Chief Red Whip is considered by his tribe as one of the greatest of the
old hunters and warriors. The varying fortunes of the Gros Ventres, the
strenuous war career of this noted chief, have ploughed deep furrows and
written serious lines in his face. He is too old a man at fifty-five, but
wounds and scars and battle rush age upon any man.
Chief Red Whip said to me: “The greatest event in my life was my fight
with the Sioux in the Little Rocky Mountains. There were eleven Crows and
three Gros Ventres in our band; our leader was a Crow. There were about
one hundred and thirty Sioux. We were making the ascent of the Little
Rockies, and my friends went down into the ravine to shoot some buffalo.
While they were down there shooting the buffalo and cutting them up the
leader sent me to do scout work. While I was up on the hills I saw the
Sioux sneaking up to where we had killed the buffalo. I ran down at once
to my friends and told them. We went back a little ways and made a fort
and got ready to fight. I was painted yellow and red and was naked. When
the fort was finished I went myself, taking two others with me, to find
out the location of the Sioux. We went right up to where I saw them last.
I could tell by their tracks that there were a great many of them. I went
up a little ridge that divided our band from the Sioux, and just as I
stuck my head up above the grass they all fired at me, about a hundred
guns, but they did not hit me. When my friends heard the firing they came
to where I was, and we went right down on the Sioux, and the Sioux came at
us, and we had a fight for a few minutes at close quarters. After we had
a short fight we rushed right on to the Sioux and they retreated. The
Sioux had to go up a hill and we wounded some and killed others. After
the Sioux had got up the hill I was the first one to get to a man who was
killed. I scalped him and claimed everything he had. After the Sioux
found out that we were only a small band they rushed down upon us and we
retreated to where we had made the fort. Inside this fort there were two
Crows killed with one bullet. The leader of the Sioux band was Chief
Flying Cloud. I found out afterward who he was. It was Flying Cloud that
we killed coming up the hill; he was trying to protect his band. When we
were in the fort the Sioux people surrounded us. After the two Crows were
killed the leader of our band became scared. I jumped out of the fort and
led the way for my band. We ran the Sioux back to the Little Rockies, and
then I told my friends to escape. As we retreated the Sioux pursued us.
One Sioux was in advance and called upon me to stop, and as I stopped he
fired at me but missed me, and then I fired and killed him. The Sioux
then rushed on me so that I could not scalp the Sioux I had killed. We
ran on into the mountains and escaped into another fort. In this last
fort one of the Gros Ventres was shot and wounded. After we had rested a
while the Sioux surrounded us again, and I rushed out at the Sioux so that
my friends might escape again. While we were retreating again the Sioux
shot one of the Gros Ventres through the leg, and he had to crawl on his
hands and knees. I stayed with this wounded man, and the rest made their
escape. I took this man on my back and carried him to some water at the
head of a coulee. This Gros Ventre told me to go on and make my escape
and leave him alone to die. While we were resting in the weeds at the
washout the Sioux surrounded us again and waited for us to show ourselves.
While we were waiting my wounded friend gave me his knife and paint and
told me to tell his mother that she might have all his horses; then I
jumped out and ran to catch up with my friends. After I had left my
wounded friend about a quarter of a mile I looked back to see how the
Sioux would treat him. There was one shot fired, and they all jumped into
the washout, and then I made my escape. This gave me a great name in my
tribe and among the Sioux and the Crows.”
[The Pause in the Journey]