance in +his honor, at which the poor always benefited to the full extent of the +parents' ability. + +Big-heartedness, generosity, courage, and self-denial are the +qualifications of a public servant, and the average Indian was keen +to follow this ideal. As every one knows, these characteristic traits +become a weakness when he enters a life founded upon commerce and gain. +Under such conditions the life of Crazy Horse began. His mother, like +other mothers, tender and watchful of her boy, would never once place an +obstacle in the way of his father's severe physical training. They laid +the spiritual and patriotic foundations of his education in such a way +that he early became conscious of the demands of public service. + +He was perhaps four or five years old when the band was snowed in +one severe winter. They were very short of food, but his father was +a tireless hunter. The buffalo, their main dependence, were not to +be found, but he was out in the storm and cold every day and finally +brought in two antelopes. The little boy got on his pet pony and rode +through the camp, telling the old folks to come to his mother's +teepee for meat. It turned out that neither his father nor mother had +authorized him to do this. Before they knew it, old men and women were +lined up before the teepee home, ready to receive the meat, in answer to +his invitation. As a result, the mother had to distribute nearly all of +it, keeping only enough for two meals. + +On the following day the child asked for food. His mother told him that +the old folks had taken it all, and added: "Remember, my son, they went +home singing praises in your name, not my name or your father's. You +must be brave. You must live up to your reputation." + +Crazy Horse loved horses, and his father gave him a pony of his own when +he was very young. He became a fine horseman and accompanied his father +on buffalo hunts, holding the pack horses while the men chased the +buffalo and thus gradually learning the art. In those days the Sioux had +but few guns, and the hunting was mostly done with bow and arrows. + +Another story told of his boyhood is that when he was about twelve he +went to look for the ponies with his little brother, whom he loved much, +and took a great deal of pains to teach what he had already learned. +They came to some wild cherry trees full of ripe fruit, and while they +were enjoying it, the brothers were startled by the growl and sudden +rush of a bear. Young Crazy Horse pushed his brother up into the nearest +tree and himself sprang upon the back of one of the horses, which was +frightened and ran some distance before he could control him. As soon +as he could, however, he turned him about and came back, yelling and +swinging his lariat over his head. The bear at first showed fight but +finally turned and ran. The old man who told me this story added that +young as he was, he had some power, so that even a grizzly did not +care to tackle him. I believe it is a fact that a silver-tip will dare +anything except a bell or a lasso line, so that accidentally the boy had +hit upon the very thing which would drive him off. + +It was usual for Sioux boys of his day to wait in the field after a +buffalo hunt until sundown, when the young calves would come out in the +open, hungrily seeking their mothers. Then these wild children would +enjoy a mimic hunt, and lasso the calves or drive them into camp. Crazy +Horse was found to be a determined little fellow, and it was settled +one day among the larger boys that they would "stump" him to ride a +good-sized bull calf. He rode the calf, and stayed on its back while it +ran bawling over the hills, followed by the other boys on their ponies, +until his strange mount stood trembling and exhausted. + +At the age of sixteen he joined a war party against the Gros Ventres. He +was well in the front of the charge, and at once established his bravery +by following closely one of the foremost Sioux warriors, by the name of +Hump, drawing the enemy's fire and circling around their advance guard. +Suddenly Hump's horse was shot from under him, and there was a rush +of warriors to kill or capture him while down. But amidst a shower of +arrows the youth leaped from his pony, helped his friend into his own +saddle, sprang up behind him, and carried him off in safety, although +they were hotly pursued by the enemy. Thus he associated himself in his +maiden battle with the wizard of Indian warfare, and Hump, who was +then at the height of his own career, pronounced Crazy Horse the coming +warrior of the Teton Sioux. + +At this period of his life, as was customary with the best young men, he +spent much time in prayer and solitude. Just what happened in these days +of his fasting in the wilderness and upon the crown of bald buttes, +no one will ever know; for these things may only be known when one has +lived through the battles of life to an honored old age. He was much +sought after by his youthful associates, but was noticeably reserved and +modest; yet in the moment of danger he at once rose above them all--a +natural leader! Crazy Horse was a typical Sioux brave, and from the +point of view of our race an ideal hero, living at the height of the +epical progress of the American Indian and maintaining in his own +character all that was most subtle and ennobling of their spiritual +life, and that has since been lost in the contact with a material +civilization. + +He loved Hump, that peerless warrior, and the two became close friends, +in spite of the difference in age. Men called them "the grizzly and his +cub." Again and again the pair saved the day for the Sioux in a skirmish +with some neighboring tribe. But one day they undertook a losing battle +against the Snakes. The Sioux were in full retreat and were fast +being overwhelmed by superior numbers. The old warrior fell in a last +desperate charge; but Crazy Horse and his younger brother, though +dismounted, killed two of the enemy and thus made good their retreat. + +It was observed of him that when he pursued the enemy into their +stronghold, as he was wont to do, he often refrained from killing, and +simply struck them with a switch, showing that he did not fear their +weapons nor care to waste his upon them. In attempting this very feat, +he lost this only brother of his, who emulated him closely. A party of +young warriors, led by Crazy Horse, had dashed upon a frontier post, +killed one of the sentinels, stampeded the horses, and pursued the +herder to the very gate of the stockade, thus drawing upon themselves +the fire of the garrison. The leader escaped without a scratch, but his +young brother was brought down from his horse and killed. + +While he was still under twenty, there was a great winter buffalo +hunt, and he came back with ten buffaloes' tongues which he sent to the +council lodge for the councilors' feast. He had in one winter day killed +ten buffalo cows with his bow and arrows, and the unsuccessful hunters +or those who had no swift ponies were made happy by his generosity. When +the hunters returned, these came chanting songs of thanks. He knew that +his father was an expert hunter and had a good horse, so he took no meat +home, putting in practice the spirit of his early teaching. + +He attained his majority at the crisis of the difficulties between the +United States and the Sioux. Even before that time, Crazy Horse had +already proved his worth to his people in Indian warfare. He had risked +his life again and again, and in some instances it was considered almost +a miracle that he had saved others as well as himself. He was no orator +nor was he the son of a chief. His success and influence was purely a +matter of personality. He had never fought the whites up to this time, +and indeed no "coup" was counted for killing or scalping a white man. + +Young Crazy Horse was twenty-one years old when all the Teton Sioux +chiefs (the western or plains dwellers) met in council to determine upon +their future policy toward the invader. Their former agreements had been +by individual bands, each for itself, and every one was friendly. They +reasoned that the country was wide, and that the white traders should be +made welcome. Up to this time they had anticipated no conflict. They +had permitted the Oregon Trail, but now to their astonishment forts were +built and garrisoned in their territory. + +Most of the chiefs advocated a strong resistance. There were a few +influential men who desired still to live in peace, and who were willing +to make another treaty. Among these were White Bull, Two Kettle, Four +Bears, and Swift Bear. Even Spotted Tail, afterward the great peace +chief, was at this time with the majority, who decided in the year 1866 +to defend their rights and territory by force. Attacks were to be made +upon the forts within their country and on every trespasser on the same. + +Crazy Horse took no part in the discussion, but he and all the young +warriors were in accord with the decision of the council. Although so +young, he was already a leader among them. Other prominent young braves +were Sword (brother of the man of that name who was long captain of +police at Pine Ridge), the younger Hump, Charging Bear, Spotted Elk, +Crow King, No Water, Big Road, He Dog, the nephew of Red Cloud, and +Touch-the-Cloud, intimate friend of Crazy Horse. + +The attack on Fort Phil Kearny was the first fruits of the new policy, +and here Crazy Horse was chosen to lead the attack on the woodchoppers, +designed to draw the soldiers out of the fort, while an army of six +hundred lay in wait for them. The success of this stratagem was further +enhanced by his masterful handling of his men. From this time on a +general war was inaugurated; Sitting Bull looked to him as a principal +war leader, and even the Cheyenne chiefs, allies of the Sioux, +practically acknowledged his leadership. Yet during the following ten +years of defensive war he was never known to make a speech, though his +teepee was the rendezvous of the young men. He was depended upon to put +into action the decisions of the council, and was frequently consulted +by the older chiefs. + +Like Osceola, he rose suddenly; like Tecumseh he was always impatient +for battle; like Pontiac, he fought on while his allies were suing for +peace, and like Grant, the silent soldier, he was a man of deeds and +not of words. He won from Custer and Fetterman and Crook. He won every +battle that he undertook, with the exception of one or two occasions +when he was surprised in the midst of his women and children, and +even then he managed to extricate himself in safety from a difficult +position. + +Early in the year 1876, his runners brought word from Sitting Bull +that all the roving bands would converge upon the upper Tongue River in +Montana for summer feasts and conferences. There was conflicting news +from the reservation. It was rumored that the army would fight the Sioux +to a finish; again, it was said that another commission would be sent +out to treat with them. + +The Indians came together early in June, and formed a series of +encampments stretching out from three to four miles, each band keeping +separate camp. On June 17, scouts came in and reported the advance of a +large body of troops under General Crook. The council sent Crazy Horse +with seven hundred men to meet and attack him. These were nearly all +young men, many of them under twenty, the flower of the hostile Sioux. +They set out at night so as to steal a march upon the enemy, but within +three or four miles of his camp they came unexpectedly upon some of his +Crow scouts. There was a hurried exchange of shots; the Crows fled back +to Crook's camp, pursued by the Sioux. The soldiers had their warning, +and it was impossible to enter the well-protected camp. Again and again +Crazy Horse charged with his bravest men, in the attempt to bring the +troops into the open, but he succeeded only in drawing their fire. +Toward afternoon he withdrew, and returned to camp disappointed. His +scouts remained to watch Crook's movements, and later brought word +that he had retreated to Goose Creek and seemed to have no further +disposition to disturb the Sioux. It is well known to us that it is +Crook rather than Reno who is to be blamed for cowardice in connection +with Custer's fate. The latter had no chance to do anything, he was +lucky to save himself; but if Crook had kept on his way, as ordered, +to meet Terry, with his one thousand regulars and two hundred Crow and +Shoshone scouts, he would inevitably have intercepted Custer in his +advance and saved the day for him, and war with the Sioux would have +ended right there. Instead of this, he fell back upon Fort Meade, eating +his horses on the way, in a country swarming with game, for fear of +Crazy Horse and his braves! + +The Indians now crossed the divide between the Tongue and the Little Big +Horn, where they felt safe from immediate pursuit. Here, with all their +precautions, they were caught unawares by General Custer, in the midst +of their midday games and festivities, while many were out upon the +daily hunt. + +On this twenty-fifth of June, 1876, the great camp was scattered for +three miles or more along the level river bottom, back of the thin line +of cottonwoods--five circular rows of teepees, ranging from half a mile +to a mile and a half in circumference. Here and there stood out a large, +white, solitary teepee; these were the lodges or "clubs" of the young +men. Crazy Horse was a member of the "Strong Hearts" and the "Tokala" +or Fox lodge. He was watching a game of ring-toss when the warning came +from the southern end of the camp of the approach of troops. + +The Sioux and the Cheyennes were "minute men", and although taken by +surprise, they instantly responded. Meanwhile, the women and children +were thrown into confusion. Dogs were howling, ponies running hither and +thither, pursued by their owners, while many of the old men were singing +their lodge songs to encourage the warriors, or praising the "strong +heart" of Crazy Horse. + +That leader had quickly saddled his favorite war pony and was starting +with his young men for the south end of the camp, when a fresh alarm +came from the opposite direction, and looking up, he saw Custer's force +upon the top of the bluff directly across the river. As quick as a +flash, he took in the situation--the enemy had planned to attack the +camp at both ends at once; and knowing that Custer could not ford the +river at that point, he instantly led his men northward to the ford to +cut him off. The Cheyennes followed closely. Custer must have seen +that wonderful dash up the sage-bush plain, and one wonders whether he +realized its meaning. In a very few minutes, this wild general of the +plains had outwitted one of the most brilliant leaders of the Civil War +and ended at once his military career and his life. + +In this dashing charge, Crazy Horse snatched his most famous victory out +of what seemed frightful peril, for the Sioux could not know how many +were behind Custer. He was caught in his own trap. To the soldiers it +must have seemed as if the Indians rose up from the earth to overwhelm +them. They closed in from three sides and fought until not a white man +was left alive. Then they went down to Reno's stand and found him so +well intrenched in a deep gully that it was impossible to dislodge him. +Gall and his men held him there until the approach of General Terry +compelled the Sioux to break camp and scatter in different directions. + +While Sitting Bull was pursued into Canada, Crazy Horse and the +Cheyennes wandered about, comparatively undisturbed, during the rest of +that year, until in the winter the army surprised the Cheyennes, but did +not do them much harm, possibly because they knew that Crazy Horse was +not far off. His name was held in wholesome respect. From time to time, +delegations of friendly Indians were sent to him, to urge him to come in +to the reservation, promising a full hearing and fair treatment. + +For some time he held out, but the rapid disappearance of the buffalo, +their only means of support, probably weighed with him more than any +other influence. In July, 1877, he was finally prevailed upon to come in +to Fort Robinson, Nebraska, with several thousand Indians, most of them +Ogallala and Minneconwoju Sioux, on the distinct understanding that the +government would hear and adjust their grievances. + +At this juncture General Crook proclaimed Spotted Tail, who had rendered +much valuable service to the army, head chief of the Sioux, which +was resented by many. The attention paid Crazy Horse was offensive to +Spotted Tail and the Indian scouts, who planned a conspiracy against +him. They reported to General Crook that the young chief would murder +him at the next council, and stampede the Sioux into another war. He was +urged not to attend the council and did not, but sent another officer to +represent him. Meanwhile the friends of Crazy Horse discovered the plot +and told him of it. His reply was, "Only cowards are murderers." + +His wife was critically ill at the time, and he decided to take her to +her parents at Spotted Tail agency, whereupon his enemies circulated the +story that he had fled, and a party of scouts was sent after him. They +overtook him riding with his wife and one other but did not undertake to +arrest him, and after he had left the sick woman with her people he went +to call on Captain Lea, the agent for the Brules, accompanied by all +the warriors of the Minneconwoju band. This volunteer escort made an +imposing appearance on horseback, shouting and singing, and in the words +of Captain Lea himself and the missionary, the Reverend Mr. Cleveland, +the situation was extremely critical. Indeed, the scouts who had +followed Crazy Horse from Red Cloud agency were advised not to show +themselves, as some of the warriors had urged that they be taken out and +horsewhipped publicly. + +Under these circumstances Crazy Horse again showed his masterful spirit +by holding these young men in check. He said to them in his quiet +way: "It is well to be brave in the field of battle; it is cowardly +to display bravery against one's own tribesmen. These scouts have been +compelled to do what they did; they are no better than servants of the +white officers. I came here on a peaceful errand." + +The captain urged him to report at army headquarters to explain himself +and correct false rumors, and on his giving consent, furnished him with +a wagon and escort. It has been said that he went back under arrest, but +this is untrue. Indians have boasted that they had a hand in bringing +him in, but their stories are without foundation. He went of his own +accord, either suspecting no treachery or determined to defy it. + +When he reached the military camp, Little Big Man walked arm-in-arm with +him, and his cousin and friend, Touch-the-Cloud, was just in advance. +After they passed the sentinel, an officer approached them and walked +on his other side. He was unarmed but for the knife which is carried for +ordinary uses by women as well as men. Unsuspectingly he walked toward +the guardhouse, when Touch-the-Cloud suddenly turned back exclaiming: +"Cousin, they will put you in prison!" + +"Another white man's trick! Let me go! Let me die fighting!" cried Crazy +Horse. He stopped and tried to free himself and draw his knife, but +both arms were held fast by Little Big Man and the officer. While he +struggled thus, a soldier thrust him through with his bayonet from +behind. The wound was mortal, and he died in the course of that night, +his old father singing the death song over him and afterward carrying +away the body, which they said must not be further polluted by the touch +of a white man. They hid it somewhere in the Bad Lands, his resting +place to this day. + +Thus died one of the ablest and truest American Indians. His life was +ideal; his record clean. He was never involved in any of the numerous +massacres on the trail, but was a leader in practically every open +fight. Such characters as those of Crazy Horse and Chief Joseph are not +easily found among so-called civilized people. The reputation of great +men is apt to be shadowed by questionable motives and policies, but here +are two pure patriots, as worthy of honor as any who ever breathed God's +air in the wide spaces of a new world. + + + + +SITTING BULL + + +IT is not easy to characterize Sitting Bull, of all Sioux chiefs most +generally known to the American people. There are few to whom his name +is not familiar, and still fewer who have learned to connect it with +anything more than the conventional notion of a bloodthirsty savage. The +man was an enigma at best. He was not impulsive, nor was he phlegmatic. +He was most serious when he seemed to be jocose. He was gifted with the +power of sarcasm, and few have used it more artfully than he. + +His father was one of the best-known members of the Unkpapa band of +Sioux. The manner of this man's death was characteristic. One day, when +the Unkpapas were attacked by a large war party of Crows, he fell upon +the enemy's war leader with his knife. In a hand-to-hand combat of +this sort, we count the victor as entitled to a war bonnet of trailing +plumes. It means certain death to one or both. In this case, both men +dealt a mortal stroke, and Jumping Buffalo, the father of Sitting Bull, +fell from his saddle and died in a few minutes. The other died later +from the effects of the wound. + +Sitting Bull's boyhood must have been a happy one. It was long after the +day of the dog-travaux, and his father owned many ponies of variegated +colors. It was said of him in a joking way that his legs were bowed like +the ribs of the ponies that he rode constantly from childhood. He had +also a common nickname that was much to the point. It was "Hunkeshnee", +which means "Slow", referring to his inability to run fast, or more +probably to the fact that he seldom appeared on foot. In their boyish +games he was wont to take the part of the "old man", but this does not +mean that he was not active and brave. It is told that after a buffalo +hunt the boys were enjoying a mimic hunt with the calves that had been +left behind. A large calf turned viciously on Sitting Bull, whose pony +had thrown him, but the alert youth got hold of both ears and struggled +until the calf was pushed back into a buffalo wallow in a sitting +posture. The boys shouted: "He has subdued the buffalo calf! He made +it sit down!" And from this incident was derived his familiar name of +Sitting Bull. + +It is a mistake to suppose that Sitting Bull, or any other Indian +warrior, was of a murderous disposition. It is true that savage warfare +had grown more and more harsh and cruel since the coming of white +traders among them, bringing guns, knives, and whisky. Yet it was still +regarded largely as a sort of game, undertaken in order to develop the +manly qualities of their youth. It was the degree of risk which brought +honor, rather than the number slain, and a brave must mourn thirty days, +with blackened face and loosened hair, for the enemy whose life he had +taken. While the spoils of war were allowed, this did not extend to +territorial aggrandizement, nor was there any wish to overthrow another +nation and enslave its people. It was a point of honor in the old days +to treat a captive with kindness. The common impression that the Indian +is naturally cruel and revengeful is entirely opposed to his philosophy +and training. The revengeful tendency of the Indian was aroused by the +white man. It is not the natural Indian who is mean and tricky; not +Massasoit but King Philip; not Attackullakulla but Weatherford; not +Wabashaw but Little Crow; not Jumping Buffalo but Sitting Bull! These +men lifted their hands against the white man, while their fathers held +theirs out to him with gifts. + +Remember that there were councils which gave their decisions in +accordance with the highest ideal of human justice before there were +any cities on this continent; before there were bridges to span the +Mississippi; before this network of railroads was dreamed of! There were +primitive communities upon the very spot where Chicago or New York City +now stands, where men were as children, innocent of all the crimes +now committed there daily and nightly. True morality is more easily +maintained in connection with the simple life. You must accept the truth +that you demoralize any race whom you have subjugated. + +From this point of view we shall consider Sitting Bull's career. We say +he is an untutored man: that is true so far as learning of a literary +type is concerned; but he was not an untutored man when you view him +from the standpoint of his nation. To be sure, he did not learn his +lessons from books. This is second-hand information at best. All that he +learned he verified for himself and put into daily practice. In personal +appearance he was rather commonplace and made no immediate impression, +but as he talked he seemed to take hold of his hearers more and more. He +was bull-headed; quick to grasp a situation, and not readily induced to +change his mind. He was not suspicious until he was forced to be so. All +his meaner traits were inevitably developed by the events of his later +career. + +Sitting Bull's history has been written many times by newspaper men and +army officers, but I find no account of him which is entirely correct. +I met him personally in 1884, and since his death I have gone thoroughly +into the details of his life with his relatives and contemporaries. It +has often been said that he was a physical coward and not a warrior. +Judge of this for yourselves from the deed which first gave him fame in +his own tribe, when he was about twenty-eight years old. + +In an attack upon a band of Crow Indians, one of the enemy took his +stand, after the rest had fled, in a deep ditch from which it seemed +impossible to dislodge him. The situation had already cost the lives of +several warriors, but they could not let him go to repeat such a boast +over the Sioux! + +"Follow me!" said Sitting Bull, and charged. He raced his horse to the +brim of the ditch and struck at the enemy with his coup-staff, thus +compelling him to expose himself to the fire of the others while +shooting his assailant. But the Crow merely poked his empty gun into his +face and dodged back under cover. Then Sitting Bull stopped; he saw that +no one had followed him, and he also perceived that the enemy had no +more ammunition left. He rode deliberately up to the barrier and threw +his loaded gun over it; then he went back to his party and told them +what he thought of them. + +"Now," said he, "I have armed him, for I will not see a brave man killed +unarmed. I will strike him again with my coup-staff to count the first +feather; who will count the second?" + +Again he led the charge, and this time they all followed him. Sitting +Bull was severely wounded by his own gun in the hands of the enemy, who +was killed by those that came after him. This is a record that so far as +I know was never made by any other warrior. + +The second incident that made him well known was his taking of a boy +captive in battle with the Assiniboines. He saved this boy's life and +adopted him as his brother. Hohay, as he was called, was devoted to +Sitting Bull and helped much in later years to spread his fame. Sitting +Bull was a born diplomat, a ready speaker, and in middle life he ceased +to go upon the warpath, to become the councilor of his people. From this +time on, this man represented him in all important battles, and upon +every brave deed done was wont to exclaim aloud: + +"I, Sitting Bull's boy, do this in his name!" + +He had a nephew, now living, who resembles him strongly, and who also +represented him personally upon the field; and so far as there is any +remnant left of his immediate band, they look upon this man One Bull as +their chief. + +When Sitting Bull was a boy, there was no thought of trouble with the +whites. He was acquainted with many of the early traders, Picotte, +Choteau, Primeau, Larpenteur, and others, and liked them, as did most +of his people in those days. All the early records show this friendly +attitude of the Sioux, and the great fur companies for a century and a +half depended upon them for the bulk of their trade. It was not until +the middle of the last century that they woke up all of a sudden to the +danger threatening their very existence. Yet at that time many of the +old chiefs had been already depraved by the whisky and other vices of +the whites, and in the vicinity of the forts and trading posts at Sioux +City, Saint Paul, and Cheyenne, there was general demoralization. The +drunkards and hangers-on were ready to sell almost anything they had +for the favor of the trader. The better and stronger element held aloof. +They would not have anything of the white man except his hatchet, gun, +and knife. They utterly refused to cede their lands; and as for the +rest, they were willing to let him alone as long as he did not interfere +with their life and customs, which was not long. + +It was not, however, the Unkpapa band of Sioux, Sitting Bull's band, +which first took up arms against the whites; and this was not because +they had come less in contact with them, for they dwelt on the Missouri +River, the natural highway of trade. As early as 1854, the Ogallalas +and Brules had trouble with the soldiers near Fort Laramie; and again +in 1857 Inkpaduta massacred several families of settlers at Spirit Lake, +Iowa. Finally, in 1869, the Minnesota Sioux, goaded by many wrongs, +arose and murdered many of the settlers, afterward fleeing into the +country of the Unkpapas and appealing to them for help, urging that +all Indians should make common cause against the invader. This brought +Sitting Bull face to face with a question which was not yet fully +matured in his own mind; but having satisfied himself of the justice of +their cause, he joined forces with the renegades during the summer of +1863, and from this time on he was an acknowledged leader. + +In 1865 and 1866 he met the Canadian half-breed, Louis Riel, instigator +of two rebellions, who had come across the line for safety; and in fact +at this time he harbored a number of outlaws and fugitives from justice. +His conversations with these, especially with the French mixed-bloods, +who inflamed his prejudices against the Americans, all had their +influence in making of the wily Sioux a determined enemy to the white +man. While among his own people he was always affable and genial, he +became boastful and domineering in his dealings with the hated race. +He once remarked that "if we wish to make any impression upon the +pale-face, it is necessary to put on his mask." + +Sitting Bull joined in the attack on Fort Phil Kearny and in the +subsequent hostilities; but he accepted in good faith the treaty of +1868, and soon after it was signed he visited Washington with Red Cloud +and Spotted Tail, on which occasion the three distinguished chiefs +attracted much attention and were entertained at dinner by President +Grant and other notables. He considered that the life of the white man +as he saw it was no life for his people, but hoped by close adherence +to the terms of this treaty to preserve the Big Horn and Black Hills +country for a permanent hunting ground. When gold was discovered and the +irrepressible gold seekers made their historic dash across the plains +into this forbidden paradise, then his faith in the white man's honor +was gone forever, and he took his final and most persistent stand +in defense of his nation and home. His bitter and at the same time +well-grounded and philosophical dislike of the conquering race is well +expressed in a speech made before the purely Indian council before +referred to, upon the Powder River. I will give it in brief as it has +been several times repeated to me by men who were present. + +"Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received +the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their +love! Every seed is awakened, and all animal life. It is through this +mysterious power that we too have our being, and we therefore yield to +our neighbors, even to our animal neighbors, the same right as ourselves +to inhabit this vast land. + +"Yet hear me, friends! we have now to deal with another people, small +and feeble when our forefathers first met with them, but now great and +overbearing. Strangely enough, they have a mind to till the soil, and +the love of possessions is a disease in them. These people have made +many rules that the rich may break, but the poor may not! They have a +religion in which the poor worship, but the rich will not! They even +take tithes of the poor and weak to support the rich and those who rule. +They claim this mother of ours, the Earth, for their own use, and fence +their neighbors away from her, and deface her with their buildings and +their refuse. They compel her to produce out of season, and when sterile +she is made to take medicine in order to produce again. All this is +sacrilege. + +"This nation is like a spring freshet; it overruns its banks and +destroys all who are in its path. We cannot dwell side by side. Only +seven years ago we made a treaty by which we were assured that the +buffalo country should be left to us forever. Now they threaten to take +that from us also. My brothers, shall we submit? or shall we say to +them: 'First kill me, before you can take possession of my fatherland!'" + +As Sitting Bull spoke, so he felt, and he had the courage to stand +by his words. Crazy Horse led his forces in the field; as for him, he +applied his energies to state affairs, and by his strong and aggressive +personality contributed much to holding the hostiles together. + +It may be said without fear of contradiction that Sitting Bull never +killed any women or children. He was a fair fighter, and while not +prominent in battle after his young manhood, he was the brains of the +Sioux resistance. He has been called a "medicine man" and a "dreamer." +Strictly speaking, he was neither of these, and the white historians +are prone to confuse the two. A medicine man is a doctor or healer; a +dreamer is an active war prophet who leads his war party according to +his dream or prophecy. What is called by whites "making medicine" in war +time is again a wrong conception. Every warrior carries a bag of sacred +or lucky charms, supposed to protect the wearer alone, but it has +nothing to do with the success or safety of the party as a whole. No one +can make any "medicine" to affect the result of a battle, although it +has been said that Sitting Bull did this at the battle of the Little Big +Horn. + +When Custer and Reno attacked the camp at both ends, the chief was +caught napping. The village was in danger of surprise, and the women and +children must be placed in safety. Like other men of his age, Sitting +Bull got his family together for flight, and then joined the warriors +on the Reno side of the attack. Thus he was not in the famous charge +against Custer; nevertheless, his voice was heard exhorting the warriors +throughout that day. + +During the autumn of 1876, after the fall of Custer, Sitting Bull was +hunted all through the Yellowstone region by the military. The +following characteristic letter, doubtless written at his dictation by +a half-breed interpreter, was sent to Colonel Otis immediately after a +daring attack upon his wagon train. + + "I want to know what you are doing, traveling on this road. + You scare all the buffalo away. I want to hunt in this place. I + want you to turn back from here. If you don't, I will fight you + again. I want you to leave what you have got here and turn back + from here. + + "I am your friend + + "Sitting Bull." + + "I need all the rations you have got and some powder. Wish you + would write me as soon as you can." + +Otis, however, kept on and joined Colonel Miles, who followed Sitting +Bull with about four hundred soldiers. He overtook him at last on Cedar +Creek, near the Yellowstone, and the two met midway between the lines +for a parley. The army report says: "Sitting Bull wanted peace in +his own way." The truth was that he wanted nothing more than had been +guaranteed to them by the treaty of 1868--the exclusive possession of +their last hunting ground. This the government was not now prepared to +grant, as it had been decided to place all the Indians under military +control upon the various reservations. + +Since it was impossible to reconcile two such conflicting demands, the +hostiles were driven about from pillar to post for several more years, +and finally took refuge across the line in Canada, where Sitting Bull +had placed his last hope of justice and freedom for his race. Here +he was joined from time to time by parties of malcontents from the +reservation, driven largely by starvation and ill-treatment to +seek another home. Here, too, they were followed by United States +commissioners, headed by General Terry, who endeavored to persuade him +to return, promising abundance of food and fair treatment, despite the +fact that the exiles were well aware of the miserable condition of the +"good Indians" upon the reservations. He first refused to meet them at +all, and only did so when advised to that effect by Major Walsh of the +Canadian mounted police. This was his characteristic remark: "If you +have one honest man in Washington, send him here and I will talk to +him." + +Sitting Bull was not moved by fair words; but when he found that if +they had liberty on that side, they had little else, that the Canadian +government would give them protection but no food; that the buffalo had +been all but exterminated and his starving people were already beginning +to desert him, he was compelled at last, in 1881, to report at Fort +Buford, North Dakota, with his band of hungry, homeless, and discouraged +refugees. It was, after all, to hunger and not to the strong arm of the +military that he surrendered in the end. + +In spite of the invitation that had been extended to him in the name +of the "Great Father" at Washington, he was immediately thrown into a +military prison, and afterward handed over to Colonel Cody ("Buffalo +Bill") as an advertisement for his "Wild West Show." After traveling +about for several years with the famous showman, thus increasing his +knowledge of the weaknesses as well as the strength of the white man, +the deposed and humiliated chief settled down quietly with his people +upon the Standing Rock agency in North Dakota, where his immediate band +occupied the Grand River district and set to raising cattle and +horses. They made good progress; much better, in fact, than that of the +"coffee-coolers" or "loafer" Indians, received the missionaries kindly +and were soon a church-going people. + +When the Commissions of 1888 and 1889 came to treat with the Sioux for +a further cession of land and a reduction of their reservations, nearly +all were opposed to consent on any terms. Nevertheless, by hook or by +crook, enough signatures were finally obtained to carry the measure +through, although it is said that many were those of women and the +so-called "squaw-men", who had no rights in the land. At the same +time, rations were cut down, and there was general hardship and +dissatisfaction. Crazy Horse was long since dead; Spotted Tail had +fallen at the hands of one of his own tribe; Red Cloud had become a +feeble old man, and the disaffected among the Sioux began once more to +look to Sitting Bull for leadership. + +At this crisis a strange thing happened. A half-breed Indian in Nevada +promulgated the news that the Messiah had appeared to him upon a peak in +the Rockies, dressed in rabbit skins, and bringing a message to the red +race. The message was to the effect that since his first coming had been +in vain, since the white people had doubted and reviled him, had nailed +him to the cross, and trampled upon his doctrines, he had come again in +pity to save the Indian. He declared that he would cause the earth to +shake and to overthrow the cities of the whites and destroy them, that +the buffalo would return, and the land belong to the red race forever! +These events were to come to pass within two years; and meanwhile they +were to prepare for his coming by the ceremonies and dances which he +commanded. + +This curious story spread like wildfire and met with eager acceptance +among the suffering and discontented people. The teachings of Christian +missionaries had prepared them to believe in a Messiah, and the +prescribed ceremonial was much more in accord with their traditions than +the conventional worship of the churches. Chiefs of many tribes sent +delegations to the Indian prophet; Short Bull, Kicking Bear, and others +went from among the Sioux, and on their return all inaugurated the +dances at once. There was an attempt at first to keep the matter secret, +but it soon became generally known and seriously disconcerted the Indian +agents and others, who were quick to suspect a hostile conspiracy under +all this religious enthusiasm. As a matter of fact, there was no thought +of an uprising; the dancing was innocent enough, and pathetic enough +their despairing hope in a pitiful Saviour who should overwhelm their +oppressors and bring back their golden age. + +When the Indians refused to give up the "Ghost Dance" at the bidding of +the authorities, the growing suspicion and alarm focused upon Sitting +Bull, who in spirit had never been any too submissive, and it was +determined to order his arrest. At the special request of Major +McLaughlin, agent at Standing Rock, forty of his Indian police were sent +out to Sitting Bull's home on Grand River to secure his person +(followed at some little distance by a body of United States troops for +reinforcement, in case of trouble). These police are enlisted from +among the tribesmen at each agency, and have proved uniformly brave and +faithful. They entered the cabin at daybreak, aroused the chief from +a sound slumber, helped him to dress, and led him unresisting from the +house; but when he came out in the gray dawn of that December morning in +1890, to find his cabin surrounded by armed men and himself led away to +he knew not what fate, he cried out loudly: + +"They have taken me: what say you to it?" + +Men poured out of the neighboring houses, and in a few minutes the +police were themselves surrounded with an excited and rapidly increasing +throng. They harangued the crowd in vain; Sitting Bull's blood was up, +and he again appealed to his men. His adopted brother, the Assiniboine +captive whose life he had saved so many years before, was the first to +fire. His shot killed Lieutenant Bull Head, who held Sitting Bull by the +arm. Then there was a short but sharp conflict, in which Sitting Bull +and six of his defenders and six of the Indian police were slain, with +many more wounded. The chief's young son, Crow Foot, and his devoted +"brother" died with him. When all was over, and the terrified people had +fled precipitately across the river, the soldiers appeared upon the brow +of the long hill and fired their Hotchkiss guns into the deserted camp. + +Thus ended the life of a natural strategist of no mean courage and +ability. The great chief was buried without honors outside the cemetery +at the post, and for some years the grave was marked by a mere board at +its head. Recently some women have built a cairn of rocks there in token +of respect and remembrance. + + + + +RAIN-IN-THE-FACE + + +The noted Sioux warrior, Rain-in-the-Face, whose name once carried +terror to every part of the frontier, died at his home on the Standing +Rock reserve in North Dakota on September 14, 1905. About two months +before his death I went to see him for the last time, where he lay upon +the bed of sickness from which he never rose again, and drew from him +his life-history. + +It had been my experience that you cannot induce an Indian to tell a +story, or even his own name, by asking him directly. + +"Friend," I said, "even if a man is on a hot trail, he stops for a +smoke! In the good old days, before the charge there was a smoke. At +home, by the fireside, when the old men were asked to tell their brave +deeds, again the pipe was passed. So come, let us smoke now to the +memory of the old days!" + +He took of my tobacco and filled his long pipe, and we smoked. Then I +told an old mirthful story to get him in the humor of relating his own +history. + +The old man lay upon an iron bedstead, covered by a red blanket, in a +corner of the little log cabin. He was all alone that day; only an old +dog lay silent and watchful at his master's feet. + +Finally he looked up and said with a pleasant smile: + +"True, friend; it is the old custom to retrace one's trail before +leaving it forever! I know that I am at the door of the spirit home. + +"I was born near the forks of the Cheyenne River, about seventy years +ago. My father was not a chief; my grandfather was not a chief, but +a good hunter and a feast-maker. On my mother's side I had some noted +ancestors, but they left me no chieftainship. I had to work for my +reputation. + +"When I was a boy, I loved to fight," he continued. "In all our boyish +games I had the name of being hard to handle, and I took much pride in +the fact. + +"I was about ten years old when we encountered a band of Cheyennes. +They were on friendly terms with us, but we boys always indulged in sham +fights on such occasions, and this time I got in an honest fight with a +Cheyenne boy older than I. I got the best of the boy, but he hit me hard +in the face several times, and my face was all spattered with blood and +streaked where the paint had been washed away. The Sioux boys whooped +and yelled: + +"'His enemy is down, and his face is spattered as if with rain! +Rain-in-the-Face! His name shall be Rain-in-the-Face!' + +"Afterwards, when I was a young man, we went on a warpath against the +Gros Ventres. We stole some of their horses, but were overtaken and had +to abandon the horses and fight for our lives. I had wished my face to +represent the sun when partly covered with darkness, so I painted it +half black, half red. We fought all day in the rain, and my face was +partly washed and streaked with red and black: so again I was christened +Rain-in-the-Face. We considered it an honorable name. + +"I had been on many warpaths, but was not especially successful until +about the time the Sioux began to fight with the white man. One of the +most daring attacks that we ever made was at Fort Totten, North Dakota, +in the summer of 1866. + +"Hohay, the Assiniboine captive of Sitting Bull, was the leader in this +raid. Wapaypay, the Fearless Bear, who was afterward hanged at Yankton, +was the bravest man among us. He dared Hohay to make the charge. Hohay +accepted the challenge, and in turn dared the other to ride with him +through the agency and right under the walls of the fort, which was well +garrisoned and strong. + +"Wapaypay and I in those days called each other 'brother-friend.' It was +a life-and-death vow. What one does the other must do; and that meant +that I must be in the forefront of the charge, and if he is killed, I +must fight until I die also! + +"I prepared for death. I painted as usual like an eclipse of the sun, +half black and half red." + +His eyes gleamed and his face lighted up remarkably as he talked, +pushing his black hair back from his forehead with a nervous gesture. + +"Now the signal for the charge was given! I started even with Wapaypay, +but his horse was faster than mine, so he left me a little behind as we +neared the fort. This was bad for me, for by that time the soldiers had +somewhat recovered from the surprise and were aiming better. + +"Their big gun talked very loud, but my Wapaypay was leading on, leaning +forward on his fleet pony like a flying squirrel on a smooth log! He +held his rawhide shield on the right side, a little to the front, and +so did I. Our warwhoop was like the coyotes singing in the evening, when +they smell blood! + +"The soldiers' guns talked fast, but few were hurt. Their big gun was +like a toothless old dog, who only makes himself hotter the more noise +he makes," he remarked with some humor. + +"How much harm we did I do not know, but we made things lively for a +time; and the white men acted as people do when a swarm of angry bees +get into camp. We made a successful retreat, but some of the reservation +Indians followed us yelling, until Hohay told them that he did not wish +to fight with the captives of the white man, for there would be no honor +in that. There was blood running down my leg, and I found that both my +horse and I were slightly wounded. + +"Some two years later we attacked a fort west of the Black Hills [Fort +Phil Kearny, Wyoming]. It was there we killed one hundred soldiers." +[The military reports say eighty men, under the command of Captain +Fetterman--not one left alive to tell the tale!] "Nearly every band of +the Sioux nation was represented in that fight--Red Cloud, Spotted +Tail, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Big Foot, and all our great chiefs were +there. Of course such men as I were then comparatively unknown. However, +there were many noted young warriors, among them Sword, the younger +Young-Man-Afraid, American Horse [afterward chief], Crow King, and +others. + +"This was the plan decided upon after many councils. The main war party +lay in ambush, and a few of the bravest young men were appointed to +attack the woodchoppers who were cutting logs to complete the building +of the fort. We were told not to kill these men, but to chase them into +the fort and retreat slowly, defying the white men; and if the soldiers +should follow, we were to lead them into the ambush. They took our bait +exactly as we had hoped! It was a matter of a very few minutes, for +every soldier lay dead in a shorter time than it takes to annihilate a +small herd of buffalo. + +"This attack was hastened because most of the Sioux on the Missouri +River and eastward had begun to talk of suing for peace. But even this +did not stop the peace movement. The very next year a treaty was signed +at Fort Rice, Dakota Territory, by nearly all the Sioux chiefs, in which +it was agreed on the part of the Great Father in Washington that all the +country north of the Republican River in Nebraska, including the Black +Hills and the Big Horn Mountains, was to be always Sioux country, and no +white man should intrude upon it without our permission. Even with this +agreement Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were not satisfied, and they +would not sign. + +"Up to this time I had fought in some important battles, but had +achieved no great deed. I was ambitious to make a name for myself. +I joined war parties against the Crows, Mandans, Gros Ventres, and +Pawnees, and gained some little distinction. + +"It was when the white men found the yellow metal in our country, and +came in great numbers, driving away our game, that we took up arms +against them for the last time. I must say here that the chiefs who were +loudest for war were among the first to submit and accept reservation +life. Spotted Tail was a great warrior, yet he was one of the first to +yield, because he was promised by the Chief Soldiers that they would +make him chief of all the Sioux. Ugh! he would have stayed with Sitting +Bull to the last had it not been for his ambition. + +"About this time we young warriors began to watch the trails of the +white men into the Black Hills, and when we saw a wagon coming we would +hide at the crossing and kill them all without much trouble. We did +this to discourage the whites from coming into our country without our +permission. It was the duty of our Great Father at Washington, by the +agreement of 1868, to keep his white children away. + +"During the troublesome time after this treaty, which no one seemed to +respect, either white or Indian [but the whites broke it first], I was +like many other young men--much on the warpath, but with little honor. +I had not yet become noted for any great deed. Finally, Wapaypay and I +waylaid and killed a white soldier on his way from the fort to his home +in the east. + +"There were a few Indians who were liars, and never on the warpath, +playing 'good Indian' with the Indian agents and the war chiefs at the +forts. Some of this faithless set betrayed me, and told more than I +ever did. I was seized and taken to the fort near Bismarck, North Dakota +[Fort Abraham Lincoln], by a brother [Tom Custer] of the Long-Haired War +Chief, and imprisoned there. These same lying Indians, who were selling +their services as scouts to the white man, told me that I was to be shot +to death, or else hanged upon a tree. I answered that I was not afraid +to die. + +"However, there was an old soldier who used to bring my food and stand +guard over me--he was a white man, it is true, but he had an Indian +heart! He came to me one day and unfastened the iron chain and ball with +which they had locked my leg, saying by signs and what little Sioux he +could muster: + +"'Go, friend! take the chain and ball with you. I shall shoot, but the +voice of the gun will lie.' + +"When he had made me understand, you may guess that I ran my best! I was +almost over the bank when he fired his piece at me several times, but +I had already gained cover and was safe. I have never told this before, +and would not, lest it should do him an injury, but he was an old man +then, and I am sure he must be dead long since. That old soldier +taught me that some of the white people have hearts," he added, quite +seriously. + +"I went back to Standing Rock in the night, and I had to hide for +several days in the woods, where food was brought to me by my relatives. +The Indian police were ordered to retake me, and they pretended to hunt +for me, but really they did not, for if they had found me I would have +died with one or two of them, and they knew it! In a few days I departed +with several others, and we rejoined the hostile camp on the Powder +River and made some trouble for the men who were building the great iron +track north of us [Northern Pacific]. + +"In the spring the hostile Sioux got together again upon the Tongue +River. It was one of the greatest camps of the Sioux that I ever saw. +There were some Northern Cheyennes with us, under Two Moon, and a few +Santee Sioux, renegades from Canada, under Inkpaduta, who had killed +white people in Iowa long before. We had decided to fight the white +soldiers until no warrior should be left." + +At this point Rain-in-the-Face took up his tobacco pouch and began again +to fill his pipe. + +"Of course the younger warriors were delighted with the prospect of +a great fight! Our scouts had discovered piles of oats for horses and +other supplies near the Missouri River. They had been brought by the +white man's fire-boats. Presently they reported a great army about a +day's travel to the south, with Shoshone and Crow scouts. + +"There was excitement among the people, and a great council was held. +Many spoke. I was asked the condition of those Indians who had gone upon +the reservation, and I told them truly that they were nothing more than +prisoners. It was decided to go out and meet Three Stars [General Crook] +at a safe distance from our camp. + +"We met him on the Little Rosebud. I believe that if we had waited +and allowed him to make the attack, he would have fared no better than +Custer. He was too strongly fortified where he was, and I think, too, +that he was saved partly by his Indian allies, for the scouts discovered +us first and fought us first, thus giving him time to make his +preparations. I think he was more wise than brave! After we had left +that neighborhood he might have pushed on and connected with the +Long-Haired Chief. That would have saved Custer and perhaps won the day. + +"When we crossed from Tongue River to the Little Big Horn, on account +of the scarcity of game, we did not anticipate any more trouble. Our +runners had discovered that Crook had retraced his trail to Goose +Creek, and we did not suppose that the white men would care to follow us +farther into the rough country. + +"Suddenly the Long-Haired Chief appeared with his men! It was a +surprise." + +"What part of the camp were you in when the soldiers attacked the lower +end?" I asked. + +"I had been invited to a feast at one of the young men's lodges [a sort +of club]. There was a certain warrior who was making preparations to go +against the Crows, and I had decided to go also," he said. + +"While I was eating my meat we heard the war cry! We all rushed out, +and saw a warrior riding at top speed from the lower camp, giving the +warning as he came. Then we heard the reports of the soldiers' guns, +which sounded differently from the guns fired by our people in battle. + +"I ran to my teepee and seized my gun, a bow, and a quiver full of +arrows. I already had my stone war club, for you know we usually carry +those by way of ornament. Just as I was about to set out to meet Reno, a +body of soldiers appeared nearly opposite us, at the edge of a long line +of cliffs across the river. + +"All of us who were mounted and ready immediately started down the +stream toward the ford. There were Ogallalas, Minneconjous, Cheyennes, +and some Unkpapas, and those around me seemed to be nearly all very +young men. + +"'Behold, there is among us a young woman!' I shouted. 'Let no young man +hide behind her garment!' I knew that would make those young men brave. + +"The woman was Tashenamani, or Moving Robe, whose brother had just been +killed in the fight with Three Stars. Holding her brother's war staff +over her head, and leaning forward upon her charger, she looked as +pretty as a bird. Always when there is a woman in the charge, it causes +the warriors to vie with one another in displaying their valor," he +added. + +"The foremost warriors had almost surrounded the white men, and more +were continually crossing the stream. The soldiers had dismounted, and +were firing into the camp from the top of the cliff." + +"My friend, was Sitting Bull in this fight?" I inquired. + +"I did not see him there, but I learned afterward that he was among +those who met Reno, and that was three or four of the white man's miles +from Custer's position. Later he joined the attack upon Custer, but was +not among the foremost. + +"When the troops were surrounded on two sides, with the river on the +third, the order came to charge! There were many very young men, some of +whom had only a war staff or a stone war club in hand, who plunged into +the column, knocking the men over and stampeding their horses. + +"The soldiers had mounted and started back, but when the onset came they +dismounted again and separated into several divisions, facing different +ways. They fired as fast as they could load their guns, while we used +chiefly arrows and war clubs. There seemed to be two distinct movements +among the Indians. One body moved continually in a circle, while the +other rode directly into and through the troops. + +"Presently some of the soldiers remounted and fled along the ridge +toward Reno's position; but they were followed by our warriors, like +hundreds of blackbirds after a hawk. A larger body remained together at +the upper end of a little ravine, and fought bravely until they were cut +to pieces. I had always thought that white men were cowards, but I had a +great respect for them after this day. + +"It is generally said that a young man with nothing but a war staff in +his hand broke through the column and knocked down the leader very early +in the fight. We supposed him to be the leader, because he stood up in +full view, swinging his big knife [sword] over his head, and talking +loud. Some one unknown afterwards shot the chief, and he was probably +killed also; for if not, he would have told of the deed, and called +others to witness it. So it is that no one knows who killed the +Long-Haired Chief [General Custer]. + +"After the first rush was over, coups were counted as usual on the +bodies of the slain. You know four coups [or blows] can be counted on +the body of an enemy, and whoever counts the first one [touches it for +the first time] is entitled to the 'first feather.' + +"There was an Indian here called Appearing Elk, who died a short time +ago. He was slightly wounded in the charge. He had some of the weapons +of the Long-Haired Chief, and the Indians used to say jokingly after we +came upon the reservation that Appearing Elk must have killed the Chief, +because he had his sword! However, the scramble for plunder did not +begin until all were dead. I do not think he killed Custer, and if he +had, the time to claim the honor was immediately after the fight. + +"Many lies have been told of me. Some say that I killed the Chief, and +others that I cut out the heart of his brother [Tom Custer], because he +had caused me to be imprisoned. Why, in that fight the excitement was +so great that we scarcely recognized our nearest friends! Everything was +done like lightning. After the battle we young men were chasing horses +all over the prairie, while the old men and women plundered the bodies; +and if any mutilating was done, it was by the old men. + +"I have lived peaceably ever since we came upon the reservation. No one +can say that Rain-in-the-Face has broken the rules of the Great Father. +I fought for my people and my country. When we were conquered I remained +silent, as a warrior should. Rain-in-the-Face was killed when he put +down his weapons before the Great Father. His spirit was gone then; only +his poor body lived on, but now it is almost ready to lie down for the +last time. Ho, hechetu! [It is well.]" + + + + +TWO STRIKE + + +It is a pity that so many interesting names of well-known Indians have +been mistranslated, so that their meaning becomes very vague if it is +not wholly lost. In some cases an opposite meaning is conveyed. For +instance there is the name, "Young-Man-Afraid-of-His-Horses." It does +not mean that the owner of the name is afraid of his own horse--far from +it! Tashunkekokipapi signifies "The young men [of the enemy] fear his +horses." Whenever that man attacks, the enemy knows there will be a +determined charge. + +The name Tashunkewitko, or Crazy Horse, is a poetic simile. This leader +was likened to an untrained or untouched horse, wild, ignorant of +domestic uses, splendid in action, and unconscious of danger. + +The name of Two Strike is a deed name. In a battle with the Utes this +man knocked two enemies from the back of a war horse. The true rendering +of the name Nomkahpa would be, "He knocked off two." + +I was well acquainted with Two Strike and spent many pleasant hours +with him, both at Washington, D. C., and in his home on the Rosebud +reservation. What I have written is not all taken from his own mouth, +because he was modest in talking about himself, but I had him vouch for +the truth of the stories. He said that he was born near the Republican +River about 1832. His earliest recollection was of an attack by the +Shoshones upon their camp on the Little Piney. The first white men he +ever met were traders who visited his people when he was very young. +The incident was still vividly with him, because, he said, "They made +my father crazy," [drunk]. This made a deep impression upon him, he +told me, so that from that day he was always afraid of the white man's +"mysterious water." + +Two Strike was not a large man, but he was very supple and alert in +motion, as agile as an antelope. His face was mobile and intelligent. +Although he had the usual somber visage of an Indian, his expression +brightened up wonderfully when he talked. In some ways wily and shrewd +in intellect, he was not deceitful nor mean. He had a high sense of duty +and honor. Patriotism was his ideal and goal of life. + +As a young man he was modest and even shy, although both his father +and grandfather were well-known chiefs. I could find few noteworthy +incidents in his early life, save that he was an expert rider of wild +horses. At one time I was pressing him to give me some interesting +incident of his boyhood. He replied to the effect that there was plenty +of excitement but "not much in it." There was a delegation of Sioux +chiefs visiting Washington, and we were spending an evening together in +their hotel. Hollow Horn Bear spoke up and said: + +"Why don't you tell him how you and a buffalo cow together held your +poor father up and froze him almost to death?" + +Everybody laughed, and another man remarked: "I think he had better tell +the medicine man (meaning myself) how he lost the power of speech when +he first tried to court a girl." Two Strike, although he was then close +to eighty years of age, was visibly embarrassed by their chaff. + +"Anyway, I stuck to the trail. I kept on till I got what I wanted," he +muttered. And then came the story. + +The old chief, his father, was very fond of the buffalo hunt; and +being accomplished in horsemanship and a fine shot, although not very +powerfully built, young Two Strike was already following hard in his +footsteps. Like every proud father, his was giving him every incentive +to perfect his skill, and one day challenged his sixteen-year-old son to +the feat of "one arrow to kill" at the very next chase. + +It was midwinter. A large herd of buffalo was reported by the game +scout. The hunters gathered at daybreak prepared for the charge. The +old chief had his tried charger equipped with a soft, pillow-like Indian +saddle and a lariat. His old sinew-backed hickory bow was examined and +strung, and a fine straight arrow with a steel head carefully selected +for the test. He adjusted a keen butcher knife over his leather belt, +which held a warm buffalo robe securely about his body. He wore neither +shirt nor coat, although a piercing wind was blowing from the northwest. +The youthful Two Strike had his favorite bow and his swift pony, which +was perhaps dearer to him than his closest boy comrade. + +Now the hunters crouched upon their horses' necks like an army in line +of battle, while behind them waited the boys and old men with pack +ponies to carry the meat. "Hukahey!" shouted the leader as a warning. +"Yekiya wo!" (Go) and in an instant all the ponies leaped forward +against the cutting wind, as if it were the start in a horse race. Every +rider leaned forward, tightly wrapped in his robe, watching the flying +herd for an opening in the mass of buffalo, a chance to cut out some of +the fattest cows. This was the object of the race. + +The chief had a fair start; his horse was well trained and needed no +urging nor guidance. Without the slightest pull on the lariat he dashed +into the thickest of the herd. The youth's pony had been prancing and +rearing impatiently; he started a little behind, yet being swift passed +many. His rider had one clear glimpse of his father ahead of him, then +the snow arose in blinding clouds on the trail of the bison. The whoops +of the hunters, the lowing of the cows, and the menacing glances of the +bulls as they plunged along, or now and then stood at bay, were enough +to unnerve a boy less well tried. He was unable to select his victim. +He had been carried deeply into the midst of the herd and found himself +helpless to make the one sure shot, therefore he held his one arrow in +his mouth and merely strove to separate them so as to get his chance. + +At last the herd parted, and he cut out two fat cows, and was +maneuvering for position when a rider appeared out of the snow cloud on +their other side. This aroused him to make haste lest his rival secure +both cows; he saw his chance, and in a twinkling his arrow sped clear +through one of the animals so that she fell headlong. + +In this instant he observed that the man who had joined him was his +own father, who had met with the same difficulties as himself. When the +young man had shot his only arrow, the old chief with a whoop went after +the cow that was left, but as he gained her broadside, his horse stepped +in a badger hole and fell, throwing him headlong. The maddened buffalo, +as sometimes happens in such cases, turned upon the pony and gored him +to death. His rider lay motionless, while Two Strike rushed forward +to draw her attention, but she merely tossed her head at him, while +persistently standing guard over the dead horse and the all but frozen +Indian. + +Alas for the game of "one arrow to kill!" The boy must think fast, for +his father's robe had slipped off, and he was playing dead, lying almost +naked in the bitter air upon the trampled snow. His bluff would not +serve, so he flew back to pull out his solitary arrow from the body of +the dead cow. Quickly wheeling again, he sent it into her side and she +fell. The one arrow to kill had become one arrow to kill two buffalo! At +the council lodge that evening Two Strike was the hero. + +The following story is equally characteristic of him, and in explanation +it should be said that in the good old days among the Sioux, a young +man is not supposed to associate with girls until he is ready to take +a wife. It was a rule with our young men, especially the honorable and +well-born, to gain some reputation in the hunt and in war,--the more +difficult the feats achieved the better,--before even speaking to +a young woman. Many a life was risked in the effort to establish a +reputation along these lines. Courtship was no secret, but rather a +social event, often celebrated by the proud parents with feasts and +presents to the poor, and this etiquette was sometimes felt by a shy or +sensitive youth as an insurmountable obstacle to the fulfilment of his +desires. + +Two Strike was the son and grandson of a chief, but he could not claim +any credit for the deeds of his forbears. He had not only to guard their +good name but achieve one for himself. This he had set out to do, and he +did well. He was now of marriageable age with a war record, and admitted +to the council, yet he did not seem to trouble himself at all about a +wife. His was strictly a bachelor career. Meanwhile, as is apt to be the +case, his parents had thought much about a possible daughter-in-law, and +had even collected ponies, fine robes, and other acceptable goods to be +given away in honor of the event, whenever it should take place. Now and +then they would drop a sly hint, but with no perceptible effect. + +They did not and could not know of the inward struggle that racked his +mind at this period of his life. The shy and modest young man was dying +for a wife, yet could not bear even to think of speaking to a young +woman! The fearless hunter of buffaloes, mountain lions, and grizzlies, +the youth who had won his eagle feathers in a battle with the Utes, +could not bring himself to take this tremendous step. + +At last his father appealed to him directly. "My son," he declared, "it +is your duty to take unto yourself a wife, in order that the honors won +by your ancestors and by yourself may be handed down in the direct line. +There are several eligible young women in our band whose parents have +intimated a wish to have you for their son-in-law." + +Two Strike made no reply, but he was greatly disturbed. He had no wish +to have the old folks select his bride, for if the truth were told, +his choice was already made. He had simply lacked the courage to go +a-courting! + +The next morning, after making an unusually careful toilet, he took his +best horse and rode to a point overlooking the path by which the girls +went for water. Here the young men were wont to take their stand, and, +if fortunate, intercept the girl of their heart for a brief but fateful +interview. Two Strike had determined to speak straight to the point, +and as soon as he saw the pretty maid he came forward boldly and placed +himself in her way. A long moment passed. She glanced up at him shyly +but not without encouragement. His teeth fairly chattered with fright, +and he could not say a word. She looked again, noted his strange looks, +and believed him suddenly taken ill. He appeared to be suffering. At +last he feebly made signs for her to go on and leave him alone. The +maiden was sympathetic, but as she did not know what else to do she +obeyed his request. + +The poor youth was so ashamed of his cowardice that he afterward +admitted his first thought was to take his own life. He believed he +had disgraced himself forever in the eyes of the only girl he had ever +loved. However, he determined to conquer his weakness and win her, +which he did. The story came out many years after and was told with much +enjoyment by the old men. + +Two Strike was better known by his own people than by the whites, for +he was individually a terror in battle rather than a leader. He achieved +his honorable name in a skirmish with the Utes in Colorado. The Sioux +regarded these people as their bravest enemies, and the outcome of +the fight was for some time uncertain. First the Sioux were forced to +retreat and then their opponents, and at the latter point the horse of a +certain Ute was shot under him. A friend came to his rescue and took him +up behind him. Our hero overtook them in flight, raised his war club, +and knocked both men off with one blow. + +He was a very old man when he died, only two or three years ago, on the +Rosebud reservation. + + + + +AMERICAN HORSE + + +One of the wittiest and shrewdest of the Sioux chiefs was American +Horse, who succeeded to the name and position of an uncle, killed in +the battle of Slim Buttes in 1876. The younger American Horse was born +a little before the encroachments of the whites upon the Sioux country +became serious and their methods aggressive, and his early manhood +brought him into that most trying and critical period of our history. He +had been tutored by his uncle, since his own father was killed in battle +while he was still very young. The American Horse band was closely +attached to a trading post, and its members in consequence were inclined +to be friendly with the whites, a policy closely adhered to by their +leader. + +When he was born, his old grandfather said: "Put him out in the sun! +Let him ask his great-grandfather, the Sun, for the warm blood of a +warrior!" And he had warm blood. He was a genial man, liking notoriety +and excitement. He always seized an opportunity to leap into the center +of the arena. + +In early life he was a clownish sort of boy among the boys--an expert +mimic and impersonator. This talent made him popular and in his way a +leader. He was a natural actor, and early showed marked ability as a +speaker. + +American Horse was about ten years old when he was attacked by three +Crow warriors, while driving a herd of ponies to water. Here he +displayed native cunning and initiative. It seemed he had scarcely a +chance to escape, for the enemy was near. He yelled frantically at the +ponies to start them toward home, while he dropped off into a thicket +of willows and hid there. A part of the herd was caught in sight of +the camp and there was a counter chase, but the Crows got away with the +ponies. Of course his mother was frantic, believing her boy had been +killed or captured; but after the excitement was over, he appeared in +camp unhurt. When questioned about his escape, he remarked: "I knew they +would not take the time to hunt for small game when there was so much +bigger close by." + +When he was quite a big boy, he joined in a buffalo hunt, and on the way +back with the rest of the hunters his mule became unmanageable. American +Horse had insisted on riding him in addition to a heavy load of meat and +skins, and the animal evidently resented this, for he suddenly began to +run and kick, scattering fresh meat along the road, to the merriment of +the crowd. But the boy turned actor, and made it appear that it was at +his wish the mule had given this diverting performance. He clung to the +back of his plunging and braying mount like a circus rider, singing a +Brave Heart song, and finally brought up amid the laughter and cheers +of his companions. Far from admitting defeat, he boasted of his +horsemanship and declared that his "brother" the donkey would put any +enemy to flight, and that they should be called upon to lead a charge. + +It was several years later that he went to sleep early one night and +slept soundly, having been scouting for two nights previous. It happened +that there was a raid by the Crows, and when he awoke in the midst of +the yelling and confusion, he sprang up and attempted to join in the +fighting. Everybody knew his voice in all the din, so when he fired his +gun and announced a coup, as was the custom, others rushed to the spot, +to find that he had shot a hobbled pony belonging to their own camp. +The laugh was on him, and he never recovered from his chagrin at this +mistake. In fact, although he was undoubtedly fearless and tried hard to +distinguish himself in warfare, he did not succeed. + +It is told of him that he once went with a war party of young men to +the Wind River country against the Shoshones. At last they discovered +a large camp, but there were only a dozen or so of the Sioux, therefore +they hid themselves and watched for their opportunity to attack an +isolated party of hunters. While waiting thus, they ran short of food. +One day a small party of Shoshones was seen near at hand, and in the +midst of the excitement and preparations for the attack, young American +Horse caught sight of a fat black-tail deer close by. Unable to resist +the temptation, he pulled an arrow from his quiver and sent it through +the deer's heart, then with several of his half-starved companions +sprang upon the yet quivering body of the animal to cut out the liver, +which was sometimes eaten raw. One of the men was knocked down, it is +said, by the last kick of the dying buck, but having swallowed a few +mouthfuls the warriors rushed upon and routed their enemies. It is still +told of American Horse how he killed game and feasted between the ambush +and the attack. + +At another time he was drying his sacred war bonnet and other gear +over a small fire. These articles were held in great veneration by the +Indians and handled accordingly. Suddenly the fire blazed up, and our +hero so far forgot himself as to begin energetically beating out the +flames with the war bonnet, breaking off one of the sacred buffalo horns +in the act. One could almost fill a book with his mishaps and exploits. +I will give one of them in his own words as well as I can remember them. + +"We were as promising a party of young warriors as our tribe ever sent +against any of its ancestral enemies. It was midsummer, and after going +two days' journey from home we began to send two scouts ahead daily +while the main body kept a half day behind. The scouts set out every +evening and traveled all night. One night the great war pipe was held +out to me and to Young-Man-Afraid-of-His-Horses. At daybreak, having met +no one, we hid our horses and climbed to the top of the nearest butte to +take an observation. It was a very hot day. We lay flat on our blankets, +facing the west where the cliff fell off in a sheer descent, and with +our backs toward the more gradual slope dotted with scrub pines and +cedars. We stuck some tall grass on our heads and proceeded to study the +landscape spread before us for any sign of man. + +"The sweeping valleys were dotted with herds, both large and small, +of buffalo and elk, and now and then we caught a glimpse of a coyote +slinking into the gulches, returning from night hunting to sleep. While +intently watching some moving body at a distance, we could not yet tell +whether of men or animals, I heard a faint noise behind me and slowly +turned my head. Behold! a grizzly bear sneaking up on all fours and +almost ready to spring! + +"'Run!' I yelled into the ear of my companion, and we both leaped to our +feet in a second. 'Separate! separate!' he shouted, and as we did so, +the bear chose me for his meat. I ran downhill as fast as I could, but +he was gaining. 'Dodge around a tree!' screamed Young-Man-Afraid. I took +a deep breath and made a last spurt, desperately circling the first tree +I came to. As the ground was steep just there, I turned a somersault +one way and the bear the other. I picked myself up in time to climb the +tree, and was fairly out of reach when he gathered himself together and +came at me more furiously than ever, holding in one paw the shreds of +my breechcloth, for in the fall he had just scratched my back and cut my +belt in two, and carried off my only garment for a trophy! + +"My friend was well up another tree and laughing heartily at my +predicament, and when the bear saw that he could not get at either of us +he reluctantly departed, after I had politely addressed him and promised +to make an offering to his spirit on my safe return. I don't think I +ever had a narrower escape," he concluded. + +During the troublous times from 1865 to 1877, American Horse advocated +yielding to the government at any cost, being no doubt convinced of the +uselessness of resistance. He was not a recognized leader until 1876, +when he took the name and place of his uncle. Up to this time he bore +the nickname of Manishnee (Can not walk, or Played out.) + +When the greater part of the Ogallalas, to which band he belonged, came +into the reservation, he at once allied himself with the peace element +at the Red Cloud agency, near Fort Robinson, Nebraska, and took no small +part in keeping the young braves quiet. Since the older and better-known +chiefs, with the exception of Spotted Tail, were believed to be hostile +at heart, the military made much use of him. Many of his young men +enlisted as scouts by his advice, and even he himself entered the +service. + +In the early part of the year 1876, there was a rumor that certain bands +were in danger of breaking away. Their leader was one Sioux Jim, so +nicknamed by the soldiers. American Horse went to him as peacemaker, but +was told he was a woman and no brave. He returned to his own camp and +told his men that Sioux Jim meant mischief, and in order to prevent +another calamity to the tribe, he must be chastised. He again approached +the warlike Jim with several warriors at his back. The recalcitrant came +out, gun in hand, but the wily chief was too quick for him. He shot and +wounded the rebel, whereupon one of his men came forward and killed him. + +This quelled the people for the time being and up to the killing of +Crazy Horse. In the crisis precipitated by this event, American Horse +was again influential and energetic in the cause of the government. From +this time on he became an active participant in the affairs of the +Teton Sioux. He was noted for his eloquence, which was nearly always +conciliatory, yet he could say very sharp things of the duplicity of +the whites. He had much ease of manner and was a master of repartee. I +recall his saying that if you have got to wear golden slippers to enter +the white man's heaven no Indian will ever get there, as the whites have +got the Black Hills and with them all the gold. + +It was during the last struggle of his people, at the time of the +Messiah craze in 1890-1891 that he demonstrated as never before the real +greatness of the man. While many of his friends were carried away by +the new thought, he held aloof from it and cautioned his band to do the +same. When it developed into an extensive upheaval among the nations he +took his positive stand against it. + +Presently all Indians who did not dance the Ghost Dance were ordered +to come into camp at Pine Ridge agency. American Horse was the first to +bring in his people. I was there at the time and talked with him daily. +When Little was arrested, it had been agreed among the disaffected to +have him resist, which meant that he would be roughly handled. This was +to be their excuse to attack the Indian police, which would probably +lead to a general massacre or outbreak. I know that this desperate move +was opposed from the beginning by American Horse, and it was believed +that his life was threatened. + +On the day of the "Big Issue", when thousands of Indians were gathered +at the agency, this man Little, who had been in hiding, walked boldly +among them. Of course the police would arrest him at sight, and he was +led toward the guardhouse. He struggled with them, but was overpowered. +A crowd of warriors rushed to his rescue, and there was confusion and +a general shout of "Hurry up with them! Kill them all!" I saw American +Horse walk out of the agent's office and calmly face the excited mob. + +"What are you going to do?" he asked. "Stop, men, stop and think before +you act! Will you murder your children, your women, yes, destroy your +nation to-day?" He stood before them like a statue and the men who held +the two policemen helpless paused for an instant. He went on: "You are +brave to-day because you outnumber the white men, but what will you do +to-morrow? There are railroads on all sides of you. The soldiers will +pour in from every direction by thousands and surround you. You have +little food or ammunition. It will be the end of your people. Stop, I +say, stop now!" + +Jack Red Cloud, son of the old chief rushed up to him and thrust a +revolver almost in his face. "It is you and men like you," he shouted, +"who have reduced our race to slavery and starvation!" American Horse +did not flinch but deliberately reentered the office, followed by Jack +still flourishing the pistol. But his timely appearance and eloquence +had saved the day. Others of the police force had time to reach the +spot, and with a large crowd of friendly Indians had taken command of +the situation. + +When I went into the office I found him alone but apparently quite calm. +"Where are the agent and the clerks?" I asked. "They fled by the back +door," he replied, smiling. "I think they are in the cellar. These fools +outside had almost caught us asleep, but I think it is over now." + +American Horse was one of the earliest advocates of education for +the Indian, and his son Samuel and nephew Robert were among the first +students at Carlisle. I think one or two of his daughters were the +handsomest Indian girls of full blood that I ever saw. His record as +a councilor of his people and his policy in the new situation that +confronted them was manly and consistent. + + + + +DULL KNIFE + + +The life of Dull Knife, the Cheyenne, is a true hero tale. Simple, +child-like yet manful, and devoid of selfish aims, or love of gain, he +is a pattern for heroes of any race. + +Dull Knife was a chief of the old school. Among all the Indians of the +plains, nothing counts save proven worth. A man's caliber is measured +by his courage, unselfishness and intelligence. Many writers confuse +history with fiction, but in Indian history their women and old men and +even children witness the main events, and not being absorbed in daily +papers and magazines, these events are rehearsed over and over with +few variations. Though orally preserved, their accounts are therefore +accurate. But they have seldom been willing to give reliable information +to strangers, especially when asked and paid for. + +Racial prejudice naturally enters into the account of a man's life by +enemy writers, while one is likely to favor his own race. I am conscious +that many readers may think that I have idealized the Indian. Therefore +I will confess now that we have too many weak and unprincipled men among +us. When I speak of the Indian hero, I do not forget the mongrel in +spirit, false to the ideals of his people. Our trustfulness has been our +weakness, and when the vices of civilization were added to our own, we +fell heavily. + +It is said that Dull Knife as a boy was resourceful and self-reliant. He +was only nine years old when his family was separated from the rest of +the tribe while on a buffalo hunt. His father was away and his mother +busy, and he was playing with his little sister on the banks of a +stream, when a large herd of buffalo swept down upon them on a stampede +for water. His mother climbed a tree, but the little boy led his sister +into an old beaver house whose entrance was above water, and here they +remained in shelter until the buffalo passed and they were found by +their distracted parents. + +Dull Knife was quite a youth when his tribe was caught one winter in a +region devoid of game, and threatened with starvation. The situation was +made worse by heavy storms, but he secured help and led a relief party +a hundred and fifty miles, carrying bales of dried buffalo meat on pack +horses. + +Another exploit that made him dear to his people occurred in battle, +when his brother-in-law was severely wounded and left lying where no one +on either side dared to approach him. As soon as Dull Knife heard of it +he got on a fresh horse, and made so daring a charge that others joined +him; thus under cover of their fire he rescued his brother-in-law, and +in so doing was wounded twice. + +The Sioux knew him as a man of high type, perhaps not so brilliant as +Roman Nose and Two Moon, but surpassing both in honesty and simplicity, +as well as in his war record. (Two Moon, in fact, was never a leader of +his people, and became distinguished only in wars with the whites during +the period of revolt.) A story is told of an ancestor of the same name +that illustrates well the spirit of the age. + +It was the custom in those days for the older men to walk ahead of the +moving caravan and decide upon all halts and camping places. One day the +councilors came to a grove of wild cherries covered with ripe fruit, and +they stopped at once. Suddenly a grizzly charged from the thicket. The +men yelped and hooted, but the bear was not to be bluffed. He knocked +down the first warrior who dared to face him and dragged his victim into +the bushes. + +The whole caravan was in the wildest excitement. Several of the +swiftest-footed warriors charged the bear, to bring him out into the +open, while the women and dogs made all the noise they could. The bear +accepted the challenge, and as he did so, the man whom they had supposed +dead came running from the opposite end of the thicket. The Indians were +delighted, and especially so when in the midst of their cheers, the man +stopped running for his life and began to sing a Brave Heart song as he +approached the grove with his butcher knife in his hand. He would dare +his enemy again! + +The grizzly met him with a tremendous rush, and they went down together. +Instantly the bear began to utter cries of distress, and at the same +time the knife flashed, and he rolled over dead. The warrior was too +quick for the animal; he first bit his sensitive nose to distract his +attention, and then used the knife to stab him to the heart. He fought +many battles with knives thereafter and claimed that the spirit of the +bear gave him success. On one occasion, however, the enemy had a strong +buffalo-hide shield which the Cheyenne bear fighter could not pierce +through, and he was wounded; nevertheless he managed to dispatch his +foe. It was from this incident that he received the name of Dull Knife, +which was handed down to his descendant. + +As is well known, the Northern Cheyennes uncompromisingly supported +the Sioux in their desperate defense of the Black Hills and Big Horn +country. Why not? It was their last buffalo region--their subsistence. +It was what our wheat fields are to a civilized nation. + +About the year 1875, a propaganda was started for confining all the +Indians upon reservations, where they would be practically interned or +imprisoned, regardless of their possessions and rights. The men who +were the strongest advocates of the scheme generally wanted the Indians' +property--the one main cause back of all Indian wars. From the warlike +Apaches to the peaceful Nez Perces, all the tribes of the plains were +hunted from place to place; then the government resorted to peace +negotiations, but always with an army at hand to coerce. Once disarmed +and helpless, they were to be taken under military guard to the Indian +Territory. + +A few resisted, and declared they would fight to the death rather than +go. Among these were the Sioux, but nearly all the smaller tribes were +deported against their wishes. Of course those Indians who came from +a mountainous and cold country suffered severely. The moist heat and +malaria decimated the exiles. Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces and Chief +Standing Bear of the Poncas appealed to the people of the United States, +and finally succeeded in having their bands or the remnant of them +returned to their own part of the country. Dull Knife was not successful +in his plea, and the story of his flight is one of poignant interest. + +He was regarded by the authorities as a dangerous man, and with his +depleted band was taken to the Indian Territory without his consent in +1876. When he realized that his people were dying like sheep, he was +deeply moved. He called them together. Every man and woman declared that +they would rather die in their own country than stay there longer, and +they resolved to flee to their northern homes. + +Here again was displayed the genius of these people. From the Indian +Territory to Dakota is no short dash for freedom. They knew what they +were facing. Their line of flight lay through a settled country and they +would be closely pursued by the army. No sooner had they started than +the telegraph wires sang one song: "The panther of the Cheyennes is at +large. Not a child or a woman in Kansas or Nebraska is safe." Yet they +evaded all the pursuing and intercepting troops and reached their native +soil. The strain was terrible, the hardship great, and Dull Knife, like +Joseph, was remarkable for his self-restraint in sparing those who came +within his power on the way. + +But fate was against him, for there were those looking for blood money +who betrayed him when he thought he was among friends. His people were +tired out and famished when they were surrounded and taken to Fort +Robinson. There the men were put in prison, and their wives guarded in +camp. They were allowed to visit their men on certain days. Many of them +had lost everything; there were but a few who had even one child left. +They were heartbroken. + +These despairing women appealed to their husbands to die fighting: their +liberty was gone, their homes broken up, and only slavery and gradual +extinction in sight. At last Dull Knife listened. He said: "I have lived +my life. I am ready." The others agreed. "If our women are willing to +die with us, who is there to say no? If we are to do the deeds of men, +it rests with you women to bring us our weapons." + +As they had been allowed to carry moccasins and other things to the men, +so they contrived to take in some guns and knives under this disguise. +The plan was to kill the sentinels and run to the nearest natural +trench, there to make their last stand. The women and children were to +join them. This arrangement was carried out. Not every brave had a gun, +but all had agreed to die together. They fought till their small store +of ammunition was exhausted, then exposed their broad chests for a +target, and the mothers even held up their little ones to be shot. Thus +died the fighting Cheyennes and their dauntless leader. + + + + +ROMAN NOSE + + +This Cheyenne war chief was a contemporary of Dull Knife. He was not +so strong a character as the other, and was inclined to be pompous and +boastful; but with all this he was a true type of native American in +spirit and bravery. + +While Dull Knife was noted in warfare among Indians, Roman Nose made +his record against the whites, in defense of territory embracing the +Republican and Arickaree rivers. He was killed on the latter river in +1868, in the celebrated battle with General Forsythe. + +Save Chief Gall and Washakie in the prime of their manhood, this chief +had no peer in bodily perfection and masterful personality. No Greek or +Roman gymnast was ever a finer model of physical beauty and power. He +thrilled his men to frenzied action when he came upon the field. It was +said of him that he sacrificed more youths by his personal influence in +battle than any other leader, being very reckless himself in grand-stand +charges. He was killed needlessly in this manner. + +Roman Nose always rode an uncommonly fine, spirited horse, and with +his war bonnet and other paraphernalia gave a wonderful exhibition. The +Indians used to say that the soldiers must gaze at him rather than aim +at him, as they so seldom hit him even when running the gantlet before a +firing line. + +He did a remarkable thing once when on a one-arrow-to-kill buffalo hunt +with his brother-in-law. His companion had selected his animal and +drew so powerfully on his sinew bowstring that it broke. Roman Nose +had killed his own cow and was whipping up close to the other when the +misfortune occurred. Both horses were going at full speed and the arrow +jerked up in the air. Roman Nose caught it and shot the cow for him. + +Another curious story told of him is to the effect that he had an +intimate Sioux friend who was courting a Cheyenne girl, but without +success. As the wooing of both Sioux and Cheyennes was pretty much all +effected in the night time, Roman Nose told his friend to let him do +the courting for him. He arranged with the young woman to elope the next +night and to spend the honeymoon among his Sioux friends. He then told +his friend what to do. The Sioux followed instructions and carried off +the Cheyenne maid, and not until morning did she discover her mistake. +It is said she never admitted it, and that the two lived happily +together to a good old age, so perhaps there was no mistake after all. + +Perhaps no other chief attacked more emigrants going west on the Oregon +Trail between 1860 and 1868. He once made an attack on a large party of +Mormons, and in this instance the Mormons had time to form a corral +with their wagons and shelter their women, children, and horses. The +men stood outside and met the Indians with well-aimed volleys, but they +circled the wagons with whirlwind speed, and whenever a white man fell, +it was the signal for Roman Nose to charge and count the "coup." The +hat of one of the dead men was off, and although he had heavy hair and +beard, the top of his head was bald from the forehead up. As custom +required such a deed to be announced on the spot, the chief yelled at +the top of his voice: + +"Your Roman Nose has counted the first coup on the longest-faced white +man who was ever killed!" + +When the Northern Cheyennes under this daring leader attacked a body of +scouting troops under the brilliant officer General Forsythe, Roman Nose +thought that he had a comparatively easy task. The first onset failed, +and the command entrenched itself on a little island. The wily chief +thought he could stampede them and urged on his braves with the +declaration that the first to reach the island should be entitled to +wear a trailing war bonnet. Nevertheless he was disappointed, and his +men received such a warm reception that none succeeded in reaching it. +In order to inspire them to desperate deeds he had led them in person, +and with him that meant victory or death. According to the army +accounts, it was a thrilling moment, and might well have proved +disastrous to the Forsythe command, whose leader was wounded and +helpless. The danger was acute until Roman Nose fell, and even then his +lieutenants were bent upon crossing at any cost, but some of the older +chiefs prevailed upon them to withdraw. + +Thus the brilliant war chief of the Cheyennes came to his death. If he +had lived until 1876, Sitting Bull would have had another bold ally. + + + + +CHIEF JOSEPH + + +The Nez Perce tribe of Indians, like other tribes too large to be +united under one chief, was composed of several bands, each distinct in +sovereignty. It was a loose confederacy. Joseph and his people occupied +the Imnaha or Grande Ronde valley in Oregon, which was considered +perhaps the finest land in that part of the country. + +When the last treaty was entered into by some of the bands of the Nez +Perce, Joseph's band was at Lapwai, Idaho, and had nothing to do with +the agreement. The elder chief in dying had counseled his son, then not +more than twenty-two or twenty-three years of age, never to part with +their home, assuring him that he had signed no papers. These peaceful +non-treaty Indians did not even know what land had been ceded until the +agent read them the government order to leave. Of course they refused. +You and I would have done the same. + +When the agent failed to move them, he and the would-be settlers called +upon the army to force them to be good, namely, without a murmur to +leave their pleasant inheritance in the hands of a crowd of greedy +grafters. General O. O. Howard, the Christian soldier, was sent to do +the work. + +He had a long council with Joseph and his leading men, telling them they +must obey the order or be driven out by force. We may be sure that he +presented this hard alternative reluctantly. Joseph was a mere youth +without experience in war or public affairs. He had been well brought +up in obedience to parental wisdom and with his brother Ollicut had +attended Missionary Spaulding's school where they had listened to the +story of Christ and his religion of brotherhood. He now replied in +his simple way that neither he nor his father had ever made any treaty +disposing of their country, that no other band of the Nez Perces was +authorized to speak for them, and it would seem a mighty injustice and +unkindness to dispossess a friendly band. + +General Howard told them in effect that they had no rights, no voice in +the matter: they had only to obey. Although some of the lesser chiefs +counseled revolt then and there, Joseph maintained his self-control, +seeking to calm his people, and still groping for a peaceful settlement +of their difficulties. He finally asked for thirty days' time in which +to find and dispose of their stock, and this was granted. + +Joseph steadfastly held his immediate followers to their promise, but +the land-grabbers were impatient, and did everything in their power +to bring about an immediate crisis so as to hasten the eviction of the +Indians. Depredations were committed, and finally the Indians, or some +of them, retaliated, which was just what their enemies had been looking +for. There might be a score of white men murdered among themselves on +the frontier and no outsider would ever hear about it, but if one were +injured by an Indian--"Down with the bloodthirsty savages!" was the cry. + +Joseph told me himself that during all of those thirty days a tremendous +pressure was brought upon him by his own people to resist the government +order. "The worst of it was," said he, "that everything they said was +true; besides"--he paused for a moment--"it seemed very soon for me to +forget my father's dying words, 'Do not give up our home!'" Knowing as I +do just what this would mean to an Indian, I felt for him deeply. + +Among the opposition leaders were Too-hul-hul-sote, White Bird, and +Looking Glass, all of them strong men and respected by the Indians; +while on the other side were men built up by emissaries of the +government for their own purposes and advertised as "great friendly +chiefs." As a rule such men are unworthy, and this is so well known to +the Indians that it makes them distrustful of the government's sincerity +at the start. Moreover, while Indians unqualifiedly say what they mean, +the whites have a hundred ways of saying what they do not mean. + +The center of the storm was this simple young man, who so far as I can +learn had never been upon the warpath, and he stood firm for peace and +obedience. As for his father's sacred dying charge, he told himself that +he would not sign any papers, he would not go of his free will but from +compulsion, and this was his excuse. + +However, the whites were unduly impatient to clear the coveted valley, +and by their insolence they aggravated to the danger point an already +strained situation. The murder of an Indian was the climax and this +happened in the absence of the young chief. He returned to find the +leaders determined to die fighting. The nature of the country was in +their favor and at least they could give the army a chase, but how long +they could hold out they did not know. Even Joseph's younger brother +Ollicut was won over. There was nothing for him to do but fight; and +then and there began the peaceful Joseph's career as a general of +unsurpassed strategy in conducting one of the most masterly retreats in +history. + +This is not my judgment, but the unbiased opinion of men whose knowledge +and experience fit them to render it. Bear in mind that these people +were not scalp hunters like the Sioux, Cheyennes, and Utes, but peaceful +hunters and fishermen. The first council of war was a strange business +to Joseph. He had only this to say to his people: + +"I have tried to save you from suffering and sorrow. Resistance means +all of that. We are few. They are many. You can see all we have at a +glance. They have food and ammunition in abundance. We must suffer great +hardship and loss." After this speech, he quietly began his plans for +the defense. + +The main plan of campaign was to engineer a successful retreat into +Montana and there form a junction with the hostile Sioux and Cheyennes +under Sitting Bull. There was a relay scouting system, one set of +scouts leaving the main body at evening and the second a little before +daybreak, passing the first set on some commanding hill top. There were +also decoy scouts set to trap Indian scouts of the army. I notice that +General Howard charges his Crow scouts with being unfaithful. + +Their greatest difficulty was in meeting an unencumbered army, while +carrying their women, children, and old men, with supplies and such +household effects as were absolutely necessary. Joseph formed an +auxiliary corps that was to effect a retreat at each engagement, upon a +definite plan and in definite order, while the unencumbered women were +made into an ambulance corps to take care of the wounded. + +It was decided that the main rear guard should meet General Howard's +command in White Bird Canyon, and every detail was planned in advance, +yet left flexible according to Indian custom, giving each leader freedom +to act according to circumstances. Perhaps no better ambush was ever +planned than the one Chief Joseph set for the shrewd and experienced +General Howard. He expected to be hotly pursued, but he calculated that +the pursuing force would consist of not more than two hundred and fifty +soldiers. He prepared false trails to mislead them into thinking that +he was about to cross or had crossed the Salmon River, which he had no +thought of doing at that time. Some of the tents were pitched in plain +sight, while the women and children were hidden on the inaccessible +ridges, and the men concealed in the canyon ready to fire upon the +soldiers with deadly effect with scarcely any danger to themselves. They +could even roll rocks upon them. + +In a very few minutes the troops had learned a lesson. The soldiers +showed some fight, but a large body of frontiersmen who accompanied +them were soon in disorder. The warriors chased them nearly ten miles, +securing rifles and much ammunition, and killing and wounding many. + +The Nez Perces next crossed the river, made a detour and recrossed it +at another point, then took their way eastward. All this was by way of +delaying pursuit. Joseph told me that he estimated it would take six +or seven days to get a sufficient force in the field to take up their +trail, and the correctness of his reasoning is apparent from the facts +as detailed in General Howard's book. He tells us that he waited six +days for the arrival of men from various forts in his department, then +followed Joseph with six hundred soldiers, beside a large number of +citizen volunteers and his Indian scouts. As it was evident they had +a long chase over trackless wilderness in prospect, he discarded his +supply wagons and took pack mules instead. But by this time the Indians +had a good start. + +Meanwhile General Howard had sent a dispatch to Colonel Gibbons, with +orders to head Joseph off, which he undertook to do at the Montana end +of the Lolo Trail. The wily commander had no knowledge of this move, but +he was not to be surprised. He was too brainy for his pursuers, whom he +constantly outwitted, and only gave battle when he was ready. There at +the Big Hole Pass he met Colonel Gibbons' fresh troops and pressed them +close. He sent a party under his brother Ollicut to harass Gibbons' rear +and rout the pack mules, thus throwing him on the defensive and causing +him to send for help, while Joseph continued his masterly retreat toward +the Yellowstone Park, then a wilderness. However, this was but little +advantage to him, since he must necessarily leave a broad trail, and the +army was augmenting its columns day by day with celebrated scouts, both +white and Indian. The two commands came together, and although General +Howard says their horses were by this time worn out, and by inference +the men as well, they persisted on the trail of a party encumbered by +women and children, the old, sick, and wounded. + +It was decided to send a detachment of cavalry under Bacon, to Tash +Pass, the gateway of the National Park, which Joseph would have to pass, +with orders to detain him there until the rest could come up with them. +Here is what General Howard says of the affair. "Bacon got into position +soon enough but he did not have the heart to fight the Indians on +account of their number." Meanwhile another incident had occurred. Right +under the eyes of the chosen scouts and vigilant sentinels, Joseph's +warriors fired upon the army camp at night and ran off their mules. He +went straight on toward the park, where Lieutenant Bacon let him get by +and pass through the narrow gateway without firing a shot. + +Here again it was demonstrated that General Howard could not depend upon +the volunteers, many of whom had joined him in the chase, and were going +to show the soldiers how to fight Indians. In this night attack at Camas +Meadow, they were demoralized, and while crossing the river next day +many lost their guns in the water, whereupon all packed up and went +home, leaving the army to be guided by the Indian scouts. + +However, this succession of defeats did not discourage General Howard, +who kept on with as many of his men as were able to carry a gun, +meanwhile sending dispatches to all the frontier posts with orders to +intercept Joseph if possible. Sturgis tried to stop him as the Indians +entered the Park, but they did not meet until he was about to come out, +when there was another fight, with Joseph again victorious. General +Howard came upon the battle field soon afterward and saw that the +Indians were off again, and from here he sent fresh messages to General +Miles, asking for reinforcements. + +Joseph had now turned northeastward toward the Upper Missouri. He told +me that when he got into that part of the country he knew he was very +near the Canadian line and could not be far from Sitting Bull, with whom +he desired to form an alliance. He also believed that he had cleared all +the forts. Therefore he went more slowly and tried to give his people +some rest. Some of their best men had been killed or wounded in battle, +and the wounded were a great burden to him; nevertheless they were +carried and tended patiently all during this wonderful flight. Not one +was ever left behind. + +It is the general belief that Indians are cruel and revengeful, and +surely these people had reason to hate the race who had driven them from +their homes if any people ever had. Yet it is a fact that when Joseph +met visitors and travelers in the Park, some of whom were women, he +allowed them to pass unharmed, and in at least one instance let them +have horses. He told me that he gave strict orders to his men not to +kill any women or children. He wished to meet his adversaries according +to their own standards of warfare, but he afterward learned that in +spite of professions of humanity, white soldiers have not seldom been +known to kill women and children indiscriminately. + +Another remarkable thing about this noted retreat is that Joseph's +people stood behind him to a man, and even the women and little boys did +each his part. The latter were used as scouts in the immediate vicinity +of the camp. + +The Bittersweet valley, which they had now entered, was full of game, +and the Indians hunted for food, while resting their worn-out ponies. +One morning they had a council to which Joseph rode over bareback, as +they had camped in two divisions a little apart. His fifteen-year-old +daughter went with him. They discussed sending runners to Sitting Bull +to ascertain his exact whereabouts and whether it would be agreeable to +him to join forces with the Nez Perces. In the midst of the council, +a force of United States cavalry charged down the hill between the +two camps. This once Joseph was surprised. He had seen no trace of the +soldiers and had somewhat relaxed his vigilance. + +He told his little daughter to stay where she was, and himself cut right +through the cavalry and rode up to his own teepee, where his wife met +him at the door with his rifle, crying: "Here is your gun, husband!" The +warriors quickly gathered and pressed the soldiers so hard that they +had to withdraw. Meanwhile one set of the people fled while Joseph's own +band entrenched themselves in a very favorable position from which they +could not easily be dislodged. + +General Miles had received and acted on General Howard's message, and he +now sent one of his officers with some Indian scouts into Joseph's camp +to negotiate with the chief. Meantime Howard and Sturgis came up with +the encampment, and Howard had with him two friendly Nez Perce scouts +who were directed to talk to Joseph in his own language. He decided that +there was nothing to do but surrender. + +He had believed that his escape was all but secure: then at the last +moment he was surprised and caught at a disadvantage. His army was +shattered; he had lost most of the leaders in these various fights; +his people, including children, women, and the wounded, had traveled +thirteen hundred miles in about fifty days, and he himself a young man +who had never before taken any important responsibility! Even now he was +not actually conquered. He was well entrenched; his people were willing +to die fighting; but the army of the United States offered peace and he +agreed, as he said, out of pity for his suffering people. Some of his +warriors still refused to surrender and slipped out of the camp at night +and through the lines. Joseph had, as he told me, between three and four +hundred fighting men in the beginning, which means over one thousand +persons, and of these several hundred surrendered with him. + +His own story of the conditions he made was prepared by himself with my +help in 1897, when he came to Washington to present his grievances. I +sat up with him nearly all of one night; and I may add here that we +took the document to General Miles who was then stationed in Washington, +before presenting it to the Department. The General said that every word +of it was true. + +In the first place, his people were to be kept at Fort Keogh, Montana, +over the winter and then returned to their reservation. Instead they +were taken to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and placed between a lagoon and +the Missouri River, where the sanitary conditions made havoc with them. +Those who did not die were then taken to the Indian Territory, where the +health situation was even worse. Joseph appealed to the government again +and again, and at last by the help of Bishops Whipple and Hare he was +moved to the Colville reservation in Washington. Here the land was very +poor, unlike their own fertile valley. General Miles said to the chief +that he had recommended and urged that their agreement be kept, but the +politicians and the people who occupied the Indians' land declared they +were afraid if he returned he would break out again and murder innocent +white settlers! What irony! + +The great Chief Joseph died broken-spirited and broken-hearted. He did +not hate the whites, for there was nothing small about him, and when he +laid down his weapons he would not fight on with his mind. But he was +profoundly disappointed in the claims of a Christian civilization. I +call him great because he was simple and honest. Without education or +special training he demonstrated his ability to lead and to fight +when justice demanded. He outgeneraled the best and most experienced +commanders in the army of the United States, although their troops were +well provisioned, well armed, and above all unencumbered. He was great +finally, because he never boasted of his remarkable feat. I am proud of +him, because he was a true American. + + + + +LITTLE WOLF + + +If any people ever fought for liberty and justice, it was the Cheyennes. +If any ever demonstrated their physical and moral courage beyond cavil, +it was this race of purely American heroes, among whom Little Wolf was a +leader. + +I knew the chief personally very well. As a young doctor, I was sent to +the Pine Ridge agency in 1890, as government physician to the Sioux and +the Northern Cheyennes. While I heard from his own lips of that gallant +dash of his people from their southern exile to their northern home, I +prefer that Americans should read of it in Doctor George Bird Grinnell's +book, "The Fighting Cheyennes." No account could be clearer or simpler; +and then too, the author cannot be charged with a bias in favor of his +own race. + +At the time that I knew him, Little Wolf was a handsome man, with the +native dignity and gentleness, musical voice, and pleasant address of so +many brave leaders of his people. One day when he was dining with us at +our home on the reservation, I asked him, as I had a habit of doing, for +some reminiscences of his early life. He was rather reluctant to speak, +but a friend who was present contributed the following: + +"Perhaps I can tell you why it is that he has been a lucky man all his +life. When quite a small boy, the tribe was one winter in want of food, +and his good mother had saved a small piece of buffalo meat, which she +solemnly brought forth and placed before him with the remark: 'My son +must be patient, for when he grows up he will know even harder times +than this.' + +"He had eaten nothing all day and was pretty hungry, but before he could +lay hands on the meat a starving dog snatched it and bolted from +the teepee. The mother ran after the dog and brought him back for +punishment. She tied him to a post and was about to whip him when the +boy interfered. 'Don't hurt him, mother!' he cried; 'he took the meat +because he was hungrier than I am!'" + +I was told of another kind act of his under trying circumstances. While +still a youth, he was caught out with a party of buffalo hunters in a +blinding blizzard. They were compelled to lie down side by side in the +snowdrifts, and it was a day and a night before they could get out. The +weather turned very cold, and when the men arose they were in danger of +freezing. Little Wolf pressed his fine buffalo robe upon an old man who +was shaking with a chill and himself took the other's thin blanket. + +As a full-grown young man, he was attracted by a maiden of his tribe, +and according to the custom then in vogue the pair disappeared. When +they returned to the camp as man and wife, behold! there was great +excitement over the affair. It seemed that a certain chief had given +many presents and paid unmistakable court to the maid with the intention +of marrying her, and her parents had accepted the presents, which meant +consent so far as they were concerned. But the girl herself had not +given consent. + +The resentment of the disappointed suitor was great. It was reported in +the village that he had openly declared that the young man who defied +and insulted him must expect to be punished. As soon as Little Wolf +heard of the threats, he told his father and friends that he had done +only what it is every man's privilege to do. + +"Tell the chief," said he, "to come out with any weapon he pleases, and +I will meet him within the circle of lodges. He shall either do this +or eat his words. The woman is not his. Her people accepted his gifts +against her wishes. Her heart is mine." + +The chief apologized, and thus avoided the inevitable duel, which would +have been a fight to the death. + +The early life of Little Wolf offered many examples of the dashing +bravery characteristic of the Cheyennes, and inspired the younger men +to win laurels for themselves. He was still a young man, perhaps +thirty-five, when the most trying crisis in the history of his +people came upon them. As I know and as Doctor Grinnell's book amply +corroborates, he was the general who largely guided and defended them in +that tragic flight from the Indian Territory to their northern home. I +will not discuss the justice of their cause: I prefer to quote Doctor +Grinnell, lest it appear that I am in any way exaggerating the facts. + +"They had come," he writes, "from the high, dry country of Montana and +North Dakota to the hot and humid Indian Territory. They had come from +a country where buffalo and other game were still plentiful to a land +where the game had been exterminated. Immediately on their arrival they +were attacked by fever and ague, a disease wholly new to them. Food was +scanty, and they began to starve. The agent testified before a committee +of the Senate that he never received supplies to subsist the Indians for +more than nine months in each year. These people were meat-eaters, but +the beef furnished them by the government inspectors was no more than +skin and bone. The agent in describing their sufferings said: 'They have +lived and that is about all.' + +"The Indians endured this for about a year, and then their patience gave +out. They left the agency to which they had been sent and started north. +Though troops were camped close to them, they attempted no concealment +of their purpose. Instead, they openly announced that they intended to +return to their own country. + +"We have heard much in past years of the march of the Nez Perces under +Chief Joseph, but little is remembered of the Dull Knife outbreak and +the march to the north led by Little Wolf. The story of the journey has +not been told, but in the traditions of the old army this campaign was +notable, and old men who were stationed on the plains forty years ago +are apt to tell you, if you ask them, that there never was such another +journey since the Greeks marched to the sea.... + +"The fugitives pressed constantly northward undaunted, while orders were +flying over the wires, and special trains were carrying men and horses +to cut them off at all probable points on the different railway lines +they must cross. Of the three hundred Indians, sixty or seventy were +fighting men--the rest old men, women, and children. An army officer +once told me that thirteen thousand troops were hurrying over the +country to capture or kill these few poor people who had left the +fever-stricken South, and in the face of every obstacle were steadily +marching northward. + +"The War Department set all its resources in operation against them, +yet they kept on. If troops attacked them, they stopped and fought +until they had driven off the soldiers, and then started north again. +Sometimes they did not even stop, but marched along, fighting as they +marched. For the most part they tried--and with success--to avoid +conflicts, and had but four real hard fights, in which they lost half a +dozen men killed and about as many wounded." + +It must not be overlooked that the appeal to justice had first been +tried before taking this desperate step. Little Wolf had gone to the +agent about the middle of the summer and said to him: "This is not a +good country for us, and we wish to return to our home in the mountains +where we were always well. If you have not the power to give permission, +let some of us go to Washington and tell them there how it is, or do you +write to Washington and get permission for us to go back." + +"Stay one more year," replied the agent, "and then we will see what we +can do for you." "No," said Little Wolf. "Before another year there will +be none left to travel north. We must go now." + +Soon after this it was found that three of the Indians had disappeared +and the chief was ordered to surrender ten men as hostages for their +return. He refused. "Three men," said he, "who are traveling over wild +country can hide so that they cannot be found. You would never get back +these three, and you would keep my men prisoners always." + +The agent then threatened if the ten men were not given up to withhold +their rations and starve the entire tribe into submission. He forgot +that he was addressing a Cheyenne. These people had not understood that +they were prisoners when they agreed to friendly relations with the +government and came upon the reservation. Little Wolf stood up and shook +hands with all present before making his final deliberate address. + +"Listen, my friends, I am a friend of the white people and have been so +for a long time. I do not want to see blood spilt about this agency. I +am going north to my own country. If you are going to send your soldiers +after me, I wish you would let us get a little distance away. Then if +you want to fight, I will fight you, and we can make the ground bloody +at that place." + +The Cheyenne was not bluffing. He said just what he meant, and I presume +the agent took the hint, for although the military were there they +did not undertake to prevent the Indians' departure. Next morning the +teepees were pulled down early and quickly. Toward evening of the second +day, the scouts signaled the approach of troops. Little Wolf called his +men together and advised them under no circumstances to fire until +fired upon. An Arapahoe scout was sent to them with a message. "If you +surrender now, you will get your rations and be well treated." After +what they had endured, it was impossible not to hear such a promise with +contempt. Said Little Wolf: "We are going back to our own country. We do +not want to fight." He was riding still nearer when the soldiers fired, +and at a signal the Cheyennes made a charge. They succeeded in holding +off the troops for two days, with only five men wounded and none killed, +and when the military retreated the Indians continued northward carrying +their wounded. + +This sort of thing was repeated again and again. Meanwhile Little +Wolf held his men under perfect control. There were practically no +depredations. They secured some boxes of ammunition left behind by +retreating troops, and at one point the young men were eager to follow +and destroy an entire command who were apparently at their mercy, but +their leader withheld them. They had now reached the buffalo country, +and he always kept his main object in sight. He was extraordinarily +calm. Doctor Grinnell was told by one of his men years afterward: +"Little Wolf did not seem like a human being. He seemed like a bear." +It is true that a man of his type in a crisis becomes spiritually +transformed and moves as one in a dream. + +At the Running Water the band divided, Dull Knife going toward Red Cloud +agency. He was near Fort Robinson when he surrendered and met his sad +fate. Little Wolf remained all winter in the Sand Hills, where there was +plenty of game and no white men. Later he went to Montana and then to +Pine Ridge, where he and his people remained in peace until they were +removed to Lame Deer, Montana, and there he spent the remainder of his +days. There is a clear sky beyond the clouds of racial prejudice, and +in that final Court of Honor a noble soul like that of Little Wolf has a +place. + + + +HOLE-IN-THE-DAY + +[I wish to thank Reverend C. H. Beaulieu of Le Soeur, Minnesota, for +much of the material used in this chapter.] + +In the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Indian nations of the +Northwest first experienced the pressure of civilization. At this period +there were among them some brilliant leaders unknown to history, for the +curious reason that they cordially received and welcomed the newcomers +rather than opposed them. The only difficulties were those arising among +the European nations themselves, and often involving the native tribes. +Thus new environments brought new motives, and our temptations were +increased manyfold with the new weapons, new goods, and above all the +subtly destructive "spirit water." + +Gradually it became known that the new race had a definite purpose, and +that purpose was to chart and possess the whole country, regardless of +the rights of its earlier inhabitants. Still the old chiefs cautioned +their people to be patient, for, said they, the land is vast, both races +can live on it, each in their own way. Let us therefore befriend them +and trust to their friendship. While they reasoned thus, the temptations +of graft and self-aggrandizement overtook some of the leaders. + +Hole-in-the-Day (or Bug-o-nay-ki-shig) was born in the opening days of +this era. The word "ki-shig" means either "day" or "sky", and the name +is perhaps more correctly translated Hole-in-the-Sky. This gifted man +inherited his name and much of his ability from his father, who was a +war chief among the Ojibways, a Napoleon of the common people, and who +carried on a relentless warfare against the Sioux. And yet, as was our +custom at the time, peaceful meetings were held every summer, at which +representatives of the two tribes would recount to one another all the +events that had come to pass during the preceding year. + +Hole-in-the-Day the younger was a handsome man, tall and symmetrically +formed, with much grace of manner and natural refinement. He was an +astute student of diplomacy. The Ojibways allowed polygamy, and whether +or not he approved the principle, he made political use of it by +marrying the daughter of a chief in nearly every band. Through these +alliances he held a controlling influence over the whole Ojibway nation. +Reverend Claude H. Beaulieu says of him: + +"Hole-in-the-Day was a man of distinguished appearance and native +courtliness of manner. His voice was musical and magnetic, and with +these qualities he had a subtle brain, a logical mind, and quite a +remarkable gift of oratory. In speech he was not impassioned, but clear +and convincing, and held fast the attention of his hearers." + +It is of interest to note that his everyday name among his tribesmen was +"The Boy." What a boy he must have been! I wonder if the name had the +same significance as with the Sioux, who applied it to any man who +performs a difficult duty with alertness, dash, and natural courage. +"The Man" applies to one who adds to these qualities wisdom and maturity +of judgment. + +The Sioux tell many stories of both the elder and the younger +Hole-in-the-Day. Once when The Boy was still under ten years of age, he +was fishing on Gull Lake in a leaky birch-bark canoe. Presently there +came such a burst of frantic warwhoops that his father was startled. He +could not think of anything but an attack by the dreaded Sioux. Seizing +his weapons, he ran to the rescue of his son, only to find that the +little fellow had caught a fish so large that it was pulling his canoe +all over the lake. "Ugh," exclaimed the father, "if a mere fish scares +you so badly, I fear you will never make a warrior!" + +It is told of him that when he was very small, the father once brought +home two bear cubs and gave them to him for pets. The Boy was feeding +and getting acquainted with them outside his mother's birch-bark teepee, +when suddenly he was heard to yell for help. The two little bears had +treed The Boy and were waltzing around the tree. His mother scared them +off, but again the father laughed at him for thinking that he could +climb trees better than a bear. + +The elder Hole-in-the-Day was a daring warrior and once attacked and +scalped a Sioux who was carrying his pelts to the trading post, in full +sight of his friends. Of course he was instantly pursued, and he leaped +into a canoe which was lying near by and crossed to an island in the +Mississippi River near Fort Snelling. When almost surrounded by Sioux +warriors, he left the canoe and swam along the shore with only his nose +above water, but as they were about to head him off he landed and hid +behind the falling sheet of water known as Minnehaha Falls, thus saving +his life. + +It often happens that one who offers his life freely will after all +die a natural death. The elder Hole-in-the-Day so died when The Boy was +still a youth. Like Philip of Massachusetts, Chief Joseph the younger, +and the brilliant Osceola, the mantle fell gracefully upon his +shoulders, and he wore it during a short but eventful term of +chieftainship. It was his to see the end of the original democracy on +this continent. The clouds were fast thickening on the eastern horizon. +The day of individualism and equity between man and man must yield to +the terrific forces of civilization, the mass play of materialism, +the cupidity of commerce with its twin brother politics. Under such +conditions the younger Hole-in-the-Day undertook to guide his tribesmen. +At first they were inclined to doubt the wisdom of so young a leader, +but he soon proved a ready student of his people's traditions, and yet, +like Spotted Tail and Little Crow, he adopted too willingly the white +man's politics. He maintained the territory won from the Sioux by +his predecessors. He negotiated treaties with the ability of a born +diplomat, with one exception, and that exception cost him his life. + +Like other able Indians who foresaw the inevitable downfall of their +race, he favored a gradual change of customs leading to complete +adoption of the white man's ways. In order to accustom the people to a +new standard, he held that the chiefs must have authority and must be +given compensation for their services. This was a serious departure from +the old rule but was tacitly accepted, and in every treaty he made there +was provision for himself in the way of a land grant or a cash payment. +He early departed from the old idea of joint ownership with the Lake +Superior Ojibways, because he foresaw that it would cause no end of +trouble for the Mississippi River branch of which he was then the +recognized head. But there were difficulties to come with the Leech Lake +and Red Lake bands, who held aloof from his policy, and the question of +boundaries began to arise. + +In the first treaty negotiated with the government by young +Hole-in-the-Day in 1855, a "surplus" was provided for the chiefs +aside from the regular per capita payment, and this surplus was to +be distributed in proportion to the number of Indians under each. +Hole-in-the-Day had by far the largest enrollment, therefore he got the +lion's share of this fund. Furthermore he received another sum set apart +for the use of the "head chief", and these things did not look right to +the tribe. In the very next treaty he provided himself with an annuity +of one thousand dollars for twenty years, beside a section of land near +the village of Crow Wing, and the government was induced to build him +a good house upon this land. In his home he had many white servants and +henchmen and really lived like a lord. He dressed well in native style +with a touch of civilized elegance, wearing coat and leggings of fine +broadcloth, linen shirt with collar, and, topping all, a handsome +black or blue blanket. His moccasins were of the finest deerskin and +beautifully worked. His long beautiful hair added much to his personal +appearance. He was fond of entertaining and being entertained and was +a favorite both among army officers and civilians. He was especially +popular with the ladies, and this fact will appear later in the story. + +At about this time, the United States government took it upon itself to +put an end to warfare between the Sioux and Ojibways. A peace meeting +was arranged at Fort Snelling, with the United States as mediator. +When the representatives of the two nations met at this grand council, +Hole-in-the-Day came as the head chief of his people, and with the +other chiefs appeared in considerable pomp and dignity. The wives of the +government officials were eager for admission to this unusual gathering, +but when they arrived there was hardly any space left except next to +the Sioux chiefs, and the white ladies soon crowded this space to +overflowing. One of the Sioux remarked: "I thought this was to be a +council of chiefs and braves, but I see many women among us." Thereupon +the Ojibway arose and spoke in his courtliest manner. "The Ojibway +chiefs will feel highly honored," said he, "if the ladies will consent +to sit on our side." + +Another sign of his alertness to gain favor among the whites was seen in +the fact that he took part in the territorial campaigns, a most unusual +thing for an Indian of that day. Being a man of means and influence, +he was listened to with respect by the scattered white settlers in his +vicinity. He would make a political speech through an interpreter, but +would occasionally break loose in his broken English, and wind up with +an invitation to drink in the following words: "Chentimen, you Pemicans +(Republicans), come out and drink!" + +From 1855 to 1864 Hole-in-the-Day was a well-known figure in Minnesota, +and scarcely less so in Washington, for he visited the capital quite +often on tribal affairs. As I have said before, he was an unusually +handsome man, and was not unresponsive to flattery and the attentions +of women. At the time of this incident he was perhaps thirty-five years +old, but looked younger. He had called upon the President and was on his +way back to his hotel, when he happened to pass the Treasury building +just as the clerks were leaving for the day. He was immediately +surrounded by an inquisitive throng. Among them was a handsome young +woman who asked through the interpreter if the chief would consent to +an interview about his people, to aid her in a paper she had promised to +prepare. + +Hole-in-the-Day replied: "If the beautiful lady is willing to risk +calling on the chief at his hotel, her request will be granted." The +lady went, and the result was so sudden and strong an attachment that +both forgot all racial biases and differences of language and custom. +She followed him as far as Minneapolis, and there the chief advised her +to remain, for he feared the jealousy of some of his many wives. She +died there, soon after giving birth to a son, who was brought up by a +family named Woodbury; and some fifteen years ago I met the young man +in Washington and was taken by him to call upon certain of his mother's +relatives. + +The ascendancy of Hole-in-the-Day was not gained entirely through the +consent of his people, but largely by government favor, therefore there +was strong suppressed resentment among his associate chiefs, and the Red +Lake and Leech Lake bands in fact never acknowledged him as their head, +while they suspected him of making treaties which involved some of their +land. He was in personal danger from this source, and his life was +twice attempted, but, though wounded, in each case he recovered. His +popularity with Indian agents and officers lasted till the Republicans +came into power in the sixties and there was a new deal. The chief no +longer received the favors and tips to which he was accustomed; in +fact he was in want of luxuries, and worse still, his pride was hurt by +neglect. The new party had promised Christian treatment to the Indians, +but it appeared that they were greater grafters than their predecessors, +and unlike them kept everything for themselves, allowing no perquisites +to any Indian chief. + +In his indignation at this treatment, Hole-in-the-Day began exposing +the frauds on his people, and so at a late day was converted to their +defense. Perhaps he had not fully understood the nature of graft until +he was in a position to view it from the outside. After all, he was +excusable in seeking to maintain the dignity of his office, but he had +departed from one of the fundamental rules of the race, namely: "Let no +material gain be the motive or reward of public duty." He had wounded +the ideals of his people beyond forgiveness, and he suffered the +penalty; yet his courage was not diminished by the mistakes of his past. +Like the Sioux chief Little Crow, he was called "the betrayer of +his people", and like him he made a desperate effort to regain lost +prestige, and turned savagely against the original betrayers of his +confidence, the agents and Indian traders. + +When the Sioux finally broke out in 1862, the first thought of the +local politicians was to humiliate Hole-in-the-Day by arresting him +and proclaiming some other "head chief" in his stead. In so doing they +almost forced the Ojibways to fight under his leadership. The chief had +no thought of alliance with the Sioux, and was wholly unaware of the +proposed action of the military on pretense of such a conspiracy on his +part. He was on his way to the agency in his own carriage when a runner +warned him of his danger. He thereupon jumped down and instructed the +driver to proceed. His coachman was arrested by a file of soldiers, who +when they discovered their mistake went to his residence in search of +him, but meanwhile he had sent runners in every direction to notify +his warriors, and had moved his family across the Mississippi. When +the military reached the river bank he was still in sight, and the +lieutenant called upon him to surrender. When he refused, the soldiers +were ordered to fire upon him, but he replied with his own rifle, and +with a whoop disappeared among the pine groves. + +It was remarkable how the whole tribe now rallied to the call of +Hole-in-the-Day. He allowed no depredations to the young men under +his leadership, but camped openly near the agency and awaited an +explanation. Presently Judge Cooper of St. Paul, a personal friend +of the chief, appeared, and later on the Assistant Secretary of the +Interior, accompanied by Mr. Nicolay, private secretary of President +Lincoln. Apparently that great humanitarian President saw the whole +injustice of the proceeding against a loyal nation, and the difficulty +was at an end. + +Through the treaties of 1864, 1867, and 1868 was accomplished the final +destiny of the Mississippi River Ojibways. Hole-in-the-Day was against +their removal to what is now White Earth reservation, but he was +defeated in this and realized that the new turn of events meant the +downfall of his race. He declared that he would never go on the new +reservation, and he kept his word. He remained on one of his land grants +near Crow Wing. As the other chiefs assumed more power, the old feeling +of suspicion and hatred became stronger, especially among the Pillager +and Red Lake bands. One day he was waylaid and shot by a party of these +disaffected Indians. He uttered a whoop and fell dead from his buggy. + +Thus died one of the most brilliant chiefs of the Northwest, who never +defended his birthright by force of arms, although almost compelled to +do so. He succeeded in diplomacy so long as he was the recognized head +of his people. Since we have not passed over his weaknesses, he should +be given credit for much insight in causing the article prohibiting the +introduction of liquor into the Indian country to be inserted into the +treaty of 1858. I think it was in 1910 that this forgotten provision was +discovered and again enforced over a large expanse of territory occupied +by whites, it being found that the provision had never been repealed. + +Although he left many children, none seem to have made their mark, yet +it may be that in one of his descendants that undaunted spirit will rise +again. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains, by +[AKA Ohiyesa], Charles A. 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RED CLOUD + 2. SPOTTED TAIL + 3. LITTLE CROW + 4. TAMAHAY + 5. GALL + 6. CRAZY HORSE + 7. SITTING BULL + 8. RAIN-IN-THE-FACE + 9. TWO STRIKE +10. AMERICAN HORSE +11. DULL KNIFE +12. ROMAN NOSE +13. CHIEF JOSEPH +14. LITTLE WOLF +15. HOLE-IN-THE-DAY + + + + + + + + +INDIAN HEROES AND +GREAT CHIEFTAINS + + + + +RED CLOUD + + +EVERY age, every race, has its leaders and heroes. There were over +sixty distinct tribes of Indians on this continent, each of which +boasted its notable men. The names and deeds of some of these men +will live in American history, yet in the true sense they are +unknown, because misunderstood. I should like to present some of +the greatest chiefs of modern times in the light of the native +character and ideals, believing that the American people will +gladly do them tardy justice. + +It is matter of history that the Sioux nation, to which I +belong, was originally friendly to the Caucasian peoples which it +met in succession-first, to the south the Spaniards; then the +French, on the Mississippi River and along the Great Lakes; later +the English, and finally the Americans. This powerful tribe then +roamed over the whole extent of the Mississippi valley, between +that river and the Rockies. Their usages and government united the +various bands more closely than was the case with many of the +neighboring tribes. + +During the early part of the nineteenth century, chiefs such +as Wabashaw, Redwing, and Little Six among the eastern Sioux, +Conquering Bear, Man-Afraid-of-His-Horse, and Hump of the western +bands, were the last of the old type. After these, we have a +coterie of new leaders, products of the new conditions brought +about by close contact with the conquering race. + +This distinction must be borne in mind -- that while the early +chiefs were spokesmen and leaders in the simplest sense, possessing +no real authority, those who headed their tribes during the +transition period were more or less rulers and more or less +politicians. It is a singular fact that many of the "chiefs", well +known as such to the American public, were not chiefs at all +according to the accepted usages of their tribesmen. Their +prominence was simply the result of an abnormal situation, in which +representatives of the United States Government made use of them +for a definite purpose. In a few cases, where a chief met with a +violent death, some ambitious man has taken advantage of the +confusion to thrust himself upon the tribe and, perhaps with +outside help, has succeeded in usurping the leadership. + +Red Cloud was born about 1820 near the forks of the Platte +River. He was one of a family of nine children whose father, an +able and respected warrior, reared his son under the old Spartan +regime. The young Red Cloud is said to have been a fine horseman, +able to swim across the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, of high +bearing and unquestionable courage, yet invariably gentle and +courteous in everyday life. This last trait, together with a +singularly musical and agreeable voice, has always been +characteristic of the man. + +When he was about six years old, his father gave him a +spirited colt, and said to him: + +"My son, when you are able to sit quietly upon the back of +this colt without saddle or bridle, I shall be glad, for the boy +who can win a wild creature and learn to use it will as a man be +able to win and rule men." + +The little fellow, instead of going for advice and help to his +grandfather, as most Indian boys would have done, began quietly to +practice throwing the lariat. In a little while he was able to +lasso the colt. He was dragged off his feet at once, but hung on, +and finally managed to picket him near the teepee. When the big +boys drove the herd of ponies to water, he drove his colt with the +rest. Presently the pony became used to him and allowed himself to +be handled. The boy began to ride him bareback; he was thrown many +times, but persisted until he could ride without even a lariat, +sitting with arms folded and guiding the animal by the movements of +his body. From that time on he told me that he broke all his own +ponies, and before long his father's as well. + +The old men, his contemporaries, have often related to me how +Red Cloud was always successful in the hunt because his horses were +so well broken. At the age of nine, he began to ride his father's +pack pony upon the buffalo hunt. He was twelve years old, he told +me, when he was first permitted to take part in the chase, and +found to his great mortification that none of his arrows penetrated +more than a few inches. Excited to recklessness, he whipped his +horse nearer the fleeing buffalo, and before his father knew what +he was about, he had seized one of the protruding arrows and tried +to push it deeper. The furious animal tossed his massive head +sidewise, and boy and horse were whirled into the air. +Fortunately, the boy was thrown on the farther side of his pony, +which received the full force of the second attack. The thundering +hoofs of the stampeded herd soon passed them by, but the wounded +and maddened buffalo refused to move, and some critical moments +passed before Red Cloud's father succeeded in attracting its +attention so that the boy might spring to his feet and run for his +life. + +I once asked Red Cloud if he could recall having ever been +afraid, and in reply he told me this story. He was about sixteen +years old and had already been once or twice upon the warpath, when +one fall his people were hunting in the Big Horn country, where +they might expect trouble at any moment with the hostile Crows or +Shoshones. Red Cloud had followed a single buffalo bull into the +Bad Lands and was out of sight and hearing of his companions. When +he had brought down his game, he noted carefully every feature of +his surroundings so that he might at once detect anything unusual, +and tied his horse with a long lariat to the horn of the dead +bison, while skinning and cutting up the meat so as to pack it to +camp. Every few minutes he paused in his work to scrutinize the +landscape, for he had a feeling that danger was not far off. + +Suddenly, almost over his head, as it seemed, he heard a +tremendous war whoop, and glancing sidewise, thought he beheld +the charge of an overwhelming number of warriors. He tried +desperately to give the usual undaunted war whoop in reply, but +instead a yell of terror burst from his lips, his legs gave way +under him, and he fell in a heap. When he realized, the next +instant, that the war whoop was merely the sudden loud whinnying of +his own horse, and the charging army a band of fleeing elk, he was +so ashamed of himself that he never forgot the incident, although +up to that time he had never mentioned it. His subsequent career +would indicate that the lesson was well learned. + +The future leader was still a very young man when he joined a +war party against the Utes. Having pushed eagerly forward on the +trail, he found himself far in advance of his companions as night +came on, and at the same time rain began to fall heavily. Among +the scattered scrub pines, the lone warrior found a natural cave, +and after a hasty examination, he decided to shelter there for the +night. + +Scarcely had he rolled himself in his blanket when he heard a +slight rustling at the entrance, as if some creature were preparing +to share his retreat. It was pitch dark. He could see nothing, but +judged that it must be either a man or a grizzly. There was not +room to draw a bow. It must be between knife and knife, or between +knife and claws, he said to himself. + +The intruder made no search but quietly lay down in the +opposite corner of the cave. Red Cloud remained perfectly still, +scarcely breathing, his hand upon his knife. Hour after hour he +lay broad awake, while many thoughts passed through his brain. +Suddenly, without warning, he sneezed, and instantly a strong man +sprang to a sitting posture opposite. The first gray of morning +was creeping into their rocky den, and behold! a Ute hunter sat +before him. + +Desperate as the situation appeared, it was not without a grim +humor. Neither could afford to take his eyes from the other's; the +tension was great, till at last a smile wavered over the +expressionless face of the Ute. Red Cloud answered the smile, and +in that instant a treaty of peace was born between them. + +"Put your knife in its sheath. I shall do so also, and we +will smoke together," signed Red Cloud. The other assented gladly, +and they ratified thus the truce which assured to each a safe +return to his friends. Having finished their smoke, they shook +hands and separated. Neither had given the other any information. +Red Cloud returned to his party and told his story, adding that he +had divulged nothing and had nothing to report. Some were inclined +to censure him for not fighting, but he was sustained by a majority +of the warriors, who commended his self-restraint. In a day or two +they discovered the main camp of the enemy and fought a remarkable +battle, in which Red Cloud especially distinguished himself + +The Sioux were now entering upon the most stormy period of +their history. The old things were fast giving place to new. The +young men, for the first time engaging in serious and destructive +warfare with the neighboring tribes, armed with the deadly weapons +furnished by the white man, began to realize that they must soon +enter upon a desperate struggle for their ancestral hunting +grounds. The old men had been innocently cultivating the +friendship of the stranger, saying among themselves, "Surely there +is land enough for all!" + +Red Cloud was a modest and little known man of about +twenty-eight years, when General Harney called all the western +bands of Sioux together at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, for the purpose +of securing an agreement and right of way through their territory. +The Ogallalas held aloof from this proposal, but Bear Bull, an +Ogallala chief, after having been plied with whisky, undertook to +dictate submission to the rest of the clan. Enraged by failure, he +fired upon a group of his own tribesmen, and Red Cloud's father and +brother fell dead. According to Indian custom, it fell to him to +avenge the deed. Calmly, without uttering a word, he faced old +Bear Bull and his son, who attempted to defend his father, and shot +them both. He did what he believed to be his duty, and the whole +band sustained him. Indeed, the tragedy gave the young man at once +a certain standing, as one who not only defended his people against +enemies from without, but against injustice and aggression within +the tribe. From this time on he was a recognized leader. + +Man-Afraid-of-His-Horse, then head chief of the Ogallalas, +took council with Red Cloud in all important matters, and the young +warrior rapidly advanced in authority and influence. In 1854, when +he was barely thirty-five years old, the various bands were again +encamped near Fort Laramie. A Mormon emigrant train, moving +westward, left a footsore cow behind, and the young men killed her +for food. The next day, to their astonishment, an officer with +thirty men appeared at the Indian camp and demanded of old +Conquering Bear that they be given up. The chief in vain protested +that it was all a mistake and offered to make reparation. It would +seem that either the officer was under the influence of liquor, or +else had a mind to bully the Indians, for he would accept neither +explanation nor payment, but demanded point-blank that the young +men who had killed the cow be delivered up to summary punishment. +The old chief refused to be intimidated and was shot dead on the +spot. Not one soldier ever reached the gate of Fort Laramie! Here +Red Cloud led the young Ogallalas, and so intense was the feeling +that they even killed the half-breed interpreter. + +Curiously enough, there was no attempt at retaliation on the +part of the army, and no serious break until 1860, when the Sioux +were involved in troubles with the Cheyennes and Arapahoes. In +1862, a grave outbreak was precipitated by the eastern Sioux in +Minnesota under Little Crow, in which the western bands took no +part. Yet this event ushered in a new period for their race. The +surveyors of the Union Pacific were laying out the proposed road +through the heart of the southern buffalo country, the rendezvous +of Ogallalas, Brules, Arapahoes, Comanches, and Pawnees, who +followed the buffalo as a means of livelihood. To be sure, most of +these tribes were at war with one another, yet during the summer +months they met often to proclaim a truce and hold joint councils +and festivities, which were now largely turned into discussions of +the common enemy. It became evident, however, that some of the +smaller and weaker tribes were inclined to welcome the new order of +things, recognizing that it was the policy of the government to put +an end to tribal warfare. + +Red Cloud's position was uncompromisingly against submission. +He made some noted speeches in this line, one of which was repeated +to me by an old man who had heard and remembered it with the +remarkable verbal memory of an Indian. + +"Friends," said Red Cloud, "it has been our misfortune to +welcome the white man. We have been deceived. He brought with him +some shining things that pleased our eyes; he brought weapons more +effective than our own: above all, he brought the spirit water that +makes one forget for a time old age, weakness, and sorrow. But I +wish to say to you that if you would possess these things for +yourselves, you must begin anew and put away the wisdom of your +fathers. You must lay up food, and forget the hungry. When your +house is built, your storeroom filled, then look around for a +neighbor whom you can take at a disadvantage, and seize all that he +has! Give away only what you do not want; or rather, do not part +with any of your possessions unless in exchange for another's. + +"My countrymen, shall the glittering trinkets of this rich +man, his deceitful drink that overcomes the mind, shall these +things tempt us to give up our homes, our hunting grounds, and the +honorable teaching of our old men? Shall we permit ourselves to be +driven to and fro -- to be herded like the cattle of the white man?" + +His next speech that has been remembered was made in 1866, +just before the attack on Fort Phil Kearny. The tension of feeling +against the invaders had now reached its height. There was no +dissenting voice in the council upon the Powder River, when it was +decided to oppose to the uttermost the evident purpose of the +government. Red Cloud was not altogether ignorant of the numerical +strength and the resourcefulness of the white man, but he was +determined to face any odds rather than submit. + +"Hear ye, Dakotas!" he exclaimed. "When the Great Father at +Washington sent us his chief soldier [General Harney] to ask for a +path through our hunting grounds, a way for his iron road to the +mountains and the western sea, we were told that they wished merely +to pass through our country, not to tarry among us, but to seek for +gold in the far west. Our old chiefs thought to show their +friendship and good will, when they allowed this dangerous snake in +our midst. They promised to protect the wayfarers. + +"Yet before the ashes of the council fire are cold, the Great +Father is building his forts among us. You have heard the sound of +the white soldier's ax upon the Little Piney. His presence here is +an insult and a threat. It is an insult to the spirits of our +ancestors. Are we then to give up their sacred graves to be plowed +for corn? Dakotas, I am for war!" + +In less than a week after this speech, the Sioux advanced upon +Fort Phil Kearny, the new sentinel that had just taken her place +upon the farthest frontier, guarding the Oregon Trail. Every +detail of the attack had been planned with care, though not without +heated discussion, and nearly every well-known Sioux chief had +agreed in striking the blow. The brilliant young war leader, Crazy +Horse, was appointed to lead the charge. His lieutenants were +Sword, Hump, and Dull Knife, with Little Chief of the Cheyennes, +while the older men acted as councilors. Their success was +instantaneous. In less than half an hour, they had cut down nearly +a hundred men under Captain Fetterman, whom they drew out of the +fort by a ruse and then annihilated. + +Instead of sending troops to punish, the government sent a +commission to treat with the Sioux. The result was the famous +treaty of 1868, which Red Cloud was the last to sign, having +refused to do so until all of the forts within their territory +should be vacated. All of his demands were acceded to, the new +road abandoned, the garrisons withdrawn, and in the new treaty it +was distinctly stated that the Black Hills and the Big Horn were +Indian country, set apart for their perpetual occupancy, and that +no white man should enter that region without the consent of the +Sioux. + +Scarcely was this treaty signed, however, when gold was +discovered in the Black Hills, and the popular cry was: "Remove +the Indians!" This was easier said than done. That very territory +had just been solemnly guaranteed to them forever: yet how stem the +irresistible rush for gold? The government, at first, entered some +small protest, just enough to "save its face" as the saying is; but +there was no serious attempt to prevent the wholesale violation of +the treaty. It was this state of affairs that led to the last +great speech made by Red Cloud, at a gathering upon the Little +Rosebud River. It is brief, and touches upon the hopelessness of +their future as a race. He seems at about this time to have +reached the conclusion that resistance could not last much longer; +in fact, the greater part of the Sioux nation was already under +government control. + +"We are told," said he, "that Spotted Tail has consented to be +the Beggars' Chief. Those Indians who go over to the white man can +be nothing but beggars, for he respects only riches, and how can an +Indian be a rich man? He cannot without ceasing to be an Indian. +As for me, I have listened patiently to the promises of the Great +Father, but his memory is short. I am now done with him. This is +all I have to say." + +The wilder bands separated soon after this council, to follow +the drift of the buffalo, some in the vicinity of the Black Hills +and others in the Big Horn region. Small war parties came down +from time to time upon stray travelers, who received no mercy at +their hands, or made dashes upon neighboring forts. Red Cloud +claimed the right to guard and hold by force, if need be, all this +territory which had been conceded to his people by the treaty of +1868. The land became a very nest of outlawry. Aside from +organized parties of prospectors, there were bands of white horse +thieves and desperadoes who took advantage of the situation to +plunder immigrants and Indians alike. + +An attempt was made by means of military camps to establish +control and force all the Indians upon reservations, and another +commission was sent to negotiate their removal to Indian Territory, +but met with an absolute refusal. After much guerrilla warfare, an +important military campaign against the Sioux was set on foot in +1876, ending in Custer's signal defeat upon the Little Big Horn. + +In this notable battle, Red Cloud did not participate in +person, nor in the earlier one with Crook upon the Little Rosebud, +but he had a son in both fights. He was now a councilor rather +than a warrior, but his young men were constantly in the field, +while Spotted Tail had definitely surrendered and was in close +touch with representatives of the government. + +But the inevitable end was near. One morning in the fall of +1876 Red Cloud was surrounded by United States troops under the +command of Colonel McKenzie, who disarmed his people and brought +them into Fort Robinson, Nebraska. Thence they were removed to the +Pine Ridge agency, where he lived for more than thirty years as a +"reservation Indian." In order to humiliate him further, +government authorities proclaimed the more tractable Spotted Tail +head chief of the Sioux. Of course, Red Cloud's own people never +recognized any other chief. + +In 1880 he appealed to Professor Marsh, of Yale, head of a +scientific expedition to the Bad Lands, charging certain frauds at +the agency and apparently proving his case; at any rate the matter +was considered worthy of official investigation. In 1890-1891, +during the "Ghost Dance craze" and the difficulties that followed, +he was suspected of collusion with the hostiles, but he did not +join them openly, and nothing could be proved against him. He was +already an old man, and became almost entirely blind before his +death in 1909 in his ninetieth year. + +His private life was exemplary. He was faithful to one wife +all his days, and was a devoted father to his children. He was +ambitious for his only son, known as Jack Red Cloud, and much +desired him to be a great warrior. He started him on the warpath +at the age of fifteen, not then realizing that the days of Indian +warfare were well-nigh at an end. + +Among latter-day chiefs, Red Cloud was notable as a quiet man, +simple and direct in speech, courageous in action, an ardent lover +of his country, and possessed in a marked degree of the manly +qualities characteristic of the American Indian in his best days. + + + +SPOTTED TAIL + + +Among the Sioux chiefs of the "transition period" only one was +shrewd enough to read coming events in their true light. It is +said of Spotted Tail that he was rather a slow-moving boy, +preferring in their various games and mimic battles to play the +role of councilor, to plan and assign to the others their parts in +the fray. This he did so cleverly that he soon became a leader +among his youthful contemporaries; and withal he was apt at mimicry +and impersonation, so that the other boys were accustomed to say of +him, "He has his grandfather's wit and the wisdom of his +grandmother!" + +Spotted Tail was an orphan, reared by his grandparents, and at +an early age compelled to shift for himself. Thus he was somewhat +at a disadvantage among the other boys; yet even this fact may have +helped to develop in him courage and ingenuity. One little +incident of his boy life, occurring at about his tenth year, is +characteristic of the man. In the midst of a game, two boys became +involved in a dispute which promised to be a serious one, as both +drew knives. The young Spotted Tail instantly began to cry, "The +Shoshones are upon us! To arms! to arms!" and the other boys +joined in the war whoop. This distracted the attention of the +combatants and ended the affair. + +Upon the whole, his boyhood is not so well remembered as is +that of most of his leading contemporaries, probably because he had +no parents to bring him frequently before the people, as was the +custom with the wellborn, whose every step in their progress toward +manhood was publicly announced at a feast given in their honor. It +is known, however, that he began at an early age to carve out a +position for himself. It is personal qualities alone that tell +among our people, and the youthful Spotted Tail gained at every +turn. At the age of seventeen, he had become a sure shot and a +clever hunter; but, above all, he had already shown that he +possessed a superior mind. He had come into contact with white +people at the various trading posts, and according to his own story +had made a careful study of the white man's habits and modes of +thought, especially of his peculiar trait of economy and intense +desire to accumulate property. He was accustomed to watch closely +and listen attentively whenever any of this strange race had +dealings with his people. When a council was held, and the other +young men stood at a distance with their robes over their faces so +as to avoid recognition, Spotted Tail always put himself in a +position to hear all that was said on either side, and weighed all +the arguments in his mind. + +When he first went upon the warpath, it appears that he was, +if anything, overzealous to establish himself in the eye of his +people; and as a matter of fact, it was especially hard for him to +gain an assured position among the Brules, with whom he lived, both +because he was an orphan, and because his father had been of +another band. Yet it was not long before he had achieved his +ambition, though in doing so he received several ugly wounds. It +was in a battle with the Utes that he first notably served his +people and their cause. + +The Utes were the attacking party and far outnumbered the +Sioux on this occasion. Many of their bravest young men had +fallen, and the Brules were face to face with utter annihilation, +when Spotted Tail, with a handful of daring horsemen, dodged around +the enemy's flank and fell upon them from the rear with so much +spirit that they supposed that strong reinforcements had arrived, +and retreated in confusion. The Sioux pursued on horseback; and it +was in this pursuit that the noted chief Two Strike gained his +historical name. But the chief honors of the fight belonged to +Spotted Tail. The old chiefs, Conquering Bear and the rest, +thanked him and at once made him a war chief. + +It had been the firm belief of Spotted Tail that it was unwise +to allow the white man so much freedom in our country, long before +the older chiefs saw any harm in it. After the opening of the +Oregon Trail he, above all the others, was watchful of the conduct +of the Americans as they journeyed toward the setting sun, and more +than once he remarked in council that these white men were not like +the French and the Spanish, with whom our old chiefs had been used +to deal. He was not fully satisfied with the agreement with +General Harney; but as a young warrior who had only just gained his +position in the council, he could not force his views upon the +older men. + +No sooner had the Oregon Trail been secured from the Sioux +than Fort Laramie and other frontier posts were strengthened, and +the soldiers became more insolent and overbearing than ever. It +was soon discovered that the whites were prepared to violate most +of the articles of their treaty as the Indians understood it. At +this time, the presence of many Mormon emigrants on their way to +the settlements in Utah and Wyoming added to the perils of the +situation, as they constantly maneuvered for purposes of their own +to bring about a clash between the soldiers and the Indians. Every +summer there were storm-clouds blowing between these two -- clouds +usually taking their rise in some affair of the travelers along the +trail. + +In 1854 an event occurred which has already been described and +which snapped the last link of friendship between the races. + +By this time Spotted Tail had proved his courage both abroad +and at home. He had fought a duel with one of the lesser chiefs, +by whom he was attacked. He killed his opponent with an arrow, but +himself received upon his head a blow from a battle-axe which +brought him senseless to the ground. He was left for dead, but +fortunately revived just as the men were preparing his body for +burial. + +The Brules sustained him in this quarrel, as he had acted in +self-defense; and for a few years he led them in bloody raids +against the whites along the historic trail. He ambushed many +stagecoaches and emigrant trains, and was responsible for waylaying +the Kincaid coach with twenty thousand dollars. This relentless +harrying of travelers soon brought General Harney to the Brule +Sioux to demand explanations and reparation. + +The old chiefs of the Brules now appealed to Spotted Tail and +his young warriors not to bring any general calamity upon the +tribe. To the surprise of all, Spotted Tail declared that he would +give himself up. He said that he had defended the rights of his +people to the best of his ability, that he had avenged the blood of +their chief, Conquering Bear, and that he was not afraid to accept +the consequences. He therefore voluntarily surrendered to General +Harney, and two of his lieutenants, Red Leaf and Old Woman, +followed his example. + +Thus Spotted Tail played an important part at the very outset +of those events which were soon to overthrow the free life of his +people. I do not know how far he foresaw what was to follow; but +whether so conceived or not, his surrender was a master stroke, +winning for him not only the admiration of his own people but the +confidence and respect of the military. + +Thus suddenly he found himself in prison, a hostage for the +good behavior of his followers. There were many rumors as to the +punishment reserved for him; but luckily for Spotted Tail, the +promises of General Harney to the Brule chiefs in respect to him +were faithfully kept. One of his fellow-prisoners committed +suicide, but the other held out bravely for the two-year term of +his imprisonment. During the second year, it was well understood +that neither of the men sought to escape, and they were given +much freedom. It was fine schooling for Spotted Tail, that +tireless observer of the ways of the white man! It is a fact that +his engaging personal qualities won for him kindness and sympathy +at the fort before the time came for his release. + +One day some Indian horse thieves of another tribe stampeded +the horses and mules belonging to the garrison. Spotted Tail asked +permission of the commanding officer to accompany the pursuers. +That officer, trusting in the honor of a Sioux brave, gave him a +fast horse and a good carbine, and said to him: "I depend upon you +to guide my soldiers so that they may overtake the thieves and +recapture the horses!" + +The soldiers recaptured the horses without any loss, but +Spotted Tail still followed the Indians. When they returned to the +fort without him, everybody agreed that he would never turn up. +However, next day he did "turn up", with the scalp of one of the +marauders! + +Soon after this he was returned to his own people, who honored +him by making him the successor of the old chief, Conquering Bear, +whose blood he had avenged, for which act he had taken upon himself +the full responsibility. He had made good use of his two years at +the fort, and completed his studies of civilization to his own +satisfaction. From this time on he was desirous of reconciling the +Indian and the white man, thoroughly understanding the uselessness +of opposition. He was accordingly in constant communication with +the military; but the other chiefs did not understand his views and +seem to have been suspicious of his motives. + +In 1860-1864 the Southern Cheyennes and Comanches were at war +with the whites, and some of the Brules and Ogallalas, who were +their neighbors and intimates, were suspected of complicity with +the hostiles. Doubtless a few of their young men may have been +involved; at any rate, Thunder Bear and Two Face, together with a +few others who were roving with the warring tribes, purchased two +captive white women and brought them to Fort Laramie. It was, +however, reported at the post that these two men had maltreated the +women while under their care. + +Of course, the commander demanded of Spotted Tail, then head +chief, that he give up the guilty ones, and accordingly he had the +two men arrested and delivered at the fort. At this there was an +outcry among his own people; but he argued that if the charges were +true, the men deserved punishment, and if false, they should be +tried and cleared by process of law. The Indians never quite knew +what evidence was produced at the court-martial, but at all events +the two men were hanged, and as they had many influential +connections, their relatives lost no time in fomenting trouble. +The Sioux were then camping close by the fort and it was midwinter, +which facts held them in check for a month or two; but as soon as +spring came, they removed their camp across the river and rose in +rebellion. A pitched battle was fought, in which the soldiers got +the worst of it. Even the associate chief, Big Mouth, was against +Spotted Tail, who was practically forced against his will and +judgment to take up arms once more. + +At this juncture came the sudden and bloody uprising in the +east among the Minnesota Sioux, and Sitting Bull's campaign in the +north had begun in earnest; while to the south the Southern +Cheyennes, Comanches, and Kiowas were all upon the warpath. +Spotted Tail at about this time seems to have conceived the idea of +uniting all the Rocky Mountain Indians in a great confederacy. He +once said: "Our cause is as a child's cause, in comparison with the +power of the white man, unless we can stop quarreling among +ourselves and unite our energies for the common good." But old- +time antagonisms were too strong; and he was probably held back +also by his consciousness of the fact that the Indians called him +"the white man's friend", while the military still had some faith +in him which he did not care to lose. He was undoubtedly one of +the brainiest and most brilliant Sioux who ever lived; and while he +could not help being to a large extent in sympathy with the feeling +of his race against the invader, yet he alone foresaw the +inevitable outcome, and the problem as it presented itself to him +was simply this: "What is the best policy to pursue in the existing +situation?" + +Here is his speech as it has been given to me, delivered at +the great council on the Powder River, just before the attack on +Fort Phil Kearny. We can imagine that he threw all his wonderful +tact and personal magnetism into this last effort at conciliation. + +"'Hay, hay, hay! Alas, alas!' Thus speaks the old man, when +he knows that his former vigor and freedom is gone from him +forever. So we may exclaim to-day, Alas! There is a time +appointed to all things. Think for a moment how many multitudes of +the animal tribes we ourselves have destroyed! Look upon the snow +that appears to-day -- to-morrow it is water! Listen to the dirge +of the dry leaves, that were green and vigorous but a few moons +before! We are a part of this life and it seems that our time is +come. + +"Yet note how the decay of one nation invigorates another. +This strange white man -- consider him, his gifts are manifold! +His tireless brain, his busy hand do wonders for his race. Those +things which we despise he holds as treasures; yet he is so great +and so flourishing that there must be some virtue and truth in his +philosophy. I wish to say to you, my friends: Be not moved alone +by heated arguments and thoughts of revenge! These are for the +young. We are young no longer; let us think well, and give counsel +as old men!" + +These words were greeted with an ominous silence. Not even +the customary "How!" of assent followed the speech, and Sitting +Bull immediately got up and replied in the celebrated harangue +which will be introduced under his own name in another chapter. +The situation was critical for Spotted Tail -- the only man present +to advocate submission to the stronger race whose ultimate +supremacy he recognized as certain. The decision to attack Fort +Phil Kearny was unanimous without him, and in order to hold his +position among his tribesmen he joined in the charge. Several +bullets passed through his war bonnet, and he was slightly wounded. + +When the commission of 1867-1868 was sent out to negotiate +with the Sioux, Spotted Tail was ready to meet them, and eager to +obtain for his people the very best terms that he could. He often +puzzled and embarrassed them by his remarkable speeches, the +pointed questions that he put, and his telling allusions to former +negotiations. Meanwhile Red Cloud would not come into the council +until after several deputations of Indians had been sent to him, +and Sitting Bull did not come at all. + +The famous treaty was signed, and from this time on Spotted +Tail never again took up arms against the whites. On the contrary, +it was mainly attributed to his influence that the hostiles were +subdued much sooner than might have been expected. He came into +the reservation with his band, urged his young men to enlist as +government scouts, and assisted materially in all negotiations. +The hostile chiefs no longer influenced his action, and as soon as +they had all been brought under military control, General Crook +named Spotted Tail head chief of the Sioux, thus humiliating Red +Cloud and arousing jealousy and ill-feeling among the Ogallalas. +In order to avoid trouble, he prudently separated himself from the +other bands, and moved to the new agency on Beaver Creek (Fort +Sheridan, Nebraska), which was called "Spotted Tail Agency." + +Just before the daring war leader, Crazy Horse, surrendered to +the military, he went down to the agency and roundly rebuked +Spotted Tail for signing away the freedom of his people. From the +point of view of the irreconcilables, the diplomatic chief was a +"trimmer" and a traitor; and many of the Sioux have tried to +implicate him in the conspiracy against Crazy Horse which led to +his assassination, but I hold that the facts do not bear out this +charge. + +The name of Spotted Tail was prominently before the people +during the rest of his life. An obscure orphan, he had achieved +distinction by his bravery and sagacity; but he copied the white +politician too closely after he entered the reservation. He became +a good manipulator, and was made conceited and overbearing by the +attentions of the military and of the general public. Furthermore, +there was an old feud in his immediate band which affected him +closely. Against him for many years were the followers of Big +Mouth, whom he had killed in a duel; and also a party led by a son +and a nephew of the old chief, Conquering Bear, whom Spotted Tail +had succeeded at his death. These two men had hoped that one or +the other of them might obtain the succession. + +Crow Dog, the nephew of Conquering Bear, more than once +taunted Spotted Tail with the fact that he was chief not by the +will of the tribe, but by the help of the white soldiers, and told +him that he would "keep a bullet for him" in case he ever disgraced +his high position. Thus retribution lay in wait for him while at +the height of his fame. Several high-handed actions of his at this +time, including his elopement with another man's wife, increased +his unpopularity with a large element of his own tribe. On the eve +of the chief's departure for Washington, to negotiate (or so they +suspected) for the sale of more of their land, Crow Dog took up his +gun and fulfilled his threat, regarding himself, and regarded by +his supporters, not as a murderer, but as an executioner. + +Such was the end of the man who may justly be called the +Pontiac of the west. He possessed a remarkable mind and +extraordinary foresight for an untutored savage; and yet he is the +only one of our great men to be remembered with more honor by the +white man, perhaps, than by his own people. + + + + +LITTLE CROW + + +Chief Little Crow was the eldest son of Cetanwakuwa (Charging +Hawk). It was on account of his father's name, mistranslated Crow, +that he was called by the whites "Little Crow." His real name was +Taoyateduta, His Red People. + +As far back as Minnesota history goes, a band of the Sioux +called Kaposia (Light Weight, because they were said to travel +light) inhabited the Mille Lacs region. Later they dwelt about St. +Croix Falls, and still later near St. Paul. In 1840, Cetanwakuwa +was still living in what is now West St. Paul, but he was soon +after killed by the accidental discharge of his gun. + +It was during a period of demoralization for the Kaposias that +Little Crow became the leader of his people. His father, a +well-known chief, had three wives, all from different bands of the +Sioux. He was the only son of the first wife, a Leaf Dweller. +There were two sons of the second and two of the third wife, and +the second set of brothers conspired to kill their half-brother in +order to keep the chieftainship in the family. + +Two kegs of whisky were bought, and all the men of the tribe +invited to a feast. It was planned to pick some sort of quarrel +when all were drunk, and in the confusion Little Crow was to be +murdered. The plot went smoothly until the last instant, when a +young brave saved the intended victim by knocking the gun aside +with his hatchet, so that the shot went wild. However, it broke +his right arm, which remained crooked all his life. The friends of +the young chieftain hastily withdrew, avoiding a general fight; and +later the council of the Kaposias condemned the two brothers, both +of whom were executed, leaving him in undisputed possession. + +Such was the opening of a stormy career. Little Crow's mother +had been a chief's daughter, celebrated for her beauty and spirit, +and it is said that she used to plunge him into the lake through a +hole in the ice, rubbing him afterward with snow, to strengthen his +nerves, and that she would remain with him alone in the deep woods +for days at a time, so that he might know that solitude is good, +and not fear to be alone with nature. + +"My son," she would say, "if you are to be a leader of men, +you must listen in silence to the mystery, the spirit." + +At a very early age she made a feast for her boy and announced +that he would fast two days. This is what might be called a formal +presentation to the spirit or God. She greatly desired him to +become a worthy leader according to the ideas of her people. It +appears that she left her husband when he took a second wife, and +lived with her own band till her death. She did not marry again. + +Little Crow was an intensely ambitious man and without +physical fear. He was always in perfect training and early +acquired the art of warfare of the Indian type. It is told of him +that when he was about ten years old, he engaged with other boys in +a sham battle on the shore of a lake near St. Paul. Both sides +were encamped at a little distance from one another, and the rule +was that the enemy must be surprised, otherwise the attack would be +considered a failure. One must come within so many paces +undiscovered in order to be counted successful. Our hero had a +favorite dog which, at his earnest request, was allowed to take +part in the game, and as a scout he entered the enemy camp unseen, +by the help of his dog. + +When he was twelve, he saved the life of a companion who had +broken through the ice by tying the end of a pack line to a log, +then at great risk to himself carrying it to the edge of the hole +where his comrade went down. It is said that he also broke in, but +both boys saved themselves by means of the line. + +As a young man, Little Crow was always ready to serve his +people as a messenger to other tribes, a duty involving much danger +and hardship. He was also known as one of the best hunters in his +band. Although still young, he had already a war record when he +became chief of the Kaposias, at a time when the Sioux were facing +the greatest and most far-reaching changes that had ever come to +them. + +At this juncture in the history of the northwest and its +native inhabitants, the various fur companies had paramount +influence. They did not hesitate to impress the Indians with the +idea that they were the authorized representatives of the white +races or peoples, and they were quick to realize the desirability +of controlling the natives through their most influential chiefs. +Little Crow became quite popular with post traders and factors. He +was an orator as well as a diplomat, and one of the first of his +nation to indulge in politics and promote unstable schemes to the +detriment of his people. + +When the United States Government went into the business of +acquiring territory from the Indians so that the flood of western +settlement might not be checked, commissions were sent out to +negotiate treaties, and in case of failure it often happened that +a delegation of leading men of the tribe were invited to +Washington. At that period, these visiting chiefs, attired in all +the splendor of their costumes of ceremony, were treated like +ambassadors from foreign countries. + +One winter in the late eighteen-fifties, a major general of +the army gave a dinner to the Indian chiefs then in the city, and +on this occasion Little Crow was appointed toastmaster. There were +present a number of Senators and members of Congress, as well as +judges of the Supreme Court, cabinet officers, and other +distinguished citizens. When all the guests were seated, the Sioux +arose and addressed them with much dignity as follows: + +"Warriors and friends: I am informed that the great white war +chief who of his generosity and comradeship has given us this +feast, has expressed the wish that we may follow to-night the +usages and customs of my people. In other words, this is a +warriors' feast, a braves' meal. I call upon the Ojibway chief, +the Hole-in-the-Day, to give the lone wolf's hunger call, after +which we will join him in our usual manner." + +The tall and handsome Ojibway now rose and straightened his +superb form to utter one of the clearest and longest wolf howls +that was ever heard in Washington, and at its close came a +tremendous burst of war whoops that fairly rent the air, and no +doubt electrified the officials there present. + +On one occasion Little Crow was invited by the commander of +Fort Ridgeley, Minnesota, to call at the fort. On his way back, +in company with a half-breed named Ross and the interpreter +Mitchell, he was ambushed by a party of Ojibways, and again +wounded in the same arm that had been broken in his attempted +assassination. His companion Ross was killed, but he managed +to hold the war party at bay until help came and thus saved his +life. + +More and more as time passed, this naturally brave and +ambitious man became a prey to the selfish interests of the traders +and politicians. The immediate causes of the Sioux outbreak of +1862 came in quick succession to inflame to desperate action an +outraged people. The two bands on the so-called "lower +reservations" in Minnesota were Indians for whom nature had +provided most abundantly in their free existence. After one +hundred and fifty years of friendly intercourse first with the +French, then the English, and finally the Americans, they found +themselves cut off from every natural resource, on a tract of land +twenty miles by thirty, which to them was virtual imprisonment. By +treaty stipulation with the government, they were to be fed and +clothed, houses were to be built for them, the men taught +agriculture, and schools provided for the children. In addition to +this, a trust fund of a million and a half was to be set aside for +them, at five per cent interest, the interest to be paid annually +per capita. They had signed the treaty under pressure, believing +in these promises on the faith of a great nation. + +However, on entering the new life, the resources so rosily +described to them failed to materialize. Many families faced +starvation every winter, their only support the store of the Indian +trader, who was baiting his trap for their destruction. Very +gradually they awoke to the facts. At last it was planned to +secure from them the north half of their reservation for +ninety-eight thousand dollars, but it was not explained to the +Indians that the traders were to receive all the money. Little +Crow made the greatest mistake of his life when he signed this +agreement. + +Meanwhile, to make matters worse, the cash annuities were not +paid for nearly two years. Civil War had begun. When it was +learned that the traders had taken all of the ninety-eight thousand +dollars "on account", there was very bitter feeling. In fact, the +heads of the leading stores were afraid to go about as usual, and +most of them stayed in St. Paul. Little Crow was justly held in +part responsible for the deceit, and his life was not safe. + +The murder of a white family near Acton, Minnesota, by a party +of Indian duck hunters in August, 1862, precipitated the break. +Messengers were sent to every village with the news, and at the +villages of Little Crow and Little Six the war council was red-hot. +It was proposed to take advantage of the fact that north and south +were at war to wipe out the white settlers and to regain their +freedom. A few men stood out against such a desperate step, but +the conflagration had gone beyond their control. + +There were many mixed bloods among these Sioux, and some of +the Indians held that these were accomplices of the white people in +robbing them of their possessions, therefore their lives should not +be spared. My father, Many Lightnings, who was practically the +leader of the Mankato band (for Mankato, the chief, was a weak +man), fought desperately for the lives of the half-breeds and the +missionaries. The chiefs had great confidence in my father, yet +they would not commit themselves, since their braves were clamoring +for blood. Little Crow had been accused of all the misfortunes of +his tribe, and he now hoped by leading them against the whites to +regain his prestige with his people, and a part at least of their +lost domain. + +There were moments when the pacifists were in grave peril. It +was almost daybreak when my father saw that the approaching +calamity could not be prevented. He and two others said to Little +Crow: "If you want war, you must personally lead your men +to-morrow. We will not murder women and children, but we will +fight the soldiers when they come." They then left the council and +hastened to warn my brother-in-law, Faribault, and others who were +in danger. + +Little Crow declared he would be seen in the front of every +battle, and it is true that he was foremost in all the succeeding +bloodshed, urging his warriors to spare none. He ordered his war +leader, Many Hail, to fire the first shot, killing the trader James +Lynd, in the door of his store. + +After a year of fighting in which he had met with defeat, the +discredited chief retreated to Fort Garry, now Winnipeg, Manitoba, +where, together with Standing Buffalo, he undertook secret +negotiations with his old friends the Indian traders. There was +now a price upon his head, but he planned to reach St. Paul +undetected and there surrender himself to his friends, who he hoped +would protect him in return for past favors. It is true that he +had helped them to secure perhaps the finest country held by any +Indian nation for a mere song. + +He left Canada with a few trusted friends, including his +youngest and favorite son. When within two or three days' journey +of St. Paul, he told the others to return, keeping with him only +his son, Wowinape, who was but fifteen years of age. He meant to +steal into the city by night and go straight to Governor Ramsey, +who was his personal friend. He was very hungry and was obliged to +keep to the shelter of the deep woods. The next morning, as he was +picking and eating wild raspberries, he was seen by a wood-chopper +named Lamson. The man did not know who he was. He only knew that +he was an Indian, and that was enough for him, so he lifted his +rifle to his shoulder and fired, then ran at his best pace. The +brilliant but misguided chief, who had made that part of the +country unsafe for any white man to live in, sank to the ground and +died without a struggle. The boy took his father's gun and made +some effort to find the assassin, but as he did not even know in +which direction to look for him, he soon gave up the attempt and +went back to his friends. + +Meanwhile Lamson reached home breathless and made his report. +The body of the chief was found and identified, in part by the +twice broken arm, and this arm and his scalp may be seen to-day in +the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society. + + + + +TAMAHAY + + +There was once a Sioux brave who declared that he would die young, +yet not by his own hand. Tamahay was of heroic proportions, +herculean in strength, a superb runner; in fact, he had all the +physical qualities of an athlete or a typical Indian. In his +scanty dress, he was beautiful as an antique statue in living +bronze. When a mere youth, seventeen years of age, he met with an +accident which determined his career. It was the loss of an eye, +a fatal injury to the sensitive and high-spirited Indian. He +announced his purpose in these words: + +"The 'Great Mystery' has decreed that I must be disgraced. +There will be no pleasure for me now, and I shall be ridiculed +even by my enemies. It will be well for me to enter soon into +Paradise, for I shall be happy in spending my youth there. But +I will sell my life dearly. Hereafter my name shall be spoken in +the traditions of our race." With this speech Tamahay began his +career. + +He now sought glory and defied danger with even more than the +ordinary Indian recklessness. He accepted a personal friend, which +was a custom among the Sioux, where each man chose a companion for +life and death. The tie was stronger than one of blood +relationship, a friendship sealed by solemn vow and covenant. +Tamahay's intimate was fortunately almost his equal in physical +powers, and the pair became the terror of neighboring tribes, with +whom the Dakotas were continually at war. They made frequent raids +upon their enemies and were usually successful, although not +without thrilling experiences and almost miraculous escapes. + +Upon one of these occasions the two friends went north into +the country of the Ojibways. After many days' journey, they +discovered a small village of the foe. The wicked Tamahay proposed +to his associate that they should arrange their toilets after the +fashion of the Ojibways, and go among them; "and perhaps," he +added, "we will indulge in a little flirtation with their pretty +maids, and when we have had enough of the fun we can take the scalp +of a brave or two and retreat!" His friend construed his daring +proposition to be a test of courage, which it would not become him, +as a brave, to decline; therefore he assented with a show of +cheerfulness. + +The handsome strangers were well received by the Ojibway +girls, but their perilous amusement was brought to an untimely +close. A young maiden prematurely discovered their true +characters, and her cry of alarm brought instantly to her side a +jealous youth, who had been watching them from his place of +concealment. With him Tamahay had a single-handed contest, and +before a general alarm was given he had dispatched the foe and fled +with his scalp. + +The unfortunate brave had been a favorite and a leader among +the tribe; therefore the maddened Ojibways were soon in hot +pursuit. The Sioux braves were fine runners, yet they were finally +driven out upon the peninsula of a lake. As they became separated +in their retreat, Tamahay shouted, "I'll meet you at the mouth of +the St. Croix River, or in the spirit land!" Both managed to swim +the lake, and so made good their escape. + +The exploits of this man were not all of a warlike nature. He +was a great traveler and an expert scout, and he had some wonderful +experiences with wild animals. He was once sent, with his intimate +friend, on a scout for game. They were on ponies. + +They located a herd of buffaloes, and on their return to the +camp espied a lonely buffalo. Tamahay suggested that they should +chase it in order to take some fresh meat, as the law of the tribe +allowed in the case of a single animal. His pony stumbled and +threw him, after they had wounded the bison, and the latter +attacked the dismounted man viciously. But he, as usual, was on +the alert. He "took the bull by the horns", as the saying is, and +cleverly straddled him on the neck. The buffalo had no means of +harming his enemy, but pawed the earth and struggled until his +strength was exhausted, when the Indian used his knife on the +animal's throat. On account of this feat he received the name +"Held-the-Bull-by-the-Horns." + +The origin of his name "Tamahay" is related as follows. When +he was a young man he accompanied the chief Wabashaw to Mackinaw, +Michigan, together with some other warriors. He was out with his +friend one day, viewing the wonderful sights in the "white man's +country", when they came upon a sow with her numerous pink little +progeny. He was greatly amused and picked up one of the young +pigs, but as soon as it squealed the mother ran furiously after +them. He kept the pig and fled with it, still laughing; but his +friend was soon compelled to run up the conveniently inclined trunk +of a fallen tree, while our hero reached the shore of a lake near +by, and plunged into the water. He swam and dived as long as he +could, but the beast continued to threaten him with her sharp +teeth, till, almost exhausted, he swam again to shore, where his +friend came up and dispatched the vicious animal with a club. On +account of this watery adventure he was at once called Tamahay, +meaning Pike. He earned many other names, but preferred this one, +because it was the name borne by a great friend of his, Lieutenant +Pike, the first officer of the United States Army who came to +Minnesota for the purpose of exploring the sources of the +Mississippi River and of making peace with the natives. Tamahay +assisted this officer in obtaining land from the Sioux upon which +to build Fort Snelling. He appears in history under the name of +"Tahamie" or the "One-Eyed Sioux." + +Always ready to brave danger and unpopularity, Tamahay was the +only Sioux who sided with the United States in her struggle with +Great Britain in 1819. For having espoused the cause of the +Americans, he was ill-treated by the British officers and free +traders, who for a long time controlled the northwest, even after +peace had been effected between the two nations. At one time he +was confined in a fort called McKay, where now stands the town of +Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. He had just returned from St. Louis, +and was suspected of exciting his people to rebel against British +subjects. His life was even threatened, but to this Tamahay merely +replied that he was ready to die. A few months later, this fort +was restored to the United States, and upon leaving it the British +set the buildings on fire, though the United States flag floated +above them. Some Indians who were present shouted to Tamahay, +"Your friends', the Americans', fort is on fire!" He responded +with a war whoop, rushed into the blazing fort, and brought out the +flag. For this brave act he was rewarded with a present of a flag +and medal. He was never tired of displaying this medal and his +recommendation papers, and even preserved to the end of his life an +old colonial stovepipe hat, which he wore upon state occasions. + +The Sioux long referred to the president of the United States +as "Tamahay's father." + +The following story is told of him in his later days. He +attempted one day to cross the first bridge over the Mississippi +River, but was not recognized by the sentinel, who would not allow +him to pass until he paid the toll. Tamahay, who was a privileged +character, explained as best he could, with gestures and broken +English, that he was always permitted to pass free; but as the +sentinel still refused, and even threatened him with his bayonet, +the old Indian silently seized the musket, threw it down into the +waters of the Mississippi and went home. Later in the day a +company of soldiers appeared in the Indian village, and escorted +our hero to a sort of court-martial at the fort. When he was +questioned by the Colonel, he simply replied: "If you were +threatened by any one with a weapon, you would, in self-defense, +either disable the man or get rid of the weapon. I did the latter, +thinking that you would need the man more than the gun." + +Finally the officer said to them, "I see you are both partly +wrong. Some one must be responsible for the loss of the gun; +therefore, you two will wrestle, and the man who is downed must +dive for the weapon to the bottom of the river." + +Scarcely was this speech ended when Tamahay was upon the +soldier, who was surprised both by the order and by the unexpected +readiness of the wily old Indian, so that he was not prepared, and +the Sioux had the vantage hold. In a moment the bluecoat was down, +amid shouts and peals of laughter from his comrades. Having thrown +his man, the other turned and went home without a word. + +Sad to say, he acquired a great appetite for "minne-wakan", or +"mysterious water", as the Sioux call it, which proved a source of +trouble to him in his old age. It is told of him that he was +treated one winter's day to a drink of whisky in a trader's store. +He afterwards went home; but even the severe blizzard which soon +arose did not prevent him from returning in the night to the +friendly trader. He awoke that worthy from sleep about twelve +o'clock by singing his death dirge upon the roof of the log cabin. +In another moment he had jumped down the mud chimney, and into the +blazing embers of a fire. The trader had to pour out to him some +whisky in a tin pail, after which he begged the old man to "be good +and go home." On the eve of the so-called "Minnesota Massacre" by +the Sioux in 1862, Tamahay, although he was then very old and had +almost lost the use of his remaining eye, made a famous speech at +the meeting of the conspirators. These are some of his words, as +reported to me by persons who were present. + +"What! What! is this Little Crow? Is that Little Six? You, +too, White Dog, are you here? I cannot see well now, but I can see +with my mind's eye the stream of blood you are about to pour upon +the bosom of this mother of ours" (meaning the earth). "I stand +before you on three legs, but the third leg has brought me wisdom" +[referring to the staff with which he sup- ported himself]. "I +have traveled much, I have visited among the people whom you think +to defy. This means the total surrender of our beautiful land, the +land of a thousand lakes and streams. Methinks you are about to +commit an act like that of the porcupine, who climbs a tree, +balances himself upon a springy bough, and then gnaws off the very +bough upon which he is sitting; hence, when it gives way, he falls +upon the sharp rocks below. Behold the great Pontiac, whose grave +I saw near St. Louis; he was murdered while an exile from his +country! Think of the brave Black Hawk! Methinks his spirit is +still wailing through Wisconsin and Illinois for his lost people! +I do not say you have no cause to complain, but to resist is +self-destruction. I am done." + +It is supposed that this speech was his last, and it was made, +though vainly, in defense of the Americans whom he had loved. He +died at Fort Pierre, South Dakota, in 1864. His people say that he +died a natural death, of old age. And yet his exploits are not +forgotten. Thus lived and departed a most active and fearless +Sioux, Tamahay, who desired to die young! + + + + +GALL + + +Chief Gall was one of the most aggressive leaders of the Sioux +nation in their last stand for freedom. + +The westward pressure of civilization during the past three +centuries has been tremendous. When our hemisphere was +"discovered", it had been inhabited by the natives for untold ages, +but it was held undiscovered because the original owners did not +chart or advertise it. Yet some of them at least had developed +ideals of life which included real liberty and equality to all men, +and they did not recognize individual ownership in land or other +property beyond actual necessity. It was a soul development +leading to essential manhood. Under this system they brought forth +some striking characters. + +Gall was considered by both Indians and whites to be a most +impressive type of physical manhood. From his picture you can +judge of this for yourself. + +Let us follow his trail. He was no tenderfoot. He never +asked a soft place for himself. He always played the game +according to the rules and to a finish. To be sure, like every +other man, he made some mistakes, but he was an Indian and never +acted the coward. + +The earliest stories told of his life and doings indicate the +spirit of the man in that of the boy. + +When he was only about three years old, the Blackfoot band of +Sioux were on their usual roving hunt, following the buffalo while +living their natural happy life upon the wonderful wide prairies of +the Dakotas. + +It was the way of every Sioux mother to adjust her household +effects on such dogs and pack ponies as she could muster from day +to day, often lending one or two to accommodate some other woman +whose horse or dog had died, or perhaps had been among those +stampeded and carried away by a raiding band of Crow warriors. On +this particular occasion, the mother of our young Sioux brave, +Matohinshda, or Bear-Shedding-His-Hair (Gall's childhood name), +intrusted her boy to an old Eskimo pack dog, experienced and +reliable, except perhaps when unduly excited or very thirsty. + +On the day of removing camp the caravan made its morning march +up the Powder River. Upon the wide table-land the women were +busily digging teepsinna (an edible sweetish root, much used by +them) as the moving village slowly progressed. As usual at such +times, the trail was wide. An old jack rabbit had waited too long +in hiding. Now, finding himself almost surrounded by the mighty +plains people, he sprang up suddenly, his feathery ears +conspicuously erect, a dangerous challenge to the dogs and the +people. + +A whoop went up. Every dog accepted the challenge. Forgotten +were the bundles, the kits, even the babies they were drawing or +carrying. The chase was on, and the screams of the women reechoed +from the opposite cliffs of the Powder, mingled with the yelps of +dogs and the neighing of horses. The hand of every man was against +the daring warrior, the lone Jack, and the confusion was great. + +When the fleeing one cleared the mass of his enemies, he +emerged with a swiftness that commanded respect and gave promise +of a determined chase. Behind him, his pursuers stretched out in +a thin line, first the speedy, unburdened dogs and then the travois +dogs headed by the old Eskimo with his precious freight. The +youthful Gall was in a travois, a basket mounted on trailing poles +and harnessed to the sides of the animal. + +"Hey! hey! they are gaining on him!" a warrior shouted. At +this juncture two of the canines had almost nabbed their furry prey +by the back. But he was too cunning for them. He dropped +instantly and sent both dogs over his head, rolling and spinning, +then made another flight at right angles to the first. This gave +the Eskimo a chance to cut the triangle. He gained fifty yards, +but being heavily handicapped, two unladen dogs passed him. The +same trick was repeated by the Jack, and this time he saved himself +from instant death by a double loop and was now running directly +toward the crowd, followed by a dozen or more dogs. He was losing +speed, but likewise his pursuers were dropping off steadily. Only +the sturdy Eskimo dog held to his even gait, and behind him in the +frail travois leaned forward the little Matohinshda, nude save a +breech clout, his left hand holding fast the convenient tail of his +dog, the right grasping firmly one of the poles of the travois. +His black eyes were bulging almost out of their sockets; his long +hair flowed out behind like a stream of dark water. + +The Jack now ran directly toward the howling spectators, but +his marvelous speed and alertness were on the wane; while on the +other hand his foremost pursuer, who had taken part in hundreds of +similar events, had every confidence in his own endurance. Each +leap brought him nearer, fiercer and more determined. The last +effort of the Jack was to lose himself in the crowd, like a fish in +muddy water; but the big dog made the one needed leap with unerring +aim and his teeth flashed as he caught the rabbit in viselike jaws +and held him limp in air, a victor! + +The people rushed up to him as he laid the victim down, and +foremost among them was the frantic mother of Matohinshda, or Gall. +"Michinkshe! michinkshe!" (My son! my son!) she screamed as she +drew near. The boy seemed to be none the worse for his experience. +"Mother!" he cried, "my dog is brave: he got the rabbit!" She +snatched him off the travois, but he struggled out of her arms to +look upon his dog lovingly and admiringly. Old men and boys +crowded about the hero of the day, the dog, and the thoughtful +grandmother of Matohinshda unharnessed him and poured some water +from a parfleche water bag into a basin. "Here, my grandson, give +your friend something to drink." + +"How, hechetu," pronounced an old warrior no longer in active +service. "This may be only an accident, an ordinary affair; but +such things sometimes indicate a career. The boy has had a +wonderful ride. I prophesy that he will one day hold the attention +of all the people with his doings." + +This is the first remembered story of the famous chief, but +other boyish exploits foretold the man he was destined to be. He +fought many sham battles, some successful and others not; but he +was always a fierce fighter and a good loser. + +Once he was engaged in a battle with snowballs. There were +probably nearly a hundred boys on each side, and the rule was that +every fair hit made the receiver officially dead. He must not +participate further, but must remain just where he was struck. + +Gall's side was fast losing, and the battle was growing hotter +every minute when the youthful warrior worked toward an old water +hole and took up his position there. His side was soon annihilated +and there were eleven men left to fight him. He was pressed close +in the wash-out, and as he dodged under cover before a volley of +snowballs, there suddenly emerged in his stead a huge gray wolf. +His opponents fled in every direction in superstitious terror, for +they thought he had been transformed into the animal. To their +astonishment he came out on the farther side and ran to the line of +safety, a winner! + +It happened that the wolf's den had been partly covered with +snow so that no one had noticed it until the yells of the boys +aroused the inmate, and he beat a hasty retreat. The boys always +looked upon this incident as an omen. + +Gall had an amiable disposition but was quick to resent insult +or injustice. This sometimes involved him in difficulties, but he +seldom fought without good cause and was popular with his +associates. One of his characteristics was his ability to +organize, and this was a large factor in his leadership when he +became a man. He was tried in many ways, and never was known to +hesitate when it was a question of physical courage and endurance. +He entered the public service early in life, but not until he had +proved himself competent and passed all tests. + +When a mere boy, he was once scouting for game in midwinter, +far from camp, and was overtaken by a three days' blizzard. He was +forced to abandon his horse and lie under the snow for that length +of time. He afterward said he was not particularly hungry; it was +thirst and stiffness from which he suffered most. One reason the +Indian so loved his horse or dog was that at such times the animal +would stay by him like a brother. On this occasion Gall's pony was +not more than a stone's throw away when the storm subsided and the +sun shone. There was a herd of buffalo in plain sight, and the +young hunter was not long in procuring a meal. + +This chief's contemporaries still recall his wrestling match +with the equally powerful Cheyenne boy, Roman Nose, who afterward +became a chief well known to American history. It was a custom of +the northwestern Indians, when two friendly tribes camped together, +to establish the physical and athletic supremacy of the youth of +the respective camps. + +The "Che-hoo-hoo" is a wrestling game in which there may be +any number on a side, but the numbers are equal. All the boys of +each camp are called together by a leader chosen for the purpose +and draw themselves up in line of battle; then each at a given +signal attacks his opponent. + +In this memorable contest, Matohinshda, or Gall, was placed +opposite Roman Nose. The whole people turned out as spectators of +the struggle, and the battlefield was a plateau between the two +camps, in the midst of picturesque Bad Lands. There were many +athletic youths present, but these two were really the Apollos of +the two tribes. + +In this kind of sport it is not allowed to strike with the +hand, nor catch around the neck, nor kick, nor pull by the hair. +One may break away and run a few yards to get a fresh start, or +clinch, or catch as catch can. When a boy is thrown and held to +the ground, he is counted out. If a boy has met his superior, he +may drop to the ground to escape rough handling, but it is very +seldom one gives up without a full trial of strength. + +It seemed almost like a real battle, so great was the +enthusiasm, as the shouts of sympathizers on both sides went up in +a mighty chorus. At last all were either conquerors or subdued +except Gall and Roman Nose. The pair seemed equally matched. Both +were stripped to the breech clout, now tugging like two young +buffalo or elk in mating time, again writhing and twisting like +serpents. At times they fought like two wild stallions, straining +every muscle of arms, legs, and back in the struggle. Every now +and then one was lifted off his feet for a moment, but came down +planted like a tree, and after swaying to and fro soon became rigid +again. + +All eyes were upon the champions. Finally, either by trick or +main force, Gall laid the other sprawling upon the ground and held +him fast for a minute, then released him and stood erect, panting, +a master youth. Shout after shout went up on the Sioux side of the +camp. The mother of Roman Nose came forward and threw a superbly +worked buffalo robe over Gall, whose mother returned the compliment +by covering the young Cheyenne with a handsome blanket. + +Undoubtedly these early contests had their influence upon our +hero's career. It was his habit to appear most opportunely in a +crisis, and in a striking and dramatic manner to take command of +the situation. The best known example of this is his entrance on +the scene of confusion when Reno surprised the Sioux on the Little +Big Horn. Many of the excitable youths, almost unarmed, rushed +madly and blindly to meet the intruder, and the scene might have +unnerved even an experienced warrior. It was Gall, with not a +garment upon his superb body, who on his black charger dashed ahead +of the boys and faced them. He stopped them on the dry creek, +while the bullets of Reno's men whistled about their ears. + +"Hold hard, men! Steady, we are not ready yet! Wait for more +guns, more horses, and the day is yours!" + +They obeyed, and in a few minutes the signal to charge was +given, and Reno retreated pell mell before the onset of the Sioux. + +Sitting Bull had confidence in his men so long as Gall planned +and directed the attack, whether against United States soldiers or +the warriors of another tribe. He was a strategist, and able in a +twinkling to note and seize upon an advantage. He was really the +mainstay of Sitting Bull's effective last stand. He consistently +upheld his people's right to their buffalo plains and believed that +they should hold the government strictly to its agreements with +them. When the treaty of 1868 was disregarded, he agreed with +Sitting Bull in defending the last of their once vast domain, and +after the Custer battle entered Canada with his chief. They hoped +to bring their lost cause before the English government and were +much disappointed when they were asked to return to the United +States. + +Gall finally reported at Fort Peck, Montana, in 1881, and +brought half of the Hunkpapa band with him, whereupon he was soon +followed by Sitting Bull himself. Although they had been promised +by the United States commission who went to Canada to treat with +them that they would not be punished if they returned, no sooner +had Gall come down than a part of his people were attacked, and in +the spring they were all brought to Fort Randall and held as +military prisoners. From this point they were returned to Standing +Rock agency. + +When "Buffalo Bill" successfully launched his first show, he +made every effort to secure both Sitting Bull and Gall for his +leading attractions. The military was in complete accord with him +in this, for they still had grave suspicions of these two leaders. +While Sitting Bull reluctantly agreed, Gall haughtily said: "I am +not an animal to be exhibited before the crowd," and retired to his +teepee. His spirit was much worn, and he lost strength from that +time on. That superb manhood dwindled, and in a few years he died. +He was a real hero of a free and natural people, a type that is +never to be seen again. + + + + +CRAZY HORSE + + +Crazy Horse was born on the Republican River about 1845. He was +killed at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, in 1877, so that he lived barely +thirty-three years. + +He was an uncommonly handsome man. While not the equal of +Gall in magnificence and imposing stature, he was physically +perfect, an Apollo in symmetry. Furthermore he was a true type of +Indian refinement and grace. He was modest and courteous as Chief +Joseph; the difference is that he was a born warrior, while Joseph +was not. However, he was a gentle warrior, a true brave, who stood +for the highest ideal of the Sioux. Notwithstanding all that +biased historians have said of him, it is only fair to judge a man +by the estimate of his own people rather than that of his enemies. + +The boyhood of Crazy Horse was passed in the days when the +western Sioux saw a white man but seldom, and then it was usually +a trader or a soldier. He was carefully brought up according to +the tribal customs. At that period the Sioux prided themselves on +the training and development of their sons and daughters, and not +a step in that development was overlooked as an excuse to bring the +child before the public by giving a feast in its honor. At such +times the parents often gave so generously to the needy that they +almost impoverished themselves, thus setting an example to the +child of self-denial for the general good. His first step alone, +the first word spoken, first game killed, the attainment of manhood +or womanhood, each was the occasion of a feast and dance in his +honor, at which the poor always benefited to the full extent of the +parents' ability. + +Big-heartedness, generosity, courage, and self-denial are the +qualifications of a public servant, and the average Indian was keen +to follow this ideal. As every one knows, these characteristic +traits become a weakness when he enters a life founded upon +commerce and gain. Under such conditions the life of Crazy Horse +began. His mother, like other mothers, tender and watchful of her +boy, would never once place an obstacle in the way of his father's +severe physical training. They laid the spiritual and patriotic +foundations of his education in such a way that he early became +conscious of the demands of public service. + +He was perhaps four or five years old when the band was snowed +in one severe winter. They were very short of food, but his father +was a tireless hunter. The buffalo, their main dependence, were +not to be found, but he was out in the storm and cold every day and +finally brought in two antelopes. The little boy got on his pet +pony and rode through the camp, telling the old folks to come to +his mother's teepee for meat. It turned out that neither his +father nor mother had authorized him to do this. Before they knew +it, old men and women were lined up before the teepee home, ready +to receive the meat, in answer to his invitation. As a result, the +mother had to distribute nearly all of it, keeping only enough for +two meals. + +On the following day the child asked for food. His mother +told him that the old folks had taken it all, and added: "Remember, +my son, they went home singing praises in your name, not my name or +your father's. You must be brave. You must live up to your +reputation." + +Crazy Horse loved horses, and his father gave him a pony of +his own when he was very young. He became a fine horseman and +accompanied his father on buffalo hunts, holding the pack horses +while the men chased the buffalo and thus gradually learning the +art. In those days the Sioux had but few guns, and the hunting was +mostly done with bow and arrows. + +Another story told of his boyhood is that when he was about +twelve he went to look for the ponies with his little brother, whom +he loved much, and took a great deal of pains to teach what he had +already learned. They came to some wild cherry trees full of ripe +fruit, and while they were enjoying it, the brothers were startled +by the growl and sudden rush of a bear. Young Crazy Horse pushed +his brother up into the nearest tree and himself sprang upon the +back of one of the horses, which was frightened and ran some +distance before he could control him. As soon as he could, +however, he turned him about and came back, yelling and swinging +his lariat over his head. The bear at first showed fight but +finally turned and ran. The old man who told me this story added +that young as he was, he had some power, so that even a grizzly did +not care to tackle him. I believe it is a fact that a silver-tip +will dare anything except a bell or a lasso line, so that +accidentally the boy had hit upon the very thing which would drive +him off. + +It was usual for Sioux boys of his day to wait in the field +after a buffalo hunt until sundown, when the young calves would +come out in the open, hungrily seeking their mothers. Then these +wild children would enjoy a mimic hunt, and lasso the calves or +drive them into camp. Crazy Horse was found to be a determined +little fellow, and it was settled one day among the larger boys +that they would "stump" him to ride a good-sized bull calf. He +rode the calf, and stayed on its back while it ran bawling over the +hills, followed by the other boys on their ponies, until his +strange mount stood trembling and exhausted. + +At the age of sixteen he joined a war party against the Gros +Ventres. He was well in the front of the charge, and at once +established his bravery by following closely one of the foremost +Sioux warriors, by the name of Hump, drawing the enemy's fire and +circling around their advance guard. Suddenly Hump's horse was +shot from under him, and there was a rush of warriors to kill or +capture him while down. But amidst a shower of arrows the youth +leaped from his pony, helped his friend into his own saddle, sprang +up behind him, and carried him off in safety, although they were +hotly pursued by the enemy. Thus he associated himself in his +maiden battle with the wizard of Indian warfare, and Hump, who was +then at the height of his own career, pronounced Crazy Horse the +coming warrior of the Teton Sioux. + +At this period of his life, as was customary with the best +young men, he spent much time in prayer and solitude. Just what +happened in these days of his fasting in the wilderness and upon +the crown of bald buttes, no one will ever know; for these things +may only be known when one has lived through the battles of life to +an honored old age. He was much sought after by his youthful +associates, but was noticeably reserved and modest; yet in the +moment of danger he at once rose above them all -- a natural +leader! Crazy Horse was a typical Sioux brave, and from the point +of view of our race an ideal hero, living at the height of the +epical progress of the American Indian and maintaining in his own +character all that was most subtle and ennobling of their spiritual +life, and that has since been lost in the contact with a material +civilization. + +He loved Hump, that peerless warrior, and the two became close +friends, in spite of the difference in age. Men called them "the +grizzly and his cub." Again and again the pair saved the day for +the Sioux in a skirmish with some neighboring tribe. But one day +they undertook a losing battle against the Snakes. The Sioux were +in full retreat and were fast being overwhelmed by superior +numbers. The old warrior fell in a last desperate charge; but +Crazy Horse and his younger brother, though dismounted, killed two +of the enemy and thus made good their retreat. + +It was observed of him that when he pursued the enemy into +their stronghold, as he was wont to do, he often refrained from +killing, and simply struck them with a switch, showing that he did +not fear their weapons nor care to waste his upon them. In +attempting this very feat, he lost this only brother of his, who +emulated him closely. A party of young warriors, led by Crazy +Horse, had dashed upon a frontier post, killed one of the +sentinels, stampeded the horses, and pursued the herder to the very +gate of the stockade, thus drawing upon themselves the fire of the +garrison. The leader escaped without a scratch, but his young +brother was brought down from his horse and killed. + +While he was still under twenty, there was a great winter +buffalo hunt, and he came back with ten buffaloes' tongues which he +sent to the council lodge for the councilors' feast. He had in one +winter day killed ten buffalo cows with his bow and arrows, and the +unsuccessful hunters or those who had no swift ponies were made +happy by his generosity. When the hunters returned, these came +chanting songs of thanks. He knew that his father was an expert +hunter and had a good horse, so he took no meat home, putting in +practice the spirit of his early teaching. + +He attained his majority at the crisis of the difficulties +between the United States and the Sioux. Even before that time, +Crazy Horse had already proved his worth to his people in Indian +warfare. He had risked his life again and again, and in some +instances it was considered almost a miracle that he had saved +others as well as himself. He was no orator nor was he the son of +a chief. His success and influence was purely a matter of +personality. He had never fought the whites up to this time, and +indeed no "coup" was counted for killing or scalping a white man. + +Young Crazy Horse was twenty-one years old when all the Teton +Sioux chiefs (the western or plains dwellers) met in council to +determine upon their future policy toward the invader. Their +former agreements had been by individual bands, each for itself, +and every one was friendly. They reasoned that the country was +wide, and that the white traders should be made welcome. Up to +this time they had anticipated no conflict. They had permitted the +Oregon Trail, but now to their astonishment forts were built and +garrisoned in their territory. + +Most of the chiefs advocated a strong resistance. There were +a few influential men who desired still to live in peace, and who +were willing to make another treaty. Among these were White Bull, +Two Kettle, Four Bears, and Swift Bear. Even Spotted Tail, +afterward the great peace chief, was at this time with the +majority, who decided in the year 1866 to defend their rights and +territory by force. Attacks were to be made upon the forts within +their country and on every trespasser on the same. + +Crazy Horse took no part in the discussion, but he and all the +young warriors were in accord with the decision of the council. +Although so young, he was already a leader among them. Other +prominent young braves were Sword (brother of the man of that name +who was long captain of police at Pine Ridge), the younger Hump, +Charging Bear, Spotted Elk, Crow King, No Water, Big Road, He Dog, +the nephew of Red Cloud, and Touch-the-Cloud, intimate friend of +Crazy Horse. + +The attack on Fort Phil Kearny was the first fruits of the new +policy, and here Crazy Horse was chosen to lead the attack on the +woodchoppers, designed to draw the soldiers out of the fort, while +an army of six hundred lay in wait for them. The success of this +stratagem was further enhanced by his masterful handling of his +men. From this time on a general war was inaugurated; Sitting Bull +looked to him as a principal war leader, and even the Cheyenne +chiefs, allies of the Sioux, practically acknowledged his +leadership. Yet during the following ten years of defensive war he +was never known to make a speech, though his teepee was the +rendezvous of the young men. He was depended upon to put into +action the decisions of the council, and was frequently consulted +by the older chiefs. + +Like Osceola, he rose suddenly; like Tecumseh he was always +impatient for battle; like Pontiac, he fought on while his allies +were suing for peace, and like Grant, the silent soldier, he was a +man of deeds and not of words. He won from Custer and Fetterman +and Crook. He won every battle that he undertook, with the +exception of one or two occasions when he was surprised in the +midst of his women and children, and even then he managed to +extricate himself in safety from a difficult position. + +Early in the year 1876, his runners brought word from Sitting +Bull that all the roving bands would converge upon the upper Tongue +River in Montana for summer feasts and conferences. There was +conflicting news from the reservation. It was rumored that the +army would fight the Sioux to a finish; again, it was said that +another commission would be sent out to treat with them. + +The Indians came together early in June, and formed a series +of encampments stretching out from three to four miles, each band +keeping separate camp. On June 17, scouts came in and reported the +advance of a large body of troops under General Crook. The council +sent Crazy Horse with seven hundred men to meet and attack him. +These were nearly all young men, many of them under twenty, the +flower of the hostile Sioux. They set out at night so as to steal +a march upon the enemy, but within three or four miles of his camp +they came unexpectedly upon some of his Crow scouts. There was a +hurried exchange of shots; the Crows fled back to Crook's camp, +pursued by the Sioux. The soldiers had their warning, and it was +impossible to enter the well-protected camp. Again and again Crazy +Horse charged with his bravest men, in the attempt to bring the +troops into the open, but he succeeded only in drawing their fire. +Toward afternoon he withdrew, and returned to camp disappointed. +His scouts remained to watch Crook's movements, and later brought +word that he had retreated to Goose Creek and seemed to have no +further disposition to disturb the Sioux. It is well known to us +that it is Crook rather than Reno who is to be blamed for cowardice +in connection with Custer's fate. The latter had no chance to do +anything, he was lucky to save himself; but if Crook had kept on +his way, as ordered, to meet Terry, with his one thousand regulars +and two hundred Crow and Shoshone scouts, he would inevitably have +intercepted Custer in his advance and saved the day for him, and +war with the Sioux would have ended right there. Instead of this, +he fell back upon Fort Meade, eating his horses on the way, in a +country swarming with game, for fear of Crazy Horse and his braves! + +The Indians now crossed the divide between the Tongue and the +Little Big Horn, where they felt safe from immediate pursuit. +Here, with all their precautions, they were caught unawares by +General Custer, in the midst of their midday games and festivities, +while many were out upon the daily hunt. + +On this twenty-fifth of June, 1876, the great camp was +scattered for three miles or more along the level river bottom, +back of the thin line of cottonwoods -- five circular rows of +teepees, ranging from half a mile to a mile and a half in +circumference. Here and there stood out a large, white, solitary +teepee; these were the lodges or "clubs" of the young men. Crazy +Horse was a member of the "Strong Hearts" and the "Tokala" or Fox +lodge. He was watching a game of ring-toss when the warning came +from the southern end of the camp of the approach of troops. + +The Sioux and the Cheyennes were "minute men", and although +taken by surprise, they instantly responded. Meanwhile, the women +and children were thrown into confusion. Dogs were howling, ponies +running hither and thither, pursued by their owners, while many of +the old men were singing their lodge songs to encourage the +warriors, or praising the "strong heart" of Crazy Horse. + +That leader had quickly saddled his favorite war pony and was +starting with his young men for the south end of the camp, when a +fresh alarm came from the opposite direction, and looking up, he +saw Custer's force upon the top of the bluff directly across the +river. As quick as a flash, he took in the situation -- the enemy +had planned to attack the camp at both ends at once; and knowing +that Custer could not ford the river at that point, he instantly +led his men northward to the ford to cut him off. The Cheyennes +followed closely. Custer must have seen that wonderful dash up the +sage-bush plain, and one wonders whether he realized its meaning. +In a very few minutes, this wild general of the plains had +outwitted one of the most brilliant leaders of the Civil War and +ended at once his military career and his life. + +In this dashing charge, Crazy Horse snatched his most famous +victory out of what seemed frightful peril, for the Sioux could not +know how many were behind Custer. He was caught in his own trap. +To the soldiers it must have seemed as if the Indians rose up from +the earth to overwhelm them. They closed in from three sides and +fought until not a white man was left alive. Then they went down +to Reno's stand and found him so well intrenched in a deep gully +that it was impossible to dislodge him. Gall and his men held him +there until the approach of General Terry compelled the Sioux to +break camp and scatter in different directions. + +While Sitting Bull was pursued into Canada, Crazy Horse and +the Cheyennes wandered about, comparatively undisturbed, during the +rest of that year, until in the winter the army surprised the +Cheyennes, but did not do them much harm, possibly because they +knew that Crazy Horse was not far off. His name was held in +wholesome respect. From time to time, delegations of friendly +Indians were sent to him, to urge him to come in to the +reservation, promising a full hearing and fair treatment. + +For some time he held out, but the rapid disappearance of the +buffalo, their only means of support, probably weighed with him +more than any other influence. In July, 1877, he was finally +prevailed upon to come in to Fort Robinson, Nebraska, with several +thousand Indians, most of them Ogallala and Minneconwoju Sioux, on +the distinct understanding that the government would hear and +adjust their grievances. + +At this juncture General Crook proclaimed Spotted Tail, who +had rendered much valuable service to the army, head chief of the +Sioux, which was resented by many. The attention paid Crazy Horse +was offensive to Spotted Tail and the Indian scouts, who planned a +conspiracy against him. They reported to General Crook that the +young chief would murder him at the next council, and stampede the +Sioux into another war. He was urged not to attend the council and +did not, but sent another officer to represent him. Meanwhile the +friends of Crazy Horse discovered the plot and told him of it. His +reply was, "Only cowards are murderers." + +His wife was critically ill at the time, and he decided to +take her to her parents at Spotted Tail agency, whereupon his +enemies circulated the story that he had fled, and a party of +scouts was sent after him. They overtook him riding with his wife +and one other but did not undertake to arrest him, and after he had +left the sick woman with her people he went to call on Captain Lea, +the agent for the Brules, accompanied by all the warriors of the +Minneconwoju band. This volunteer escort made an imposing +appearance on horseback, shouting and singing, and in the words of +Captain Lea himself and the missionary, the Reverend Mr. Cleveland, +the situation was extremely critical. Indeed, the scouts who had +followed Crazy Horse from Red Cloud agency were advised not to show +themselves, as some of the warriors had urged that they be taken +out and horsewhipped publicly. + +Under these circumstances Crazy Horse again showed his +masterful spirit by holding these young men in check. He said to +them in his quiet way: "It is well to be brave in the field of +battle; it is cowardly to display bravery against one's own +tribesmen. These scouts have been compelled to do what they did; +they are no better than servants of the white officers. I came +here on a peaceful errand." + +The captain urged him to report at army headquarters to +explain himself and correct false rumors, and on his giving +consent, furnished him with a wagon and escort. It has been said +that he went back under arrest, but this is untrue. Indians have +boasted that they had a hand in bringing him in, but their stories +are without foundation. He went of his own accord, either +suspecting no treachery or determined to defy it. + +When he reached the military camp, Little Big Man walked +arm-in-arm with him, and his cousin and friend, Touch-the-Cloud, +was just in advance. After they passed the sentinel, an officer +approached them and walked on his other side. He was unarmed but +for the knife which is carried for ordinary uses by women as well +as men. Unsuspectingly he walked toward the guardhouse, when +Touch-the-Cloud suddenly turned back exclaiming: "Cousin, they will +put you in prison!" + +"Another white man's trick! Let me go! Let me die fighting!" +cried Crazy Horse. He stopped and tried to free himself and draw +his knife, but both arms were held fast by Little Big Man and the +officer. While he struggled thus, a soldier thrust him through +with his bayonet from behind. The wound was mortal, and he died in +the course of that night, his old father singing the death song +over him and afterward carrying away the body, which they said +must not be further polluted by the touch of a white man. They hid +it somewhere in the Bad Lands, his resting place to this day. + +Thus died one of the ablest and truest American Indians. His +life was ideal; his record clean. He was never involved in any of +the numerous massacres on the trail, but was a leader in +practically every open fight. Such characters as those of Crazy +Horse and Chief Joseph are not easily found among so-called +civilized people. The reputation of great men is apt to be +shadowed by questionable motives and policies, but here are two +pure patriots, as worthy of honor as any who ever breathed God's +air in the wide spaces of a new world. + + + + +SITTING BULL + + +IT is not easy to characterize Sitting Bull, of all Sioux chiefs +most generally known to the American people. There are few to whom +his name is not familiar, and still fewer who have learned to +connect it with anything more than the conventional notion of a +bloodthirsty savage. The man was an enigma at best. He was not +impulsive, nor was he phlegmatic. He was most serious when he +seemed to be jocose. He was gifted with the power of sarcasm, and +few have used it more artfully than he. + +His father was one of the best-known members of the Unkpapa +band of Sioux. The manner of this man's death was characteristic. +One day, when the Unkpapas were attacked by a large war party of +Crows, he fell upon the enemy's war leader with his knife. In a +hand-to-hand combat of this sort, we count the victor as entitled +to a war bonnet of trailing plumes. It means certain death to one +or both. In this case, both men dealt a mortal stroke, and Jumping +Buffalo, the father of Sitting Bull, fell from his saddle and died +in a few minutes. The other died later from the effects of the +wound. + +Sitting Bull's boyhood must have been a happy one. It was +long after the day of the dog-travaux, and his father owned many +ponies of variegated colors. It was said of him in a joking way +that his legs were bowed like the ribs of the ponies that he rode +constantly from childhood. He had also a common nickname that was +much to the point. It was "Hunkeshnee", which means "Slow", +referring to his inability to run fast, or more probably to the +fact that he seldom appeared on foot. In their boyish games he was +wont to take the part of the "old man", but this does not mean that +he was not active and brave. It is told that after a buffalo hunt +the boys were enjoying a mimic hunt with the calves that had been +left behind. A large calf turned viciously on Sitting Bull, whose +pony had thrown him, but the alert youth got hold of both ears and +struggled until the calf was pushed back into a buffalo wallow in +a sitting posture. The boys shouted: "He has subdued the buffalo +calf! He made it sit down!" And from this incident was derived +his familiar name of Sitting Bull. + +It is a mistake to suppose that Sitting Bull, or any other +Indian warrior, was of a murderous disposition. It is true that +savage warfare had grown more and more harsh and cruel since the +coming of white traders among them, bringing guns, knives, and +whisky. Yet it was still regarded largely as a sort of game, +undertaken in order to develop the manly qualities of their youth. +It was the degree of risk which brought honor, rather than the +number slain, and a brave must mourn thirty days, with blackened +face and loosened hair, for the enemy whose life he had taken. +While the spoils of war were allowed, this did not extend to +territorial aggrandizement, nor was there any wish to overthrow +another nation and enslave its people. It was a point of honor +in the old days to treat a captive with kindness. The common +impression that the Indian is naturally cruel and revengeful is +entirely opposed to his philosophy and training. The revengeful +tendency of the Indian was aroused by the white man. It is not the +natural Indian who is mean and tricky; not Massasoit but King +Philip; not Attackullakulla but Weatherford; not Wabashaw but +Little Crow; not Jumping Buffalo but Sitting Bull! These men +lifted their hands against the white man, while their fathers held +theirs out to him with gifts. + +Remember that there were councils which gave their decisions +in accordance with the highest ideal of human justice before there +were any cities on this continent; before there were bridges to +span the Mississippi; before this network of railroads was dreamed +of! There were primitive communities upon the very spot where +Chicago or New York City now stands, where men were as children, +innocent of all the crimes now committed there daily and nightly. +True morality is more easily maintained in connection with the +simple life. You must accept the truth that you demoralize any +race whom you have subjugated. + +From this point of view we shall consider Sitting Bull's +career. We say he is an untutored man: that is true so far as +learning of a literary type is concerned; but he was not an +untutored man when you view him from the standpoint of his nation. +To be sure, he did not learn his lessons from books. This is +second-hand information at best. All that he learned he verified +for himself and put into daily practice. In personal appearance he +was rather commonplace and made no immediate impression, but as he +talked he seemed to take hold of his hearers more and more. He was +bull-headed; quick to grasp a situation, and not readily induced to +change his mind. He was not suspicious until he was forced to be +so. All his meaner traits were inevitably developed by the events +of his later career. + +Sitting Bull's history has been written many times by +newspaper men and army officers, but I find no account of him which +is entirely correct. I met him personally in 1884, and since his +death I have gone thoroughly into the details of his life with his +relatives and contemporaries. It has often been said that he was +a physical coward and not a warrior. Judge of this for yourselves +from the deed which first gave him fame in his own tribe, when he +was about twenty-eight years old. + +In an attack upon a band of Crow Indians, one of the enemy +took his stand, after the rest had fled, in a deep ditch from +which it seemed impossible to dislodge him. The situation had +already cost the lives of several warriors, but they could not let +him go to repeat such a boast over the Sioux! + +"Follow me!" said Sitting Bull, and charged. He raced his +horse to the brim of the ditch and struck at the enemy with his +coup-staff, thus compelling him to expose himself to the fire of +the others while shooting his assailant. But the Crow merely poked +his empty gun into his face and dodged back under cover. Then +Sitting Bull stopped; he saw that no one had followed him, and he +also perceived that the enemy had no more ammunition left. He rode +deliberately up to the barrier and threw his loaded gun over it; +then he went back to his party and told them what he thought of +them. + +"Now," said he, "I have armed him, for I will not see a brave +man killed unarmed. I will strike him again with my coup-staff to +count the first feather; who will count the second?" + +Again he led the charge, and this time they all followed him. +Sitting Bull was severely wounded by his own gun in the hands of +the enemy, who was killed by those that came after him. This is a +record that so far as I know was never made by any other warrior. + +The second incident that made him well known was his taking of +a boy captive in battle with the Assiniboines. He saved this boy's +life and adopted him as his brother. Hohay, as he was called, was +devoted to Sitting Bull and helped much in later years to spread +his fame. Sitting Bull was a born diplomat, a ready speaker, and +in middle life he ceased to go upon the warpath, to become the +councilor of his people. From this time on, this man represented +him in all important battles, and upon every brave deed done was +wont to exclaim aloud: + +"I, Sitting Bull's boy, do this in his name!" + +He had a nephew, now living, who resembles him strongly, and +who also represented him personally upon the field; and so far as +there is any remnant left of his immediate band, they look upon +this man One Bull as their chief. + +When Sitting Bull was a boy, there was no thought of trouble +with the whites. He was acquainted with many of the early traders, +Picotte, Choteau, Primeau, Larpenteur, and others, and liked them, +as did most of his people in those days. All the early records +show this friendly attitude of the Sioux, and the great fur +companies for a century and a half depended upon them for the bulk +of their trade. It was not until the middle of the last century +that they woke up all of a sudden to the danger threatening their +very existence. Yet at that time many of the old chiefs had been +already depraved by the whisky and other vices of the whites, and +in the vicinity of the forts and trading posts at Sioux City, Saint +Paul, and Cheyenne, there was general demoralization. The +drunkards and hangers-on were ready to sell almost anything they +had for the favor of the trader. The better and stronger element +held aloof. They would not have anything of the white man except +his hatchet, gun, and knife. They utterly refused to cede their +lands; and as for the rest, they were willing to let him alone as +long as he did not interfere with their life and customs, which was +not long. + +It was not, however, the Unkpapa band of Sioux, Sitting Bull's +band, which first took up arms against the whites; and this was not +because they had come less in contact with them, for they dwelt on +the Missouri River, the natural highway of trade. As early as +1854, the Ogallalas and Brules had trouble with the soldiers near +Fort Laramie; and again in 1857 Inkpaduta massacred several +families of settlers at Spirit Lake, Iowa. Finally, in 1869, the +Minnesota Sioux, goaded by many wrongs, arose and murdered many of +the settlers, afterward fleeing into the country of the Unkpapas +and appealing to them for help, urging that all Indians should make +common cause against the invader. This brought Sitting Bull face +to face with a question which was not yet fully matured in his own +mind; but having satisfied himself of the justice of their cause, +he joined forces with the renegades during the summer of 1863, and +from this time on he was an acknowledged leader. + +In 1865 and 1866 he met the Canadian half-breed, Louis Riel, +instigator of two rebellions, who had come across the line for +safety; and in fact at this time he harbored a number of outlaws +and fugitives from justice. His conversations with these, +especially with the French mixed-bloods, who inflamed his +prejudices against the Americans, all had their influence in making +of the wily Sioux a determined enemy to the white man. While among +his own people he was always affable and genial, he became boastful +and domineering in his dealings with the hated race. He once +remarked that "if we wish to make any impression upon the pale-face, +it is necessary to put on his mask." + +Sitting Bull joined in the attack on Fort Phil Kearny and in +the subsequent hostilities; but he accepted in good faith the +treaty of 1868, and soon after it was signed he visited Washington +with Red Cloud and Spotted Tail, on which occasion the three +distinguished chiefs attracted much attention and were entertained +at dinner by President Grant and other notables. He considered +that the life of the white man as he saw it was no life for his +people, but hoped by close adherence to the terms of this treaty to +preserve the Big Horn and Black Hills country for a permanent +hunting ground. When gold was discovered and the irrepressible +gold seekers made their historic dash across the plains into this +forbidden paradise, then his faith in the white man's honor was +gone forever, and he took his final and most persistent stand in +defense of his nation and home. His bitter and at the same time +well-grounded and philosophical dislike of the conquering race is +well expressed in a speech made before the purely Indian council +before referred to, upon the Powder River. I will give it in brief +as it has been several times repeated to me by men who were +present. + +"Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly +received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results +of their love! Every seed is awakened, and all animal life. It is +through this mysterious power that we too have our being, and we +therefore yield to our neighbors, even to our animal neighbors, the +same right as ourselves to inhabit this vast land. + +"Yet hear me, friends! we have now to deal with another +people, small and feeble when our forefathers first met with them, +but now great and overbearing. Strangely enough, they have a mind +to till the soil, and the love of possessions is a disease in them. +These people have made many rules that the rich may break, but the +poor may not! They have a religion in which the poor worship, but +the rich will not! They even take tithes of the poor and weak to +support the rich and those who rule. They claim this mother of +ours, the Earth, for their own use, and fence their neighbors away +from her, and deface her with their buildings and their refuse. +They compel her to produce out of season, and when sterile she is +made to take medicine in order to produce again. All this is +sacrilege. + +"This nation is like a spring freshet; it overruns its banks +and destroys all who are in its path. We cannot dwell side by +side. Only seven years ago we made a treaty by which we were +assured that the buffalo country should be left to us forever. Now +they threaten to take that from us also. My brothers, shall we +submit? or shall we say to them: 'First kill me, before you can +take possession of my fatherland!'" + +As Sitting Bull spoke, so he felt, and he had the courage to +stand by his words. Crazy Horse led his forces in the field; as +for him, he applied his energies to state affairs, and by his +strong and aggressive personality contributed much to holding the +hostiles together. + +It may be said without fear of contradiction that Sitting Bull +never killed any women or children. He was a fair fighter, and +while not prominent in battle after his young manhood, he was the +brains of the Sioux resistance. He has been called a "medicine +man" and a "dreamer." Strictly speaking, he was neither of these, +and the white historians are prone to confuse the two. A medicine +man is a doctor or healer; a dreamer is an active war prophet who +leads his war party according to his dream or prophecy. What is +called by whites "making medicine" in war time is again a wrong +conception. Every warrior carries a bag of sacred or lucky charms, +supposed to protect the wearer alone, but it has nothing to do with +the success or safety of the party as a whole. No one can make any +"medicine" to affect the result of a battle, although it has been +said that Sitting Bull did this at the battle of the Little Big +Horn. + +When Custer and Reno attacked the camp at both ends, the chief +was caught napping. The village was in danger of surprise, and the +women and children must be placed in safety. Like other men of his +age, Sitting Bull got his family together for flight, and then +joined the warriors on the Reno side of the attack. Thus he was +not in the famous charge against Custer; nevertheless, his voice +was heard exhorting the warriors throughout that day. + +During the autumn of 1876, after the fall of Custer, Sitting +Bull was hunted all through the Yellowstone region by the military. +The following characteristic letter, doubtless written at his +dictation by a half-breed interpreter, was sent to Colonel Otis +immediately after a daring attack upon his wagon train. + +"I want to know what you are doing, traveling on this road. +You scare all the buffalo away. I want to hunt in this place. I +want you to turn back from here. If you don't, I will fight you +again. I want you to leave what you have got here and turn back +from here. + + + + I am your friend + + + + + + Sitting Bull. +I mean all the rations you have got and some powder. Wish you +would write me as soon as you can." + +Otis, however, kept on and joined Colonel Miles, who followed +Sitting Bull with about four hundred soldiers. He overtook him at +last on Cedar Creek, near the Yellowstone, and the two met midway +between the lines for a parley. The army report says: "Sitting +Bull wanted peace in his own way." The truth was that he wanted +nothing more than had been guaranteed to them by the treaty of 1868 +-- the exclusive possession of their last hunting ground. This the +government was not now prepared to grant, as it had been decided to +place all the Indians under military control upon the various +reservations. + +Since it was impossible to reconcile two such conflicting +demands, the hostiles were driven about from pillar to post for +several more years, and finally took refuge across the line in +Canada, where Sitting Bull had placed his last hope of justice and +freedom for his race. Here he was joined from time to time by +parties of malcontents from the reservation, driven largely by +starvation and ill-treatment to seek another home. Here, too, they +were followed by United States commissioners, headed by General +Terry, who endeavored to persuade him to return, promising +abundance of food and fair treatment, despite the fact that the +exiles were well aware of the miserable condition of the "good +Indians" upon the reservations. He first refused to meet them at +all, and only did so when advised to that effect by Major Walsh of +the Canadian mounted police. This was his characteristic remark: +"If you have one honest man in Washington, send him here and I will +talk to him." + +Sitting Bull was not moved by fair words; but when he found +that if they had liberty on that side, they had little else, that +the Canadian government would give them protection but no food; +that the buffalo had been all but exterminated and his starving +people were already beginning to desert him, he was compelled at +last, in 1881, to report at Fort Buford, North Dakota, with his +band of hungry, homeless, and discouraged refugees. It was, after +all, to hunger and not to the strong arm of the military that he +surrendered in the end. + +In spite of the invitation that had been extended to him in +the name of the "Great Father" at Washington, he was immediately +thrown into a military prison, and afterward handed over to Colonel +Cody ("Buffalo Bill") as an advertisement for his "Wild West Show." +After traveling about for several years with the famous showman, +thus increasing his knowledge of the weaknesses as well as the +strength of the white man, the deposed and humiliated chief settled +down quietly with his people upon the Standing Rock agency in North +Dakota, where his immediate band occupied the Grand River district +and set to raising cattle and horses. They made good progress; +much better, in fact, than that of the "coffee-coolers" or "loafer" +Indians, received the missionaries kindly and were soon a +church-going people. + +When the Commissions of 1888 and 1889 came to treat with the +Sioux for a further cession of land and a reduction of their +reservations, nearly all were opposed to consent on any terms. +Nevertheless, by hook or by crook, enough signatures were finally +obtained to carry the measure through, although it is said that +many were those of women and the so-called "squaw-men", who had no +rights in the land. At the same time, rations were cut down, and +there was general hardship and dissatisfaction. Crazy Horse was +long since dead; Spotted Tail had fallen at the hands of one of his +own tribe; Red Cloud had become a feeble old man, and the +disaffected among the Sioux began once more to look to Sitting Bull +for leadership. + +At this crisis a strange thing happened. A half-breed Indian +in Nevada promulgated the news that the Messiah had appeared to him +upon a peak in the Rockies, dressed in rabbit skins, and bringing +a message to the red race. The message was to the effect that +since his first coming had been in vain, since the white people had +doubted and reviled him, had nailed him to the cross, and trampled +upon his doctrines, he had come again in pity to save the Indian. +He declared that he would cause the earth to shake and to overthrow +the cities of the whites and destroy them, that the buffalo would +return, and the land belong to the red race forever! These events +were to come to pass within two years; and meanwhile they were to +prepare for his coming by the ceremonies and dances which he +commanded. + +This curious story spread like wildfire and met with eager +acceptance among the suffering and discontented people. The +teachings of Christian missionaries had prepared them to believe in +a Messiah, and the prescribed ceremonial was much more in accord +with their traditions than the conventional worship of the +churches. Chiefs of many tribes sent delegations to the Indian +prophet; Short Bull, Kicking Bear, and others went from among the +Sioux, and on their return all inaugurated the dances at once. +There was an attempt at first to keep the matter secret, but it +soon became generally known and seriously disconcerted the Indian +agents and others, who were quick to suspect a hostile conspiracy +under all this religious enthusiasm. As a matter of fact, there +was no thought of an uprising; the dancing was innocent enough, and +pathetic enough their despairing hope in a pitiful Saviour who +should overwhelm their oppressors and bring back their golden age. + +When the Indians refused to give up the "Ghost Dance" at the +bidding of the authorities, the growing suspicion and alarm focused +upon Sitting Bull, who in spirit had never been any too submissive, +and it was determined to order his arrest. At the special request +of Major McLaughlin, agent at Standing Rock, forty of his Indian +police were sent out to Sitting Bull's home on Grand River to +secure his person (followed at some little distance by a body of +United States troops for reinforcement, in case of trouble). These +police are enlisted from among the tribesmen at each agency, and +have proved uniformly brave and faithful. They entered the cabin +at daybreak, aroused the chief from a sound slumber, helped him to +dress, and led him unresisting from the house; but when he came out +in the gray dawn of that December morning in 1890, to find his +cabin surrounded by armed men and himself led away to he knew not +what fate, he cried out loudly: + +"They have taken me: what say you to it?" + +Men poured out of the neighboring houses, and in a few minutes +the police were themselves surrounded with an excited and rapidly +increasing throng. They harangued the crowd in vain; Sitting +Bull's blood was up, and he again appealed to his men. His adopted +brother, the Assiniboine captive whose life he had saved so many +years before, was the first to fire. His shot killed Lieutenant +Bull Head, who held Sitting Bull by the arm. Then there was a +short but sharp conflict, in which Sitting Bull and six of his +defenders and six of the Indian police were slain, with many more +wounded. The chief's young son, Crow Foot, and his devoted +"brother" died with him. When all was over, and the terrified +people had fled precipitately across the river, the soldiers +appeared upon the brow of the long hill and fired their Hotchkiss +guns into the deserted camp. + +Thus ended the life of a natural strategist of no mean courage +and ability. The great chief was buried without honors outside the +cemetery at the post, and for some years the grave was marked by a +mere board at its head. Recently some women have built a cairn of +rocks there in token of respect and remembrance. + + + + +RAIN-IN-THE-FACE + + +The noted Sioux warrior, Rain-in-the-Face, whose name once carried +terror to every part of the frontier, died at his home on the +Standing Rock reserve in North Dakota on September 14, 1905. About +two months before his death I went to see him for the last time, +where he lay upon the bed of sickness from which he never rose +again, and drew from him his life-history. + +It had been my experience that you cannot induce an Indian to +tell a story, or even his own name, by asking him directly. + +"Friend," I said, "even if a man is on a hot trail, he stops +for a smoke! In the good old days, before the charge there was a +smoke. At home, by the fireside, when the old men were asked to +tell their brave deeds, again the pipe was passed. So come, let us +smoke now to the memory of the old days!" + +He took of my tobacco and filled his long pipe, and we smoked. +Then I told an old mirthful story to get him in the humor of +relating his own history. + +The old man lay upon an iron bedstead, covered by a red +blanket, in a corner of the little log cabin. He was all alone +that day; only an old dog lay silent and watchful at his master's +feet. + +Finally he looked up and said with a pleasant smile: + +"True, friend; it is the old custom to retrace one's trail +before leaving it forever! I know that I am at the door of the +spirit home. + +"I was born near the forks of the Cheyenne River, about +seventy years ago. My father was not a chief; my grandfather was +not a chief, but a good hunter and a feast-maker. On my mother's +side I had some noted ancestors, but they left me no chieftainship. +I had to work for my reputation. + +"When I was a boy, I loved to fight," he continued. "In all +our boyish games I had the name of being hard to handle, and I took +much pride in the fact. + +"I was about ten years old when we encountered a band of +Cheyennes. They were on friendly terms with us, but we boys +always indulged in sham fights on such occasions, and this time I +got in an honest fight with a Cheyenne boy older than I. I got the +best of the boy, but he hit me hard in the face several times, and +my face was all spattered with blood and streaked where the paint +had been washed away. The Sioux boys whooped and yelled: + +"'His enemy is down, and his face is spattered as if with +rain! Rain-in-the-Face! His name shall be Rain-in-the-Face!' + +"Afterwards, when I was a young man, we went on a warpath +against the Gros Ventres. We stole some of their horses, but were +overtaken and had to abandon the horses and fight for our lives. +I had wished my face to represent the sun when partly covered with +darkness, so I painted it half black, half red. We fought all day +in the rain, and my face was partly washed and streaked with red +and black: so again I was christened Rain-in-the-Face. We +considered it an honorable name. + +"I had been on many warpaths, but was not especially +successful until about the time the Sioux began to fight with the +white man. One of the most daring attacks that we ever made was at +Fort Totten, North Dakota, in the summer of 1866. + +"Hohay, the Assiniboine captive of Sitting Bull, was the +leader in this raid. Wapaypay, the Fearless Bear, who was +afterward hanged at Yankton, was the bravest man among us. He +dared Hohay to make the charge. Hohay accepted the challenge, and +in turn dared the other to ride with him through the agency and +right under the walls of the fort, which was well garrisoned and +strong. + +"Wapaypay and I in those days called each other +'brother-friend.' It was a life-and-death vow. What one does the +other must do; and that meant that I must be in the forefront of +the charge, and if he is killed, I must fight until I die also! + +"I prepared for death. I painted as usual like an eclipse of +the sun, half black and half red." + +His eyes gleamed and his face lighted up remarkably as he +talked, pushing his black hair back from his forehead with a +nervous gesture. + +"Now the signal for the charge was given! I started even with +Wapaypay, but his horse was faster than mine, so he left me a +little behind as we neared the fort. This was bad for me, for by +that time the soldiers had somewhat recovered from the surprise +and were aiming better. + +"Their big gun talked very loud, but my Wapaypay was leading +on, leaning forward on his fleet pony like a flying squirrel on a +smooth log! He held his rawhide shield on the right side, a little +to the front, and so did I. Our warwhoop was like the coyotes +singing in the evening, when they smell blood! + +"The soldiers' guns talked fast, but few were hurt. Their big +gun was like a toothless old dog, who only makes himself hotter the +more noise he makes," he remarked with some humor. + +"How much harm we did I do not know, but we made things lively +for a time; and the white men acted as people do when a swarm of +angry bees get into camp. We made a successful retreat, but some +of the reservation Indians followed us yelling, until Hohay told +them that he did not wish to fight with the captives of the white +man, for there would be no honor in that. There was blood running +down my leg, and I found that both my horse and I were slightly +wounded. + +"Some two years later we attacked a fort west of the Black +Hills [Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming]. It was there we killed one +hundred soldiers." [The military reports say eighty men, under the +command of Captain Fetterman -- not one left alive to tell the +tale!] "Nearly every band of the Sioux nation was represented in +that fight -- Red Cloud, Spotted Tail, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, +Big Foot, and all our great chiefs were there. Of course such men +as I were then comparatively unknown. However, there were many +noted young warriors, among them Sword, the younger +Young-Man-Afraid, American Horse [afterward chief], Crow King, and +others. + +"This was the plan decided upon after many councils. The main +war party lay in ambush, and a few of the bravest young men were +appointed to attack the woodchoppers who were cutting logs to +complete the building of the fort. We were told not to kill these +men, but to chase them into the fort and retreat slowly, defying +the white men; and if the soldiers should follow, we were to lead +them into the ambush. They took our bait exactly as we had hoped! +It was a matter of a very few minutes, for every soldier lay dead +in a shorter time than it takes to annihilate a small herd of +buffalo. + +"This attack was hastened because most of the Sioux on the +Missouri River and eastward had begun to talk of suing for peace. +But even this did not stop the peace movement. The very next year +a treaty was signed at Fort Rice, Dakota Territory, by nearly all +the Sioux chiefs, in which it was agreed on the part of the Great +Father in Washington that all the country north of the Republican +River in Nebraska, including the Black Hills and the Big Horn +Mountains, was to be always Sioux country, and no white man should +intrude upon it without our permission. Even with this agreement +Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were not satisfied, and they would not +sign. + +"Up to this time I had fought in some important battles, but +had achieved no great deed. I was ambitious to make a name for +myself. I joined war parties against the Crows, Mandans, Gros +Ventres, and Pawnees, and gained some little distinction. + +"It was when the white men found the yellow metal in our +country, and came in great numbers, driving away our game, that +we took up arms against them for the last time. I must say here +that the chiefs who were loudest for war were among the first to +submit and accept reservation life. Spotted Tail was a great +warrior, yet he was one of the first to yield, because he was +promised by the Chief Soldiers that they would make him chief of +all the Sioux. Ugh! he would have stayed with Sitting Bull to the +last had it not been for his ambition. + +"About this time we young warriors began to watch the trails +of the white men into the Black Hills, and when we saw a wagon +coming we would hide at the crossing and kill them all without much +trouble. We did this to discourage the whites from coming into our +country without our permission. It was the duty of our Great +Father at Washington, by the agreement of 1868, to keep his white +children away. + +"During the troublesome time after this treaty, which no one +seemed to respect, either white or Indian [but the whites broke it +first], I was like many other young men -- much on the warpath, but +with little honor. I had not yet become noted for any great deed. +Finally, Wapaypay and I waylaid and killed a white soldier on his +way from the fort to his home in the east. + +"There were a few Indians who were liars, and never on the +warpath, playing 'good Indian' with the Indian agents and the war +chiefs at the forts. Some of this faithless set betrayed me, and +told more than I ever did. I was seized and taken to the fort near +Bismarck, North Dakota [Fort Abraham Lincoln], by a brother [Tom +Custer] of the Long-Haired War Chief, and imprisoned there. These +same lying Indians, who were selling their services as scouts to +the white man, told me that I was to be shot to death, or else +hanged upon a tree. I answered that I was not afraid to die. + +"However, there was an old soldier who used to bring my food +and stand guard over me -- he was a white man, it is true, but he +had an Indian heart! He came to me one day and unfastened the iron +chain and ball with which they had locked my leg, saying by signs +and what little Sioux he could muster: + +"'Go, friend! take the chain and ball with you. I shall +shoot, but the voice of the gun will lie.' + +"When he had made me understand, you may guess that I ran my +best! I was almost over the bank when he fired his piece at me +several times, but I had already gained cover and was safe. I have +never told this before, and would not, lest it should do him an +injury, but he was an old man then, and I am sure he must be dead +long since. That old soldier taught me that some of the white +people have hearts," he added, quite seriously. + +"I went back to Standing Rock in the night, and I had to hide +for several days in the woods, where food was brought to me by my +relatives. The Indian police were ordered to retake me, and they +pretended to hunt for me, but really they did not, for if they had +found me I would have died with one or two of them, and they knew +it! In a few days I departed with several others, and we rejoined +the hostile camp on the Powder River and made some trouble for the +men who were building the great iron track north of us [Northern +Pacific]. + +"In the spring the hostile Sioux got together again upon the +Tongue River. It was one of the greatest camps of the Sioux that +I ever saw. There were some Northern Cheyennes with us, under Two +Moon, and a few Santee Sioux, renegades from Canada, under +Inkpaduta, who had killed white people in Iowa long before. We had +decided to fight the white soldiers until no warrior should be +left." + +At this point Rain-in-the-Face took up his tobacco pouch and +began again to fill his pipe. + +"Of course the younger warriors were delighted with the +prospect of a great fight! Our scouts had discovered piles of oats +for horses and other supplies near the Missouri River. They had +been brought by the white man's fire-boats. Presently they +reported a great army about a day's travel to the south, with +Shoshone and Crow scouts. + +"There was excitement among the people, and a great council +was held. Many spoke. I was asked the condition of those Indians +who had gone upon the reservation, and I told them truly that they +were nothing more than prisoners. It was decided to go out and +meet Three Stars [General Crook] at a safe distance from our camp. + +"We met him on the Little Rosebud. I believe that if we had +waited and allowed him to make the attack, he would have fared no +better than Custer. He was too strongly fortified where he was, +and I think, too, that he was saved partly by his Indian allies, +for the scouts discovered us first and fought us first, thus giving +him time to make his preparations. I think he was more wise than +brave! After we had left that neighborhood he might have pushed on +and connected with the Long-Haired Chief. That would have saved +Custer and perhaps won the day. + +"When we crossed from Tongue River to the Little Big Horn, on +account of the scarcity of game, we did not anticipate any more +trouble. Our runners had discovered that Crook had retraced his +trail to Goose Creek, and we did not suppose that the white men +would care to follow us farther into the rough country. + +"Suddenly the Long-Haired Chief appeared with his men! It was +a surprise." + +"What part of the camp were you in when the soldiers attacked +the lower end?" I asked. + +"I had been invited to a feast at one of the young men's +lodges [a sort of club]. There was a certain warrior who was +making preparations to go against the Crows, and I had decided to +go also," he said. + +"While I was eating my meat we heard the war cry! We all +rushed out, and saw a warrior riding at top speed from the lower +camp, giving the warning as he came. Then we heard the reports of +the soldiers' guns, which sounded differently from the guns fired +by our people in battle. + +"I ran to my teepee and seized my gun, a bow, and a quiver +full of arrows. I already had my stone war club, for you know we +usually carry those by way of ornament. Just as I was about to set +out to meet Reno, a body of soldiers appeared nearly opposite us, +at the edge of a long line of cliffs across the river. + +"All of us who were mounted and ready immediately started down +the stream toward the ford. There were Ogallalas, Minneconjous, +Cheyennes, and some Unkpapas, and those around me seemed to be +nearly all very young men. + +"'Behold, there is among us a young woman!' I shouted. 'Let +no young man hide behind her garment!' I knew that would make +those young men brave. + +"The woman was Tashenamani, or Moving Robe, whose brother had +just been killed in the fight with Three Stars. Holding her +brother's war staff over her head, and leaning forward upon her +charger, she looked as pretty as a bird. Always when there is a +woman in the charge, it causes the warriors to vie with one another +in displaying their valor," he added. + +"The foremost warriors had almost surrounded the white men, +and more were continually crossing the stream. The soldiers had +dismounted, and were firing into the camp from the top of the +cliff." + +"My friend, was Sitting Bull in this fight?" I inquired. + +"I did not see him there, but I learned afterward that he was +among those who met Reno, and that was three or four of the white +man's miles from Custer's position. Later he joined the attack +upon Custer, but was not among the foremost. + +"When the troops were surrounded on two sides, with the river +on the third, the order came to charge! There were many very young +men, some of whom had only a war staff or a stone war club in hand, +who plunged into the column, knocking the men over and stampeding +their horses. + +"The soldiers had mounted and started back, but when the onset +came they dismounted again and separated into several divisions, +facing different ways. They fired as fast as they could load their +guns, while we used chiefly arrows and war clubs. There seemed to +be two distinct movements among the Indians. One body moved +continually in a circle, while the other rode directly into and +through the troops. + +"Presently some of the soldiers remounted and fled along the +ridge toward Reno's position; but they were followed by our +warriors, like hundreds of blackbirds after a hawk. A larger body +remained together at the upper end of a little ravine, and fought +bravely until they were cut to pieces. I had always thought that +white men were cowards, but I had a great respect for them after +this day. + +"It is generally said that a young man with nothing but a war +staff in his hand broke through the column and knocked down the +leader very early in the fight. We supposed him to be the leader, +because he stood up in full view, swinging his big knife [sword] +over his head, and talking loud. Some one unknown afterwards shot +the chief, and he was probably killed also; for if not, he would +have told of the deed, and called others to witness it. So it is +that no one knows who killed the Long-Haired Chief [General +Custer]. + +"After the first rush was over, coups were counted as usual on +the bodies of the slain. You know four coups [or blows] can be +counted on the body of an enemy, and whoever counts the first one +[touches it for the first time] is entitled to the 'first feather.' + +"There was an Indian here called Appearing Elk, who died a +short time ago. He was slightly wounded in the charge. He had +some of the weapons of the Long-Haired Chief, and the Indians used +to say jokingly after we came upon the reservation that Appearing +Elk must have killed the Chief, because he had his sword! However, +the scramble for plunder did not begin until all were dead. I do +not think he killed Custer, and if he had, the time to claim the +honor was immediately after the fight. + +"Many lies have been told of me. Some say that I killed the +Chief, and others that I cut out the heart of his brother [Tom +Custer], because he had caused me to be imprisoned. Why, in that +fight the excitement was so great that we scarcely recognized our +nearest friends! Everything was done like lightning. After the +battle we young men were chasing horses all over the prairie, while +the old men and women plundered the bodies; and if any mutilating +was done, it was by the old men. + +"I have lived peaceably ever since we came upon the +reservation. No one can say that Rain-in-the-Face has broken the +rules of the Great Father. I fought for my people and my country. +When we were conquered I remained silent, as a warrior should. +Rain-in-the-Face was killed when he put down his weapons before the +Great Father. His spirit was gone then; only his poor body lived +on, but now it is almost ready to lie down for the last time. Ho, +hechetu! [It is well.]" + + + + +TWO STRIKE + + +It is a pity that so many interesting names of well-known Indians +have been mistranslated, so that their meaning becomes very vague +if it is not wholly lost. In some cases an opposite meaning is +conveyed. For instance there is the name, "Young-Man-Afraid-of- +His-Horses." It does not mean that the owner of the name is afraid +of his own horse -- far from it! Tashunkekokipapi signifies "The +young men [of the enemy] fear his horses." Whenever that man +attacks, the enemy knows there will be a determined charge. + +The name Tashunkewitko, or Crazy Horse, is a poetic simile. +This leader was likened to an untrained or untouched horse, wild, +ignorant of domestic uses, splendid in action, and unconscious of +danger. + +The name of Two Strike is a deed name. In a battle with the +Utes this man knocked two enemies from the back of a war horse. +The true rendering of the name Nomkahpa would be, "He knocked off +two." + +I was well acquainted with Two Strike and spent many pleasant +hours with him, both at Washington, D. C., and in his home on the +Rosebud reservation. What I have written is not all taken from his +own mouth, because he was modest in talking about himself, but I +had him vouch for the truth of the stories. He said that he was +born near the Republican River about 1832. His earliest +recollection was of an attack by the Shoshones upon their camp on +the Little Piney. The first white men he ever met were traders who +visited his people when he was very young. The incident was still +vividly with him, because, he said, "They made my father crazy," +[drunk]. This made a deep impression upon him, he told me, so that +from that day he was always afraid of the white man's "mysterious +water." + +Two Strike was not a large man, but he was very supple and +alert in motion, as agile as an antelope. His face was mobile and +intelligent. Although he had the usual somber visage of an Indian, +his expression brightened up wonderfully when he talked. In some +ways wily and shrewd in intellect, he was not deceitful nor mean. +He had a high sense of duty and honor. Patriotism was his ideal +and goal of life. + +As a young man he was modest and even shy, although both his +father and grandfather were well-known chiefs. I could find few +noteworthy incidents in his early life, save that he was an expert +rider of wild horses. At one time I was pressing him to give me +some interesting incident of his boyhood. He replied to the effect +that there was plenty of excitement but "not much in it." There +was a delegation of Sioux chiefs visiting Washington, and we were +spending an evening together in their hotel. Hollow Horn Bear +spoke up and said: + +"Why don't you tell him how you and a buffalo cow together +held your poor father up and froze him almost to death?" + +Everybody laughed, and another man remarked: "I think he had +better tell the medicine man (meaning myself) how he lost the power +of speech when he first tried to court a girl." Two Strike, +although he was then close to eighty years of age, was visibly +embarrassed by their chaff. + +"Anyway, I stuck to the trail. I kept on till I got what I +wanted," he muttered. And then came the story. + +The old chief, his father, was very fond of the buffalo hunt; +and being accomplished in horsemanship and a fine shot, although +not very powerfully built, young Two Strike was already following +hard in his footsteps. Like every proud father, his was giving him +every incentive to perfect his skill, and one day challenged his +sixteen-year-old son to the feat of "one arrow to kill" at the very +next chase. + +It was midwinter. A large herd of buffalo was reported by the +game scout. The hunters gathered at daybreak prepared for the +charge. The old chief had his tried charger equipped with a soft, +pillow-like Indian saddle and a lariat. His old sinew-backed +hickory bow was examined and strung, and a fine straight arrow with +a steel head carefully selected for the test. He adjusted a keen +butcher knife over his leather belt, which held a warm buffalo robe +securely about his body. He wore neither shirt nor coat, although +a piercing wind was blowing from the northwest. The youthful Two +Strike had his favorite bow and his swift pony, which was perhaps +dearer to him than his closest boy comrade. + +Now the hunters crouched upon their horses' necks like an army +in line of battle, while behind them waited the boys and old men +with pack ponies to carry the meat. "Hukahey!" shouted the leader +as a warning. "Yekiya wo!" (Go) and in an instant all the ponies +leaped forward against the cutting wind, as if it were the start in +a horse race. Every rider leaned forward, tightly wrapped in his +robe, watching the flying herd for an opening in the mass of +buffalo, a chance to cut out some of the fattest cows. This was +the object of the race. + +The chief had a fair start; his horse was well trained and +needed no urging nor guidance. Without the slightest pull on the +lariat he dashed into the thickest of the herd. The youth's pony +had been prancing and rearing impatiently; he started a little +behind, yet being swift passed many. His rider had one clear +glimpse of his father ahead of him, then the snow arose in blinding +clouds on the trail of the bison. The whoops of the hunters, the +lowing of the cows, and the menacing glances of the bulls as they +plunged along, or now and then stood at bay, were enough to unnerve +a boy less well tried. He was unable to select his victim. He had +been carried deeply into the midst of the herd and found himself +helpless to make the one sure shot, therefore he held his one arrow +in his mouth and merely strove to separate them so as to get his +chance. + +At last the herd parted, and he cut out two fat cows, and was +maneuvering for position when a rider appeared out of the snow +cloud on their other side. This aroused him to make haste lest his +rival secure both cows; he saw his chance, and in a twinkling his +arrow sped clear through one of the animals so that she fell +headlong. + +In this instant he observed that the man who had joined him +was his own father, who had met with the same difficulties as +himself. When the young man had shot his only arrow, the old chief +with a whoop went after the cow that was left, but as he gained her +broadside, his horse stepped in a badger hole and fell, throwing +him headlong. The maddened buffalo, as sometimes happens in such +cases, turned upon the pony and gored him to death. His rider lay +motionless, while Two Strike rushed forward to draw her attention, +but she merely tossed her head at him, while persistently standing +guard over the dead horse and the all but frozen Indian. + +Alas for the game of "one arrow to kill!" The boy must think +fast, for his father's robe had slipped off, and he was playing +dead, lying almost naked in the bitter air upon the trampled snow. +His bluff would not serve, so he flew back to pull out his solitary +arrow from the body of the dead cow. Quickly wheeling again, he +sent it into her side and she fell. The one arrow to kill had +become one arrow to kill two buffalo! At the council lodge that +evening Two Strike was the hero. + +The following story is equally characteristic of him, and in +explanation it should be said that in the good old days among the +Sioux, a young man is not supposed to associate with girls until he +is ready to take a wife. It was a rule with our young men, +especially the honorable and well-born, to gain some reputation in +the hunt and in war, -- the more difficult the feats achieved the +better, -- before even speaking to a young woman. Many a life was +risked in the effort to establish a reputation along these lines. +Courtship was no secret, but rather a social event, often +celebrated by the proud parents with feasts and presents to the +poor, and this etiquette was sometimes felt by a shy or sensitive +youth as an insurmountable obstacle to the fulfilment of his +desires. + +Two Strike was the son and grandson of a chief, but he could +not claim any credit for the deeds of his forbears. He had not +only to guard their good name but achieve one for himself. This he +had set out to do, and he did well. He was now of marriageable age +with a war record, and admitted to the council, yet he did not seem +to trouble himself at all about a wife. His was strictly a +bachelor career. Meanwhile, as is apt to be the case, his parents +had thought much about a possible daughter-in-law, and had even +collected ponies, fine robes, and other acceptable goods to be +given away in honor of the event, whenever it should take place. +Now and then they would drop a sly hint, but with no perceptible +effect. + +They did not and could not know of the inward struggle that +racked his mind at this period of his life. The shy and modest +young man was dying for a wife, yet could not bear even to think of +speaking to a young woman! The fearless hunter of buffaloes, +mountain lions, and grizzlies, the youth who had won his eagle +feathers in a battle with the Utes, could not bring himself to take +this tremendous step. + +At last his father appealed to him directly. "My son," he +declared, "it is your duty to take unto yourself a wife, in order +that the honors won by your ancestors and by yourself may be handed +down in the direct line. There are several eligible young women in +our band whose parents have intimated a wish to have you for their +son-in-law." + +Two Strike made no reply, but he was greatly disturbed. He +had no wish to have the old folks select his bride, for if the +truth were told, his choice was already made. He had simply lacked +the courage to go a-courting! + +The next morning, after making an unusually careful toilet, he +took his best horse and rode to a point overlooking the path by +which the girls went for water. Here the young men were wont to +take their stand, and, if fortunate, intercept the girl of their +heart for a brief but fateful interview. Two Strike had determined +to speak straight to the point, and as soon as he saw the pretty +maid he came forward boldly and placed himself in her way. A long +moment passed. She glanced up at him shyly but not without +encouragement. His teeth fairly chattered with fright, and he +could not say a word. She looked again, noted his strange looks, +and believed him suddenly taken ill. He appeared to be suffering. +At last he feebly made signs for her to go on and leave him alone. +The maiden was sympathetic, but as she did not know what else to do +she obeyed his request. + +The poor youth was so ashamed of his cowardice that he +afterward admitted his first thought was to take his own life. He +believed he had disgraced himself forever in the eyes of the only +girl he had ever loved. However, he determined to conquer his +weakness and win her, which he did. The story came out many years +after and was told with much enjoyment by the old men. + +Two Strike was better known by his own people than by the +whites, for he was individually a terror in battle rather than a +leader. He achieved his honorable name in a skirmish with the Utes +in Colorado. The Sioux regarded these people as their bravest +enemies, and the outcome of the fight was for some time uncertain. +First the Sioux were forced to retreat and then their opponents, +and at the latter point the horse of a certain Ute was shot under +him. A friend came to his rescue and took him up behind him. Our +hero overtook them in flight, raised his war club, and knocked both +men off with one blow. + +He was a very old man when he died, only two or three years +ago, on the Rosebud reservation. + + + + +AMERICAN HORSE + + +One of the wittiest and shrewdest of the Sioux chiefs was American +Horse, who succeeded to the name and position of an uncle, killed +in the battle of Slim Buttes in 1876. The younger American Horse +was born a little before the encroachments of the whites upon the +Sioux country became serious and their methods aggressive, and his +early manhood brought him into that most trying and critical period +of our history. He had been tutored by his uncle, since his own +father was killed in battle while he was still very young. The +American Horse band was closely attached to a trading post, and its +members in consequence were inclined to be friendly with the +whites, a policy closely adhered to by their leader. + +When he was born, his old grandfather said: "Put him out in +the sun! Let him ask his great-grandfather, the Sun, for the warm +blood of a warrior!" And he had warm blood. He was a genial man, +liking notoriety and excitement. He always seized an opportunity +to leap into the center of the arena. + +In early life he was a clownish sort of boy among the boys -- +an expert mimic and impersonator. This talent made him popular and +in his way a leader. He was a natural actor, and early showed +marked ability as a speaker. + +American Horse was about ten years old when he was attacked by +three Crow warriors, while driving a herd of ponies to water. Here +he displayed native cunning and initiative. It seemed he had +scarcely a chance to escape, for the enemy was near. He yelled +frantically at the ponies to start them toward home, while he +dropped off into a thicket of willows and hid there. A part of the +herd was caught in sight of the camp and there was a counter chase, +but the Crows got away with the ponies. Of course his mother was +frantic, believing her boy had been killed or captured; but after +the excitement was over, he appeared in camp unhurt. When +questioned about his escape, he remarked: "I knew they would not +take the time to hunt for small game when there was so much bigger +close by." + +When he was quite a big boy, he joined in a buffalo hunt, and +on the way back with the rest of the hunters his mule became +unmanageable. American Horse had insisted on riding him in +addition to a heavy load of meat and skins, and the animal +evidently resented this, for he suddenly began to run and kick, +scattering fresh meat along the road, to the merriment of the +crowd. But the boy turned actor, and made it appear that it was at +his wish the mule had given this diverting performance. He clung +to the back of his plunging and braying mount like a circus rider, +singing a Brave Heart song, and finally brought up amid the +laughter and cheers of his companions. Far from admitting defeat, +he boasted of his horsemanship and declared that his "brother" the +donkey would put any enemy to flight, and that they should be +called upon to lead a charge. + +It was several years later that he went to sleep early one +night and slept soundly, having been scouting for two nights +previous. It happened that there was a raid by the Crows, and when +he awoke in the midst of the yelling and confusion, he sprang up +and attempted to join in the fighting. Everybody knew his voice in +all the din, so when he fired his gun and announced a coup, as was +the custom, others rushed to the spot, to find that he had shot a +hobbled pony belonging to their own camp. The laugh was on him, +and he never recovered from his chagrin at this mistake. In fact, +although he was undoubtedly fearless and tried hard to distinguish +himself in warfare, he did not succeed. + +It is told of him that he once went with a war party of young +men to the Wind River country against the Shoshones. At last they +discovered a large camp, but there were only a dozen or so of the +Sioux, therefore they hid themselves and watched for their +opportunity to attack an isolated party of hunters. While waiting +thus, they ran short of food. One day a small party of Shoshones +was seen near at hand, and in the midst of the excitement and +preparations for the attack, young American Horse caught sight of +a fat black-tail deer close by. Unable to resist the temptation, +he pulled an arrow from his quiver and sent it through the deer's +heart, then with several of his half-starved companions sprang upon +the yet quivering body of the animal to cut out the liver, which +was sometimes eaten raw. One of the men was knocked down, it is +said, by the last kick of the dying buck, but having swallowed a +few mouthfuls the warriors rushed upon and routed their enemies. +It is still told of American Horse how he killed game and feasted +between the ambush and the attack. + +At another time he was drying his sacred war bonnet and other +gear over a small fire. These articles were held in great +veneration by the Indians and handled accordingly. Suddenly the +fire blazed up, and our hero so far forgot himself as to begin +energetically beating out the flames with the war bonnet, breaking +off one of the sacred buffalo horns in the act. One could almost +fill a book with his mishaps and exploits. I will give one of them +in his own words as well as I can remember them. + +"We were as promising a party of young warriors as our tribe +ever sent against any of its ancestral enemies. It was midsummer, +and after going two days' journey from home we began to send two +scouts ahead daily while the main body kept a half day behind. The +scouts set out every evening and traveled all night. One night the +great war pipe was held out to me and to Young-Man-Afraid-of- +His-Horses. At daybreak, having met no one, we hid our horses and +climbed to the top of the nearest butte to take an observation. It +was a very hot day. We lay flat on our blankets, facing the west +where the cliff fell off in a sheer descent, and with our backs +toward the more gradual slope dotted with scrub pines and cedars. +We stuck some tall grass on our heads and proceeded to study the +landscape spread before us for any sign of man. + +"The sweeping valleys were dotted with herds, both large and +small, of buffalo and elk, and now and then we caught a glimpse of +a coyote slinking into the gulches, returning from night hunting to +sleep. While intently watching some moving body at a distance, we +could not yet tell whether of men or animals, I heard a faint noise +behind me and slowly turned my head. Behold! a grizzly bear +sneaking up on all fours and almost ready to spring! + +"'Run!' I yelled into the ear of my companion, and we both +leaped to our feet in a second. 'Separate! separate!' he shouted, +and as we did so, the bear chose me for his meat. I ran downhill +as fast as I could, but he was gaining. 'Dodge around a tree!' +screamed Young-Man-Afraid. I took a deep breath and made a last +spurt, desperately circling the first tree I came to. As the +ground was steep just there, I turned a somersault one way and the +bear the other. I picked myself up in time to climb the tree, and +was fairly out of reach when he gathered himself together and came +at me more furiously than ever, holding in one paw the shreds of my +breechcloth, for in the fall he had just scratched my back and cut +my belt in two, and carried off my only garment for a trophy! + +"My friend was well up another tree and laughing heartily at +my predicament, and when the bear saw that he could not get at +either of us he reluctantly departed, after I had politely +addressed him and promised to make an offering to his spirit on my +safe return. I don't think I ever had a narrower escape," he +concluded. + +During the troublous times from 1865 to 1877, American Horse +advocated yielding to the government at any cost, being no doubt +convinced of the uselessness of resistance. He was not a +recognized leader until 1876, when he took the name and place of +his uncle. Up to this time he bore the nickname of Manishnee (Can +not walk, or Played out.) + +When the greater part of the Ogallalas, to which band he +belonged, came into the reservation, he at once allied himself with +the peace element at the Red Cloud agency, near Fort Robinson, +Nebraska, and took no small part in keeping the young braves quiet. +Since the older and better-known chiefs, with the exception of +Spotted Tail, were believed to be hostile at heart, the military +made much use of him. Many of his young men enlisted as scouts by +his advice, and even he himself entered the service. + +In the early part of the year 1876, there was a rumor that +certain bands were in danger of breaking away. Their leader was +one Sioux Jim, so nicknamed by the soldiers. American Horse went +to him as peacemaker, but was told he was a woman and no brave. He +returned to his own camp and told his men that Sioux Jim meant +mischief, and in order to prevent another calamity to the tribe, he +must be chastised. He again approached the warlike Jim with +several warriors at his back. The recalcitrant came out, gun in +hand, but the wily chief was too quick for him. He shot and +wounded the rebel, whereupon one of his men came forward and killed +him. + +This quelled the people for the time being and up to the +killing of Crazy Horse. In the crisis precipitated by this event, +American Horse was again influential and energetic in the cause of +the government. From this time on he became an active participant +in the affairs of the Teton Sioux. He was noted for his eloquence, +which was nearly always conciliatory, yet he could say very sharp +things of the duplicity of the whites. He had much ease of manner +and was a master of repartee. I recall his saying that if you have +got to wear golden slippers to enter the white man's heaven no +Indian will ever get there, as the whites have got the Black Hills +and with them all the gold. + +It was during the last struggle of his people, at the time of +the Messiah craze in 1890-1891 that he demonstrated as never before +the real greatness of the man. While many of his friends were +carried away by the new thought, he held aloof from it and +cautioned his band to do the same. When it developed into an +extensive upheaval among the nations he took his positive stand +against it. + +Presently all Indians who did not dance the Ghost Dance were +ordered to come into camp at Pine Ridge agency. American Horse was +the first to bring in his people. I was there at the time and +talked with him daily. When Little was arrested, it had been +agreed among the disaffected to have him resist, which meant that +he would be roughly handled. This was to be their excuse to attack +the Indian police, which would probably lead to a general massacre +or outbreak. I know that this desperate move was opposed from the +beginning by American Horse, and it was believed that his life was +threatened. + +On the day of the "Big Issue", when thousands of Indians were +gathered at the agency, this man Little, who had been in hiding, +walked boldly among them. Of course the police would arrest him at +sight, and he was led toward the guardhouse. He struggled with +them, but was overpowered. A crowd of warriors rushed to his +rescue, and there was confusion and a general shout of "Hurry up +with them! Kill them all!" I saw American Horse walk out of the +agent's office and calmly face the excited mob. + +"What are you going to do?" he asked. "Stop, men, stop and +think before you act! Will you murder your children, your women, +yes, destroy your nation to-day?" He stood before them like a +statue and the men who held the two policemen helpless paused for +an instant. He went on: "You are brave to-day because you +outnumber the white men, but what will you do to-morrow? There are +railroads on all sides of you. The soldiers will pour in from +every direction by thousands and surround you. You have little +food or ammunition. It will be the end of your people. Stop, I +say, stop now!" + +Jack Red Cloud, son of the old chief rushed up to him and +thrust a revolver almost in his face. "It is you and men like +you," he shouted, "who have reduced our race to slavery and +starvation!" American Horse did not flinch but deliberately +reentered the office, followed by Jack still flourishing the +pistol. But his timely appearance and eloquence had saved the day. +Others of the police force had time to reach the spot, and with a +large crowd of friendly Indians had taken command of the situation. + +When I went into the office I found him alone but apparently +quite calm. "Where are the agent and the clerks?" I asked. "They +fled by the back door," he replied, smiling. "I think they are in +the cellar. These fools outside had almost caught us asleep, but +I think it is over now." + +American Horse was one of the earliest advocates of education +for the Indian, and his son Samuel and nephew Robert were among the +first students at Carlisle. I think one or two of his daughters +were the handsomest Indian girls of full blood that I ever saw. +His record as a councilor of his people and his policy in the new +situation that confronted them was manly and consistent. + + + + +DULL KNIFE + + +The life of Dull Knife, the Cheyenne, is a true hero tale. Simple, +child-like yet manful, and devoid of selfish aims, or love of gain, +he is a pattern for heroes of any race. + +Dull Knife was a chief of the old school. Among all the +Indians of the plains, nothing counts save proven worth. A man's +caliber is measured by his courage, unselfishness and intelligence. +Many writers confuse history with fiction, but in Indian history +their women and old men and even children witness the main events, +and not being absorbed in daily papers and magazines, these events +are rehearsed over and over with few variations. Though orally +preserved, their accounts are therefore accurate. But they have +seldom been willing to give reliable information to strangers, +especially when asked and paid for. + +Racial prejudice naturally enters into the account of a man's +life by enemy writers, while one is likely to favor his own race. +I am conscious that many readers may think that I have idealized +the Indian. Therefore I will confess now that we have too many +weak and unprincipled men among us. When I speak of the Indian +hero, I do not forget the mongrel in spirit, false to the ideals of +his people. Our trustfulness has been our weakness, and when the +vices of civilization were added to our own, we fell heavily. + +It is said that Dull Knife as a boy was resourceful and +self-reliant. He was only nine years old when his family was +separated from the rest of the tribe while on a buffalo hunt. His +father was away and his mother busy, and he was playing with his +little sister on the banks of a stream, when a large herd of +buffalo swept down upon them on a stampede for water. His mother +climbed a tree, but the little boy led his sister into an old +beaver house whose entrance was above water, and here they remained +in shelter until the buffalo passed and they were found by their +distracted parents. + +Dull Knife was quite a youth when his tribe was caught one +winter in a region devoid of game, and threatened with starvation. +The situation was made worse by heavy storms, but he secured help +and led a relief party a hundred and fifty miles, carrying bales of +dried buffalo meat on pack horses. + +Another exploit that made him dear to his people occurred in +battle, when his brother-in-law was severely wounded and left lying +where no one on either side dared to approach him. As soon as Dull +Knife heard of it he got on a fresh horse, and made so daring a +charge that others joined him; thus under cover of their fire he +rescued his brother-in-law, and in so doing was wounded twice. + +The Sioux knew him as a man of high type, perhaps not so +brilliant as Roman Nose and Two Moon, but surpassing both in +honesty and simplicity, as well as in his war record. (Two Moon, +in fact, was never a leader of his people, and became distinguished +only in wars with the whites during the period of revolt.) A story +is told of an ancestor of the same name that illustrates well the +spirit of the age. + +It was the custom in those days for the older men to walk +ahead of the moving caravan and decide upon all halts and camping +places. One day the councilors came to a grove of wild cherries +covered with ripe fruit, and they stopped at once. Suddenly a +grizzly charged from the thicket. The men yelped and hooted, but +the bear was not to be bluffed. He knocked down the first warrior +who dared to face him and dragged his victim into the bushes. + +The whole caravan was in the wildest excitement. Several of +the swiftest-footed warriors charged the bear, to bring him out +into the open, while the women and dogs made all the noise they +could. The bear accepted the challenge, and as he did so, the man +whom they had supposed dead came running from the opposite end of +the thicket. The Indians were delighted, and especially so when in +the midst of their cheers, the man stopped running for his life and +began to sing a Brave Heart song as he approached the grove with +his butcher knife in his hand. He would dare his enemy again! + +The grizzly met him with a tremendous rush, and they went down +together. Instantly the bear began to utter cries of distress, and +at the same time the knife flashed, and he rolled over dead. The +warrior was too quick for the animal; he first bit his sensitive +nose to distract his attention, and then used the knife to stab him +to the heart. He fought many battles with knives thereafter and +claimed that the spirit of the bear gave him success. On one +occasion, however, the enemy had a strong buffalo-hide shield which +the Cheyenne bear fighter could not pierce through, and he was +wounded; nevertheless he managed to dispatch his foe. It was from +this incident that he received the name of Dull Knife, which was +handed down to his descendant. + +As is well known, the Northern Cheyennes uncompromisingly +supported the Sioux in their desperate defense of the Black Hills +and Big Horn country. Why not? It was their last buffalo region +-- their subsistence. It was what our wheat fields are to a +civilized nation. + +About the year 1875, a propaganda was started for confining +all the Indians upon reservations, where they would be practically +interned or imprisoned, regardless of their possessions and rights. +The men who were the strongest advocates of the scheme generally +wanted the Indians' property -- the one main cause back of all +Indian wars. From the warlike Apaches to the peaceful Nez Perces, +all the tribes of the plains were hunted from place to place; then +the government resorted to peace negotiations, but always with an +army at hand to coerce. Once disarmed and helpless, they were to +be taken under military guard to the Indian Territory. + +A few resisted, and declared they would fight to the death +rather than go. Among these were the Sioux, but nearly all the +smaller tribes were deported against their wishes. Of course those +Indians who came from a mountainous and cold country suffered +severely. The moist heat and malaria decimated the exiles. Chief +Joseph of the Nez Perces and Chief Standing Bear of the Poncas +appealed to the people of the United States, and finally succeeded +in having their bands or the remnant of them returned to their own +part of the country. Dull Knife was not successful in his plea, +and the story of his flight is one of poignant interest. + +He was regarded by the authorities as a dangerous man, and +with his depleted band was taken to the Indian Territory without +his consent in 1876. When he realized that his people were dying +like sheep, he was deeply moved. He called them together. Every +man and woman declared that they would rather die in their own +country than stay there longer, and they resolved to flee to their +northern homes. + +Here again was displayed the genius of these people. From the +Indian Territory to Dakota is no short dash for freedom. They knew +what they were facing. Their line of flight lay through a settled +country and they would be closely pursued by the army. No sooner +had they started than the telegraph wires sang one song: "The +panther of the Cheyennes is at large. Not a child or a woman in +Kansas or Nebraska is safe." Yet they evaded all the pursuing and +intercepting troops and reached their native soil. The strain was +terrible, the hardship great, and Dull Knife, like Joseph, was +remarkable for his self-restraint in sparing those who came within +his power on the way. + +But fate was against him, for there were those looking for +blood money who betrayed him when he thought he was among friends. +His people were tired out and famished when they were surrounded +and taken to Fort Robinson. There the men were put in prison, and +their wives guarded in camp. They were allowed to visit their men +on certain days. Many of them had lost everything; there were but +a few who had even one child left. They were heartbroken. + +These despairing women appealed to their husbands to die +fighting: their liberty was gone, their homes broken up, and only +slavery and gradual extinction in sight. At last Dull Knife +listened. He said: "I have lived my life. I am ready." The +others agreed. "If our women are willing to die with us, who is +there to say no? If we are to do the deeds of men, it rests with +you women to bring us our weapons. + +As they had been allowed to carry moccasins and other things +to the men, so they contrived to take in some guns and knives under +this disguise. The plan was to kill the sentinels and run to the +nearest natural trench, there to make their last stand. The women +and children were to join them. This arrangement was carried out. +Not every brave had a gun, but all had agreed to die together. +They fought till their small store of ammunition was exhausted, +then exposed their broad chests for a target, and the mothers even +held up their little ones to be shot. Thus died the fighting +Cheyennes and their dauntless leader. + + + + +ROMAN NOSE + + +This Cheyenne war chief was a contemporary of Dull Knife. He was +not so strong a character as the other, and was inclined to be +pompous and boastful; but with all this he was a true type of +native American in spirit and bravery. + +While Dull Knife was noted in warfare among Indians, Roman +Nose made his record against the whites, in defense of territory +embracing the Republican and Arickaree rivers. He was killed on +the latter river in 1868, in the celebrated battle with General +Forsythe. + +Save Chief Gall and Washakie in the prime of their manhood, +this chief had no peer in bodily perfection and masterful +personality. No Greek or Roman gymnast was ever a finer model of +physical beauty and power. He thrilled his men to frenzied action +when he came upon the field. It was said of him that he sacrificed +more youths by his personal influence in battle than any other +leader, being very reckless himself in grand-stand charges. He was +killed needlessly in this manner. + +Roman Nose always rode an uncommonly fine, spirited horse, and +with his war bonnet and other paraphernalia gave a wonderful +exhibition. The Indians used to say that the soldiers must gaze at +him rather than aim at him, as they so seldom hit him even when +running the gantlet before a firing line. + +He did a remarkable thing once when on a one-arrow-to-kill +buffalo hunt with his brother-in-law. His companion had selected +his animal and drew so powerfully on his sinew bowstring that it +broke. Roman Nose had killed his own cow and was whipping up close +to the other when the misfortune occurred. Both horses were going +at full speed and the arrow jerked up in the air. Roman Nose +caught it and shot the cow for him. + +Another curious story told of him is to the effect that he had +an intimate Sioux friend who was courting a Cheyenne girl, but +without success. As the wooing of both Sioux and Cheyennes was +pretty much all effected in the night time, Roman Nose told his +friend to let him do the courting for him. He arranged with the +young woman to elope the next night and to spend the honeymoon +among his Sioux friends. He then told his friend what to do. The +Sioux followed instructions and carried off the Cheyenne maid, and +not until morning did she discover her mistake. It is said she +never admitted it, and that the two lived happily together to a +good old age, so perhaps there was no mistake after all. + +Perhaps no other chief attacked more emigrants going west on +the Oregon Trail between 1860 and 1868. He once made an attack on +a large party of Mormons, and in this instance the Mormons had time +to form a corral with their wagons and shelter their women, +children, and horses. The men stood outside and met the Indians +with well-aimed volleys, but they circled the wagons with whirlwind +speed, and whenever a white man fell, it was the signal for Roman +Nose to charge and count the "coup." The hat of one of the dead +men was off, and although he had heavy hair and beard, the top of +his head was bald from the forehead up. As custom required such a +deed to be announced on the spot, the chief yelled at the top of +his voice: + +"Your Roman Nose has counted the first coup on the +longest-faced white man who was ever killed!" + +When the Northern Cheyennes under this daring leader attacked +a body of scouting troops under the brilliant officer General +Forsythe, Roman Nose thought that he had a comparatively easy task. +The first onset failed, and the command entrenched itself on a +little island. The wily chief thought he could stampede them and +urged on his braves with the declaration that the first to reach +the island should be entitled to wear a trailing war bonnet. +Nevertheless he was disappointed, and his men received such a warm +reception that none succeeded in reaching it. In order to inspire +them to desperate deeds he had led them in person, and with him +that meant victory or death. According to the army accounts, it +was a thrilling moment, and might well have proved disastrous to +the Forsythe command, whose leader was wounded and helpless. The +danger was acute until Roman Nose fell, and even then his +lieutenants were bent upon crossing at any cost, but some of the +older chiefs prevailed upon them to withdraw. + +Thus the brilliant war chief of the Cheyennes came to his +death. If he had lived until 1876, Sitting Bull would have had +another bold ally. + + + + +CHIEF JOSEPH + + +The Nez Perce tribe of Indians, like other tribes too large to be +united under one chief, was composed of several bands, each +distinct in sovereignty. It was a loose confederacy. Joseph and +his people occupied the Imnaha or Grande Ronde valley in Oregon, +which was considered perhaps the finest land in that part of the +country. + +When the last treaty was entered into by some of the bands of +the Nez Perce, Joseph's band was at Lapwai, Idaho, and had nothing +to do with the agreement. The elder chief in dying had counseled +his son, then not more than twenty-two or twenty-three years of +age, never to part with their home, assuring him that he had signed +no papers. These peaceful non-treaty Indians did not even know +what land had been ceded until the agent read them the government +order to leave. Of course they refused. You and I would have done +the same. + +When the agent failed to move them, he and the would-be +settlers called upon the army to force them to be good, namely, +without a murmur to leave their pleasant inheritance in the hands +of a crowd of greedy grafters. General O. O. Howard, the Christian +soldier, was sent to do the work. + +He had a long council with Joseph and his leading men, telling +them they must obey the order or be driven out by force. We may be +sure that he presented this hard alternative reluctantly. Joseph +was a mere youth without experience in war or public affairs. He +had been well brought up in obedience to parental wisdom and with +his brother Ollicut had attended Missionary Spaulding's school +where they had listened to the story of Christ and his religion of +brotherhood. He now replied in his simple way that neither he nor +his father had ever made any treaty disposing of their country, +that no other band of the Nez Perces was authorized to speak for +them, and it would seem a mighty injustice and unkindness to +dispossess a friendly band. + +General Howard told them in effect that they had no rights, no +voice in the matter: they had only to obey. Although some of the +lesser chiefs counseled revolt then and there, Joseph maintained +his self-control, seeking to calm his people, and still groping for +a peaceful settlement of their difficulties. He finally asked for +thirty days' time in which to find and dispose of their stock, and +this was granted. + +Joseph steadfastly held his immediate followers to their +promise, but the land-grabbers were impatient, and did everything +in their power to bring about an immediate crisis so as to hasten +the eviction of the Indians. Depredations were committed, and +finally the Indians, or some of them, retaliated, which was just +what their enemies had been looking for. There might be a score of +white men murdered among themselves on the frontier and no outsider +would ever hear about it, but if one were injured by an Indian -- +"Down with the bloodthirsty savages!" was the cry. + +Joseph told me himself that during all of those thirty days a +tremendous pressure was brought upon him by his own people to +resist the government order. "The worst of it was," said he, "that +everything they said was true; besides" -- he paused for a moment +-- "it seemed very soon for me to forget my father's dying words, +'Do not give up our home!'" Knowing as I do just what this would +mean to an Indian, I felt for him deeply. + +Among the opposition leaders were Too-hul-hul-sote, White +Bird, and Looking Glass, all of them strong men and respected by +the Indians; while on the other side were men built up by +emissaries of the government for their own purposes and advertised +as "great friendly chiefs." As a rule such men are unworthy, and +this is so well known to the Indians that it makes them distrustful +of the government's sincerity at the start. Moreover, while +Indians unqualifiedly say what they mean, the whites have a hundred +ways of saying what they do not mean. + +The center of the storm was this simple young man, who so far +as I can learn had never been upon the warpath, and he stood firm +for peace and obedience. As for his father's sacred dying charge, +he told himself that he would not sign any papers, he would not go +of his free will but from compulsion, and this was his excuse. + +However, the whites were unduly impatient to clear the coveted +valley, and by their insolence they aggravated to the danger point +an already strained situation. The murder of an Indian was the +climax and this happened in the absence of the young chief. He +returned to find the leaders determined to die fighting. The +nature of the country was in their favor and at least they could +give the army a chase, but how long they could hold out they did +not know. Even Joseph's younger brother Ollicut was won over. +There was nothing for him to do but fight; and then and there began +the peaceful Joseph's career as a general of unsurpassed strategy +in conducting one of the most masterly retreats in history. + +This is not my judgment, but the unbiased opinion of men whose +knowledge and experience fit them to render it. Bear in mind that +these people were not scalp hunters like the Sioux, Cheyennes, and +Utes, but peaceful hunters and fishermen. The first council of war +was a strange business to Joseph. He had only this to say to his +people: + +"I have tried to save you from suffering and sorrow. +Resistance means all of that. We are few. They are many. You can +see all we have at a glance. They have food and ammunition in +abundance. We must suffer great hardship and loss." After this +speech, he quietly began his plans for the defense. + +The main plan of campaign was to engineer a successful retreat +into Montana and there form a junction with the hostile Sioux and +Cheyennes under Sitting Bull. There was a relay scouting system, +one set of scouts leaving the main body at evening and the second +a little before daybreak, passing the first set on some commanding +hill top. There were also decoy scouts set to trap Indian scouts +of the army. I notice that General Howard charges his Crow scouts +with being unfaithful. + +Their greatest difficulty was in meeting an unencumbered army, +while carrying their women, children, and old men, with supplies +and such household effects as were absolutely necessary. Joseph +formed an auxiliary corps that was to effect a retreat at each +engagement, upon a definite plan and in definite order, while the +unencumbered women were made into an ambulance corps to take care +of the wounded. + +It was decided that the main rear guard should meet General +Howard's command in White Bird Canyon, and every detail was planned +in advance, yet left flexible according to Indian custom, giving +each leader freedom to act according to circumstances. Perhaps no +better ambush was ever planned than the one Chief Joseph set for +the shrewd and experienced General Howard. He expected to be hotly +pursued, but he calculated that the pursuing force would consist of +not more than two hundred and fifty soldiers. He prepared false +trails to mislead them into thinking that he was about to cross or +had crossed the Salmon River, which he had no thought of doing at +that time. Some of the tents were pitched in plain sight, while +the women and children were hidden on the inaccessible ridges, and +the men concealed in the canyon ready to fire upon the soldiers +with deadly effect with scarcely any danger to themselves. They +could even roll rocks upon them. + +In a very few minutes the troops had learned a lesson. The +soldiers showed some fight, but a large body of frontiersmen who +accompanied them were soon in disorder. The warriors chased them +nearly ten miles, securing rifles and much ammunition, and killing +and wounding many. + +The Nez Perces next crossed the river, made a detour and +recrossed it at another point, then took their way eastward. All +this was by way of delaying pursuit. Joseph told me that he +estimated it would take six or seven days to get a sufficient force +in the field to take up their trail, and the correctness of his +reasoning is apparent from the facts as detailed in General +Howard's book. He tells us that he waited six days for the arrival +of men from various forts in his department, then followed Joseph +with six hundred soldiers, beside a large number of citizen +volunteers and his Indian scouts. As it was evident they had a +long chase over trackless wilderness in prospect, he discarded his +supply wagons and took pack mules instead. But by this time the +Indians had a good start. + +Meanwhile General Howard had sent a dispatch to Colonel +Gibbons, with orders to head Joseph off, which he undertook to do +at the Montana end of the Lolo Trail. The wily commander had no +knowledge of this move, but he was not to be surprised. He was too +brainy for his pursuers, whom he constantly outwitted, and only +gave battle when he was ready. There at the Big Hole Pass he met +Colonel Gibbons' fresh troops and pressed them close. He sent a +party under his brother Ollicut to harass Gibbons' rear and rout +the pack mules, thus throwing him on the defensive and causing him +to send for help, while Joseph continued his masterly retreat +toward the Yellowstone Park, then a wilderness. However, this was +but little advantage to him, since he must necessarily leave a +broad trail, and the army was augmenting its columns day by day +with celebrated scouts, both white and Indian. The two commands +came together, and although General Howard says their horses were +by this time worn out, and by inference the men as well, they +persisted on the trail of a party encumbered by women and children, +the old, sick, and wounded. + +It was decided to send a detachment of cavalry under Bacon, to +Tash Pass, the gateway of the National Park, which Joseph would +have to pass, with orders to detain him there until the rest could +come up with them. Here is what General Howard says of the affair. +"Bacon got into position soon enough but he did not have the heart +to fight the Indians on account of their number." Meanwhile +another incident had occurred. Right under the eyes of the chosen +scouts and vigilant sentinels, Joseph's warriors fired upon the +army camp at night and ran off their mules. He went straight on +toward the park, where Lieutenant Bacon let him get by and pass +through the narrow gateway without firing a shot. + +Here again it was demonstrated that General Howard could not +depend upon the volunteers, many of whom had joined him in the +chase, and were going to show the soldiers how to fight Indians. +In this night attack at Camas Meadow, they were demoralized, and +while crossing the river next day many lost their guns in the +water, whereupon all packed up and went home, leaving the army to +be guided by the Indian scouts. + +However, this succession of defeats did not discourage General +Howard, who kept on with as many of his men as were able to carry +a gun, meanwhile sending dispatches to all the frontier posts with +orders to intercept Joseph if possible. Sturgis tried to stop him +as the Indians entered the Park, but they did not meet until he was +about to come out, when there was another fight, with Joseph again +victorious. General Howard came upon the battle field soon +afterward and saw that the Indians were off again, and from here he +sent fresh messages to General Miles, asking for reinforcements. + +Joseph had now turned northeastward toward the Upper Missouri. +He told me that when he got into that part of the country he knew +he was very near the Canadian line and could not be far from +Sitting Bull, with whom he desired to form an alliance. He also +believed that he had cleared all the forts. Therefore he went more +slowly and tried to give his people some rest. Some of their best +men had been killed or wounded in battle, and the wounded were a +great burden to him; nevertheless they were carried and tended +patiently all during this wonderful flight. Not one was ever left +behind. + +It is the general belief that Indians are cruel and +revengeful, and surely these people had reason to hate the race who +had driven them from their homes if any people ever had. Yet it is +a fact that when Joseph met visitors and travelers in the Park, +some of whom were women, he allowed them to pass unharmed, and in +at least one instance let them have horses. He told me that he +gave strict orders to his men not to kill any women or children. +He wished to meet his adversaries according to their own standards +of warfare, but he afterward learned that in spite of professions +of humanity, white soldiers have not seldom been known to kill +women and children indiscriminately. + +Another remarkable thing about this noted retreat is that +Joseph's people stood behind him to a man, and even the women and +little boys did each his part. The latter were used as scouts in +the immediate vicinity of the camp. + +The Bittersweet valley, which they had now entered, was full +of game, and the Indians hunted for food, while resting their +worn-out ponies. One morning they had a council to which Joseph +rode over bareback, as they had camped in two divisions a little +apart. His fifteen-year-old daughter went with him. They +discussed sending runners to Sitting Bull to ascertain his exact +whereabouts and whether it would be agreeable to him to join forces +with the Nez Perces. In the midst of the council, a force of +United States cavalry charged down the hill between the two camps. +This once Joseph was surprised. He had seen no trace of the +soldiers and had somewhat relaxed his vigilance. + +He told his little daughter to stay where she was, and himself +cut right through the cavalry and rode up to his own teepee, where +his wife met him at the door with his rifle, crying: "Here is your +gun, husband!" The warriors quickly gathered and pressed the +soldiers so hard that they had to withdraw. Meanwhile one set of +the people fled while Joseph's own band entrenched themselves in a +very favorable position from which they could not easily be +dislodged. + +General Miles had received and acted on General Howard's +message, and he now sent one of his officers with some Indian +scouts into Joseph's camp to negotiate with the chief. Meantime +Howard and Sturgis came up with the encampment, and Howard had with +him two friendly Nez Perce scouts who were directed to talk to +Joseph in his own language. He decided that there was nothing to +do but surrender. + +He had believed that his escape was all but secure: then at +the last moment he was surprised and caught at a disadvantage. His +army was shattered; he had lost most of the leaders in these +various fights; his people, including children, women, and the +wounded, had traveled thirteen hundred miles in about fifty days, +and he himself a young man who had never before taken any important +responsibility! Even now he was not actually conquered. He was +well entrenched; his people were willing to die fighting; but the +army of the United States offered peace and he agreed, as he said, +out of pity for his suffering people. Some of his warriors still +refused to surrender and slipped out of the camp at night and +through the lines. Joseph had, as he told me, between three and +four hundred fighting men in the beginning, which means over one +thousand persons, and of these several hundred surrendered with +him. + +His own story of the conditions he made was prepared by +himself with my help in 1897, when he came to Washington to present +his grievances. I sat up with him nearly all of one night; and I +may add here that we took the document to General Miles who was +then stationed in Washington, before presenting it to the +Department. The General said that every word of it was true. + +In the first place, his people were to be kept at Fort Keogh, +Montana, over the winter and then returned to their reservation. +Instead they were taken to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and placed +between a lagoon and the Missouri River, where the sanitary +conditions made havoc with them. Those who did not die were then +taken to the Indian Territory, where the health situation was even +worse. Joseph appealed to the government again and again, and at +last by the help of Bishops Whipple and Hare he was moved to the +Colville reservation in Washington. Here the land was very poor, +unlike their own fertile valley. General Miles said to the chief +that he had recommended and urged that their agreement be kept, but +the politicians and the people who occupied the Indians' land +declared they were afraid if he returned he would break out again +and murder innocent white settlers! What irony! + +The great Chief Joseph died broken-spirited and +broken-hearted. He did not hate the whites, for there was nothing +small about him, and when he laid down his weapons he would not +fight on with his mind. But he was profoundly disappointed in the +claims of a Christian civilization. I call him great because he +was simple and honest. Without education or special training he +demonstrated his ability to lead and to fight when justice +demanded. He outgeneraled the best and most experienced commanders +in the army of the United States, although their troops were well +provisioned, well armed, and above all unencumbered. He was great +finally, because he never boasted of his remarkable feat. I am +proud of him, because he was a true American. + + + + +LITTLE WOLF + + +If any people ever fought for liberty and justice, it was the +Cheyennes. If any ever demonstrated their physical and moral +courage beyond cavil, it was this race of purely American heroes, +among whom Little Wolf was a leader. + +I knew the chief personally very well. As a young doctor, I +was sent to the Pine Ridge agency in 1890, as government physician +to the Sioux and the Northern Cheyennes. While I heard from his +own lips of that gallant dash of his people from their southern +exile to their northern home, I prefer that Americans should read +of it in Doctor George Bird Grinnell's book, "The Fighting +Cheyennes." No account could be clearer or simpler; and then too, +the author cannot be charged with a bias in favor of his own race. + +At the time that I knew him, Little Wolf was a handsome man, +with the native dignity and gentleness, musical voice, and pleasant +address of so many brave leaders of his people. One day when he +was dining with us at our home on the reservation, I asked him, as +I had a habit of doing, for some reminiscences of his early life. +He was rather reluctant to speak, but a friend who was present +contributed the following: + +"Perhaps I can tell you why it is that he has been a lucky man +all his life. When quite a small boy, the tribe was one winter in +want of food, and his good mother had saved a small piece of +buffalo meat, which she solemnly brought forth and placed before +him with the remark: 'My son must be patient, for when he grows up +he will know even harder times than this.' + +"He had eaten nothing all day and was pretty hungry, but +before he could lay hands on the meat a starving dog snatched it +and bolted from the teepee. The mother ran after the dog and +brought him back for punishment. She tied him to a post and was +about to whip him when the boy interfered. 'Don't hurt him, +mother!' he cried; 'he took the meat because he was hungrier than +I am!'" + +I was told of another kind act of his under trying +circumstances. While still a youth, he was caught out with a party +of buffalo hunters in a blinding blizzard. They were compelled to +lie down side by side in the snowdrifts, and it was a day and a +night before they could get out. The weather turned very cold, and +when the men arose they were in danger of freezing. Little Wolf +pressed his fine buffalo robe upon an old man who was shaking with +a chill and himself took the other's thin blanket. + +As a full-grown young man, he was attracted by a maiden of his +tribe, and according to the custom then in vogue the pair +disappeared. When they returned to the camp as man and wife, +behold! there was great excitement over the affair. It seemed that +a certain chief had given many presents and paid unmistakable court +to the maid with the intention of marrying her, and her parents had +accepted the presents, which meant consent so far as they were +concerned. But the girl herself had not given consent. + +The resentment of the disappointed suitor was great. It was +reported in the village that he had openly declared that the young +man who defied and insulted him must expect to be punished. As +soon as Little Wolf heard of the threats, he told his father and +friends that he had done only what it is every man's privilege to +do. + +"Tell the chief," said he, "to come out with any weapon he +pleases, and I will meet him within the circle of lodges. He shall +either do this or eat his words. The woman is not his. Her people +accepted his gifts against her wishes. Her heart is mine." + +The chief apologized, and thus avoided the inevitable duel, +which would have been a fight to the death. + +The early life of Little Wolf offered many examples of the +dashing bravery characteristic of the Cheyennes, and inspired the +younger men to win laurels for themselves. He was still a young +man, perhaps thirty-five, when the most trying crisis in the +history of his people came upon them. As I know and as Doctor +Grinnell's book amply corroborates, he was the general who largely +guided and defended them in that tragic flight from the Indian +Territory to their northern home. I will not discuss the justice +of their cause: I prefer to quote Doctor Grinnell, lest it appear +that I am in any way exaggerating the facts. + +"They had come," he writes, "from the high, dry country of +Montana and North Dakota to the hot and humid Indian Territory. +They had come from a country where buffalo and other game were +still plentiful to a land where the game had been exterminated. +Immediately on their arrival they were attacked by fever and ague, +a disease wholly new to them. Food was scanty, and they began to +starve. The agent testified before a committee of the Senate that +he never received supplies to subsist the Indians for more than +nine months in each year. These people were meat-eaters, but the +beef furnished them by the government inspectors was no more than +skin and bone. The agent in describing their sufferings said: +'They have lived and that is about all.' + +"The Indians endured this for about a year, and then their +patience gave out. They left the agency to which they had been +sent and started north. Though troops were camped close to them, +they attempted no concealment of their purpose. Instead, they +openly announced that they intended to return to their own country. + +We have heard much in past years of the march of the Nez +Perces under Chief Joseph, but little is remembered of the Dull +Knife outbreak and the march to the north led by Little Wolf. The +story of the journey has not been told, but in the traditions of +the old army this campaign was notable, and old men who were +stationed on the plains forty years ago are apt to tell you, if you +ask them, that there never was such another journey since the +Greeks marched to the sea. . . . + +"The fugitives pressed constantly northward undaunted, while +orders were flying over the wires, and special trains were carrying +men and horses to cut them off at all probable points on the +different railway lines they must cross. Of the three hundred +Indians, sixty or seventy were fighting men -- the rest old men, +women, and children. An army officer once told me that thirteen +thousand troops were hurrying over the country to capture or kill +these few poor people who had left the fever-stricken South, and in +the face of every obstacle were steadily marching northward. + +"The War Department set all its resources in operation against +them, yet they kept on. If troops attacked them, they stopped and +fought until they had driven off the soldiers, and then started +north again. Sometimes they did not even stop, but marched along, +fighting as they marched. For the most part they tried -- and with +success -- to avoid conflicts, and had but four real hard fights, +in which they lost half a dozen men killed and about as many +wounded." + +It must not be overlooked that the appeal to justice had first +been tried before taking this desperate step. Little Wolf had gone +to the agent about the middle of the summer and said to him: "This +is not a good country for us, and we wish to return to our home in +the mountains where we were always well. If you have not the power +to give permission, let some of us go to Washington and tell them +there how it is, or do you write to Washington and get permission +for us to go back." + +"Stay one more year," replied the agent, "and then we will see +what we can do for you. "No," said Little Wolf. "Before another +year there will be none left to travel north. We must go now." + +Soon after this it was found that three of the Indians had +disappeared and the chief was ordered to surrender ten men as +hostages for their return. He refused. "Three men," said he, "who +are traveling over wild country can hide so that they cannot be +found. You would never get back these three, and you would keep my +men prisoners always." + +The agent then threatened if the ten men were not given up to +withhold their rations and starve the entire tribe into submission. +He forgot that he was addressing a Cheyenne. These people had not +understood that they were prisoners when they agreed to friendly +relations with the government and came upon the reservation. +Little Wolf stood up and shook hands with all present before making +his final deliberate address. + +"Listen, my friends, I am a friend of the white people and +have been so for a long time. I do not want to see blood spilt +about this agency. I am going north to my own country. If you are +going to send your soldiers after me, I wish you would let us get +a little distance away. Then if you want to fight, I will fight +you, and we can make the ground bloody at that place." + +The Cheyenne was not bluffing. He said just what he meant, +and I presume the agent took the hint, for although the military +were there they did not undertake to prevent the Indians' +departure. Next morning the teepees were pulled down early and +quickly. Toward evening of the second day, the scouts signaled the +approach of troops. Little Wolf called his men together and +advised them under no circumstances to fire until fired upon. An +Arapahoe scout was sent to them with a message. "If you surrender +now, you will get your rations and be well treated." After what +they had endured, it was impossible not to hear such a promise with +contempt. Said Little Wolf: "We are going back to our own country. +We do not want to fight." He was riding still nearer when the +soldiers fired, and at a signal the Cheyennes made a charge. They +succeeded in holding off the troops for two days, with only five +men wounded and none killed, and when the military retreated the +Indians continued northward carrying their wounded. + +This sort of thing was repeated again and again. Meanwhile +Little Wolf held his men under perfect control. There were +practically no depredations. They secured some boxes of ammunition +left behind by retreating troops, and at one point the young men +were eager to follow and destroy an entire command who were +apparently at their mercy, but their leader withheld them. They +had now reached the buffalo country, and he always kept his main +object in sight. He was extraordinarily calm. Doctor Grinnell was +told by one of his men years afterward: "Little Wolf did not seem +like a human being. He seemed like a bear." It is true that a man +of his type in a crisis becomes spiritually transformed and moves +as one in a dream. + +At the Running Water the band divided, Dull Knife going toward +Red Cloud agency. He was near Fort Robinson when he surrendered +and met his sad fate. Little Wolf remained all winter in the Sand +Hills, where there was plenty of game and no white men. Later he +went to Montana and then to Pine Ridge, where he and his people +remained in peace until they were removed to Lame Deer, Montana, +and there he spent the remainder of his days. There is a clear sky +beyond the clouds of racial prejudice, and in that final Court of +Honor a noble soul like that of Little Wolf has a place. + + + +HOLE-IN-THE-DAY + +[I wish to thank Reverend C. H. Beaulieu of Le Soeur, +Minnesota, for much of the material used in this chapter.] + +In the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Indian nations of +the Northwest first experienced the pressure of civilization. At +this period there were among them some brilliant leaders unknown to +history, for the curious reason that they cordially received and +welcomed the newcomers rather than opposed them. The only +difficulties were those arising among the European nations +themselves, and often involving the native tribes. Thus new +environments brought new motives, and our temptations were +increased manyfold with the new weapons, new goods, and above all +the subtly destructive "spirit water." + +Gradually it became known that the new race had a definite +purpose, and that purpose was to chart and possess the whole +country, regardless of the rights of its earlier inhabitants. Still +the old chiefs cautioned their people to be patient, for, said +they, the land is vast, both races can live on it, each in their +own way. Let us therefore befriend them and trust to their +friendship. While they reasoned thus, the temptations of graft and +self-aggrandizement overtook some of the leaders. + +Hole-in-the-Day (or Bug-o-nay-ki-shig) was born in the opening +days of this era. The word "ki-shig" means either "day" or "sky", +and the name is perhaps more correctly translated Hole-in-the-Sky. +This gifted man inherited his name and much of his ability from his +father, who was a war chief among the Ojibways, a Napoleon of the +common people, and who carried on a relentless warfare against the +Sioux. And yet, as was our custom at the time, peaceful meetings +were held every summer, at which representatives of the two tribes +would recount to one another all the events that had come to pass +during the preceding year. + +Hole-in-the-Day the younger was a handsome man, tall and +symmetrically formed, with much grace of manner and natural +refinement. He was an astute student of diplomacy. The Ojibways +allowed polygamy, and whether or not he approved the principle, he +made political use of it by marrying the daughter of a chief in +nearly every band. Through these alliances he held a controlling +influence over the whole Ojibway nation. Reverend Claude H. +Beaulieu says of him: + +"Hole-in-the-Day was a man of distinguished appearance and +native courtliness of manner. His voice was musical and magnetic, +and with these qualities he had a subtle brain, a logical mind, and +quite a remarkable gift of oratory. In speech he was not +impassioned, but clear and convincing, and held fast the attention +of his hearers." + +It is of interest to note that his everyday name among his +tribesmen was "The Boy." What a boy he must have been! I wonder +if the name had the same significance as with the Sioux, who +applied it to any man who performs a difficult duty with alertness, +dash, and natural courage. "The Man" applies to one who adds to +these qualities wisdom and maturity of judgment. + +The Sioux tell many stories of both the elder and the younger +Hole-in-the-Day. Once when The Boy was still under ten years of +age, he was fishing on Gull Lake in a leaky birch-bark canoe. +Presently there came such a burst of frantic warwhoops that his +father was startled. He could not think of anything but an attack +by the dreaded Sioux. Seizing his weapons, he ran to the rescue of +his son, only to find that the little fellow had caught a fish so +large that it was pulling his canoe all over the lake. "Ugh," +exclaimed the father, "if a mere fish scares you so badly, I fear +you will never make a warrior! + +It is told of him that when he was very small, the father once +brought home two bear cubs and gave them to him for pets. The Boy +was feeding and getting acquainted with them outside his mother's +birch-bark teepee, when suddenly he was heard to yell for help. +The two little bears had treed The Boy and were waltzing around the +tree. His mother scared them off, but again the father laughed at +him for thinking that he could climb trees better than a bear. + +The elder Hole-in-the-Day was a daring warrior and once +attacked and scalped a Sioux who was carrying his pelts to the +trading post, in full sight of his friends. Of course he was +instantly pursued, and he leaped into a canoe which was lying near +by and crossed to an island in the Mississippi River near Fort +Snelling. When almost surrounded by Sioux warriors, he left the +canoe and swam along the shore with only his nose above water, but +as they were about to head him off he landed and hid behind the +falling sheet of water known as Minnehaha Falls, thus saving his +life. + +It often happens that one who offers his life freely will +after all die a natural death. The elder Hole-in-the-Day so died +when The Boy was still a youth. Like Philip of Massachusetts, +Chief Joseph the younger, and the brilliant Osceola, the mantle +fell gracefully upon his shoulders, and he wore it during a short +but eventful term of chieftainship. It was his to see the end of +the original democracy on this continent. The clouds were fast +thickening on the eastern horizon. The day of individualism and +equity between man and man must yield to the terrific forces of +civilization, the mass play of materialism, the cupidity of +commerce with its twin brother politics. Under such conditions the +younger Hole-in-the-Day undertook to guide his tribesmen. At first +they were inclined to doubt the wisdom of so young a leader, but he +soon proved a ready student of his people's traditions, and yet, +like Spotted Tail and Little Crow, he adopted too willingly the +white man's politics. He maintained the territory won from the +Sioux by his predecessors. He negotiated treaties with the ability +of a born diplomat, with one exception, and that exception cost him +his life. + +Like other able Indians who foresaw the inevitable downfall of +their race, he favored a gradual change of customs leading to +complete adoption of the white man's ways. In order to accustom +the people to a new standard, he held that the chiefs must have +authority and must be given compensation for their services. This +was a serious departure from the old rule but was tacitly accepted, +and in every treaty he made there was provision for himself in the +way of a land grant or a cash payment. He early departed from the +old idea of joint ownership with the Lake Superior Ojibways, +because he foresaw that it would cause no end of trouble for the +Mississippi River branch of which he was then the recognized head. +But there were difficulties to come with the Leech Lake and Red +Lake bands, who held aloof from his policy, and the question of +boundaries began to arise. + +In the first treaty negotiated with the government by young +Hole-in-the-Day in 1855, a "surplus" was provided for the chiefs +aside from the regular per capita payment, and this surplus was to +be distributed in proportion to the number of Indians under each. +Hole-in-the-Day had by far the largest enrollment, therefore he got +the lion's share of this fund. Furthermore he received another sum +set apart for the use of the "head chief", and these things did not +look right to the tribe. In the very next treaty he provided +himself with an annuity of one thousand dollars for twenty years, +beside a section of land near the village of Crow Wing, and the +government was induced to build him a good house upon this land. +In his home he had many white servants and henchmen and really +lived like a lord. He dressed well in native style with a touch +of civilized elegance, wearing coat and leggings of fine +broadcloth, linen shirt with collar, and, topping all, a handsome +black or blue blanket. His moccasins were of the finest deerskin +and beautifully worked. His long beautiful hair added much to his +personal appearance. He was fond of entertaining and being +entertained and was a favorite both among army officers and +civilians. He was especially popular with the ladies, and this +fact will appear later in the story. + +At about this time, the United States government took it upon +itself to put an end to warfare between the Sioux and Ojibways. A +peace meeting was arranged at Fort Snelling, with the United States +as mediator. When the representatives of the two nations met at +this grand council, Hole-in-the-Day came as the head chief of his +people, and with the other chiefs appeared in considerable pomp and +dignity. The wives of the government officials were eager for +admission to this unusual gathering, but when they arrived there +was hardly any space left except next to the Sioux chiefs, and the +white ladies soon crowded this space to overflowing. One of the +Sioux remarked: "I thought this was to be a council of chiefs and +braves, but I see many women among us." Thereupon the Ojibway +arose and spoke in his courtliest manner. "The Ojibway chiefs will +feel highly honored," said he, "if the ladies will consent to sit +on our side." + +Another sign of his alertness to gain favor among the whites +was seen in the fact that he took part in the territorial +campaigns, a most unusual thing for an Indian of that day. Being +a man of means and influence, he was listened to with respect by +the scattered white settlers in his vicinity. He would make a +political speech through an interpreter, but would occasionally +break loose in his broken English, and wind up with an invitation +to drink in the following words: "Chentimen, you Pemicans +(Republicans), come out and drink!" + +From 1855 to 1864 Hole-in-the-Day was a well-known figure in +Minnesota, and scarcely less so in Washington, for he visited the +capital quite often on tribal affairs. As I have said before, he +was an unusually handsome man, and was not unresponsive to flattery +and the attentions of women. At the time of this incident he was +perhaps thirty-five years old, but looked younger. He had called +upon the President and was on his way back to his hotel, when he +happened to pass the Treasury building just as the clerks were +leaving for the day. He was immediately surrounded by an +inquisitive throng. Among them was a handsome young woman who +asked through the interpreter if the chief would consent to an +interview about his people, to aid her in a paper she had promised +to prepare. + +Hole-in-the-Day replied: "If the beautiful lady is willing to +risk calling on the chief at his hotel, her request will be +granted." The lady went, and the result was so sudden and strong +an attachment that both forgot all racial biases and differences of +language and custom. She followed him as far as Minneapolis, and +there the chief advised her to remain, for he feared the jealousy +of some of his many wives. She died there, soon after giving birth +to a son, who was brought up by a family named Woodbury; and some +fifteen years ago I met the young man in Washington and was taken +by him to call upon certain of his mother's relatives. + +The ascendancy of Hole-in-the-Day was not gained entirely +through the consent of his people, but largely by government favor, +therefore there was strong suppressed resentment among his +associate chiefs, and the Red Lake and Leech Lake bands in fact +never acknowledged him as their head, while they suspected him of +making treaties which involved some of their land. He was in +personal danger from this source, and his life was twice attempted, +but, though wounded, in each case he recovered. His popularity +with Indian agents and officers lasted till the Republicans came +into power in the sixties and there was a new deal. The chief no +longer received the favors and tips to which he was accustomed; in +fact he was in want of luxuries, and worse still, his pride was +hurt by neglect. The new party had promised Christian treatment to +the Indians, but it appeared that they were greater grafters than +their predecessors, and unlike them kept everything for themselves, +allowing no perquisites to any Indian chief. + +In his indignation at this treatment, Hole-in-the-Day began +exposing the frauds on his people, and so at a late day was +converted to their defense. Perhaps he had not fully understood +the nature of graft until he was in a position to view it from the +outside. After all, he was excusable in seeking to maintain the +dignity of his office, but he had departed from one of the +fundamental rules of the race, namely: "Let no material gain be the +motive or reward of public duty." He had wounded the ideals of his +people beyond forgiveness, and he suffered the penalty; yet his +courage was not diminished by the mistakes of his past. Like the +Sioux chief Little Crow, he was called "the betrayer of his +people", and like him he made a desperate effort to regain lost +prestige, and turned savagely against the original betrayers of his +confidence, the agents and Indian traders. + +When the Sioux finally broke out in 1862, the first thought of +the local politicians was to humiliate Hole-in-the-Day by arresting +him and proclaiming some other "head chief" in his stead. In so +doing they almost forced the Ojibways to fight under his +leadership. The chief had no thought of alliance with the Sioux, +and was wholly unaware of the proposed action of the military on +pretense of such a conspiracy on his part. He was on his way to +the agency in his own carriage when a runner warned him of his +danger. He thereupon jumped down and instructed the driver to +proceed. His coachman was arrested by a file of soldiers, who when +they discovered their mistake went to his residence in search of +him, but meanwhile he had sent runners in every direction to notify +his warriors, and had moved his family across the Mississippi. +When the military reached the river bank he was still in sight, and +the lieutenant called upon him to surrender. When he refused, the +soldiers were ordered to fire upon him, but he replied with his own +rifle, and with a whoop disappeared among the pine groves. + +It was remarkable how the whole tribe now rallied to the call +of Hole-in-the-Day. He allowed no depredations to the young men +under his leadership, but camped openly near the agency and awaited +an explanation. Presently Judge Cooper of St. Paul, a personal +friend of the chief, appeared, and later on the Assistant Secretary +of the Interior, accompanied by Mr. Nicolay, private secretary of +President Lincoln. Apparently that great humanitarian President +saw the whole injustice of the proceeding against a loyal nation, +and the difficulty was at an end. + +Through the treaties of 1864, 1867, and 1868 was accomplished +the final destiny of the Mississippi River Ojibways. +Hole-in-the-Day was against their removal to what is now White +Earth reservation, but he was defeated in this and realized that +the new turn of events meant the downfall of his race. He declared +that he would never go on the new reservation, and he kept his +word. He remained on one of his land grants near Crow Wing. As +the other chiefs assumed more power, the old feeling of suspicion +and hatred became stronger, especially among the Pillager and Red +Lake bands. One day he was waylaid and shot by a party of these +disaffected Indians. He uttered a whoop and fell dead from his +buggy. + +Thus died one of the most brilliant chiefs of the Northwest, +who never defended his birthright by force of arms, although almost +compelled to do so. He succeeded in diplomacy so long as he was +the recognized head of his people. Since we have not passed over +his weaknesses, he should be given credit for much insight in +causing the article prohibiting the introduction of liquor into the +Indian country to be inserted into the treaty of 1858. I think it +was in 1910 that this forgotten provision was discovered and again +enforced over a large expanse of territory occupied by whites, it +being found that the provision had never been repealed. + +Although he left many children, none seem to have made their +mark, yet it may be that in one of his descendants that undaunted +spirit will rise again. + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext of Indian Heroes & Great Chieftains + + diff --git a/old/indhe10.zip b/old/indhe10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e196d9b --- /dev/null +++ b/old/indhe10.zip |