About December 8th Louis Shangraux and some prominent Indians were sent
out by the military to persuade the dancers to come in. December 15th we
heard singing, and running out of our quarters, beheld thirty horsemen
advancing upon the agency. Following them were large numbers of the
“hostiles”. Every man was superbly mounted and well armed. Six-shooters
were hung at their sides, while the gun-cases, neatly beaded and
ornamented, were strapped and hung along the saddles. The warriors drew
up in front of the general’s (Brooke) headquarters, and as the last
notes of the song died away leaped from the animals’ backs. As they
crowded into the commanding officer’s presence, we who stood near had
the honor of shaking hands with these men. The general himself welcomed
them with words of commendation, for he thoroughly appreciated the
efforts of the “friendlies” in the desire to prevent bloodshed.
That night, accompanied by my interpreter Bartlett, I visited the lodge
of Scout Shangraux, and secured the following narrative regarding the
expedition and the intentions of the hostiles.
“One week ago (the 8th) the general called me (Shangraux) into his
office, and told me he was very desirous of bringing in the hostiles
without bloodshed. He said that the mission of Father Jutz had resulted
in great good, that the Government scouts sent out had failed to reach
the campsite of Short Bull and Kicking Bear, and that all information
regarding the strength of the hostiles was entirely unreliable.”
Louis was given the power to select his party, and accordingly chose
some good, true men whom he knew could be depended upon in case of
trouble. No white man went with him, for it was believed the hostiles
would kill anyone not an Indian who should venture near the camp. From
subsequent events this was found to be true.
The camp is located on a plateau, 130 feet above the valley. But one
approach is observed—a narrow path. Louis claimed the Indians had piled
stones, or made breastworks. They possessed much ammunition and food;
two springs afforded plenty of water, and their situation appears to
have been secure. Some little way off, in the valley, was a large
village. “When we entered there were about 262 lodges present. One
hundred and seventeen of these remained and 145 returned with us to the
agency. The squaws and men came forward to greet us, and all seemed very
friendly. They supposed at first that we had come to join them, but when
they learned our true mission they seemed very suspicious, and refused
for some time to have anything to do with us. Just before we began the
council, which lasted the greater part of four days, the high-priest and
his helpers came forward and announced that there would be a
Ghost-dance. They formed a circle about the sacred tree and began their
chant.
“Of all the wild dancing I saw on Wounded Knee, this beat the record.
People went into trances by the dozen, and the priests were kept busy
relating the experiences of the fainters. Several remained in trances as
long as twelve hours, and gave evidences of utter exhaustion when the
directors aroused them.
“Short Bull said: ‘I see the Messiah coming from the West. He is riding
in a plain-wagon drawn by two mules and looks very much like a black
man. If he is our Messiah we are greatly fooled. Now I see him again,
and he is an Indian. Ah! wait; I see him the third time, and he is a
white man. He tells me to send my children to school, to make large
farms, and not to fight any more. Do not fight, my children, unless the
soldiers first fire upon you.’
“People were so excited they trembled all over, their eyes rolled, and
the muscles of their faces twitched. They were the most crazy Indians I
ever beheld.”
The dancing continued for nearly thirty hours; then there was an
intermission of several hours, during which a council was held in order
to give audience to the friendlies. Short Bull and Two Strike (his real
name is Nompagahpa, and a literal translation is, “Knocks down Two”),
aided by Crow Dog, championed the cause of the hostiles, while No Neck
and Louis Shangraux spoke on behalf of the friendlies. Louis does not
remember what he said in the first council, but the substance of his
remarks could be put into one sentence:
“The Agent will forgive you if you will return now, give you more
rations, but not permit you to dance.”
Short Bull’s (Tatankaptecelan) reply was so forcible as to remain in
Louis’s memory in the exact words of the speaker, and ran as follows:
“I have risen today to tell you something of importance. You have heard
the words of the brothers from the agency camps, and if you have done as
myself, you have weighed them carefully. If the Great Father would
permit us to continue the dance, would give more rations, and quit
taking away portions of the reservation, I would be in favor of
returning. But even if you (turning to Louis) say that he will, how can
we know whether you are telling the truth? We have been lied to so many
times that we will not believe any words that your Agent sends to us. If
we return he will take away our guns and ponies, put some of us in jail
for stealing cattle and plundering houses. We prefer to stay here and
die, if necessary, to loss of liberty. We are free now and have plenty
of beef, can dance all the time in obedience to the command of the Great
Wakantanka. We tell you to return to your Agent and say to him that the
Dakotas in the Bad Lands are not going to come in.”
No Neck rejoined:
“Think, my people, how foolish is this action! Do come in, and all will
be well; remain out here and you will be killed.”
Short Bull added:
“It is better to die here as brave men, and in obedience to the commands
of the Good Spirit, than to live like cowards at the agency on scanty
rations, disarmed, without horses or guns. No, we will not return. If we
dance, our Good Spirit will protect us, and if all dancers are sincere,
the bullets of the soldiers will fall harmlessly to the ground without
power to hurt. There is no army so powerful that it can contend with
Wakantanka; therefore we are not afraid to remain here.”
The gathering broke up, and nearly every one continued in the
Ghost-dance. For two days the hostiles would not have further words with
the friendly scouts. Friday and Saturday, the 12th and 13th, the last
council was held. The scenes accompanying the closing of this gathering,
Saturday afternoon, were very thrilling, and for a period of two hours
it seemed as if a general battle would ensue between those who desired
to return to the agency and the hostiles.
About noon, Saturday, Two Strike—who had been one of the leaders in the
dance—arose and announced his intention to return to the agency with the
scouts, accompanied by about 145 lodges. Crow Dog (Kangisunka, the
Indian who killed Spotted Tail about ten years ago) also announced his
intention of returning. At this declaration from two such prominent men,
Short Bull sprang to his feet and cried out, angrily:
“At such a time as this we should all stick together like brothers. Do
not leave; remain with us. These men from the agency are not telling us
the truth; they will conduct you back to the agency and they will place
you in jail there. Louis is at the bottom of this affair.”
And, running to the place where the guns were stacked, Short Bull
grasped his gun and, followed by many of his young men, surrounded
Shangraux. Louis’s situation was desperate. He knew these furious men
might kill him at the slightest resistance, so he laughed as
good-naturedly as possible under the circumstances and told them to put
up their guns, as he was their friend instead of their enemy.
“No, do not let the friendlies return,” cried the young men; “kill them,
or compel them to remain with us. They will tell the Agent all they have
seen and the soldiers will know how to enter our camp.”
With clubbed guns many of the desperate youths rushed upon the
friendlies and scouts, others cocked their Winchesters, and for a few
moments it looked as if poor Louis and No Neck, Two Strike and Crow Dog,
would lose their lives. Crow Dog sat upon the ground and drew his
blanket over his head.
The wiser counsel prevailed, however, and after a great hubbub, in which
several young men were knocked down, order was restored. One of the
horses and several of the dogs of the friendlies were shot during the
melee. When the 145 lodges started from the camp another difficulty
arose. It was during this trouble that Crow Dog made his famous, though
brief speech:
“I am going back to White Clay (the location of the agency); you can
kill me if you want to, now, and prevent my starting. The Agent’s words
are true, and it is better to return than to stay here. I am not afraid
to die.”
So, they started for home.
Imagine the surprise of the friendlies when, upon looking back from the
top of a ridge two miles distant, they saw the 117 lodges of hostiles
coming after them. They halted to wait for Short Bull to catch up, and
then the entire outfit moved toward the agency, all happy in the
prospect of peace and forgiveness.
But the hopes of the friendlies were short-lived, for Short Bull became
scared after having proceeded four miles farther, and together with his
band, left the rear of the column and returned to the Bad Lands. Sunday
and Monday morning the Indians moved along the trail, reaching Red
Cloud’s camp, in sight of the agency headquarters just before noon,
Monday. Louis and the scouts had ridden ahead and reached the general’s
presence as narrated in the forepart of this chapter.
These friendlies, added to the large number already in camp near the
agency buildings, led all of us to hope the trouble was over. But during
all the Pine Ridge excitement, up on the Missouri river, at Standing
Rock, Sitting Bull was in evidence, with some 150 followers.
In the midst of the excitement, when Superintendent McLaughlin went to
see Sitting Bull at his camp on Grand River, and argued with him,
contending that the Messiah doctrine was false, Sitting Bull suggested
that both McLaughlin and himself together with attendants should visit
the Messiah in the far West. The truth or falsity of his doctrine would
then be apparent. If McLaughlin had agreed to this sensible proposition,
much evil might have been avoided, but the Major refused to go, and
thereby missed an opportunity of doing the Indians a service and
preventing the subsequent massacre.
In November, the President ordered the Secretary of War to prepare for
action, and Major John R. Brooke (now General) went to Pine Ridge. These
troops (of which we have seen there were a large number) were scattered
about through the Indian country.
The troops until the end of December, were either in camp near Pine
Ridge, or were scouting about in the country pursuing scattered bands of
Indians. In the meantime, Sitting Bull was preparing to leave his
reservation (Standing Rock) and flee into the Bad Lands to join the
Ghost dancers who had fled there from Pine Ridge. Both Mooney and Major
McLaughlin give accounts of what occurred at Sitting Bull’s. As
McLaughlin’s is the lengthier of the two, I shall reproduce that portion
of it relating immediately to the death of Sitting Bull.
[Illustration:
THE “INDIAN GATE,” PINE RIDGE, 1890
Down a ravine, to the right, the interpreter and myself used to creep
at night. Thus we reached the “hostiles’ camp” and obtained news.
]
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Footnote 17:
This Chapter was written at Pine Ridge, December, 1890.