He belonged to the Oglala division of Teton Sioux. He was born at the
forks of the Platte River and died at Pine Ridge, South Dakota, 1909.
It is said that he counted coups—that is, he touched the bodies of
enemies—eighty times with his coup-stick.
The band of the Sioux to which he belonged is known as Iteshicha. As no
comprehensive account of his life has ever been published, I intend to
devote this entire chapter to him and his activities. He first comes
into prominence in 1865, when the Government undertook to build a road
from Fort Laramie, Wyoming, to the gold regions of Montana. Red Cloud
captured a detachment of troops and held same prisoners for two weeks
and then released them without injury. Commissioners were sent out from
Washington that fall to treat with him, and he refused to meet with
them.[27]
Of the individuals who exerted an influence upon the various bands of
Sioux something can be learned by a search of the records. Perhaps
Sitting Bull and Red Cloud are more popularly known than others. Every
plainsman worthy of the name has had an encounter at some time during
the past with Red Cloud’s warriors. Army officers stationed on the
frontier in the ’60’s or ’70’s testify to the courage and dash of these
sons of the Plains. The War Department records contain more frequent
mention of Red Cloud than of any other American Indian; and the
pictographic accounts made by the Sioux themselves upon tanned buffalo
hides, many years ago, are filled with evidences of the prowess of this
chief.
Makh-ṕiya-lúta, or Red Cloud, has said in his pictographic history
of his life, that he was born in the year 1822.[28] His
parents were not prominent among the tribe. He calls this year
“Star-passed-by-with-a-loud-noise-winter.” The Sioux, in their
winter-counts, designate each year by some particular or striking
occurrence. For instance, in Red Cloud’s winter-counts, or census, one
winter is called “Winter-in-which-many-died-of-smallpox”; another,
“Winter-we-killed-one-hundred-white-men.” There are several of these
winter-counts made by different chiefs in possession of the Government,
which agree as to the naming of each year, and only vary in minor
details. Two of them cover a surprisingly long period of time, from 1800
to 1877. Both have been carefully studied by ethnologists and
interpreters, and accurate translations prove them of special value to
history students.
Of the extreme youth of Red Cloud we know nothing. An old Indian, when
asked at Pine Ridge, shrugged his shoulders and said, “All great men
were once boys.” He was trained as became a young Lakota. All Indian
children learn to ride when extremely young. General Dodge says that,
whether men or boys, the Plains tribes, or, as most officers call them,
“Horse Indians,” produced the finest horsemen in the world. Red Cloud
was not a hereditary chief, but arose to distinction through merit.
Red Cloud was about sixteen when he became a leader among the other
boys, signalizing himself in skirmishes and battles with the Crows,
Pawnees, and other hereditary enemies of the Sioux. The various
winter-counts tell us that many severe engagements occurred between the
Crows and the Sioux, and it is doubtless true that he charged and
yelled, scalped and tortured just as energetically as his companions.
Mr. C. W. Allen, who is well acquainted with Red Cloud, prepared a
manuscript some years ago, before the chief’s memory failed. Because the
chief presents his version of Plains history, the work is unique and
merits publication. Heretofore we have had only the white man’s
narratives.
Between 1840 and 1849 there were but few attacks against Whites on the
Plains, and most of these occurred to the south, in Texas, or along the
old Santa Fe trail. It was not until and during 1849 that extensive
emigration set in towards California. As the wagon-trains increased, the
hunting of the Indians was seriously interfered with. Expeditions, not
only of United States troops but of adventurers, buffalo hunters, and
miners, penetrated to various parts of the great West. Among these
travelers were men who regarded an Indian no higher than a dog, and
fired upon peaceful parties of hunting Indians without the slightest
provocation. Wagon-trains were often in charge of men from the East who
knew nothing whatever of Indians or their habits, and becoming insanely
frightened at the approach of either friendly or hostile red men, opened
fire without the slightest thought of consequences. It is therefore not
surprising that all the Plains Indians soon assumed a hostile attitude
toward any being with a white skin.
I have talked with many old Indians of Pine Ridge, Red Cloud’s home, and
they have agreed that the destruction of the buffalo was the greatest
calamity ever brought upon their race. They could forgive the Whites for
attacking their villages, and for the disregard of treaty promises, and
overlook the seizure of their lands, but they could not forget that the
Americans made useless and unnecessary slaughter of that grand, majestic
native animal, typical of the “spirit of the Plains.” But few men
appreciate what the buffalo was to the Indian. Thousands of men flocked
west to hunt buffalo solely for their hides. Most of them were
inexperienced and destroyed many animals before they learned how to
properly prepare a robe for sale. The great Platte valley, the Arkansas,
the Niobrara and other Plains rivers, were in a few years lined with
millions of skeletons a pitiful spectacle—wretched relics of a once
noble creature. Complaints were made by the Indians, who depended solely
upon the buffalo for existence, to the Government at Washington, but
without avail. More butchers, attracted by the alluring and exciting
life of the hunter, flocked to the West. They strained every nerve to
make a “record” in destroying these animals. To be a buffalo-hunter
became popular, and a number of persons have since carried through life
names distinguishing them from their fellows because of the exceeding
slaughter which they made. Col. Dodge, who spent from 1819 to 1884 on
the frontier, blames the hunters, miners, and cowboys for the Indian
wars. This class of people regarded the rights of no persons, save
themselves. While our Government was supposed to protect, it did little
save send out Peace Commissions and armies in rotation. The lawless
white men were never controlled. But the day of retribution was at hand.
The Sioux held a great council, which was attended by the dissatisfied
element of other bands, and decided to drive out all the whites found in
their hunting territory. They split up into small bands, attacked
emigrant trains, killed hunters, and at the time of the Civil War were
carrying on a general warfare from the Black Hills to the frontiers of
Texas.
[Illustration:
RED CLOUD AND PROFESSOR MARSH
The illustration is reproduced from a photograph in the possession of
Miss Fannie Brown, of Andover. The date is uncertain, but supposed
to be 1874 or ’75
]
After the terrible massacre of 1862 in Minnesota[29] the Indians became
bolder, and having received recruits from the bands who had fled from
Minnesota they held up several large wagon-trains, killed or captured
the escorts and appropriated the goods. When the news of this affair
reached Washington, Colonels Carrington and Fetterman were ordered to
subdue the Plains Indians, and were sent to Wyoming, where they
established Fort Phil. Kearny on the Piney fork of the Powder River. Not
only was this movement necessary on the part of the Government because
of the hostility of the Sioux, but it was desired to open a road through
the Powder River country to Virginia City and other mining towns in the
mountains, and also to the coast. Part of the territory was owned by the
Crows, but the Dakotas had usurped most of it as hunting-grounds for
themselves. Several conferences between the authorities and the Indians
were held, but as dissatisfaction among the Indians was manifest, no
settlement could be effected. “We will lose,” said they, “all our best
hunting territory if this route is established.” Red Cloud and other
chiefs (Crazy Horse, American Horse, etc.) saw opportunity for war and
openly urged hostilities. Clouds of warriors flocked to his standard.
During the long and tedious struggle he won great reputation as a
leader. General Dodge said:[30] “Several forts were established, but
they only protected what was inside the palisades. A load of wood for
fuel could not be cut outside without a conflict.”
During these troublous times Fort Laramie was the center of importance,
peace conferences, Indians coming and going, troops and supplies
arriving from the East. When Colonel Carrington and his troops left
Laramie, June, 1866, they were constantly watched by Red Cloud, and a
reliable report states that upon the visit of some Indians at
headquarters the commander was informed of his movements, in detail,
during the entire journey. With the troops was Capt. Frederick H. Brown,
noted for his bravery and contempt of Indians, and after the
establishment of the post he infused in Col. William J. Fetterman some
of his own spirit. Both officers declared that a nervy White could put
to flight a hundred Sioux. When calling one evening, Brown told Colonel
Carrington’s wife that he must have Red Cloud’s scalp before he returned
East, but, instead, Red Cloud took his scalp on the day of the Fetterman
fight, December 21, 1866.
The warriors harassed the garrison of Fort Phil. Kearny constantly,
killing small parties of wood-cutters. It became necessary to send out a
guard of fifty to eighty men with every wood-train. Red Cloud drilled
his warriors daily, seeming to possess a system of signals equally as
good as those in use at the fort. Colonel Carrington, in his description
of the events at the post, says on one occasion Red Cloud’s signals
covered a line of seven miles, and were rapidly and accurately
displayed. Again, on December 6, a number of soldiers were killed. On
the 21st the picket signaled that the wagon-train was surrounded, and
ninety-seven men were sent to its relief. Afterward it was ascertained
that the train was threatened but not attacked; in fact, the teams and
escort came in safely that night. Red Cloud had made a feint to draw
troops some distance from the post that he might engage them
successfully. The world knows the result, and it is not necessary for me
to enter into details here. The entire command under Fetterman and Brown
was killed, including several citizens accompanying it. Col. H. B.
Carrington, in his official report, says: “The officers who fell
believed that no Indian force could overwhelm that number of troops well
held in hand.”
Red Cloud’s name was heard throughout the land, and among his own people
he arose to be supreme chief; hundreds of recruits joined his camp, and
he was given an immense medicine dance and heralded as invincible.
August 2, 1867, Major James Powell was attacked by a large force under
the command of Red Cloud and Spotted Tail. In this fight Red Cloud and
his warriors exhibited, with scarcely an exception, the greatest bravery
ever shown by Indians in the history of the West. Unknown to the
Indians, special wagon-beds, constructed of iron, were mounted on wheels
by the Government blacksmiths. As soon as the attack began, the troops
removed these from the trucks and placed them in a small circle, the men
concealing themselves beneath. The iron was sufficiently heavy to stop
or deflect bullets, and the men were armed with the first repeating
rifles brought on the Plains. They were thus better equipped than their
adversaries. Red Cloud charged no less than eight or ten times,
frequently coming within thirty or forty feet, many of his dead falling
less than twenty or thirty yards from the improvised fortification. The
Indians could not understand how so small a body of men could fire with
such rapidity. Red Cloud said to Spotted Tail, as the two sat their
horses on a little knoll a few hundred yards distant, that he believed
the Americans had “medicine guns,” which never ceased firing. The entire
force of the Sioux and Cheyennes was hurled against the enemy, Red
Cloud’s nephew distinguishing himself by riding among the foremost and
the two chiefs accompanying the charge. One Indian fell near enough to
touch the beds with his coup-stick before he died. But for the
protection, the Whites would have been wiped out of existence, for
nearly every spot on the outer surface of the iron as large as one’s
hand showed a bullet mark. An Indian chief told Colonel Dodge afterwards
that they lost 1137 in the fight. A famous scout said to Major Powell
that at least a thousand were struck, and the most conservative estimate
places the number at three or four hundred. Not only was great bravery
manifested in these charges, but after the battle many of the dead and
wounded were recovered in spite of a heavy fire kept up by the troops.
In the Fetterman fight Red Cloud had been victorious. In the Powell
engagement he was badly defeated.
These two fights, and the series of peace treaties held by the Indian
Peace Commissioners August 13 to September 13, 1867, brought about what
the Sioux desired—the evacuation and destruction of several forts in
favorite hunting territory, the promise of extra annuities and rations,
and paved the way for the great Dakota treaty of 1868.
In 1868–’69 Hon. William Blackmore of London, visited the Plains tribes
and made a lasting friendship with Red Cloud. At that time Red Cloud
scorned the “white man’s road” and refused to have his photograph taken;
but it is noteworthy that he made an exception in favor of Mr.
Blackmore, and in the first portrait of this distinguished red man we
see him standing side by side with the patron of the great South
Kensington (Blackmore) museum. Why did he do this? Because he knew that
the British treated the Indians well, and that for a century Indians in
Canada lived unmolested, whereas just over the American border bloodshed
and robbery were rampant.
After the treaty Red Cloud himself went to war no more, but instead
became distinguished as a councilman and treaty maker. He was, with
Spotted Trail, uncompromising, and insisted upon the fulfillment of
every condition of the later treaties.
Sitting Bull, a shaman, had made “medicine” for most of the battles, and
about the year 1870 came into prominence. To the Indian “medicine” means
much. Upon going into action he places implicit confidence in the
efficacy of his medicine first, in his own courage second. Sitting Bull,
being very crafty, a schemer and a politician, became known as the
“battle-medicine maker” of the Dakotas. Before the Custer fight he made
several dozen medicine sacks, filled them with the “mystery,” and
hastily distributed them among the chief warriors and subchiefs. After
the fight he and his friends claimed the honor of the victory, saying
that it was through his miraculous medicine alone that the Sioux
prevailed over the soldiers. Sitting Bull seldom was a warrior, claimed
little distinction as a fighter, and owes his reputation among the
Whites as the leader of the forces on the Little Big Horn to the
misdirected energy of the newspapers. Red Cloud was friendly with
Sitting Bull, but was seldom associated with him either in councils or
upon the field. The two present marked contrasts. The latter was very
outspoken in his hatred of the Whites, lacked the tact and judgment
displayed by Red Cloud in his later years, and appears decidedly the
inferior man of the two. Sitting Bull’s temper was easily ruffled, and
even as late as 1890 (he was killed December 15, 1890) he persisted in
open censure of Government authorities. To give an idea of his language,
he told General Miles, upon the occasion of their first meeting, that
“God Almighty made me; God Almighty did not make me an agency Indian,
and I’ll fight and die fighting before any white man can make me an
agency Indian.” His prophecy was fulfilled.
So when Red Cloud settled down upon his reservation near Fort Robinson,
Sitting Bull continued to range about the Plains and in the valleys of
the Tongue, Powder, Yellowstone and Big Horn Rivers. Some of the
turbulent element in Red Cloud’s camp joined him, but by far the greater
portion of those who followed Sitting Bull until after the Custer fight
were not Oglalas. In 1874–’75, when Professor Marsh of Yale, passed
through the agency, he noted that there were some 13,000 Indians under
the care of the authorities. He reported that the provisions issued them
were of poor quality and insufficient, and tardily delivered. Lieutenant
Carpenter also complained that the Indians were compelled to eat ponies,
dogs and wolves to avoid starvation. Professor Marsh stated that the
goods purchased by the Government, carefully and honestly delivered and
distributed, would prevent all suffering. Eastern newspapers published
Marsh’s charges, and the “Indian ring” of politicians was defeated.
Marsh was well received by Red Cloud, who accompanied him East. The two
were photographed together, holding the peace-pipe in common. The Sioux
called Professor Marsh the “Big Bone Chief,” because he hunted fossils
in the Bad Lands. And while Bills and Dicks of frontier fame howled
about the “hostile Injuns” and engaged in frequent fights with the
Sioux, Marsh came and went in that wild country safe. The “murderers”
knew he was to be trusted! (_See page 176_)
[Illustration:
JACK RED CLOUD
Son of the War Chief of all the Sioux. Pine Ridge, 1909. Photographed
by W. K. Moorehead. The older Indians say Jack looks exactly as did
his father in the early seventies.
]
-----
Footnote 27:
Handbook of American Indians, page 358.
Footnote 28:
Garrick Mallery, in the Fourth Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, in
an illustrated article entitled “Pictographs of the North-American
Indians,” includes the Dakota winter-counts of Lone Dog, an aged
Indian of the Yanktonai tribe of Dakotas, which covers the winters
from 1800–’01 to 1876–’77.
Footnote 29:
From the Minnesota Historical Collections, page 434, volume 9, we
learn than on Sunday, August 17, 1862, a small party of Sioux,
belonging to Little Crow’s band, while out ostensibly hunting and
fishing at Acton, Meeker county, Minnesota, obtained from a white man
some spirituous liquor, became intoxicated, and murdered a white man
and part of his family, and this act precipitated the Sioux war.
Little Crow said that since blood had been spilled the war would have
to go on, and he summoned warriors from Montana and what is now North
and South Dakota. The war began August 18 and lasted about twelve
days. The number of white people killed was about 500. The whole or a
large part of some fifteen or twenty counties was fearfully desolated,
and for a time almost entirely depopulated. In one of the engagements
between the Indians and a company of regular troops, twenty-three
soldiers were killed and about sixty wounded, and also ninety-two
horses were killed. Chief Big Eagle makes a statement of the causes
which led up to the trouble. The Whites were constantly urging the
Indians to live like the white man. Some were willing, but others were
not and could not—the Indians were annoyed, and wanted to do as they
pleased. “Then,” he says, “some of the white men abused the Indian
women in a certain way and disgraced them, and surely there was no
excuse for that.”
Footnote 30:
Our Wild Indians, pp. 83, 84, by Col. H. I. Dodge.