SITTING BULL THE WAR MAKER (1876-1881)
AN UNCONQUERED LEADER
The treaty that Chief Red Cloud at last signed in the fall of 1868 was
half white and half red. The white part made the Sioux agree to a
reservation which covered all of present South Dakota west of the
Missouri River. Here they were to live and be fed. The red part, put
in by Red Cloud, said that the whole country west of the reservation to
the Big Horn Mountains of northern Wyoming, and north of the North
Platte River, should be Indian country. Here the Sioux and their
Indian friends were to hunt as they pleased.
This closed the road, and gave the Powder River region to the Sioux.
They might chase the buffalo, from central Wyoming up across Montana
clear to Canada, and no white man could interfere. It was their own
game reserve--and the best game reserve in the United States.
The Sioux numbered thirty thousand. Many of them preferred living in
their hunting grounds instead of upon the reservation. That was their
natural life--to hunt and to war. Besides, they found out that the
United States was not doing as had been promised. There were to be
cows, seeds, farm tools, teachers, and so forth, for the reservation
Indians--and scarcely a third of these things was supplied.
The Indians upon the reservation did not live nearly so comfortably as
those who did as they pleased, in the hunting grounds.
So the treaty did not work out well. The hunting-ground Indians were
perfectly free. They had guests from other tribes; and in the passing
back and forth, white men were attacked. The Crows of western Montana
complained that the Sioux invaded them, and that they might as well go
to war, themselves, as try to stay at home.
The Government had intended that the Sioux should settle upon the big
reservation, and from there take their hunting trips. Speedily, or in
1869, General Sherman, head of the army, declared that the Indians
found outside of the reservation might be treated as hostiles, and
brought back.
Nevertheless, by the terms of the Red Cloud treaty, the Sioux had a
right to be in this country, which was all theirs, if they behaved
themselves.
Among the leaders of the hunting-ground Sioux, Sitting Bull ranked with
the foremost. He was a Hunkpapa Sioux, of the Teton division--in which
Spotted Tail was leader of the Brules and Red Cloud of the Oglalas.
But Sitting Bull was no chief. By his own count he laid claim to being
a great warrior; by the Sioux count he had powerful medicine--he could
tell of events to come. And this was his strong hold upon the Sioux.
They feared him.
He had been born in 1834, in present South Dakota. The name given him
as a boy was Jumping Badger. His father's name was Four Horns, and
also Ta-tan-ka Yo-tan-ka or Sitting Buffalo-bull. When Jumping Badger
was only fourteen years old he went with his father on the war trail
against the Crows. A Crow was killed, and little Jumping Badger
touched the body first, and counted a coup, or stroke.
[Illustration: Sitting Bull. Courtesy of The American Bureau of
Ethnology.]
To be the first to count coup on a fallen enemy was high honor.
Frequently a wounded warrior only pretended to be dead, and when his
foe approached him close, he shot.
Upon their return home, old Sitting Bull gave a feast, and distributed
many horses, and transferred his own name to Jumping Badger.
After this, although young Sitting Bull counted many coups, he
practiced making medicine until he gained much reputation as a
future-teller. He openly hated the whites. His hate was as deep as
that of O-pe-chancan-ough, the Pamunkey.
He grew to be a burly, stout man, with light brown hair and complexion,
a grim heavy face pitted by small-pox, and two shrewd, blood-shot eyes.
He limped, from a wound.
His band was small; but his camp was the favorite gathering place for
the reservation Indians, on hunting trips. They took presents to him,
that he might bring the buffalo.
Thus matters went on, broken with complaints. It was hard to tell
which were reservation Indians and which were wild Indians. When the
Sitting Bull people and other bands came in to the reservation, and
drew rations of flour, they emptied the flour on the prairie and used
the sacks as clothing. This helped to make the reservation Indians ill
content. The wild Indians evidently were living very well indeed.
Along in 1871 the Northern Pacific Railroad wished to build westward.
The route would take them through the country given to the Sioux, and
the Sioux said no. Their treaty protected them against the white man's
roads. They attacked a surveying party escorted by soldiers, and
killed two. This was in 1872.
It was a brutal killing. Rain-in-the-face was arrested for this, on
the reservation; but he escaped and vowed vengeance. He went to
Sitting Bull, and was safe.
In 1874 the United States began to ask for the Pah-sap-pa, or Black
Hills, in South Dakota. To the Sioux and the Cheyennes, Pah-sap-pa was
medicine ground. Spirits dwelt there; it was the home of the Thunder
Bird and other magic creatures; it contained much game, and quantities
of tent poles, for lodges.
Spotted Tail of the Brules went in. He hung around the white men's
mining camps, and found out that the white men were crazy for the gold.
The United States had been accustomed to buying Indian land cheap, and
getting rich out of it. Now it offered to buy the Black Hills for six
millions of dollars, or to rent them for four hundred thousand dollars
a year.
Coached by Spotted Tail and by Red Cloud, the Sioux laughed, and asked
sixty millions of dollars. So the deal did not go through, this time.
However, the Sioux lost Pah-sap-pa, just the same.
The United States Government was unable to keep the gold-seekers out.
They dodged through the troops. There were fights with the Sioux, and
the Sioux became angered in earnest.
They saw their Black Hills invaded by a thousand white men. Other
white men, guarded by soldiers, were planning to run a railroad right
through the Powder River country. On the Great Sioux reservation
Spotted Tail and Red Cloud were the head chiefs; but out on the hunting
grounds the Sitting Bull people stayed and prepared to make war and
hold the Sioux lands.
The Sioux on the reservations began to leave, and join Sitting Bull.
They felt that Red Cloud's heart was with them. He had notified the
United States that it must keep the white men out of Sioux country.
The United States also was alarmed. The Sioux seemed to be using the
reservation as a sort of supply depot; they got provisions and clothing
there, and took them to the hunting grounds.
General Alfred H. Terry, who commanded the Military Department of
Dakota, sent scouts to inform Sitting Bull that unless he came in, with
all his people, out of the Big Horn Valley and the Powder River
country, before a certain time, troops would bring him out. There
would be war.
Sitting Bull answered:
"When you come for me you need bring no guides. You will easily find
me. I shall be right here. I shall not run away."
In February, this 1876, the United States started to go after him, but
the cold weather delayed the plans. Then, in May, matters were all
arranged. There were to be three columns, to surround the unruly
Sitting Bull.
General George Crook, the famous Indian fighter, was to march into the
Big Horn country from the south with thirteen hundred men; Colonel John
Gibbon was to march in from the west with four hundred men; General
Terry's infantry, and General George A. Custer's Seventh Cavalry, one
thousand men, were to march in from the east.
They were to meet at the Powder River, and capture Sitting Bull.
A great many Indians had rallied to Sitting Bull and his comrade chief
Crazy Horse--an Oglala who commanded the Cheyennes. Sitting Bull was
making medicine. He told the warriors that in a short time there would
be a big fight with the soldiers on the Big Horn, and that the soldiers
would be defeated.
Crazy Horse struck the enemy first. He met General Crook's column and
stopped it. Then he joined Sitting Bull again.
Now in June the Sitting Bull camp upon the Little Big Horn River in the
Big Horn Valley of southern Montana was three miles long and contained
ten thousand people. It had twenty-five hundred good fighters. It was
not afraid, but its people were here to hunt and dance and have a good
time. Although they listened to the prophecy of Sitting Bull, they
really did not expect that the soldiers would find them.
Chief Gall, a fine man, of the Hunkpapas, was head war chief; his aide
was Crow King. Crazy Horse commanded the Northern Cheyennes. The head
of the Miniconjou Sioux was Lame Deer. Big Road commanded the Oglalas.
There were other Sioux also--some Brules, and some Without Bows; and a
few Blackfeet and Arapahos.
General Custer, whose regular rank was lieutenant-colonel, found the
village with his Seventh Cavalry. He had left General Terry, in order
to scout across country; and when his scouts told him that the Sioux
camp was before him, he rode on to the attack.
About noon of June 25th he divided his troops into three columns, to
attack from different directions. The largest column, of five
companies, he led, himself.
Not until that morning did the Sitting Bull people know that the
soldiers were near. There was much excitement. The ponies were
saddled, and the women began to pack their household stuff; but the
warriors did not intend to run away.
Sitting Bull was certain that the white men would be defeated. The
night before, his medicine had been very strong. An eagle had promised
a great victory. Now he said that during the fight he would stay in
the village and make more medicine. So Chief Gall it was who commanded.
But Sitting Bull did not stay in the village. When the bullets of the
soldiers pelted into the lodges he lost faith in his own prophecy.
Taking his two wives and whatever else he might gather, he bolted for a
safer place. He missed one of his twin boys, but he did not stop to
look for him.
He was ten miles out, when he received news of the victory. And a
terrible victory that had been: of the five companies of General
Custer, the Long Hair, only one man had escaped--although the Sioux did
not know of that escape. He was Curly, a Crow scout. At any rate, the
Long Hair's warriors, to the number of two hundred and twelve, had been
killed in an hour.
The other soldiers were penned up, and could be killed, too.
So Sitting Bull rode back again, with his family. He said that he had
not intended to run away. He had been out in the hills, making his
medicine; and the bodies of the soldiers would prove it.
That certainly seemed true. The Indians had lost only twenty, and had
killed more than two hundred.
Sitting Bull was greater than ever. Never before had such a victory
been won at such little cost. This night the village danced and sang,
and Sitting Bull kept by himself, and accepted the presents given to
him.
Chief Gall had thought to starve out the soldiers who were penned up,
and were being watched by warriors. These were the two other columns,
of the Seventh Cavalry. But the next day, General Terry and Colonel
Gibbon approached, in order (they had planned) to meet the Custer
detachment. When Chief Gall heard that the "walking soldiers" were
nearing, he decided that there had been fighting enough.
So he ordered the village to be broken, and the warriors to come in;
they all left before dark, depending upon the medicine of Sitting Bull
to lead them to new hunting grounds.
Soon Crazy Horse took his band and branched off for himself. He was a
nephew of Chief Spotted Tail, but fierce against the whites. The rest
followed Chief Sitting Bull and Chief Gall.
For a while they saw no more soldiers. Now and then other Indians from
the reservation joined them, bringing supplies; and now and then
parties left, to scout by themselves. Sitting Bull and Gall and all
knew this country very well; it was Sioux country. They knew it far
better than the soldiers did. There were many hiding places.
When the weather began to grow cold, in the fall, the Sitting Bull
people commenced to think of winter. They received word that the
soldiers were stopping everybody from leaving the reservation. This
cut down the supplies.
The Gray Fox, who was General Crook, struck several bands in the midst
of the hunting grounds. He had wiped out American Horse and had
pressed Crazy Horse very hard. More soldiers were pouring in.
The Sitting Bull band numbered three thousand. They used lots of meat.
The buffalo were being frightened by so much travel of soldiers, and
for the band to stay long in one spot was dangerous. Some of the women
and men got faint-hearted, and deserted. They carried word to the
soldiers, and asked to be sent to the reservation. Sitting Bull's
medicine did not prevent them from running away.
He and Gall planned to march farther northward, across the Yellowstone
River, to a better buffalo country, and make camp for a big hunt. A
store of meat ought to be laid in, before winter.
A new fort was being located on the Yellowstone at the mouth of the
Tongue River, southeastern Montana. They marched to cross the
Yellowstone below; this fort; and while near the Yellowstone they drove
back a soldiers' wagon-train that was trying to reach the fort.
The wagons tried again, five days later, and there was another fight.
Sitting Bull sent a note to the white chief.
_Yellowstone_.
I want to know what you are doing traveling by 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 as soon as you can.
This was a "feeler," to see what kind of a man the white chief was.
The white chief, whose name was Lieutenant-Colonel E. S. Otis, of the
Twenty-second Infantry, answered at once.
To Sitting Bull:
I intend to take this train through to Tongue River, and will be
pleased to accommodate you with a fight at any time.
Sitting Bull and his chiefs held council. If they might make a peace,
they could stay out all winter with their families, and when the grass
greened in the spring they could travel as they pleased. The white
soldiers had the advantage, in the winter.
So two Indians were sent forward with a flag of truce, to say that the
Sitting Bull people were hungry and tired, and to propose a peace talk.
The white chief said that there was a higher chief at the mouth of the
Tongue River, with whom they must talk, but he sent them some bread and
bacon.
Sitting Bull and Chief Gall, Low Neck, Pretty Bull and the others did
not go to find the white commanding chief; they continued on, and in a
few days the American commander caught up with them, himself, north of
the Yellowstone.
He agreed to meet Sitting Bull between the lines, for a talk. They
each took six men. The white chief was Colonel Nelson A. Miles. He
had only about four hundred soldiers, and one cannon. Sitting Bull had
one thousand warriors, and was not afraid.
"What are all these soldiers doing in this country?" he demanded. "Why
don't they stay in their forts, where they belong? It is time they
went there, for the winter."
"The soldiers are in this country to bring you and your men out and put
them on the reservation," replied Colonel Miles. "We do not wish war.
But if you insist on war, then you will be shut up. You cannot roam
about over the country, and cause trouble."
"This country belongs to the Indian and not to the white man," retorted
Sitting Bull. "We want nothing to do with the white man. We want the
white man to go away, and leave us alone. No white man ever lived who
loved an Indian, and no true Indian ever lived that did not hate the
white man. God Almighty made me an Indian. He did not make me an
agency Indian, and I'll fight and die fighting before any white man can
make me an agency Indian. How did you know where I was to be found?"
"I not only knew where you were, but I know where you came from and
where you're going," asserted Colonel Miles.
"Where am I going?"
"You intend to remain here three days, and then move to the Big Dry and
hunt buffalo."
This showed Sitting Bull that he had been betrayed by spies. He flared
into a rage, and his words were hot. He hated the whites; he had a
thousand warriors at his back, and his power was great.
He would make peace, but only if all the white men got out of the
country. There must be no forts or roads or towns. He wanted no
presents of food or clothing from the United States. If the United
States would leave a few trading posts, he would trade for powder and
flour, but he would live free, to do as he chose.
So this talk and other talks amounted to nothing new. The white chief
told him to prepare for war, and there was a battle. At one moment,
the Sitting Bull warriors had the soldiers surrounded; but the cannon
shells were too much to face, the walking soldiers stood stanch, and
finally the Sioux had to retreat with their families.
The white chief, Miles, proved to be a stubborn fighter. He pursued
and captured almost all the camp supplies. This broke the hearts of
the Sitting Bull band. His medicine had grown weak. Five chiefs, with
two thousand of the warriors and women and children, surrendered, so as
to be kept warm and to be sure of food. But Sitting Bull and Gall went
on, leading four hundred northward.
The weather got very cold and snowy. They stayed for a time near the
Missouri River in northern Montana. Sitting Bull's medicine failed
entirely. The soldiers marched upon them right through the blizzards,
and no place seemed safe.
The other bands were being captured. The walking soldiers and the
big-guns-that-shot-twice were everywhere, to south, east and west. The
Crazy Horse Cheyennes and Oglalas were taken. They agreed to go upon
the reservation.
When Sitting Bull heard of this, he resolved to get out of reach of the
Americans altogether. He and Gall headed north again, and crossed into
Canada.
This was Sioux country, too. The Sioux never had had any dispute with
the Great White Mother; she seemed better than the Great White Father.
Accordingly Sitting Bull plumped himself and his band down upon Canada
ground, and defied the United States to meddle with him.
Other runaways joined him. It was now spring. Some of the runaways
were from the reservation. They reported that they had almost starved,
there, during the winter.
So when the United States sent up after Sitting Bull, he laughed.
General Terry, his old enemy, was in the American party, and did the
talking.
The President invited the Sioux to come back into the United States,
and give up their arms and their horses, in exchange for cows. Sitting
Bull replied scornfully.
"For sixty-four years you have kept me and my people, and treated us
bad. What have we done that you should wish us to stop? We have done
nothing. It is all the people on your side who have started us to do
as we did. We could not go anywhere else, so we came here. I would
like to know why you come here? I did not give you that country; but
you followed me about, so I had to leave and come over to this country.
You have got ears, and eyes to see with, and you see how I live with
these people. You see me. Here I am. If you think I am a fool, you
are a bigger fool than I am. You come here to tell us lies, but we
don't want to hear them. I don't wish any such language used to me.
This country is mine, and I intend to stay here and raise this country
full of grown people. That is enough, so no more. The part of the
country you gave me, you ran me out of. I don't want to hear two more
words. I wish you to go back, and to take it easy going back. Tell
them in Washington if they have one man who speaks the truth to send
him to me and I will listen. I don't believe in a Government that has
made fifty-two treaties with the Sioux and has kept none of them."
Back went the commission, to report that they could do nothing at all
with Sitting Bull.
Other parties from the American side of the line crossed over to talk
with Sitting Bull. He laid down the law to them.
"If the Great Father gives me a reservation I don't want to be held on
any part of it. I will keep on the reservation, but I want to go where
I please. I don't want a white man over me. I don't want an agent. I
want to have a white man with me, but not to be my chief. I can't
trust any one else to trade with my people or talk to them. I want
interpreters, but I want it to be seen and known that I have my rights.
I don't want to give up game as long as there is any game. I will be
half white until the game is gone. Then I will be all white."
"Did you lead in the Custer fight?"
"There was a Great Spirit who guided and controlled that battle. I
could do nothing. I was supported by the Great Mysterious One. I am
not afraid to talk about that. It all happened--it is past and gone.
I do not lie. Low Dog says I can't fight until some one lends me a
heart. Gall says my heart is no bigger than a finger-nail. We have
all fought hard. We did not know Custer. When we saw him we threw up
our hands, and I cried, 'Follow me and do as I do.' We whipped each
other's horses, and it was all over."
By this it is seen that Sitting Bull was a poser, and had lost the
respect of the Sioux. Chief Gall despised him. The camp was getting
unhappy. The life in Canada was not an easy life. The Great White
Mother let the red children stay, because it was Indian country, but
she refused to feed them, or help them against the United States.
There were no buffalo near. When the Sioux raided into the United
States, the soldiers and the Crow scouts were waiting. Their old
hunting grounds were closed tight.
Rain-in-the-face and other chiefs surrendered, to go to the
reservation. Chief Gall defied Sitting Bull, and took two thirds of
the remaining Indians and surrendered, also.
Sitting Bull now had only forty-five men and one hundred and forty
women and children. They all were starving. A white scout visited
them, with promise of pardon by the United States. So in July, of
1881, after he had stayed away four years, he surrendered, at Fort
Buford at the mouth of the Yellowstone River.
He came in sullen and sour and unconquered, but not as a conqueror.
They all were dirty and shabby and hungry. With Sitting Bull there
rode on ponies his old father, Four Horns, and his elder children. In
a wagon piled high with camp goods rode his two wives, one of whom was
named Pretty Plume, and his small children.
A long train of other wagons and carts followed. There was no glory in
this return.
At the Standing Rock Sioux agency he found that Chief Gall was the real
ruler. The people there now thought little of Sitting Bull. His
medicine had proved weak. He tried to make it strong, and he was
laughed at.
Soon the Government deemed best to remove him and his main band, and
shut them up for a while. Sitting Bull was kept a prisoner of war for
two years. After that he took a trip through the East, but he was
hissed. He rode in the Buffalo Bill Wild West show for a short time.
But the white people never forgot the Custer battle, and looked upon
Sitting Bull as a thoroughly bad Indian.
He assumed to settle down, at peace, upon the Standing Rock
reservation, in a cabin not far from the place where he had been born.
But as he had said, he was not "an agency Indian," and did not want to
be an agency Indian.
There is another chapter to be written about Sitting Bull.