A long, open valley, bounded on either side by flat, table-topped hills,
and threaded by a broad but shallow stream, whose banks are fringed by a
straggling belt of timber. Sheltered by this last stand tall conical
lodges, some in irregular groups, some dotted down in twos and threes,
others in an attempt at regularity and the formation of a square, but
the whole extending for upwards of a mile. In the far distance, at the
open end of the valley, the eye is arrested by turret-shaped buttes,
showing the _bizarre_ formation and variegated strata characteristic of
the "Bad Lands." The stream is known as Dog Creek, and along its banks
lie the winter villages of a considerable section of the Sioux and
Cheyenne tribes.
The westering sun, declining in the blue frosty sky, lights up the river
like a silver band, and glows upon the white picturesque lodges,
throwing into prominence the quaint and savage devices emblazoned upon
their skin walls. Within the straggling encampment many dark forms are
moving, and the clear air rings ever and anon with the whoop of a gang
of boys, already playing at warlike games; the shrill laughter of young
squaws, and the cackle of old ones; an occasional neigh from the several
herds of ponies feeding out around the villages and the tramp of their
hoofs; or vibrates to the nasal song of a circle of jovial merrymakers.
Here and there, squatted around a fire in the open, huddled up in their
blankets, may be descried a group of warriors, solemnly whiffing at
their long pipes, the while keeping up a drowsy hum of conversation in a
guttural undertone, and from the apex of each pyramidal "_teepe_" a
column of blue smoke rises in rings upon the windless atmosphere. It is
a lovely day, and although the surrounding hills are powdered with snow,
down here in the valley the hardened ground sparkles with merely a crisp
touch of frost.
Then as the gloaming deepens the fires glow more redly, and the life and
animation of the great encampment increases. Young bucks, bedaubed with
paint, and arrayed in beadwork and other articles of savage finery,
swagger and lounge about; the nodding eagle quill cresting their
scalp-locks giving them a rakish, and at the same time martial, aspect,
as they wander from tent to tent, indulging in guffaws amongst
themselves, or exchanging broad "chaff" with a brace or so of coppery
damsels here and there, who, for their part, can give as readily and as
freely as they can take. Or a group is engaged in an impromptu dance,
both sexes taking part, to a running accompaniment of combined guttural
and nasal drone, varied now and again by a whoop. Wolfish curs skulk
around, on the look-out to steal if allowed the chance, snarling over
any stray offal that may be thrown them, or uttering a shrill yelp on
receipt of an arrow or two from some mischievous urchin's toy bow; and,
altogether, with the fall of night, the hum and chatter pervading this
wild community seems but to increase.
Great stars blaze forth in the frosty sky, not one by one, but with a
rush, for now darkness has settled upon the scene, though penetrated and
scattered here and there by the red glare of some convivial or household
fire. And now it becomes apparent that some event of moment is to take
place shortly, for a huge fire is kindled in front of the large
council-lodge, which stands in the centre of the village, and, mingling
with the monotonous "tom-tom" of drums, the voices of heralds are
raised, convening chiefs and warriors to debate in solemn conclave.
No second summons is needed. The unearthly howling of the dancers is
hushed as if by magic, the horseplay and boisterous humour of youthful
bucks is laid aside, and from far and near all who can lay claim to the
rank of warrior--even the youngest aspirants to the same hanging on the
outskirts of the crowd--come trooping towards the common centre.
Within the council-lodge burns a second fire, the one outside being for
the accommodation of the crowd, and it is round this that the real
debate will take place. As the flames shoot up crisply, the interior is
vividly illumined, displaying the trophies with which the walls are
decked--trophies of the chase and trophies of war, horns and rare skins,
scalps and weapons; and, disposed in regular order, the mysterious
"medicine bags" and "totems" of the tribal magnates, grotesque affairs
mostly, birds' heads and claws, bones or grinning jaws of some animal,
the whole plentifully set off with beadwork and paint and feathers.
Then the crowd outside parts decorously, giving passage to those whose
weight and standing entitle them to a seat within the sacred lodge, and
a voice in the council. Stately chieftains arrayed in their most
brilliant war-costumes--the magnificent war-bonnets of eagles' plumes
cresting their heads and flowing almost to the ground behind, adding an
indescribably martial and dignified air to their splendid stature and
erect carriage--advance with grave and solemn step to the council fire
and take their seats, speaking not a word, and looking neither to the
right nor to the left Partisans, or warriors of tried skill and daring,
who, without the rank and following of chiefs, are frequently elected to
lead an expedition on the war-path, these, too, in equally splendid
array, have a place in the assembly; after them, lesser braves, until
the lodge can hold no more. The crowd must listen to what it can of the
debates from without.
From the standpoint of their compatriots, some of these warriors are
very distinguished men indeed. There is Long Bull, and Mountain Cat,
and Crow-Scalper, all implacable and redoubted foes of the whites.
There is Burnt Wrist, and Spotted Tail, and Lone Panther, and a dozen
other notable chiefs. Last, but not least, there is Red Cloud, orator,
statesman, and seer, the war-chief of the Ogallalla clan, and medicine
chief virtually of the whole Sioux nation.
The flames of the council fire leap and crackle, casting a lurid glow on
the stern visages of the assembled warriors. Many of these wear
brilliantly-coloured tunics of cloth or dressed buckskin, more or less
tastefully adorned with beadwork or shining silver plates. Over this,
carelessly thrown, or gracefully dangling from its wearer's shoulder, is
the outer "robe" of soft buffalo hide, blazoned all over with
hieroglyphics and pictures setting forth the owner's feats of arms or
prowess in the chase, and among the scalp-locks fringeing tunics and
leggings may be descried not a few that originally grew upon Anglo-Saxon
heads. But all is in harmony, tasteful, barbarically picturesque; and
the air of self-possessed dignity stamped upon the countenances of these
plumed and stately warriors could not be surpassed by the most august
assembly that ever swayed the affairs of old civilisation.
One more personage is there whom we have omitted to mention. Leaning
against a lodge pole, as thoroughly unconcerned and at his ease among
the red chieftains as ever he was in Belgravian boudoir, his splendid
face as impassive as their own, sits Rupert Vipan, and if ever man lived
who was thoroughly calculated to inspire respect in the breasts of these
warlike savages, assuredly he was that man. That he is here at all is
sufficient to show in what honour he is held among his barbarian
entertainers.
And now in order to render more clearly the drift of the subsequent
debate, some slight digression may here be necessary.
The Sioux, or Dahcotah, as they prefer to be called, are about the only
aboriginal race in North America whose numbers and prowess entitle them
to rank as a nation. They are sub-divided into clans or tribes:
Ogallalla, Minneconjou, Uncpapa, Brule, and many more, with the
specification of which we need not weary the reader, but all more or
less independent of each other, and acting under their own chiefs or
not, as they choose. At the time of our story the whole of these,
numbering about 60,000 souls, occupied a large tract comprising the
south-western half of the territory of Dakota, together with the
adjacent extensive range in eastern Montana and Wyoming, watered by the
Yellowstone and Powder Rivers and their tributaries, and commonly called
after the last-named stream. On the border-line of Dakota and Wyoming,
and therefore within the Indian reservation, stand the Black Hills, a
rugged mountain group rising nearly 8,000 feet above the sea level, an
insight into whose wild and romantic fastnesses we have already given.
At that period popular rumour credited the Black Hills with concealed
wealth to a fabulous extent. Gold had already been found there, not in
any great quantities, but still it had been found, and the nature and
formation of the soil pointed to its existence in vast veins, at least
so said popular rumour. That was enough. Men began to flock to this
new Eldorado. Parties of prospectors and miners found their way to its
sequestered valleys, and soon the rocks rang to the sound of the pick,
and the mountain streams which gurgled through its savage solitudes were
fouled with the washing of panned dirt.
But the miners had two factors to reckon with--the Government and the
Indians. The former was bound by treaty to keep white men, particularly
miners, out of the Indian reservation; the latter became more and more
discontented over the non-fulfilment of the agreement. The shrewd
tribesmen knew that gold was even a greater enemy to their race than
rum. The discovery of gold meant an incursion of whites; first a few,
then thousands; cities, towns, machinery. Then good-bye to the game,
whereby they largely subsisted; good-bye, indeed, to the country itself,
as far as they were concerned. They threatened war.
It became necessary for something to be done. Troops were sent to
patrol the Black Hills, with strict injunctions to arrest all white men
and send them under guard to the settlements. This was extensively
done. But the expelled miners, watching their chance, lost no time in
slipping back again, and their numbers, so far from decreasing, had just
the opposite tendency, arrests notwithstanding.
Then the United States Government resolved to purchase the Black Hills,
and made overtures to the Sioux accordingly. The latter were divided in
opinion. Some were for terms, the only question being as to their
liberality; others were for rejecting the proposal at any price, and if
the Government still persisted in its neglect to keep out the white
intruders, why then they must take the defence of their rights into
their own hands.
Pause, O philanthropic reader, ere running away with the idea that these
poor savages' rights were being ruthlessly trampled on; and remember the
old legal maxim about coming into court with clean hands. The
Government tried to do its best, but in a vast, rugged, and lawless
country the inhabitants are not to be policed as in a well-ordered city
of the Old World. Men could not be hung merely for encroaching on the
reservation, and the state of popular feeling precluded any sort of
deterrent punishment. And then, were the Indians themselves strictly
observing their side of the treaty? Let us see.
For several summers the bands roaming in the Powder River country had
perpetrated not a few murders of whites, had run off stock and destroyed
property to a considerable extent, in short, had taken the war-path, and
this although nominally at peace. Now it was by virtue of keeping the
peace that their exclusive rights over the encroached-upon territory had
been conceded.
We have said that the Sioux were made up of various sub-divisions or
clans. Now at that time there was not one of these which did not
furnish a quota of warriors to swell the ranks of the hostiles.
Nominally at peace, and drawing rations from the Government, the
turbulent spirits of these tribes would slip away quietly in small
parties, to join the hostile chiefs for a summer raid, returning to the
agencies when they had had enough fighting and plunder, and becoming--in
popular parlance--"good Indians" again. These escapades were either
winked at by the tribal chiefs, who remained quietly at the agencies,
"keeping in" with the Government, or were simply beyond their power to
prevent. Probably both attitudes held good, for the control exercised
by an Indian chief over his band or tribe seldom amounts to more than
moral suasion.
Briefly, then, the Sioux and their allies, the Northern Cheyennes, might
be thus classified:--
1. The hostiles, _i.e._, the bold and lawless faction who hardly made
any secret of being on the war-path. These held the broken and rugged
fastnesses of the Powder River country already referred to.
2. The Agency Indians who, sitting still on their reserves, helped
their hostile brethren with information and supplies.
3. The turbulent youths on the reservation, always ready to slip away
on their own account, or to join the hostiles, in search of scalps,
plunder, and fun in general.
4. The whole lot, ripe for any devilment, provided it offered a safe
chance of success.
Such was the state of affairs in 1873-4-5, and now apologising to the
reader for this digression, let us get back to our council.