第 3 节
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great speech made by Red Cloud; at a gathering upon the Little
Rosebud River。 It is brief; and touches upon the hopelessness of
their future as a race。 He seems at about this time to have
reached the conclusion that resistance could not last much longer;
in fact; the greater part of the Sioux nation was already under
government control。
〃We are told;〃 said he; 〃that Spotted Tail has consented to be
the Beggars' Chief。 Those Indians who go over to the white man can
be nothing but beggars; for he respects only riches; and how can an
Indian be a rich man? He cannot without ceasing to be an Indian。
As for me; I have listened patiently to the promises of the Great
Father; but his memory is short。 I am now done with him。 This is
all I have to say。〃
The wilder bands separated soon after this council; to follow
the drift of the buffalo; some in the vicinity of the Black Hills
and others in the Big Horn region。 Small war parties came down
from time to time upon stray travelers; who received no mercy at
their hands; or made dashes upon neighboring forts。 Red Cloud
claimed the right to guard and hold by force; if need be; all this
territory which had been conceded to his people by the treaty of
1868。 The land became a very nest of outlawry。 Aside from
organized parties of prospectors; there were bands of white horse
thieves and desperadoes who took advantage of the situation to
plunder immigrants and Indians alike。
An attempt was made by means of military camps to establish
control and force all the Indians upon reservations; and another
commission was sent to negotiate their removal to Indian Territory;
but met with an absolute refusal。 After much guerrilla warfare; an
important military campaign against the Sioux was set on foot in
1876; ending in Custer's signal defeat upon the Little Big Horn。
In this notable battle; Red Cloud did not participate in
person; nor in the earlier one with Crook upon the Little Rosebud;
but he had a son in both fights。 He was now a councilor rather
than a warrior; but his young men were constantly in the field;
while Spotted Tail had definitely surrendered and was in close
touch with representatives of the government。
But the inevitable end was near。 One morning in the fall of
1876 Red Cloud was surrounded by United States troops under the
command of Colonel McKenzie; who disarmed his people and brought
them into Fort Robinson; Nebraska。 Thence they were removed to the
Pine Ridge agency; where he lived for more than thirty years as a
〃reservation Indian。〃 In order to humiliate him further;
government authorities proclaimed the more tractable Spotted Tail
head chief of the Sioux。 Of course; Red Cloud's own people never
recognized any other chief。
In 1880 he appealed to Professor Marsh; of Yale; head of a
scientific expedition to the Bad Lands; charging certain frauds at
the agency and apparently proving his case; at any rate the matter
was considered worthy of official investigation。 In 1890…1891;
during the 〃Ghost Dance craze〃 and the difficulties that followed;
he was suspected of collusion with the hostiles; but he did not
join them openly; and nothing could be proved against him。 He was
already an old man; and became almost entirely blind before his
death in 1909 in his ninetieth year。
His private life was exemplary。 He was faithful to one wife
all his days; and was a devoted father to his children。 He was
ambitious for his only son; known as Jack Red Cloud; and much
desired him to be a great warrior。 He started him on the warpath
at the age of fifteen; not then realizing that the days of Indian
warfare were well…nigh at an end。
Among latter…day chiefs; Red Cloud was notable as a quiet man;
simple and direct in speech; courageous in action; an ardent lover
of his country; and possessed in a marked degree of the manly
qualities characteristic of the American Indian in his best days。
SPOTTED TAIL
Among the Sioux chiefs of the 〃transition period〃 only one was
shrewd enough to read coming events in their true light。 It is
said of Spotted Tail that he was rather a slow…moving boy;
preferring in their various games and mimic battles to play the
role of councilor; to plan and assign to the others their parts in
the fray。 This he did so cleverly that he soon became a leader
among his youthful contemporaries; and withal he was apt at mimicry
and impersonation; so that the other boys were accustomed to say of
him; 〃He has his grandfather's wit and the wisdom of his
grandmother!〃
Spotted Tail was an orphan; reared by his grandparents; and at
an early age compelled to shift for himself。 Thus he was somewhat
at a disadvantage among the other boys; yet even this fact may have
helped to develop in him courage and ingenuity。 One little
incident of his boy life; occurring at about his tenth year; is
characteristic of the man。 In the midst of a game; two boys became
involved in a dispute which promised to be a serious one; as both
drew knives。 The young Spotted Tail instantly began to cry; 〃The
Shoshones are upon us! To arms! to arms!〃 and the other boys
joined in the war whoop。 This distracted the attention of the
combatants and ended the affair。
Upon the whole; his boyhood is not so well remembered as is
that of most of his leading contemporaries; probably because he had
no parents to bring him frequently before the people; as was the
custom with the wellborn; whose every step in their progress toward
manhood was publicly announced at a feast given in their honor。 It
is known; however; that he began at an early age to carve out a
position for himself。 It is personal qualities alone that tell
among our people; and the youthful Spotted Tail gained at every
turn。 At the age of seventeen; he had become a sure shot and a
clever hunter; but; above all; he had already shown that he
possessed a superior mind。 He had come into contact with white
people at the various trading posts; and according to his own story
had made a careful study of the white man's habits and modes of
thought; especially of his peculiar trait of economy and intense
desire to accumulate property。 He was accustomed to watch closely
and listen attentively whenever any of this strange race had
dealings with his people。 When a council was held; and the other
young men stood at a distance with their robes over their faces so
as to avoid recognition; Spotted Tail always put himself in a
position to hear all that was said on either side; and weighed all
the arguments in his mind。
When he first went upon the warpath; it appears that he was;
if anything; overzealous to establish himself in the eye of his
people; and as a matter of fact; it was especially hard for him to
gain an assured position among the Brules; with whom he lived; both
because he was an orphan; and because his father had been of
another band。 Yet it was not long before he had achieved his
ambition; though in doing so he received several ugly wounds。 It
was in a battle with the Utes that he first notably served his
people and their cause。
The Utes were the attacking party and far outnumbered the
Sioux on this occasion。 Many of their bravest young men had
fallen; and the Brules were face to face with utter annihilation;
when Spotted Tail; with a handful of daring horsemen; dodged around
the enemy's flank and fell upon them from the rear with so much
spirit that they supposed that strong reinforcements had arrived;
and retreated in confusion。 The Sioux pursued on horseback; and it
was in this pursuit that the noted chief Two Strike gained his
historical name。 But the chief honors of the fight belonged to
Spotted Tail。 The old chiefs; Conquering Bear and the rest;
thanked him and at once made him a war chief。
It had been the firm belief of Spotted Tail that it was unwise
to allow the white man so much freedom in our country; long before
the older chiefs saw any harm in it。 After the opening of the
Oregon Trail he; above all the others; was watchful of the conduct
of the Americans as they journeyed toward the setting sun; and more
than once he remarked in council that these white men were not like
the French and the Spanish; with whom our old chiefs had been used
to deal。 He was not fully satisfied with the agreement with
General Harney; but as a young warrior who had only just gained his
position in the council; he could not force his views upon the
older men。
No sooner had the Oregon Trail been secured from the Sioux
than Fort Laramie and other frontier posts were strengthened; and
the soldiers became more insolent and overbearing than ever。 It
was soon discovered that the whites were prepared to violate most
of the articles of their treaty as the Indians understood it。 At
this time; the presence of many Mormon emigrants on their way to
the settlements in Utah and